I  recently completed the commission of these pastel portraits of two darling sisters.  Working on their sweet faces added a welcome cheer to the doldrums of winter.  

 Catching the Sunset

Beautiful sunsets on Duxbury Beach are a never ending source of inspiration.  One evening in September of last year, a blue moon was scheduled to be present.  I, in the company of many, headed out to the beach.  The moon wasn't much to see but the sunset leading up to it was remarkable.  Our town has two beaches back to back, formed on a strip of land which forms a thin peninsula. One side is the bay of our town and the other side is the open ocean. We are on the east coast so the sun sets behind the outer beach.  The beach fence in this scene is protecting the beach grasses on the outer beach so it is being illuminated by the warmth of the setting sun in the west. 

Happy Place 2

Oil version of Happy Place

The first version I did of this scene, a color study in pastel,  was posted earlier.  This is the second version is in oil.  This piece was accepted into the North River Art Society, Focus on Figures show and received an Honorable Mention!  I was thrilled as this is always a great show with submissions from around the world.

It is the second in a series of depictions of many happy moments on Amelia Island with 10 close college friends.  We have been reuniting once a year on this beach for 15 years.  Our moments there are priceless encounters of love and enduring friendship.  I wish to convey this sense of joy in the paintings in this series.

 I recently finished a commission to paint an old snap shot of a cafe in England that was operated by the client's mother and father-in-law, who are both now deceased.   Above is the finished piece.

There was not a lot of clear information on the 2 photos that were available but I guess that is where the artistic license comes in.  It was a challenge but I enjoyed attempting to create a piece that would be evocative.  Pastel can generate an almost etherial feel some times and since this piece was all about an old memory, I gave it a go first in pastel.  

The client was pleased and so am I.  

I am pleased that this little fella was accepted into the North River Arts Focus on Figures show.  

 

I just finished this pastel commission.  I so enjoyed painting this darling, bright eyed child.  

Jo Jo

This little sweetie flashed on the home screen of my friend at work every day. Each time I was drawn into her bright, joyful,  inquisitive eyes!  Finally, one day I announced that I must paint her!  I hadn't done a portrait commission in a while so it was time to jump in again.   I was happy to give it to her daughter as a gift for giving me the pleasure of painting her!

Pensive Nick

My son, Nicholas, was my first subject in an endeavor to loosen up my painting, though I hadn't begun "official" daily painting when I did this.  I was desperate to overcome an art block and knew that working small may help.  Nick was about 17 years old at the time, and I was pestering him to sit for me so I could paint him (again!).   He was clearly not happy to be doing this.  I took several photographs of him and then let him out of his misery.   I was happy to have found them now, years later,  to work with!

I know this face so well that it practically painted itself.   It seems to capture that teenaged angst.