"Alexander III Bridge at Dusk" (oil on stretched canvas; 12" x 16") sold

sold

Paris at dusk is the most romantic place in the world, especially, by the Pont Alexandre III along the Seine. It is the most extravagant bridge in the city, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end. I can see vaguely the Invalides in the distance.

Someone found my old painting of the same subject on the internet and asked me for a print. I said I could do better! I painted a larger, better version for the client, who proposed to his girlfriend on the famous bridge last year. They are now married and the painting is going to be the Christmas gift for the happily surprised wife. I love my job!

"Georgetown Key Bridge Afternoon" (oil on linen; 6" x 8") sold

sold

This is the view of Georgetown and the Key Bridge from the tiny Roosevelt Island in the Potomac River.  The undersides of the bridge arches glow in the afternoon light.  Can you believe this lovely cityscape is only 6" x 8"?  I am becoming a miniaturist!

"Rialto Bridge Dusk" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

sold

Venice is always beautiful.  At dusk, it becomes breath-takingly ethereal.  Ride a gondola, like the couple in the painting, and glide under the famed Rialto Bridge in the sunset.

"Sunset Harbor" (oil on linen; 12" x 12")

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A small working harbor at Newport, OR is one of the most charming harbors I have ever seen.  At sunset, it is even more beautiful.  I have painted the subject four times in different mediums and styles.  What can I say?  I am enchanted by Newport, OR!

"Red Sails" (watercolor on Yupo, 20" x 26"; sold)

"At Ease" (acrylic, 18" x 24"; sold)

"Red Sails" (oil, 18" x 18"; sold)

"Red Sails" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 18")

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Also titled "Red Sails" (watercolor on Yupo, 20" x 26")
sold

Hello, June!  With one foot into the summer, I thought it would be a terrific idea to do a series of boat/ship paintings this month.  The June Challenge is "Sail Away"!  To kick off the series, I revisited an old painting of Newport, OR.  The fishing boat with red sails had become a floating museum of seafaring in this picturesque working harbor, where my family spent a lovely day during a vacation in 2001.

I painted the first "Red Sails" in watercolor on an unpredictable support, Yupo.  It turned out well to my relief; it went on to be juried into the Art League Landscape Show in 2002 and was sold in my first solo show in 2006.

It was my husband who suggested that I should do a painting of "Red Sails" in oil.  Why not?  I cropped the scene into a square format and came up with a new color scheme of red and green with blue gray and grayed yellow orange as the neutral backdrop.  It was a perfect project to test out Gregory Packard's method of a neutral, mid-tone beginning.  The busiest, brightest, lightest, and darkest elements of the painting are all packed into the central area.  

I loved the watercolor version and was a little sad when it got sold.  Now I have a new "Red Sails" to look at.  So please tell me which version you like better?

"Tower Bridge Nocturne" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

It has been over twenty years since I visited London.  It has changed much, especially in the Docklands--an area in east and southeast London.  It's not just its physical appearance that has become in some parts ultra modern.  We saw many Europeans working in the city.  Food has improved vastly as well!  The British have embraced the 21th century wholeheartedly and I am happy for them.

Of course, the iconic Tower Bridge didn't need any improvement.  I wanted to see the bridge at night.  On last Saturday of our English trip, we walked along the Victoria Embankment, crossed the new Millennium Bridge, which, if you are a Harry Potter fan, you would remember well, and went all the way to the Tower Bridge.  And we saw it in its full glory.  There was sort of a sunset with pale pink clouds against a gray sky.  The bridge glowed like a big jewel.

The egg-shaped, glass structure is the new London City Hall!

A fantastic view from the Millennium Bridge; from this vantage point, all the buildings on the South Bank of the Thames River seem brand new!

The  ultra-chic "Shard", which you can see in the above photo, is here juxtaposed with the medieval Southwark Cathedral.  I love London! 

We ate two breakfasts at this small cafe in South Kensington.  The young woman server on the far left was French; the woman in the center was from Spain.

We ate a nice lunch at the Cafe in the Crypt of the famous St. Martin in the Fields at Trafalgar Square.  Yes, it is a real crypt with burial plaques!

For the last dinner in the UK, at a pub at Covent Garden, I ate the traditional British meal of roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and vegetables.  It was delicious!

"Spring Woods" (oil; 10" x 8") sold; "Spring Woodland" (oil; 14" x 11")

"Spring Woods" (oil, 10" x 8")
sold

"Spring Woodland" (oil, 14" x 11")
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When trees start budding, they turn yellow green.  Leaves are not yet big, so they don't cast heavy shade.  Walk in the early spring woods.  It's airy and bright; it's an enchanting place!  Both paintings are based on a real place--the Virginia native plant trail in the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I haunt the park in early spring, which has always been my favorite time of the year.

Did you notice a red bridge up a small stream in the first painting?  Many flowers populate the second painting, In the distance, one can see the pink redbud in bloom. In the middle ground, the dainty white bells of the common silverbell arc gracefully above the carpet of yellow woodland poppies.  I think I captured in both paintings the light-filled atmosphere of springtime in the woods.

"Spring Woods" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

sold

When trees start budding, they turn yellow green.  Leaves are not yet big, so they don't cast heavy shade. Walk in the early spring woods.  It's airy and bright.  I see a red bridge up a small stream.  Ah, what a wonderous place to be!  This is a real place--a Virgina native plant trail in the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I haunt the park in early spring, which has always been my favorite time of the year.

"Key Bridge at Sunset" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

sold

I don't believe in multi-tasking.  One thing at a time is my motto.  Having a dinner while conversing, or painting and listening to music at the same time, are some of the few things I would do with profit and pleasure.  Try doing something that requires concentration and simultaneously listening to your teenage daughter's angst.  You may be able to, but I can't.  These days many drivers put their and other people's lives in danger by texting while driving.  One thing at a time, man.

Sometimes, however, I end up multi-tasking.  Here is the story.  Thursday was a very busy day.  It started with a photography session with a client for a commission painting, followed by ice-skating practice, grocery shopping, a visit to my daughter's doctor's office for her flu shot, cooking dinner, and a fundraiser holiday concert at a bookstore where I also got half of Christmas shopping done!

I had started "Key Bridge at Sunset" the day before, but didn't get to finish it.  It was going well.  This was the second time that I tried the same subject; I wanted it to be better than the first painting ("Georgetown at Sunset"), which I felt looked belabored.

Paints were becoming sticky, and I had little time to do finishing touches during the day.  Painting in the kayakers was particularly nerve-wracking.  I didn't want the painting to be about the health benefits of kayaking.  Kayakers, especially the big one at the bottom left, were supposed to balance the painting and add a visual interest to the large expanse of the river.

"Georgetown at Sunset" (oil, 9" x 12")
sold

I finished the painting while grilling rosemary lamb chops and boiling new potato.  My studio, formerly known as the dining room, is right next to the kitchen, so I could pull it off.  Nevertheless, I felt like Daniel Craig playing James Bond, or Jason Statham as the Transporter!

"Connecticut Ave Bridge in Autumn Afternoon " (oil on linen; 8" x 16")

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Reference photo

On a beautiful autumn day ten days ago, my family had to drive to the Levine School of Music in Northwest in Washington, DC for my daughter's Suzuki flute Christmas concert rehearsal.  Instead of griping about missing the opportunity for plein air painting with friends, I took my camera with me to take pictures of Rock Creek Park in the car.

Yes, you've been there, clicking away your camera without even getting out of the car.  In my defense (I always have excuses!), it is impossible to pull over along the drive in Rock Creek Park.  Besides, the traffic was heavy, as seemingly everybody was out enjoying the spectacular weather.

I was mesmerized by the tall trees in brilliant autumn colors along the drive.  Since we were in the valley, only the crowns of these trees were lit by the late afternoon sun.  Fascinating!  We passed under several bridges until we hit Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Klingle Valley, more commonly known as the Klingle Valley Bridge.  It is a handsome Art Deco bridge near the National Zoo on Connecticut Avenue.  Marvelous!

I cropped the photo to make the composition more dramatic and proceeded to paint "Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Rock Creek Park."  The painting has the clear separation of the light and shadow families that Kevin Macpherson talks about in his book.  To exaggerate the sensation of a bright sunny day, I painted the area in the sun even lighter than in the photo.  Do you feel like you were there with me in the car wowing at the scenery?

"Central Park in Snow" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

The Central Park in New York City has got to be the most romantic park in the world. Think of all the movies filmed there!  I have painted the famous stone bridge at the pond several times.  This painting captures it on a wintry day.  The snow on the ground glows in the late afternoon sun.  Lights have come on, adding more warmth to the otherwise cold painting.

"Golden Gate Bridge on Sunny Day" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

The famous Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day.  Fluffy clouds float by in the sky.  A red ship in the distance is about to glide under the bridge.  The red bridge casts colorful reflections in the choppy water.  I thought of Claude Monet's "The Bridge at Argenteuil" when I was working on the above painting.  I wrote about how much I admire Monet's painting three months ago.  Something about a bridge, boat, clouds in a blue sky, and reflections in the water makes a happy painting.  Don't you agree?

"Georgetown at Sunset" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

Reference photo I

Reference photo II

"Georgetown at Sunset" (oil, 9 x 12") is a view of Key Bridge and Georgetown from the pedestrian bridge to Roosevelt Island in the Potomac. I was captivated by the glows in the underside of the arches of the bridge. Wow!  The sunset sky was equally beautiful, but the reference photo's sky came out all bleached.  So for the sky, I used the second photo. 

I wish I could have painted the scene on location to really see the colors of the trees, reflections, and so on.  The island that houses the statue of President Teddy Roosevelt is not heavily trafficked, so it would have been possible.  My only excuse is that the golden hour of the sunset lasts only for a little while.

"Central Park Snowed In" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

"Central Park Snowed In"
sold

"Snow Trees" (oil, 8" x 12")
sold

"Snow Creek" (oil, 9" x 12")
sold

As you can see, I have a mini series going on here--snowscape with trees and creek/pond.  If I paint the same scene over and over again, I will die of boredom and atrophy.  But as I continue to explore the same theme with variations, I gain a deeper understanding of the theme.  In "Snow Creek," I learned how the smaller area of the sun-lit snow seems to glow next to the much larger one of the snow in shadow. 

In "Snow Trees," I grouped the sun-lit and shadowed areas and assigned them the two separate sections in the picture plane.  I played around by intensifying the blues of the creek, to contrast them with the warm colors of the trees.  But my main concern and fun was to figure out how to paint wet snow clinging to trees.

In the first painting of the new year, painted on the New Year's Day--"Central Park Snowed In--" I am back to the meandering stream and snow-coated trees.  I am also contrasting a small sun-lit area with the rest of the snow-covered pond at Central Park, which is in shadow.  I have become more ambitious, introducing the background, which is very different from the rest of the painting and works as the foil for it: the blurred skyline of Manhattan.  I was also trying to vary the tones in the foreground to indicate different states of moisture from snow to ice (darker) to water (darkest).

Painting these small "daily" paintings has been a great tool for self-education and growth for an amateur-turned professional artist, which is who I am.  Last year I retired from teaching history at a college, something I had been doing over twenty years, and began with much trepidation the adventure of a self-employed , starving artist.  One doesn't get younger.  It was now or never to do something I truly wanted.  Wish me luck!

"Springtime at Central Park" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

Reference photo

I love New York, NY.  I don't want to live there, but would drop everything to visit the city anytime.  So much energy and cultural diversity!  The above picture was taken a few years ago on a family mini-vacation.  It was a mild, overcast spring day.  We had walked for I don't know how many blocks from our hotel at Times Square, stopping at many landmarks.  Our destination was the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an afternoon of Ancient Egyptian history and culture.  (I would have spent the time looking at paintings, but my daughter would have none of that and wanted to visit the world-famous Egyptian collection.  Sigh.) 

Central Park was crowded as it was a weekend day.  I don't know how New Yorkers would manage without this green haven.  Thank goodness, we had Frederick Law Olmsted, who had the vision to design this beautiful park!  Do you recognize the famous bridge, which had been featured in countless movies?

I wanted to paint the scene for a long time.  But something held me back.  Do you know that made me hesitate?  It was the tyranny of the color green.  It's green in the foreground, middle ground, and background.  I might as well pour a bucket of diluted green on the canvas and call it quits!

I thought long and hard about the problem and decided to take an artistic license.  I made the foreground greens warm (with the various mixtures of cobalt blue, cadminum yellow medium, and some reds), while keeping the middle ground greens pale and cool (with cerulean blue, cadmium yellow light, some reds, and lots of titanium white).  The background greens just above and below the bridge are muted violets.  I edited out the tiny figures to enhance the serene mood I was going after.  What do you think of the result of my efforts?