Seawall, Hurricane Irene and Art Studio

I spent a couple days this week waiting to see what they were going to do about the Seawall Art Festival due to the impending hurricane. They cancelled it yesterday not to anyone's surprise. We will probably get hit but hopefully not too hard. I certainly have mixed feelings about the cancellation. I'm disappointed as it is usually a good show. But I certainly did not want to be out in pouring rain and strong winds.

So instead of preparing prints, cutting mats and framing paintings I started cleaning out my old art studio. Two years ago my grandson came to live in the room and now that he has moved out I get it back. I had been temporarily painting in my dining room but certainly missed my studio. The room is not done yet but I have completed a work area right in front of my window. It was such a pleasant place to paint and dream a little too.

I guess it's time to do all my hurricane preparations and batten down the hatches so to speak. I want to wish everyone in the path of Irene good luck and hope that the damage is minimal.

An Apple A Day

I have been obsessed with painting fruits and vegetables lately. When I first started painting I painted many fruits and vegetables and it's like going back to basics. Besides being alot of fun to paint, I'm refining my skills in a simple painting. I'm painting light and shadows to define the shape of the image and to achieve three dimensionality and I'm painting wet on wet to mix my colors and achieve different values.

I framed the three apples together and I'm very pleased with the results. I hope you like them too. My simple little apples!

Lemonade?

Here's my recent painting of a pitcher of lemonade. It sure looks refreshing! The painting is a touch brighter than the picture on the post. I have been spending alot of my time painting still lives lately. I don't really know why but I feel that if I'm motivated to paint something then I need to put forth the effort to pursue it. When I first studied watercolors I used to set up still lives and paint them. I need to pull some of them out and compare them for the fun of it!

This weekend, Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm I'm in Artisans in the Park at Great Neck Park. It is a lovely park with paths through the trees providing shade. It is a large arts and crafts show with music, food and activities for children. If your in the neighborhood check it out. It's a nice way to spend a Saturday or Sunday.

After Artisans in the Park this weekend I'm going to paint another Koi painting. It will be the fifth in a series. All previous four paintings have sold!

Then in the fall I will be teaching many classes and I will reorganize all my teaching supplies and class outlines. Then in my spare time I will start working on developing my portraits again.

Not that I have any specific plans. But if I'm motivated to paint something then I will paint it!