Collage of My April 2016 Paintings

Collage of My April 2016 Paintings

In my garden, azaleas have peaked and irises started blooming.  That's how I follow the progression of season.  And there is of course a monthly collage of the paintings from the previous month.  Last month I did a lot of local Washington cityscapes, plus some still lifes and portraits.  Which painting is your favorite?

"Lincoln Memorial Sunset" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

I've noticed that some artists who are participating in Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge actually have a theme for the month.  They are very wise and I admire them.  I, for one, have no such luxury.  Some days I wake up in the middle of night wondering what I am going to painting the next day!  That's is why I decided to paint my favorite scene one more time.

We Washingtonians don't go out of way to pay respect to these famous memorials but for the out-of-town relatives.  More than 10 years ago, before the digital age, a cousin of mine from Korea came to visit and we took her to The Mall.  It was a beautiful spring day.  As the sun started setting, the marble structure began to glow against the golden sky.  Green leaves burned orange.  It was a magical moment.  So pardon me for repeating myself and please tell me that the new painting is better than the old one!

"Lincoln Memorial at Sunset" (oil, 11" x 14"; sold)

"Capitol View from the US Botanic Garden" (oil on linen; 15" x 8") sold

"Capitol View from the US Botanic Garden"
sold

"Capitol View" (pen and watercolor sketch; 9" x 4")

Reference photo

I recently started a new collection, called "Washington Landmarks."  The decision was prompted by two client contacts from my website (www.kimstenberg.com) within a couple of weeks about my paintings of Bishop's Garden and Iwo Jima Memorial.  Boy, I didn't realize that I have been sitting on a gold mine!  Time to paint some Washington scenes.  "Capitol View from the US Botanic Garden" is the second new painting for this new series.  Lots more to come.  How exciting!

Everybody has seen the Capitol, either in person or on TV.  As the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt, but I didn't want my baby to be despised.  My mission was to find a new, different angle.  So I went to the National Mall on a hot day last week.  I walked around to find an eye-catching view of the Capitol and found one from the US Botanic Garden, which is by the way the oldest botanic garden in the country (from the mid-19th century!).  To work out the unusual composition, I did a pen and watercolor sketch.  The rest may not be history, but I am pleased with the painting.

"Bishop's Garden, National Cathedral" (oil, 8" x 10")
sold

"Iwo Jima Memorial" (oil, 11" x 14")

Anyhow, the moral of my story is this: if you are an artist without a website, please get one immediately. If you set it up, people will find you.  I am constantly amazed by the power of the Internet.  We live in a brave new world of the world wide web.  Let's all take advantage of and profit from it!