"Gen. Robert E. Lee's Equestrian Statue" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

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Reference photo

If you read my blog regularly, you may recall that during my daughter's spring break, my family visited Charlottesville, VA. In the Old Town, we came across this equestrian statue of General Robert E. Lee at Lee Park. It had been a cloudy day, but luckily the sun came out just in time to cast gentle shadows on the handsome monument.

I had first considered a different view for the painting as you can see below.  This picture shows more of the park, which was fragrant with irises, viburnum, lilac, and other spring flowers.  The park square was so enchanting that I didn't want to leave the place!

Lee Park in Charlottesville, VA in springtime

I am not a Civil War buff.  As the Civil War was, to say the least, a defining moment in American history, I would have loved to be able to intelligently speak about it with some accuracy.  All I know about Robert E. Lee is that he was an honorable man and the commander in chief of the Confederacy.  I can't say I sympathize with his cause.  If I say that I wish he had fought on the Union side, I am sure it would be a heresy to some.  As I was painting the monument, Lee's body gesture came across to me as if he was saying  that "I wish this burden had not come to me."  Altogether, it was a poignant experience to paint "Gen. Robert E. Lee's Equestrian Statue."

"Spring Garden" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

sold

Reference photo

As I said yesterday, I am done with winter paintings.  Winter is over where I live and in my heart.  Time to move on to the spring stuff!  We plein-air painters are seasonal creatures, sensitive to the changes in temperature, the angle of the sun, and the life cycle of plants.  It's hard to paint snow inside when daffodils and hyacinths are blooming outside.  Even if we paint in our studios on a rainy day, our mind and heart yearn for the outdoors.

It was a soggy day yesterday; I got drenched top to bottom doing yard work.  The Southeast was pummeled by the destructive tornadoes.  I, however, painted "Spring Garden" from a photo I took last year on a most beautiful spring day.  The subject is a white garden gate at River Farm in Alexandria, VA. 

The gate glows in the sun.  Irises, daisies, peonies, and some other white flowers are blooming.  The power of art is such that it will be always spring in "Spring Garden."  Flowers will never die.  The sun will never go down.  I love art.

"Flight of Fancy" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

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Today is the one year anniversary of my blog.  What a year it has been!  It was truly a leap of faith for me to undertake the responsibility of writing a blog.  At the beginning, I was probably the only person who read my blog.  These days, who knows?  I have a few friends who keep up with it; beyond them, I have no idea.  Someday I may develop a big following.  For now, I am content with my small, but loyal readership. 

Going with the concept of a leap of faith, I am sharing "Flight of Fancy" with my readers today.  It is based on a photo I found in a shoebox the other day.  I took it nine years ago when my daughter was still in preschool, at a beautiful public park called Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, to which two moms and three preschoolers took a field trip. 

They were having a special exhibit of a butterfly show.  Hundreds of exotic butterflies fluttering about everywhere was a sight to behold.  I somehow captured these two orange butterflies in the frame: one in flight, the other in a brief moment of stillness.  I love the juxtaposition of oranges and violets--a color combination I rarely use, but now I will.

Thank you for reading my blog.  Happy Anniversary!

"Bumble Bee in a Blue Garden" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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Reference photo

This painting was a challenge to pull off.  It was hard to contrast the bumble bee enough against the busy background and, at the same time, keep it blended into the same busy background!  I like the complementary vibrations of blue violets and yellows throughout the painting and want the viewer to translate viscerally the visual confusion into the buzzing sound of the bee.  Does it make any sense?

'White Picket Fence" (oil on linen, 11" x 14") sold

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Sara during the group critique session

A hot day!  Today Sara Poly's plein-air class went to Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I knew exactly what I was going to paint--hydrangeas against the white picket fence.  I had unsuccessfully tried the same subject twice last year, and was smarting from my failures.  I had scores to settle, so to speak.  I settled comfortably in the gazebo, which you can see from the above photo (say hi to my teacher, Sara, who is holding my painting during the lunch/critique session).  Everything was going swimmingly until I was mobbed.

I can't say I am a veteran plein-air painter--I have been at it only for two years.  Still, I had experienced my share of the usual difficulties, such as bugs, winds, heat, coldness, noise, crowds, etc.  An entire class of second-graders on a field trip decided to take shade and have lunch in the gazebo!  This was new.  My things got knocked over; I was pushed over; and several children became art critics.  What could I do?  I turned into a painting stone, completely ignoring the goings-on around me.  My art class had to wait for our turn until the kids left, and saw everything.  They shook their heads; some chuckled.

Considering the duress under which I had to work, I think the painting turned out well.  The class--my class--who have become good, fair critics, gave me an excellent advice about the big, trapezoid-shaped brick patio.  It had to lie flat and be broken up somehow.  So I introduced the wooden board leading into the picture on the far right and cooled the top portion so that it would recede.  What a day!

"Peony Season" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 6")

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Every now and then during the flowering season, I arrange flowers from my garden on a piece of white paper and take pictures for my watercolor still lifes.  I am more interested in shadows than flowers themselves.  Photographing is necessary because the shadow shapes will keep changing as the sun moves.