When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

sunrise

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Mackeral Sky

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007


 

Mackerel Sky - cold front Dec 17, 2007 Mackerel Sky - cold front Dec 17, 2007

December 17, 5:21 p.m.

November 17, 2006, sunrise 6:55 a.m. November 17, 2006, sunrise 6:55 a.m.

November 17, 6:55 a.m.

Almost every evening year-round I’m drawn outdoors by the change in lighting, just before sunset. Called Mackerel Sky, stripes and mottled cloud formations like this precede a cold front, and occur during any time of day, but are most dramatic during sunrise and sunset.

North Carolina

Monday, October 1st, 2007


 
Old abandoned gas station - Farmville, NCAlain and I flew to North Carolina for three days ( a little business trip and I tagged along—he threatened to take my camera with him and I was sure I could not manage without it!) We drove around the eastern countryside between Raleigh and Washington (NC) through old, old towns (it takes a looong time for wooden doors to shred, and a looong time for conditions to be just right for vines to sprout then twirl round and round, entwined and squished between panes of glass!) …old, old farms: tobacco, cotton, peanuts.. and an interesting gas station.

Sunrise Reflections - Kitty Hawk, NC There is a lot of history in NC – fossil, human/settlers and Civil War history. We stayed at Kitty Hawk (first flight – Wright bros.) and walked the shores at various places along the narrow coast of the Outer Banks. We watched the sun rise and dolphins feed – too far away for good photos, even with the telephoto. As soon as the sun rose they swam away.

Along Cape Hatteras, groups of Grackles ate ripe grass seeds, bouncing up and down on the stems, their bodies too heavy for the tall grasses.

Grackle - Cape Hatteras, NC

On Pony Island a large sand crab tried to buff up and look tough, but it was quite vulnerable there out in the open; all the other crabs scurried into holes but this one stayed, trying to hide in footprints, which offered no protection if we had been birds looking for a hearty meal.

Great fun to watch the behavior for a while. It’s clearly outlined crab-shaped shadow following it everywhere, creating a few graphic photos that are perfect resource material for drawings and paintings but do not stand alone as good photography because it was moving so fast.

Sand Crab - Pony Island, NC

Just off the 2 1/2 hr. long ferry at Swan Quarter, and sunset with a short, wide rainbow after a storm that we managed to escape and watch from the better side.

NO OLF – we were curious about this sign in many people’s yards. The following website shows a video describing how the U.S. Navy has purchased over 30,000 acres of land near the eastern North Carolina coast, planning to move their pilot training program from Virginia.

Rainbow - Swan Quarter, NC

Part of the huge controversy is that over 75 families would be forced to leave their homes, many of them farming that land for generations. The human issues are enough, but the cause and effect on the wildlife and ecology would be drastic and irreparable. Thousands of ducks and large flocks of snow geese that feed in the area annually would no longer have sanctuary. The large birds would also be a danger to the jets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XDmC1LD1Kc

Beauty

Friday, August 31st, 2007


 

Morning Moon    This morning’s sun

Beauty – the moon, the sun, and a routine of daily painting!

First Snow, started

Monday, January 15th, 2007


 

First Snow, 36H x 24W inches acrylics and crackle medium on canvas, work in progress

First Snow, 36H x 24W inches acrylics and crackle medium on canvas, work in progress
First Snow has many layers and blobs of paint. A damp cloth dipped in white was wiped lightly across the textured surface to create the effect of snow powder. Crackle medium also works well to help with the impression of snowfall. The scene is of tall Spruce trees in Calgary, Alberta where, on September 1st, the day I was to return to Dallas I awoke to a gentle snowfall and powder on the trees.

Morning Light

Thursday, November 30th, 2006


 

Morning Light, 48H x 36W inches acrylics on canvas, sides wrapped, narrow frame stained dark brown
Morning Light, 48H x 36W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, sides wrapped, narrow frame stained dark brown
Post dated note: Morning Light was accepted into the 2007 American Juried Art Salon’s Spring/Summer Juried Exhibition online, and Studio 2600 Light, Shine and Sparkle Dec. 2007 – Jan. 2008.
Now sold but can be replicated in same spirit as original. Please allow at least 14 days to recreate before shipping.

Phenomenon 02

Friday, November 17th, 2006


 

Mackerel Sky, sunrise November 17, 2006
Sunrise November 17, 2006
Stripes
Sunrise this morning was amazing at 6 a.m., then for the next 45 minutes I stood in awe of the beauty as the spectrum of colors changed from cool blues to hot fiery orange. I have never seen anything like it – apparently the cloud-stripe phenomenon is called ‘Mackerel Sky’ and indicates that cold weather is imminent within days.

Arkansas July 6:45 a.m.

Tuesday, April 18th, 2006


 
Hwy 30 through Arkansas, July 6:25 a.m., 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, sold

Hwy 30 through Arkansas, July 6:45 a.m.,14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, Paper Places series, 3-inch-wide white double mat, 26H x 22W inch white custom wood frame with crackle finish, sold.
Driving back to Texas on our annual 2 1/2 day trip to eastern Ontario, I enjoy being on the road before sunrise. On lengthy journeys it’s best to take advantage of every splendor along the way, then the trip doesn’t seem to take so long.

Dawn

Monday, April 3rd, 2006


Dawn, 13H x 37W x 1D inches acrylics on canvas
Dawn, 13H x 37W  x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted, scene continues onto narrow frame. Inspired by sparrows on the fence in our back yard, singing during dawn every morning as if to create the day with their song! Sold.

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