"Georgetown Spring" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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"Georgetown Spring" is a view of Georgetown in Washington DC, from Rosslyn across the Potomac River.  You can see National Cathedral and Georgetown University.  It is a view I see every week whenever I bring my daughter to her flute teacher's place.  One evening last week, double cherry trees were in full bloom.  The sun was setting.  I saw a painting.  So I painted it. Isn't it nice to see paintings everywhere?

"Sail into the Sunset" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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Sail into the sunset with me.  It is Kauai.  The weather is balmy.  Silence and beauty surround us.

"Dawn Sky" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 14")

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One summer morning, I looked out the window and saw this sky.  I knew I had to paint it.  I had so much fun with the pointillist technique while painting "Bluebells Heaven" that I decided to use it again in "Dawn Sky".  I love it!  How about you?

"Bluebells Heaven" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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On Monday, I took a drive to the River Bend Park in Great Falls, VA.  I have been there many years ago on my daughter's school field trip as a chaperon.  Yes, it was pretty.  The children had lots of fun, among other things, with archery practice.  Then I forgot all about the place.

Lately I have this unquenchable hankering for romantic landscapes.  So I asked around where I could find bluebell fields.  An artist friend of mine suggested the park.  Oh my!  The entire park grounds seemed to be covered with Virginia bluebells.  Fields after fields by the Potomac River and into the woods.  It was breathtaking and peaceful at the same time.

The only way I could describe my joy at finding myself in such a beautiful place was to drop dabs of thick paints--pointillism.  "Bluebells Heaven" was painted in utter bliss.  I hope you feel my joy when you look at the painting.

Virginia bluebells

"Double Cherry Blossoms" (oil on linen; 8" x 8") sold

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I am back!  I was gone on a family trip to Minnesota, visiting family and the University of Minnesota campus (my daughter wants to go there for college).  It was still winter in Minnesota. It even snowed. In central Minnesota, we hear it snowed a foot.  It is good to be back to spring!

Spring fever and allergies are what I am suffering from.  Do you know what?  I can live with them!  For weeks, I didn't know what to paint.  Now I have too many subjects to choose from. To make matters worse, it is difficult to stay inside.  Either I am working in my garden or taking pictures of flowers at home or at parks.  It's a hard life.  Hehe.

Double cherry tree smothered with flowers.  Ah, I love spring.

"Jefferson Memorial in Cherry Blossom Season" (oil on linen; 12" x 12")

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The National Cherry Blossom Festival at the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC is in full swing!  I went over there on Thursday in late afternoon to catch the sunset.  I have never seen the cherry blossom festival at sunset; I was curious how the warm lighting would affect the famous scenery.  As the sun set, the dome of the memorial glowed.  The golden light turned orangish, then pink.  The sky was the harmony of pink, mauve, and blue.  The drama lasted about half an hour.  I returned home elevated by what I had just witnessed.

Cherry blossom lit by the setting sun. Aren't they beautiful?

Even dogs love cherry blossoms!

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

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Every spring is a miracle.  This spring feels more so than others.  In the studio scented with hyacinth, I transformed the first cuttings from my garden into a work of art.  The painting is filled with joy.

"Lilac Spring" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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There is something special about spring air.  It is not just warm.  It is also fragrant with lilac scent!

By the way, I am working in a series this year.  I already finished the first series of nine paintings without a theme.  I happened to have nine 8" x 10" stretched canvases, hehe!  

My first series of paintings this year

The second series in progress is called "I Love Color".  Each painting is devoted to a particular color.  For instance, "Poipu Beach Sunset" is a mauve painting; "White Garden", a white painting; "Big Sur Blue", a blue painting; and "Red Poppies", obviously a red one!  They are going to be all 12" x 16" paintings.

My second series in progress: "I Love Color"

"Lilac Spring" is the second painting in the third series, "Floral Squares".  This series will be all 12" x 12".    

My third series: "Floral Squares"

The idea behind my 2014 series is to work within a certain size and format, which will suggest its own possibilities and limitations.  I am also painting larger than the so-called "daily paintings", spending more time on each painting.  No more rushing to get a painting done so that I can move on to the next one.  Believe me, it has been exhausting.  I will have more time to reflect, putz around my garden, take a walk in a park, go to museums, and have a hot date with my husband.  I will have life again!