12" x 16"
Arches 140#CP
It's that time of year again when fields turn golden and the light brings a glow to the woodlands. My favorite barn now sits among grasses that are thigh-high and wave with each passing breeze. I love to come upon this place in the morning when the sun seems to highlight the aging wood and yellowing fields.
It's been an incredibly busy week for me with obligations, paintings to put up, take down, classes, car maintenance, house chores, celebratory lunches, supply gathering for new classes I'll teach and more. There's been little time for resting and it seems September has blown by with the wind. Hopefully October will be a bit slower ...! LOL
Weather has been warm and beautiful, with summer temps returning in the afternoons. I picked the final fig from my trees and my first persimmon. The fall apples have started to arrive, and I am in heaven. My favorites - Pinova (very hard for me to find in my part of North Carolina), Honey Crisp and Pink Cripps -- YUMM!!!! I see a lot of apple dishes on my menu!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Friday, October 04, 2013
Falls Barn Oxford
Monday, September 30, 2013
Rose Hips - Happy Birthday
to me!
7" x 9"
Arches 140#CP
Today is one of those milestone birthdays and we've spent the weekend celebrating. A wonderful dinner out on Friday, birthday party with friends on Saturday and a lovely dinner with my son, grands and in-laws yesterday ... all delicious, fun, wonderful, heart-warming - and all helping make this 'getting older' business much easier and far more pleasant! LOL
The weather too has been incredibly glorious! Fall blue skies, bright sunshine, slight breeze, and a sky show of clouds that makes "looking up" both a metaphor and a reality. We've seen hay bales, fields turned golden yellow with rudbeckias and goldenrod, spots of crimson among the sumac and dogwoods, new apples in the grocery stores, the promise of festivals and fairs over the next few weeks, and the whisper of change on the wind.
It's been one of those weekends filled with all of my favorite things -- and a gift beyond measure.
I am truly grateful and send a warm, heart-felt thank you to my friends and family here for their love and support and encouragement. Blessings.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Bittersweet Berries in Gold
7 1/2" x 11"
Arches 140#CP
While visiting my mom, I would often take a short walk along the woodland roadsides that border my sister's road. I am always enthralled by the treasures I find in these 'wild' areas. This year, the bittersweet had already set seed and the berries were mustard in color - a deeper brown/yellow than the leaves I've painted. I plucked a bit of branch to bring inside to paint. After a few hours, though, the golden husks of the berries had shattered, exposing the most glorious orange/red seeds ... and creating the subject ripe for painting.
As the days went by, I found more 'shattered' husks as more of the golden bittersweet turned crimson with seed and brightened the roadside foliage. Leaves were beginning to turn color in earnest, and I was enjoying the orange, gold and russet of the sassafras as well as the bright red of sumac.
Here at home the sycamore and tulip poplar have already turned a rich mustard/gold and in some cases, earth-brown as they fall fast from the trees.
I really do love this season, and it won't be long before I'll have enough under my feet for crunching!
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Dahlia Collection Bayard Cutting Arboretum, LI, NY
While visiting my sisters and mom this past 10 days, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend an afternoon with my dear friends Susan T. (www.flickr.com/photos/52358552@N06/) and Joan T. (www.flickr.com/photos/23074176@N08/) at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum (www.bayardcuttingarboretum.com/).
The day couldn't have been more gorgeous - blue skies, mild temps, sunshine -- and a garden filled with blooms! We visited the area near the community gardens where the Dahlia collection was housed and in full glory. We sat among the vegetables and sunflowers and painted plein air together. It has been so long since I've done any plein air work -- such fun, and to chat and enjoy the scenery, flowers, and weather with good friends - was just a bit of heaven!
The time, of course, went far too fast -- but I hope to see these gals again soon.
Thank you again, Susan and Joan for a most delightful afternoon!
Please see
http://www.flickr.com/photos/linfrye
for dozens of photos from this trip including plein air sketch.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Orange Leaves of Fall
12" x 16"
Arches 140#CP
WELCOME TO FALL!!
The weather in New York has been incredibly fall-like --- warm, pleasant days, blue skies, and cool crisp evenings.
Leaf color is changing slowly here - but already the berries are formed and turning colors, seedpods are drying and the reds of sumac are showing themselves. I picked some bittersweet for our table- yellowed berried and golden leaves. By morning, the pods had opened to reveal bright red capsules.
Mom has had a good week and it's been a joy to spend time with her doing the things my sisters do daily for her care. I had a couple of days to visit with my sisters - and that too was marvelous.
The time, though, always flies, and it will be good to get home again and resume my life there. With loved ones scattered across the country, though, it often feels like bits of my heart are left here and there and only truly united when all of us can all be together.
Used to be when I was younger and more foolish, I wished for things ... but now, older and I hope more wise, I wish for TIME -- the only thing we can't save, borrow, or hang onto.
It truly makes that saying 'Live each day to its fullest' even more urgent.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Colorful Falls
Arches 140#CP
Summer temps have returned, but my mind is already geared for fall and for playing a bit with new color combinations.
This painting is an interpretation of the waterfall (cascade) that I photographed when I was visiting Doris in the spring.
www.flickr.com/photos/linfrye/8984863108/
You can see how I cropped the photo and simplified the subject ... and changed the greens to more colorful paints. It was a lot of fun!! and not as 'bright' as it appears on some monitors. The pinks and purples are more subtle in real life.
I'll be on and off line for a while as I care for my mom ...
Friday, September 06, 2013
White Roses
6" x 6"
Arches 140#CP
The high heat of the summer is less intense these days as we make our way toward fall. Bright greens have dimmed and the yellows and purples that tend to mark the onset of autumn can be found in wild flowers and in garden beds.
Mums are finding their way to retail shelves along with bright pansies. And for my garden, the last of the roses are bidding the summer adieu.
This small splash and splatter was a demo for one of my classes .. I like the use of turquoise in it - to me, at least this year, it seems to fit the seasonal color shift.
Have a great weekend.
Monday, September 02, 2013
Bittersweet Berries - Welcome September!
12" x 16"
Arches 140#CP
According to local weather forecasters, today is the 'meteorological' start of fall. To my eyes, the season, at least in my part of North Carolina, has been gradually showing herself in the hints of yellowing leaves, the appearance of fall yellow flowers - Helianthus and Coreopsis varieties), the browning of the sedges, the start of another haying season.
The muscadines are ripe now on the wild vines, the berries of the hollies and sumac are finally red, and the beauty berries are starting to turn their autumn purple.
The season has started and I plan to enjoy each subtle change and color.
I haven't found bittersweet berries nearby yet, so I painted these from a photo taken last year while visiting my sisters. I love their reds and golds and how they seem to herald the season.
Have a most marvelous week!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
The Pond in Fall
1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
Already the light is changing in the late August sky. I've spotted dogwoods already kissed with a red blush, tulip trees have begun dropping their leaves, and the emerald green of summer is fading to tarnish. My ornamental grasses have developed their plumage, and the figs are almost gone. School has begun in earnest, and the last horrah of summer is ahead this weekend.
I LOVE the fall - with its harvests and ripening, colors and berries, seeds and apples, campfires and holidays. Though our summer this year, feeling shortened by cool temperatures and rain, has been incredibly pleasant, I am eager for the fall and all the culmination it represents.
This painting was done in preparation of a larger work and the use of a few new paint colors. I'm already collecting leaves for fal projects and hunting for berries. There are a few apple festivals coming up, the State Fair, and other joyous events.
I'm making preparations -- how about you?
Have a great weekend!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Sunflowers - pen and wash
140# Arches 140#CP
Thank you all for your well wishes for the festival. It was fun, exciting and successful! The day couldn't have been more beautiful - sunshine, low humidity, and not too warm. There were over 50,000 people at the festival, and the sea of humanity kept walking and talking and looking and laughing, eating and enjoying hour after hour. I want to acknowledge the tremendous help of my husband and friends who were there with me talking with customers, dashing for snacks, setting up, tearing down, and supporting my efforts. I owe them a huge amount of thanks.
School begins this week for my North Carolina grandchildren. In these final days of August I too return to enjoy the last of the sunflowers as they say good bye to the season of light and heat. Already I see their yellows mirrored in the fields and here and there among the trees .... I hear the words of John Denver this morning from his song "Fall" ....
"Reflections in the water like shadows in my mind
Speak to me of passing days and nights and passing time
The falling leaves are whispering, winter's on its way
I close my eyes remembering the warmth of yesterday
It seems a shame to see September swallowed by the wind
And more than that it's oh so sad to see the summer's end
And though the changing colors are a lovely thing to see
If it were mine to make a change, I think I'd let it be
But I don't remember hearing anybody asking me ....."
Enjoy the week and the warmth and the sunshine!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Delphiniums - Brusho
Brusho Paint Pigments
140# Arches CP
Been another busy week and I've been readying for participation a large festival this weekend. I was juried in to the 'Cary Lazy Daze" festival in North Carolina and I"m thrilled. There are thousands of attendees, music, arts, crafts, entertainment, food. I won't have much time to visit other exhibits, but just being able to participate in this event is exciting!
The weather again has been a mixed bag of cool and warm, sun and torrential rain. The figs continue ripening a pint or two at a time, and they're a wonderful gift. There'll be another day of jam making and more dehydrating for the winter once the festival is over.
School has begun for my grands as well. Seems the summer has passed in a blur of activity and weather changes. Funny kind of a year.
Hope you have a super weekend!
Monday, August 19, 2013
Pink Purple Hydrangea
12" x 16"
Arches 140#CP
Funny thing about hydrangeas - at least these old fashioned, snow-ball types -- they respond to the pH in the soil by showing their flowers as more pink for more alkaline soil or more blue if the soil is more acidic. This year, the same hydrangea that has been happily blooming a marvelous blue/purple had blooms of pink, blue, almost white and purple! I think it was having an identity crisis!
I have a new variety though, the name escapes me now, that is growing about 3 feet from this shrub that remains pink no matter the soil type. The blooms are far more delicate and paler -- but it is definitely always pink. I have too a smaller shrub of hydrangea, lace cap, that showed more blue this year and it resides right next to my 'old fashioned.' Go figure. Watching the appearance of the flower colors was like watching someone wearing a 'mood ring!'
Been a rainy weekend and a good catch up after several intense weeks ...Sun should be returning along with warmer, more typical temperatures.
Have a great week!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Daylillies for Nancy
Commission
It's been such an incredibly busy time for me -- I can't believe that my grandchildren begin school again next and the following week. This summer has been so unusuallycool and rainy - and it has absolutely flown by!
My figs have begun ripening as have those of my neighbors. Today a few dear friends of mine got together for a 'figging' party where together we made fig preserves, dried figs for the winter, make a peach and fig tart for dessert and shared a simple dinner - all while watching a movie in between courses and dishes. Such laughter and joking and sharing -- can you imagine a chatty group of women in the kitchen all at the same time!! Yep -- fun too!
These daylillies were a commission from one of these dear friends ...painted from one of the many photographs I took of her marvelous garden. We'll mat and frame it this weekend ...
My own garden is bearing the signs of summer's ending. Most of the Queen Anne's Lace, purple cone flowers, gaillardia and other flowers are in seed -- all wonderfully pollinated by the abundant butterflies we had this season. I'll soon be collecting seeds to distribute for next year's crop.
Along the roadsides the goldenrod has begun taking over more and more fields, while the woodlands are showing signs of yellowing tulip trees and sycamore. The colors haven't changed completely, but here and there on different branches, the shift in color has started. Even the sumac is beginning to show signs of red. SO VERY EARLY for us!! We've a long way to go before we have true 'color' -- but it's starting ....
So glad to have spent as much time as I have painting flowers this summer. Their delightful display is almost over. Soon, it'll be time to hunt for fall berries!
Have a great weekend!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Flowers and Arch
11" x 14"
Arches 140#CP
We're finally getting a bit of rain and a surprising 'cool down' this week. The cooler temps we've experienced this year have made this the most pleasant summer in recent memory. Instead of high 90s and low 100sF, we've been blessed with mid 80s to mid 90s --- far more pleasant in comparison.
It's been a summer of flowers for me ...can't seem to paint enough of them. This was painted in a more traditional method after a splash and splatter start.
Hope you have a great week.
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Rudbeckia pen and wash - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DORIS!!
On your special day, may you find joy and happiness in abundance!
HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS, DORIS!!!!
Many many more!
Hugs across the miles!
Thursday, August 01, 2013
In the Pink
12" x 16"
Arches 140#CP
It's been an amazing summer - temps have been cooler, there's been more rain, crops have been delayed in their ripening, and already I see fall goldenrods along the roadsides ...
Still, the flowers of summer insist that the season is not 'quite' behind us ... and so I honor their effusive joyousness and continue to paint them in all the glory and beauty they deserve.
Enjoy the sunshine!
Monday, July 29, 2013
Pen and Wash Hibiscus
5" x 7"
Pen and Wash
Summer days lately have been filled with tons of activities from gardening to exercising to trips and grandchildren - all delightful and fun, but resulting in limited time at the art table.
I've been using this spirit of summer to return to some quick pen and washes - enjoying the freedom I feel working on small, informal pieces that can later serve as inspiration for larger works.
These hibiscus were inspired by those in my garden ...
Have a great week!
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Sunset on the Lake - Brusho
10 x 14"
Arches 140 Rough
Brusho, Winsor Newton, Pastel
The heat wave we've been suffering under has finally cooled to 85-88F ... (after 95F with equal humidity, mid 80sF actually feels cool). We've had a week with only intermittent showers and the feeling of 'summer' has finally settled.
With the return of sunshine, blueberries and figs are finally ripening and tomatoes and other summer veggies are being harvested in earnest.
I painted this view from memory using Brusho paints in liquid form... I love their vibrancy, and instead of the 3-4 layers of paint needed to enrich the values, I needed only one of the Brusho. Doing so made the painting go faster as well as kept 'mud' out of the complementary colors. The 'other' side of Brusho, though, is that once it's down, it doesn't lighten as traditional watercolors ... and so I found I had to use a bit of pastel to get in a few more lighter values. A lot of fun and again a good learning experiment.
Hope your week is terrific!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Coneflower Garden
7" x 10" Splash and Splatter
WN Artist Quality Paints
Canson WC Journal Paper
The sun has finally come out and we can see blue skies once again. I don't remember such a rain-filled spring and summer!
Despite all the grey skies, my coneflowers are as happy as ever - bopping about in the breezes, being visited by butterflies and other pollinators, and lending the morning such an intoxicatingly sweet scent ...
These biennials seem to find a comfy home throughout my property. They once were contained in a small 'herb-sized' hexagonal bed and now have 'moved' to the front beds, side beds, and here and there, even the back beds! Not that I mind at all, as I find them eminently cheerful.
Each fall, I take their dried brown seeds and scatter them about, helping the flowers in their movement across my property. In our warm fall weather, the seeds sprout and leaves form a basal rosette which later dies back in the winter. In the spring, the biennial plant grows another set of leaves and flowers. By planting these seeds in the fall, they are tricked into flower production in one year instead of waiting the two years to flower.
With the blue skies and sun, our temps are rising again -- mid 90s for the rest of the week. But I'll gladly take a bit more heat to see that sun again!
Hope your week is going well!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
White Barn in the Blue Flowers - Brusho
10" x 14"
Arches 140#CP
Brusho Watercolors
I have to admit to the fun I'm having experimenting with Brusho powdered pigments. There's a marvelous spontaneity and vibrancy to these paints that, try as I might, I just cannot replicate with traditional tube watercolors. I do enjoy tube paints as much as Brusho ... the effects and application methods are somewhat different though, and I suppose that is the charm and challenge of having alternatives in one's paint box.
My garden continues to delight with it its red, pink, yellow and orange flowers and as I prepare for teaching flower-painting classes next month, my art table is filled with photographs and flower paintings. After all that color, though, the calm effect of blue really struck me in Dianne's beautiful capture: www.flickr.com/photos/60712129@N06/9209269102/ . I was immediate mesmerized by the sense of quiet and coolness in this image and it inspired me to combine my experiments with Brusho for a landscape painting. This is the result. The Brusho in my interpretation of Dianne's image lends the scene a more sunshiney, warm brightness,but the blues, at least to me, tend to calm that down a bit and quiet some of the 'heat'...
Thank you so much, Dianne for permission to use your wonderful photograph and more, thank you for the inspiration it provided. Please stop by Dianne's flickr stream for more incredible creations www.flickr.com/photos/60712129@N06/with/9209269102/ .
I hope you're having a terrific summer. The weather in my part of North Carolina, like in some many other parts of the world, seems to be a mix of cooler temperatures and a lot of rain. Here it is July and we've only had a handful of 90F temperatures (thank heavens!!) - instead of the dozens we typically experience. We've had rain and heavy storms four to seven times a week so our soil, parched and droughted over the last five years, now has an excess of water, and some areas are experienced flooding and downed trees. It definitely is a 'different' kind of summer ....
Monday, July 08, 2013
Field of Cosmos - Brusho
Arches 140#CP
Brusho WC Paints
Winsor Newton Artist Quality Paints
Summer is zooming by as days are filled with gardening, grands, classes, gatherings, chores and the like. The languid summers I remember as a youth seem so very long ago, and while I thoroughly enjoy an 'active life' ... those days of napping by the poolside, leisure reading, sun bathing, and quietude seem only dreamlike now.
Still, there are moments when that peaceful stillness descends ... typically early in the morning, just before or just after the sun rises, the dew moist on the grass, the birds just beginning their morning songs, in the garden I gather berries, figs, produce. The air is fragrant and cool, and the day before me holds its promise .... How I love those moments ...
And I love too those fragments 'in the sun' too ... coming across a sun-lit field of flowers ... the the light glinting off he grasses and flowers bobbing in the breeze. Those too are magic summer memories. I tried to capture that feeling here in this field of zinnias painted with Brusho watercolor powders. I wanted a vibrant feeling filled with all the light and glow of a summer afternoon.
I'm thoroughly enjoying the Brusho - its unpredictability and spontaneous results. Lots of fun .. especially on summer days - their vivid colors mirroring the light-filled season.
Have a great week.
Friday, July 05, 2013
Delphinium
My 'wild' flower garden is exploding with purple coneflowers and Queen Anne's lace -- so I really love how the sweet blues of delphinium dot my garden and surprise me with a bit of cool color. Here and there I find white delphiniums too - and take their seedheads and spread them to the other side of the beds.
Since returning home, I've been plowing my way through this area of the property to wrestle it under a bit of control. Like most parts of the south, we too have had an incredibly rainy spring, and now with the summer heat and abundant moisture, you can only image the happy dance of the weeds!! Plowing my way through the thick undergrowth and finding these hidden sweeties has been a nice 'reward' for all the hard work.
Hope your July 4th was wonderful!
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Italian Farmstead
9"x12"
Arches 140#CP
Funny thing about landscapes -- we like what we like -- no matter where in the world we go. Visiting Germany and Italy, I still found that my heart skipped a beat with each RURAL landscape - despite the incredible beauty of the architecture ... I guess you can take the girl out of the 'country,' but can't take the 'country' out of the girl! LOL
Here is a painting of an Italian farmstead using traditional watercolor paints and techniques. This view appealed to me because of all the greenery and of course, the field of poppies! LOL
Have a great week!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Brusho Zinnias
11" x 14"
Arches 140#CP
Brusho Watercolor Paint
Winsor Newton Artist Quality Watercolor Paint
Masking Fluid
I have always loved doing 'splash and splatter' watercolors - the method I created by splashing bits of water onto paper, splattering in different paints, and then creating something from the results -- sort of a "Rorschach" creation in watercolor.
I heard about Brusho from posts by Joanne Boon Thomas (www.saa.co.uk/art/artbyboon) and immediately fell in love with the vibrancy of the colors and the spontaneity of the methods. My dear friend Lorraine surprised me this summer with an early birthday gift - a starter kit of Brusho and DVD (See www.brushosecrets.com/) for information and more details.
When I got home and after catching up a bit, I began playing with the paint powders. This is my third painting using Brusho.
A few tips for its creation:
How I did it:
* Used a photo I had of zinnias
* 'Painted' the zinnia outline and highlighted areas I wanted to save with masking fluid, let dry
* Sprinkled yellow, orange and red brusho in those areas I wanted to color in those hues; green, yellow and
turquoise in those areas for leaves
* Brusho is VERY pigmented and so try to leave as much white as possible as I found it to be more difficult
to remove from areas than the Winsor Newton tube colors
* SPRITZED area with my fine mister - again be cautious about spritzing -- spritz lightly to retain some of the
powdered specks of pigment for texture and white areas; a bit heavier sprtzing for a flow and blend of colors
* Let dry
* Used negative painting to create petals and center. I did this with both Brusho and Winsor Newton tube
colors. The powdered Brusho pigments can be placed in a cup and water added to used like liquid
watercolor paint. I used heavier mixes of Winsor Newton as well.
* Added negative paint to make leaves and veins
* Added more brusho for tone and highlights
It was lots of fun!!!
Hope you have a great Sunday!
Friday, June 28, 2013
Wisteria and Barn
15" x 11"
Arches 140#CP
Wisteria season came to North Carolina just before I left for vacation, and I managed to capture a few photographs that I took with me. I got to see wisteria in bloom again while I was visiting Doris, and I really love the fragrance and the way the lilac gives everything a purple glow.
I painted this while at Doris' and the scene s from one of the many farms around Oxford, North Carolina....
Hope you have a great weekend!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
The Red Building - Another View of Siena
The Red Building - Another View of Siena, a photo by linfrye ..home and slowly catching up on Flickr.
1/4 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
Siena, Italy is a beautiful city filled with magnificent architecture, busy public squares, churches, shops, and people. I have to admit that my preference though is for smaller towns, a LOT more greenspace and buildings that are no more than several stories high. Still, when I think of Siena, this view is what comes to mind---verticals, stones, arches, towers.
Outside the city gates the countryside ripples over hills and valleys and small mountains with more greens than I can imagine trying to find paint mixes ..... the two sights - the green against all the stone - speaks "Italy" to me ... I land and people I love ....
Monday, June 24, 2013
Laundry in Italy
1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
While I was in Italy, I found it most difficult to sit long enough to paint ... there was always another corner to explore, a landscape that caught my eye, storefronts that had so much appeal I had to look further ... and the distractions of so much beauty kept my finger on the camera shutter instead of the brush.
I can't explain what it is about laundry on a line that seems to be so appealing - especially against stone walls, or shutters, or arched doors -- but it seemed the moment someone spotted those marvelous shapes swaying in the breeze, out came the cameras or the brushes!! LOL
This particular sight was spotted in Castellina and was painted by a number of folks from our workshop. I sketched this while on site and worked on the painting after Doris and I returned to her home. I kept the painting small (those luggage restrictions!! LOL) and a bit sketchy as an attempt to keep the spontaneity.
Hope you have a great week!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Doris Poppies - HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER
Doris Poppies - HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, a photo by linfrye ..home and slowly catching up on Flickr.
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
While visiting Doris, we worked a number of days in her garden. It was always such a pleasure to see what was blooming there. Since her home in Germany was north of my southern US home, I got to experience spring twice ... arriving with the tulips and plum blossoms, experiencing the fragrance and beauty of lilacs, the first collection of spring lettuces, the incredible beauty of peonies, the blooming of azaleas and rhododendron and so much more. I greatly enjoyed, too, the addition of these colorful poppies, sitting in a large pottery jar on the patio. Each day we'd note the changes and new blooms .. such cheerful flowers
One mild, warm afternoon, I sat in the sun and sketched the blossoms and later painted them. They so remind me of my time with Doris and the garden we both love.
Happy First Day of Summer!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Bright Poppy
One warm beautifully sunny day, Doris and I were invited to visit our Flickr friend, Gabi, who lived about 30 minutes from Doris. The ride there - through fields filled with lupines - was magnificent. We just couldn't get enough of those beautiful blues!
At Gabi's - we toured her fairy garden (see below) and awesome paintings, enjoyed some delicious cake and coffee, and then sat down for a quick, 30 minute group painting ....
Here we are on Gabi's deck overlooking the fairy garden and town ....
FABULOUS!
Thank you again, Gabi!
See more of Gabi's and Doris' work here:
Gabi
www.flickr.com/photos/kunstausdemwesterwald/
Doris
www.flickr.com/photos/djr-aquarelle/
See http://www.flickr.com/photos/linfrye
for accompanying photographs.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
San Gimignano CC Vignette Approach
I am posting two paintings -- one done using a traditional approach and painted prior to visiting San Gimignano, and this one painted during Karlyn Holman's workshop with a method taught by Australian artist, Pauline Hailwood. I like both for different reasons ... what do you think?
Being away from home, visiting new places, immersing oneself in different cultures, taking new workshops, learning new approaches, all can be incredible stimulating, spark new ideas, methods, colors and more.
In the weeks of my time away, all of this newness kept me thinking and dreaming and clicking away with my camera as I tried to internalize what I was seeing and experiencing. The result was that I found it mighty difficult to paint while all of the experiences slowly worked their way through the process of things to try, things to reject, things to emulate ...
I painted some and I'll be posting these as I catch up ... but I find the process of assimilation still going on. I spent several hours downloading my photographs -- all 6,000 of them!! LOL -- and finding that each image of a particular experience seemed so long ago ... and yet remains so vivid in my psyche ...
Further, all of this 'newness' requires, at least for me, a bit of time to make my own ... to learn how to adapt new painting techniques and ideas into my own 'voice' ... and so for a while yet, the weeks ahead will be a time of incubation, trial and error, while I become comfortable again with my own way of working.
I'd love to hear of your experiences too after you've been exposed to new ideas and methods ...
San Gimignano Traditional Vignette
I painted this in a traditional watercolor vignette style prior to my workshop and visit to San Gimignano.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
THANK YOU!!!!
Home ... after an incredible trip and time. I owe my host and hostess for this journey - Doris and Stefano - a tremendous amount of gratitude and thanks ... for opening their home, hearts, lives, and family to me ... for spending weeks speaking a language other than their own, for delicious food, a comfortable bed, Internet access, trips to jaw-dropping sights, events and activities, gelato, expresso, my beloved brotchen, painting, a drive to Italy and back, a blessed hot water bottle during the unexpected cold temperatures, walks along the rivers and fields, visits to and from Flickr friends, and more ... so much more.
I find 'thank you' so darn inadequate ... but I know you know, Doris, how deeply grateful I am for all you and Stefano have done for me over the last two months....
My heart is full, as is my camera, and my mind and heart return again and again to a family, landscapes, and friends across 'the pond' that are now as much my own as my family and friends here in the US.
A hundred million thank you's ....
And both C and I are eager to share our world with you ..... come on over!
Saturday, June 08, 2013
Tuesday, June 04, 2013
Vernazza 4
On the last few days of our visit to Tuscany we visited Portovenere and Cinque Terre as well as some of the five villages of Cinque Terre. The views, the food, the sea ... absolutely incredible!!! Memories in the making!
