"Stone Cottage with Grape Vines" (oil on stretched canvas; 11" x 14")

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On the second day of Danni Dawson's workshop, I decided to paint the studio of her husband and fellow artist Mike Francis, a charming stone cottage with wooden doors draped with grapevines.  As I painted the scene in the shade of a plein-air umbrella, the overcast sky eventually cleared by the afternoon.  The sun moved to cast the lovely shadows of grape leaves on the old, patinaed doors.

I used to "mass produce" these plein-air paintings two a day during a workshop.  No more!  I took my time by carefully observing the growth patterns and cast shadows of grape leaves, and finished the painting on the following day.  It was a lot of fun and not as exhausting!

"Wisteria House" (watercolor on paper; 20" x 14") sold

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The white manor house at George Washington's River Farm in Alexandria, VA gets draped with purple wisteria flowers every spring.  It is a sight to look forward to, and I rarely miss it.  I once painted wisterias on a red-brick house.  Boy, the painting looked ugly.  Wisterias and a white house are like hydrangeas and a white picket fence.  They enhance each other, making the charm of the flowers and backdrops multiply by many times!

"Beth's Rose Arbor" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

sold

Reference photo

Beth is a dear friend of mine who went to graduate school together in Minnesota.  She, a fellow historian, was indeed my first American friend, who helped me acculturate to the new country.  Several years later, Beth, a person with a heart of gold, took time and trouble to edit my 400-page-long PhD dissertation!  Alas, we haven't seen each other for almost 20 years.  The only remaining contact was the annual Christmas card, which kept us in touch. 

That was until we reconnected through Facebook.  We now know what's happening in our lives, family, and house.  I saw the robin's nest with four eggs right on a window sill at her house and worried whether they would make it.  They did.  Last week she posted several pictures of her garden; one particular picture of the rose arbor caught my eye.  I asked her if I could paint from it.  She replied "yes" and emailed me the full file. 

We agreed that the gas meter and other evidence of the everyday suburban life be edited out from a painting.  Since I have never been to her house, I couldn't tell what was beyond the inviting arbor/gate, heavily laden with the old-fashioned roses called "Pinky".  So I had to make up as I went along.  I am not a big fan of the late Thomas Kinkade, but "Beth's Rose Arbor" has the Kinkadian romantic feel, doesn't it?  I hope Beth approves.