"Historic Portsmouth Harbor" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

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Time was running out.  We had only one day left in the country before leaving for the town (i.e. London) for the final leg of our English trip.  After a lengthy discussion, we decided to visit Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.  It was close from Sidlesham, where we were staying.  Besides, my husband LOVES ships (and airplanes).  Yes, I am one of those wives who have suffered over the years to keep company of their husbands wowing over old ships and airplanes at museums.

Actually, I was glad of our decision because I got to go inside the HMS Victory.  This is the famous ship on which Lord Horatio Nelson died at the age of 47 at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.  As an Anglophile and British historian, it was touching to see the very spot of his death.  You see, the British and the French under Napoleon had been fighting like cats and dogs during the Napoleonic Wars.  After the heavy losses suffered in this historic naval battle, Napoleon had to give up his design to invade the British Isles. Hurray!

We heard an amusing (or macabre, depending on your taste) anecdote about the disposal of Lord Nelson's body.  He asked that his remains should be brought back to Britain for a land burial.  The crew came up with a clever idea of  "preserving" the body in a large barrel of rum for the several weeks' journey.  After landing, they toasted with "Nelson's Blood".  It was full-bodied!

The beautiful ship featured in the painting is the HMS Warrior--the world's first iron-clad ship from 1860.  Soon after I took the reference photo with puffy clouds, the sun disappeared for the rest of the day.  I was lucky!

HMS Victory; it is an impressive ship, don't you think?

"Festival of Lights" (oil on canvas; 12" x 16") nfs

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If you live in the Washington metropolitan area, you are probably familiar with this structure.  It is the Mormon Temple in Kensington, MD.  I was there last Saturday to attend the Greater Washington Suzuki Flute Ensemble's Christmas concert.  Every year during the Festival of Lights, the trees in the church grounds are decorated with millions of lights.  The work that goes into it must take thousands of hours.  Lights of all the colors in the rainbow wrap around the branches of tall trees, short bushes, and every tree in between.  You have to see the Festival of Lights!

I took several pictures before going into the Visitor Center for the concert, because that's what I do--taking pictures.  While looking at them on my laptop on the following day, it occurred to me that a painting of the subject would make a terrific Christmas present for my daughter's flute teacher who happens to be a Mormon.  For someone as special as she, a store-bought gift just doesn't cut it.

I have never painted Christmas lights before, but there is always the first time for every thing.  I am pleased with the way "Festival of Lights" turned out.  I told her that she would have to wait for her present until early January.  I hope she likes the painting!

"Sunset over Marshland" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

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I can paint sunrises and sunsets forever as long as the sun rises and sets.  I have painted sunrises and sunsets over the sea,  lake, beach, harbor, fields, hills, and even my neighborhood, but I like this new painting over marshland the best.

There is a fellow artist, William Van Doren, who has been painting sunrises and sunsets everyday for the past seven years.  Four years ago, he took on the challenge--a series of paintings of the sky over the Lincoln Memorial.  He was inspired by his experience on the extremely cold inauguration day of President Obama.  He told me that he did it for six months to get it right!  I was awed by his dedication.  Can you imagine yourself doing something like that?

"Capitol Nocturne" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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I thought I would create a series of evening scenes of famous Washington landmarks.  "Capitol Nocturne" was actually the third in the series, but it was the first one that turned out right at the get-go.  Painting from the reference photos of nocturnal images that did not give much information about details and colors was not easy. I also wanted these nocturnes to be as evokative and stirring as Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

Capturing the drama of the brilliantly-lit US Capitol dome  and lights and their reflections in the pond was my goal in "Capitol Nocturne."  About half of the painting session was spent painting upside down in an effort to get the image and reflections to match up more or less.  I would bring the painting to a mirror to look at it reversed, only to put it back on the easel in the wrong way!  Wait a minute, which way was I painting?

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

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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?

"Lavender Heaven" (oil on linen; 11" x 14")

Painting No. 1: "Lavender Heaven"
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I love lavender.  Its enchanting scent and lovely colors always make me happy.  My ideal vacation would be a couple of weeks in Provence, painting lavender fields.  Someday....  In the meanwhile, this past weekend I took a workshop with Bobbi Pratte in the lavender fields at Willow Pond Farm in Fairfield, PA.  "Wow!" sums up the experience: the weather was perfect; the views all around, enchanting; the gourmet lunch of all the dishes with lavender in them, heavenly; the camaraderie among the workshop attendants, excellent; Bobbi's instructions, superb.  I think I ran out of adjectives!

My enthusiasm for lavender motivated me to exceed my records as a fast painter.  I have painted up to three small paintings a day.  Guess how many paintings I created during the workshop.  On Saturday morning, I dispatched two paintings.  During a break after the lunch at the farm, I worked on another painting in the shade under a tree.  By the time, we regrouped for the late afternoon painting session, I was pooped out, but no matter.  I did the number four painting of the day!  I was dazed and exhausted; I slept like a log that night.

Painting No. 2: "Lavender Fields and Summer Meadow" (oil, 10" x 8")
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Painting No. 3: "Lavender Patch by the Barn" (oil, 9" x 12")
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Painting No. 4: "Red Hot Poker Summer Garden" (oil, 8" x 10")
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On Sunday morning, after adding some finishing touches on a couple of paintings from the previous day, I "attacked" the lavender fields again, which led to Painting No. 5:

Painting No. 5: "Purple Heaven" (oil, 12" x 12")
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Eventually, alas, the lavender fatigue set in.  The last painting was more or less a rehashing of what I have done so far.  Nobody's perfect, you see.

Painting No. 6: "Lavender Fields on a Summer Afternoon" (oil, 8" x 10")
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Here are some pictures from the workshop I want to share:

Lavender cheese spread container

Lunch table; Bobbi is the lady in orange T and shirt, the second from the right

Lunch spread

Lavender blueberry cheesecake; I have the recipes for all the dishes!

Lavender tour; do you know that lavender and rosemary are close relatives?

Lavender pickers; another painting material after I recover from the lavender fatigue

Painting lavender fields; I just had to take a picture of my friends working so seriously!

LAVENDER FIELDS FOREVER!

"Moonrise" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

"Moonrise"
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"Moonrise over the Sea" (oil, 8" x 6")
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I thought I would have some fun working on small canvases a series of big paintings, that is, paintings that feel big.  With a size 6 flat brush, loaded with paint, I whipped out three tiny paintings in one afternoon.  Not bad, ha! 

In John Murray's class, the pressure is always on painting fast and large.  There is a student who manages to finish a 18 x 24" canvas in every class!  It is liberating to brandish your big fat brush like a sword, squeeze out loads of paints as if you are a millionaire, and paint like a crazed daredevil.  On the other hand, it is also nice to rebel against your teacher by painting small since it is vacation!  Just don't tell him what I am up to.  Shhhhh.

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

"Tropical Sunset"
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The photo reference for "Tropical Sunset"

I am still high from my recent trip to Kauai and was dying to do a painting from one of many pictures of glorious sunsets that I took day after day. Each sunset was different from the day before and equally spectacular!  It would have been a daunting endeavor to paint a sunset scene from life, as it only lasted for about ten minutes. I didn't even bother to bring my oil painting gear on this trip.

However, I was well prepared to do some watercolor sketches. As some of you may recall, I took the opaque watercolor workshop with Rick Weaver back in December. This well-earned vacation--celebration of our 20th and 21th wedding anniversaries, and my birthday all rolled into one big treat--was a great opportunity to hone my skills at opaque watercolor.

"Poipu Beach, Kauai" (opaque watercolor, 11" x 15")

The view of Poipu Beach

Combining family vacations with plein-air painting outings is always a complicated business.  One feels guilty at taking advantage of her suffering family's patience for her own pleasure.  Speed is the key thing.  Get in and get out within a hour.  Fortunately, my husband and daughter were otherwise occupied one afternoon, so I didn't have to feel rushed.  I sat in the patio of our hotel room, away from nosy onlookers, and painted the palm trees.  I don't know about you, but I love these tropical trees with graceful fronds.

The time spent observing and sketching the big palm tree in the middle ground came in really handy when I painted "Tropical Sunset," whose vantage point was not far from the above view.  When the sky, ocean, and dark foreground were painted to my satisfaction, I took a deep breath and painted in the tree.  One shot, no messing around.  Wow!

"Kids at Sunset Beach" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

"Kids at Sunset Beach"
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"Moonrise" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Central Park Reflections" (oil, 12" x 9")
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I am fascinated by water's ability for reflecting things above and around it.  Especially when there is no strong breeze, water acts as a lovely mirror.  At sunrise and sunset, when the sky takes on those ineffable hues of pale yellows, oranges, pinks, mauves, subtle blues and violets, water becomes the enchanting bridesmaid who accompanies the beautiful bride--the sky.  Throw in some magnificent clouds to the mix, we are in heaven on earth!

"Silent Night" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

"Silent Night"
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"Snow Valley" (oil; 10" x 15")
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Snowscape is another favorite subject of mine.  So much so that, I am in danger of running out of my reference material for snow paintings, as I live in an area that doesn't get much snow.  Of the two latest snowscapes, I like "Silent Night" better.  Snow is inherently a cold matter.  Unless much care is taken, a snow painting will be too cold to look at.  I thought that the warm-toned clouds in "Snow Valley" will balance out the cool colors in the rest of the painting.  But, over all, it feels too icy for comfort.

So I am going back to painting snow scenes in early morning or late afternoon light.  Sunset is even better.  Snow reflects everything around it and, of course, the ambient light. The brilliant colors in the sunset sky seem to bring out the best in snow.  If only it would snow!

"Summer Sunrise" (oil on linen, 12" x 9") sold

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Tuesday was the summer solstice, when the daylight was longest of the year.  Yesterday, the sun rose at 5:44 am.  At 5: 45 am, I came downstairs and looked out of the living room window.  I don't usually get up this early, but boy, I was glad!  The scene above greeted me.  It lasted only for a few minutes, and you are not supposed to stare at the sun.  The painting was done from a photo.

"Spring Sky" (oil on stretched canvas, 24" x 30")

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Reference photo

Two weeks ago, I came home, parked the car, and happened to look up.  Wow!  I had to take a picture of this sky properly, so it was done in the middle of the street.  No worries, there was no car zipping by me.  I was interested in the sky, however, not in my neighbors' cars.  When I showed the picture to my teacher, Diane Tesler, she suggested that I should include the entire picture in my painting.  She thought it would make a nice social documentary for the posterity--how ordinary suburban people lived in the early 21th century America.  A nice composition, too.  The sky is framed by trees on both sides of the canvas, you see?

The sky is the star of the painting; and the houses, cars, etc. are just a counterpoint to the Nature's wonder and beauty.  As I keep harping on, you really don't have to go any particular place to come across a view worthy of a painter's brush.  The early spring's bare trees have a beauty of their own, but in this case, they allowed me to see the glows in the sky through their delicate traceries.  Because of a warm weather and plenty of spring rain, the leaves sprouted fast and furiously; by the end of the week, the neighborhood had become totally green!  I am glad that I seized the day and took the picture.

"Niagara Falls" (watercolor on paper; 4" x 6") sold

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My husband and I visited Niagara Falls many summers ago.  It wasn't a honeymoon, but still a lot of fun.  An awesome place!  I still remember the thunderous sound of the mighty waterfalls.  Soon after I came back, I painted this postcard-sized painting; it took less than 30 minutes.  You cannot get any more "fresh" than that.  The painting was juried into the Art League show in Alexandria, VA in 1999.

My late mother, who had a dry sense of humor, said when she saw the piece: "That's a lot of water for such a tiny painting."  After I had my daughter at the age of 39, I would go on and on about how cute she was.  Her response: "Even porcupines find their babies adorable, I am sure."  Oh, I miss her.