"Winter Sunset" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

sold

Sometimes I don't have to go far to find something to paint.  All I have to do is to step outside and look up.  One winter day, there was a light snowfall, then freezing rain.  It was altogether a dangerous driving condition in my hilly neighborhood.  I went outside to put the trash can to the curb for the following day's garbage removal.  That's when I saw the above scene.  I had to take a picture.  When I came back out with my camera, a car went by slowly.  Frozen snow reflected the sunset sky. There was a hush all around.

"Spring Sky" (oil, 24" x 30")

I have painted my neighborhood before, as you can in the above painting.  You can recognize the same tall tree, same houses, and same curvy street.  I love my neighborhood and this is how I watch it, not with a gun, but with a camera and paint brushes!

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!

Today is Day Fourteen of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge.  Thirteen paintings done.  I may take tomorrow off.  Have a great weekend!

"Spring Garden" (oil on linen; 12" x 12")

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This beautiful and inviting front garden bursts with spring flowers: azaleas, irises, daisies, etc. Red poppies bloom on the painted mailbox perched on a tree stump. In the back I can see a pergola for grape vines. Wouldn't you like to walk up the stairs to look around?

"Walk in Winter Woods" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

"Walk in Winter Woods"
sold

"Winter Morning" (oil, 9" x 12")
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"Winter Afternoon" (oil, 12" x 9")
sold

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

"Snowfall" (oil, 8" x 10")
sold

"Central Park Snowed In" (oil, 10" x 12")
sold

I painted lots of snow scenes this winter, which required hard work.  It  was not because snowscapes were particularly difficult to paint.  It had everything to do with the snowless winter in northern Virginia!  I don't ski or snowboard, or didn't travel to snowy places to visit relatives this year. Alas, my plein-air painting friends and I waited for snowfalls in vain, with our new snow boots still in their boxes.  It is practically spring here.  I've spotted crocuses, snowdrops, lenten roses, daffodils, dwarf irises, cherry blossoms, and forsythia, so far.  Somebody told me that her tulips are blooming too!  We may still get a blizzard in March, but I doubt it.

Yesterday I reached the very bottom of my pile and completely exhausted the reference material for my favorite subject by painting "Walk in Winter Woods."  All the things I've learned by painting in a series went into it.  It is the grand finale, so to speak, and I am proud of it.

I've included in today's entry some of my favorite snowscapes for your enjoyment.  Until next winter, good bye, snow paintings.

"Winter Afternoon" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

sold

I've said this before, and I will say it again and again.  You don't have to go far for beautiful sceneries.  Beauty--Nature and man-made--exists everywhere.  It's all around us.  We just have to keep our eyes open.  Take a walk in your neighborhood after snow.  Do it when the sun comes out.  An early morning or late afternoon light will transform your neighbor's driveway into a winter wonderland. 

Just leave your phone or iPod home.  Talking on the phone or listening to a loud music doesn't mix well with the quiet appreciation of sight, sound, and smell that one is supposed to be engaged in while taking a stroll.  We've taken the idea of multi-tasking to the ludicrous level.  We don't feel any more sense of accomplishment with all that multi-tasking of doing several things at the same time.  Instead, we are simply stressed out.  Let's take a time out.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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

sold

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.