"Dupont Circle Fountain" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

I have a good friend, a fellow artist who happens to be a purist.  She only paints from life, whether she is painting a landscape, figure, or still life.  She went to the famous Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, VA to work on a 16" x 20" painting seven times!  It is indeed a marvelous painting.  I joined her only once and whipped out a painting in one session.  Both paintings got juried into the same show at the Art League Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  How about that!

Anyhow, this friend suggested that we should paint the Dupont Circle Fountain in Washington, DC on location.  This well-known local landmark happens to be at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, P Street, and 19th Street.  Imagine the noise, not alone the crowd and possibly heat and wind as well!  I ain't a purist.  I said no, took some pictures, and painted "Dupont Circle Fountain" in the comforts of my studio.  Am I bad?

"Fountain at the National Gallery of Art" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

Monday last week was my daughter's 15th birthday.  She wanted to do some water sports like kayaking or white water rafting to celebrate it.  But her dad was swamped with work.  So, instead, she suggested that she and I should go to look at Renaissance paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  What?  This is the girl who used to be bored to death with the world-famous art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City a few years ago?  I was glad to oblige her request.

Outside the world-class museum on The Mall, which is also free for all to enjoy, I saw a marble fountain transformed into an enchanted fountain by dappled light.  If I hadn't told you where I found it, you could have easily believed it was somewhere in Europe! My daughter and I had a wonderful afternoon together that day.  I also got a beautiful painting out of our date.