Spring Tidings

“Spring Tidings”      5” x 5”      Oil      $87     © Sharon Lewis

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I’ve had a long fascination with tulips because at every stage of blooming, they offer us interesting colors, patterns, and shapes. The tulips I’ve painted in oils this week are at some of these different stages. I love the contrast between their vivid, saturated colors, and the grays and browns of everything outside. 

Happy Weekend! Bring on Spring!

 

Spring Tulips

“Spring Tulips”   9x12        Pastel          $216        © Sharon Lewis

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I’ve been thinking about spring lately and that brings to mind tulips – one of my favorite flowers. There are so many colors and even within one tulip, so many variations in colors. I’m traveling this week so I’m sharing some tulips I painted several years ago.

Happy Weekend!

 

Happy Easter!

“Mad About Tulips”          Oil        10” x 8”          $100   © Sharon Lewis

            I love this time of year when signs of new life are all around us. There are the beautifully flowering trees like the dogwoods as well as the very old apple tree in my front yard, still delighting me with its pink, fragrant blossoms.  Then there are the flowers blooming in neighbor’s yards while mine have long ago been eaten by all the deer. And I can’t forget the birds, singing their cheerful spring songs as I spend hours grading good but very long papers.

            To all my friends who celebrate Passover, Happy Passover! To family and friends who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter!

 

Her Favorite Color

“Her Favorite Color”            Pastel            12” x 9”         $100         © Sharon Lewis
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            For some reason that no one understands, both my sister and I had a fascination with the color pink, specifically hot pink. I can remember even when we were little kids we fought over the hot pink crayon when we were coloring together.

            As we celebrated my sister’s life this past weekend, and we saw the many pictures of Meg over the years, she could be picked out easily in each photo since she was always wearing this particularly vivid color. Whenever I see hot pink, it reminds me of her and how talented she was. Meg was uniquely creative, quietly magnificent, and is missed tremendously by all who knew her.

Out of Darkness

“Out of Darkness”      Pastel        12” x 9”     $100    © Sharon Lewis
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It was raining and dark when I painted this last weekend, on a day pretty much like today. I decided that bright red would be a good antidote for the darkness outside my window and I chose to paint on a relatively new, almost black surface made for pastel artists that I’ve been wanting to try. The dark surface makes the tulips almost jump out of the background.

Happy Almost Weekend!

Rain's Contribution

“Rain’s Contribution”    Oil on Canvas     3” x 3”    $28   © Sharon Lewis
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            It’s been grey, dreary, and raining for two days. I decided to look on the positive side and try to remember that showers bring flowers. Maybe it’s a little early but I’m dying for colors other than brown and grey so I decided to paint tulips, one of my favorite flowers.

            Hope your weekend brings some sun and blue skies, and memories of beautiful spring flowers.

           Happy Weekend!

Mad About Tulips

“Mad About Tulips”          Oil        10” x 8”          $100   © Sharon Lewis
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Eventually I’ll stop painting tulips….at least for a while. The problem is they come in so many beautiful colors! Every time I think I’m ready to stop painting them for this season, I see another bouquet of tulips, different from the bunch I bought last week. And as a tonic for long, long hours of work this time of year, they’re hard to beat!

Happy Weekend!

Seeking the Light

“Seeking the Light”        Oil            10” x 10”          $125         © Sharon Lewis
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I think that tulips should be symbols of persistence and optimism. They start as bulbs in the dark and cold ground, and in the midst of this darkness, they twist and turn up through the soil, persistently and optimistically seeking light. Maybe a lesson for us all to stay optimistic, seek the light, and add something beautiful to the world?

Happy Weekend!

Beauty in Diversity

“Beauty in Diversity”         Pastel           10” x 10”             $125     © Sharon Lewis
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One of the many reasons I love tulips is their diversity. They change shape as the flower ages (kind of like us) and they come in a variety of beautiful and different colors (also like us). In addition, they remind us of the joys of spring bringing new life, new beginnings, and gorgeous, cheerful colors like these.

The graceful arrangement of these tulips is entirely due to the artistic skill of the very talented artist, Karen Appleton. She challenged us recently in our oils class, to paint these particular flowers using palette knives instead of brushes. The painting here was done with pastels but I will share the oil painting of these flowers with you sometime soon. All I will say now is that for me, it was really, really challenging to paint with palette knives but also a lot of fun. 

Happy Weekend!

Let’s Pretend It’s Spring

“Let’s Pretend It’s Spring”      Pastel        14” x 11”        $150     ©Sharon Lewis
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            I know it’s not spring yet but I saw some beautiful tulips at the grocery store and had to bring them home. Tulips are, in my opinion, perfect antidotes to a gloomy winter day which is exactly what it was when I painted these recently. They are one of my favorite flowers because not only do they come in a variety of colors, but the blooms open with the petals seeming to joyously embrace the light and air. As if that wasn’t enough, if you look closely, even the apparently single color tulips have a variety of different colors on their petals, and as they bloom they often reveal additional surprise colors on the inside. You couldn’t ask for a more delightful flower for an artist that loves colors!

            Hoping your weekend is colorful!