"Bishop's Garden Summer" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

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Tranquility reigns at the Bishop's Garden of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC on a sunny summer afternoon.

"Bishop's Garden at National Cathedral" (oil on stretched canvas; 30" x 40") sold

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This is the largest oil painting I have done as a commission and took a few weeks to complete.  The client told me that her husband proposed to her at this beautiful place--the Bishop's Garden at the Washington National Cathedral.  The painting is going to be an anniversary present to him.  Isn't that a romantic story?

"Carmel Mission" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

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The Carmel Mission, from the late 18th century, is a Roman Catholic mission church in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.  I had the reference photo printed out six years ago and sat on it.  I have painted two other paintings of this beautiful place before, but the Mission's architecture with the two nonidentical bell towers was trickier.  Now it's Day Four of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge.  I decided to be brave.  What do you think of my efforts?

"Carmel Mission Garden Gate" (acrylic, 14" x 18"; sold) 

"Saintly Garden at Carmel Mission" (oil, 5" x 4"; sold)

If you send me your pictures to kimstenbergart@gmail.com, I may make paintings out of them.  How fun is that!  At the end of September, I will do a drawing and one lucky person wins a free painting.  You can buy the painting anytime, but there is no obligation.  Thanks!

"Poppy Dreams" (watercolor on Yupo; 6" x 8") sold

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I am continuing my Yupo painting explorations.  Everyday I work on two or three paintings.  Why?  Because paints on Yupo dry very slowly; water has to evaporate, as the synthetic support does not absorb any moisture.  While a section on a painting is drying, I work on something else on anther painting.  I go for puddly, spontaneous, watercolory look in these paintings, but they are actually painted slowly, patiently, and in stages.  How do you like "Poppy Dreams"?

By the way, I found a great quote by Claude Monet: "I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers."  He took words right out of my mouth!  I can paint flowers everyday for months without running out of inspiration!

"Rosy Glow" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

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The rose garden at the Green Spring Gardens Park

The rose garden at the Green Spring Garden Park in Alexandria, VA has given me so many painting opportunities over the years.  It was blooming like a heavenly garden 20 days ago; the flowers are gone for now.  They will come back later in the season.

"Scent of Lilac" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7") sold

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"Lilac Season" (oil, 11" x 14")
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Lilacs blooming in my garden

Lilacs are blooming in my garden.  It is unseasonably chilly this morning, but I went outside to take some pictures.  I love the lilac--its delicate florets, its colors, and above all, its scent!

"Sacred Ground, Chichester Cathedral" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

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Chichester, West Sussex is an old Roman town.  We went to see the city and its cathedral on a cold and gray day last Month. I go wild with Gothic cathedrals, but couldn't take a really good picture.  Dang!  The painting shows the side view of the front portal.  On Palm Sunday, we went back for the Matins service.  We sat in the choir area and heard the choir sing right next to us.  It didn't seem appropriate to take pictures inside, so I can't show you the elegant interior of Chichester Cathedral.  Sorry.

A distant view of the Chichester Cathedral tower

The corridor looking out to the cathedral cloister

Chichester city walls originated in the Roman days and circles the old town.

The market cross is from 1500; it is smack in the middle of the old town.

By the way, in case you are new to my blog, here is the scoop.  Every month I challenge myself to do a series of paintings, then give away a print of the collage created with these paintings at the end of the month.  The April Challenge is "I Love England."  "Chichester Cathedral" is the third in the series.  From now on, I am going to widen the circle for my monthly drawing to all my Facebook fans.  I post a painting or two everyday.  It is the best place to get the most up-to-date information about my artwork.  Please "like" my page!  Click here to visit my Facebook page.  Thanks!

"Backlit Purple Irises" (watercolor on paper; 14" x 8") sold

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I painted these purple irises from my garden many times.  Ah, the glory of iris!  The matted size is 20 x 14".

"Pink Peony Garden" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

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Peonies are, in my opinion, one of the most joyous flowers.  The flowers captured in my painting have just started opening.  They will keep unfurling until the heads become so heavy that they will droop to the ground.  Such abundance, such profusion, such lavishness!

This fits my current mood too, as I continue to recover from shingles and feel like myself again despite the throbbing pain that comes back at night.  The weather in northern Virginia has been unseasonably mild.  The potted geraniums out by my front door are still blooming.  I am in a mild state of spring fever!  In last December I was in the mood for painting autumnal and snow scenes.  Not anymore.  I want to paint spring flowers!

"Joyous Peony Bouquet" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

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I know that "Joyous Peony Bouquet" is not exactly a seasonal painting except that these pink peonies from my garden have always brought me a great joy and that I painted them joyously!

"Glory of Iris" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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These irises are from Mrs. Thomas's iris farm in Herndon, VA.  For years Margaret Thomas had tended her 5.4-acre iris garden with the help of volunteers.  Her glorious garden, open to the public, used to be filled with irises, peonies, and poppies.  It was truly a sight to behold during the season--a mecca to the iris lovers and plein air painters.

Alas, she passed away last year at the age of 89.  It was her hope that the space could be preserved as a park for the enjoyment of all, but it probably won't happen.  As it is located in the midst of a highly valuable real estate market, as soon as the economy bounces back, the farm will be sold to the highest bidder and developed for multi-million-dollar McMansions.

I painted "Glory of Iris" from a print photo taken about 10 years ago on Mother's Day.  All florals celebrate the transient beauty of flowers.  This particular painting honors a woman who loved flowers as if they were her children.

"Pink Rose and Hips" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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I have been busy, setting up my Etsy shop.  Since there are only so many hours a day, I ended up not painting at all for the last several days!  The advice people give to the online art entrepreneurs (wow, it sounds impressive!) is that you have to spend 50% of your time on painting, the other 50% on marketing.  Yup, it is incredible, isn't it?  As a book title says, I would rather be in my studio.  But one has to get oneself visible.  Sigh.

"Sunny Roses" (oil on linen; 6" x 8") sold

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Reference photo

These are the same roses as in "Yellow Roses" from a slightly different angle.  Much can be said for painting the same thing over and over again.  One gains a deeper understanding of the subject through the repetition with variation.  Here I was trying to get to the bottom of how to paint natural-looking leaves.  Perhaps, the only drawback in working in a series is coming up with an exciting  title each time!

"Pink Roses" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

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Reference photo

I wasn't completely satisfied with the way how I painted the leaves in "Yellow Roses."  So to get things out of the system, I did another rose painting.  These roses are from Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, Va.  I've painted them many times, and I am sure "Pink Roses" won't be the last one.

"Pink Rose Bush" (acrylic, 16" x 12")
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"Pink Rose Bush" is several years old, painted in acrylic in my previous, tight style.  It probably took two full days!  Now I aim for a more painterly, "loose" style.  "Pink Roses" took about two and a half hours.  If I had spent more time on it, it would have gotten tighter and who wants to be uptight! 

"Yellow Roses" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

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Reference photo

I haven't been painting much lately, partly thanks to my daughter.  She just started high school, marches in the marching band, joined her school's golf team, etc.  I figured that this was the last chance to get involved in her school activities and decided to volunteer as much as I could, which is a good thing, but also time-consuming and tiring. 

Whenever I tried to paint, I found myself tightening up.  The summer-long project of working on old paintings, I fear, made me lazy.  Well, fixing an old painting is not as hard or nerve-wrecking as starting a painting from scratch, you see.  It's not as exciting either.  I kind of lost my mojo in the process.

I mean to rectify the situation, get back into my form, and start painting like a maniac again.  "Yellow Roses" is from a photo I took of my neighbor's roses last April.  I could have worked at it for two more hours to make it "perfect".  My goal was, however, to loosen up, to get excited about painting again. 

"Spring Beauty" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold; "Yellow Daffodils" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

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Reference photo for "Spring Beauty"

"Yellow Daffodils"
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Before

One of the trickiest things in painting, I find, is the treatment of the "background."  What do I with the environment the subject is sitting in?  For instance, if I had painted "Spring Beatuy" exactly as I saw in the reference photo, the result would have been a chaos.  When I painted this small gem last spring, I thought I did the right thing by making the "background" blue green--the complementary color of the peach iris.  For "Yellow Daffodils," I sublimated the busy, green, spring growth around the daffodils into a soft, grayed green backdrop.

Looking at both paintings with an objective eye, I realized that something had to be done about their backgrounds to make the flowers pop.  I changed the overall background colors to purples, then introduced warm colors into the darks, echoing the warmth of the sun and flowers.  Yes, I worked on the flowers themselves and spiky leaves of the irises and daffodils too, but they were minor adjustments. 

The difference between the original and improved states in both paintings is remarkable.  Their message has become clearer--the joy of spring.  The flowers look far more vibrant.  Despite the small format of the paintings, they carry themselves as if they are much bigger.  I learned another lesson in painting: the imporance of the background!

"Apple Tree Blooming" Revisited (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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Before

"Yellow Tulip Planter" (after; oil, 12" x 9")
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Before

It's been several months since I painted "Apple Tree Blooming" and "Yellow Tulip Planter" last spring.  At that time, I thought they were pretty darn good.  Last week I looked at them; they didn't look that great anymore!  My critical attitude toward some of my old paintings, I hope, doesn't mean that I am turning into one of those sour, unhappy people who are never satisfied with their lives.  It's just that I am growing as an artist and can critique my own work impartially and constructively.

Anyhow I worked on both paintings to see what I can come up with, the second time around.  Can you see what I did?  For one thing, I got rid of the half of a tulip on the far left in "Yellow Tulip Planter."  I don't know what I was thinking back in April!  Many an artist has made the same mistake of painting everything in front of her, in this case, in the photo. 

Lately I started a new habit of bringing a work in progress to the bathroom to look at it in the mirror.  It really helps me to take an objective look at it and I discover lots of awkward things this way--a horizon that doesn't quite match up, a vase with a wrong ellipse, etc.  And that is how I realized that the flower had to go.

Over all, I think I strengthened the composition in both paintings.  In "Apple Tree Blooming," there is also a stronger sense of light bouncing around.  Don't the two spring flower paintings make you feel happy?

"Under a Willow Tree" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

"Under a Willow Tree"
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"Morning Garden" (oil, 8" x 10")

"Summer Garden" (the improved version; oil, 10" x 10")
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"Capitol Hill in Summertime" (oil, 15" x 8")
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"Capitol View from the US Botanic Garden" (oil, 15" x 8")

Paintings are like your children.  You nurture them; you pour your heart out; you even lose sleep over them.  Once you do all you can, you wish them well.  You want them to shine--get into juried shows, receive awards of excellence, and admired by the public.  Whether you keep them in your private collection or sell them to collectors, you want them to be loved.

Alas, paintings do not always turn out well.  Unlike children, however, there are things you can do to improve paintings.  After they sit around in my studio for a while, I seem to gain certain detachment.  I can see things that I didn't see before.  Composition can be tweaked; drawing can be corrected; values can be strengthened; colors can be made richer.  Or, they may be retired so that I can get on with my life. 

In this positive spirit, I am working on a series of old paintings to see if I can make them better. Why not?  After all, all paintings are just a playing ground to grow as an artist, aren't they?  Paints and canvas may be transformed into an exquisite work of beauty that transcends everyday experience.  If it doesn't, well, no harm was done.  Nobody died in the process.  Ha!

"Smithsonian Castle Rose Garden" (oil on canvas; 18" x 18")

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Reference photo

One spring day, I went to The Mall with my family and saw the rose garden at the eastern end of the Smithsonian Castle.  The air was so thick with the rose perfume that you couldn't have missed it while walking by.  I didn't, however, stop to take pictures because I had company.  So I went back a couple of days later, hoping that the heavy rain the day before didn't damage the flowers in full bloom.  I timed it carefully so that the garden would be basking in morning sun as you can see above.

So far, so good.  Painting the scene was not as easy.  It was tough to make the various components of the picture--the castle with a complicated mock medieval architecture, two big trees, garden, benches, etc--work together harmoniously without drawing too much attention to the castle.  I finally finished "Smithsonian Castle Rose Garden" yesterday.  I am going to enter it in The Art League's annual landscape show in two weeks.  We'll see how it goes.

"Flight of Orange Butterflies" (oil on canvas; 10" x 10") sold

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The powerful storm of last Friday night left my neighborhood without power for four days.  The temperature stayed high in the 90's day after day.  It was relentlessly hot and sunny outside; it was depressingly hot and dim inside.  My family remained cheerful despite the outrage, taking many, air-conditioned, drives in the area to see which streets got power back and to check out new eateries to dine out at.  We even had a tire blow up during a drive!  When it rains, it pours.

With the insufficient light and intolerable heat in my studio, I didn't feel up to painting.  But I feel irritable and unfulfilled if I don't paint for several days.  So I sat in front of my easel in two mornings, perspiring profusely.  "Flight of Orange Butterflies" is the result of my persistence.  It has the intense, tropical feel, don't you think?

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!