Every picture has a story. Here are the stories behind some of my paintings.
Isolation has been good for me. I have spent more time with my artwork. It has been productive and relaxing. Here are several works that I have finished. The additional challenge has been that I only got one cataract repaired before elective surgery was halted. That means I have been working with one corrected eye and one not. Depth perception has been a problem. I didn’t always land the brush when I thought I would. There have been some comical results.
I have three works that I hope to finish by mid month. The first is the still life with the silver pitcher, a silver bowl of green grapes, red grapes, an orange, and a plate from my mother’s collection. I really liked the design on the plate and the two cut out areas, as well as the blue and orange color combination.
The forest scene is from one of my photographs from my trip to Alaska with my daughter. I liked the roots in the path. They were are reminder of the important roots holding those tall trees in place. Lots of detail work ahead to finish this piece.
It was spring and spring time is iris time. They are in a favorite vase of mine. Lots of work ahead for the decorative lines on the iris.
These bottles were given to my mother -in-law by her daughter, Anne. They sat on the ledge of her kitchen window. I had always admired them and the way they caught the light. One day I snuck over there like a thief in the night and “borrowed” them for a photo session. There are three bottles in all, but after trying different arrangements, this is what I liked best. The bottles were returned and the paints came out. Trying to get the feel of glass as well as the reflections on the cloth was a challenge. I am pleased with the results. Something more than the glass was needed so I included the Rose of Sharon, one of my mother’s favorite bushes. Now, both of our mothers are represented here.
This painting is of Murano, Italy. We were vacationing in Venice and took the boat to Murano. They were waiting for us! As soon as we got off the boat, a gentleman approached us and asked if we wanted to see a glass blowing demonstration. Of course we agreed. After the demonstration, we were invited to visit the showroom. We made two purchases. When they brought out a bottle of champagne to toast our purchase, we knew we had overpaid. Such tourists! We wandered to another shop, just across the street from this scene. I really admired the building and it is a memory of our second glass purchasing experience. We went into this shop and were being extremely careful not to knock any of the wine glasses on display. We didn’t want to break anything. The owner came over and to demonstrate the strength of his crystal, picked up two wine glasses and smacked them together. We were shocked - they didn’t break. I am sure he enjoyed the expression on our faces. We still laugh about that experience.