"Lifeguards Off Duty"

From a photo, of course ! I took a number of pictures of these tumbled lifeguard stands one winter, in Ocean Grove, NJ, on one of those 60 degree days when you just have to hit the Garden State Parkway, and head to the shore for a tentative glimpse of summer; a walk on the beach, a fried fish sandwich, a box of salt water taffy.

Not only is the composition interesting, but is looks like the chairs are lying on their backs, as if taking a rest.

As you can see I'm trying to get into some of these construction/geometrical compositions. Kind of like those stacks of chairs I had to paint in college ! This one is about 13 x 19, and took a few days to finalize.

January-21
January-22
January-24
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February-10

 

2010
2011

"Tiny Orchids"

Let me know if you know the species. From a photo taken at the National Conservatory in DC. I needed to hit the other side of the palette for this small painting, and to loosen up after just finishing "Lifeguards".

"Not So Solid Geometry"

From an ancient slide that I took in an unknown place. This is why you should never throw anything away, and it looks like whoever owned this conglomeration would agree.

I enjoyed painting the light and shadow in these basic forms, made complicated by a strong shadow. I seem to be going back and forth in the type of subject matter that I choose, which is probably a good thing. However, I may need to go back and fix the drum in the foreground...looks like it is floating.

You can see how much I enjoy the details, especially of windowpanes, and what is behind them, which is always my favorite part of painting a house portrait, too. Here, you can see that there is as much stuff piled inside as on the outside. Is this trash or treasure?

"Boulder Creek"

From a photo that I took last fall along the banks of Boulder Creek. I was drawn to this specific view because it reminded me, both in composition and lighting, of a scene that both my parents painted along the Loyalsock Creek in Pennsylvania. I like the calm, lightness in the background here, contrasting with the energetic feeling of the waterfall in the foreground, but I may have to add a few more touches of paint, darkening the rocks, perhaps ?

"Sunflowers"

After five or so inches of snow, all I can think of is springtime !

Happy 2012 to all ! A photo to share...

I've had this gingerbread house since the holidays, waiting for a snowstorm. I surrounded it with peanuts and waited to see which of the denizens of my yard would find it first. Not surprisingly, this squirrel found it within about twenty minutes.