It’s the Last Day of 2014!

“Quietly Beautiful”      Pastel    2.5” x 3.5”    $20      © Sharon Lewis
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            Female cardinals are often described as being a dull brown color. I think they are in fact often, quietly or subtly beautiful. I think some of the art I admire most is subtly beautiful as well. Don’t get me wrong; I love striking color in some art. However, if I think of the artists I have long admired such as Winslow Homer, Vermeer, Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt, I think of subtly beautiful work.

I think that they have so ingeniously woven their skill into the fabric of their art that they draw you in, fascinated by the image before you, and only later do you appreciate the great skill that produced that magnificent piece.

            I hope some day to produce art like that….maybe in 2015?

I hope that wherever you are, that you celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one with the warmth of family and friends and perhaps some quiet beauty.

Christmas Amaryllis

“Christmas Amaryllis”   Pastel    3.5" x 2.5”    $20     © Sharon Lewis
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             Another dreary, rainy day but the house is filled with light and color. Presents are wrapped, cookies have been baked with more to come, and most importantly, my two kids are home safe and sound.

            Happy almost Christmas!

A Little Christmas Color

“Christmas Poinsettia”   Pastel    3.5” x 2.5”    $20     © Sharon Lewis
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            It’s dreary, rainy, and grey today in Georgia so I decided some cheerful Christmas color was in order. I still have tons to do before Christmas Eve but my children are on their way and that’s all that matters.

            Hope wherever you are, you’re staying warm and dry.

Autumn Gold

“Autumn Gold”       Pastel    9” x 12”      $100        © Sharon Lewis
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           It’s still autumn though it’s just days away from the official start of winter, as well as our longest night and shortest day.  I’ve always thought that the Winter Solstice is one of those tests of whether you’re a glass half-full or a glass half-empty  kind of person. In other words, whether you think about the fact that after the Winter Solstice, the days get longer or whether you focus on the fact that it’s our longest night. I’m always focused on the light so I look forward to the solstice, knowing that in spite of the cold, each day will gradually bring more light.

            I hope wherever you are, that you’re enjoying the warmth of friends and family. And to all of my Jewish friends, Happy Chanukah!

Tranquility and Elizabeth Barrret Browning

                         "Hear the Green Woods Sing"          Pastel            9" x 12"         $100       © Sharon Lewis

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           In this busy time of year when many of us are in a mad rush, perhaps trying to work and simultaneously prepare for the holidays, I thought a painting of a tranquil scene might be desirable.

            I also thought Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem, “The Autumn” might be a good accompaniment for this painting and for this beautiful autumn day.

        The Autumn

Go, sit upon the lofty hill,

And turn your eyes around,

Where waving woods and waters wild

Do hymn an autumn sound.
 The summer sun is faint on them –

The summer flowers depart –

Sit still –

as all transform'd to stone,

Except your musing heart.
  How there you sat in summer-time,

May yet be in your mind;

And how you heard the green woods sing

Beneath the freshening wind.
 Though the same wind now blows around,

You would its blast recall;

For every breath that stirs the trees,

Doth cause a leaf to fall.
  Oh! like that wind, is all the mirth

That flesh and dust impart:

We cannot bear its visitings,

When change is on the heart.
 Gay words and jests may make us smile,

When Sorrow is asleep;

But other things must make us smile,

When Sorrow bids us weep! 

The dearest hands that clasp our hands, --

Their presence may be o'er;

The dearest voice that meets our ear,

That tone may come no more!

Youth fades; and then, the joys of youth,

Which once refresh'd our mind,

Shall come -- as, on those sighing woods,

The chilling autumn wind.
Hear not the wind -- view not the woods;

Look out o'er vale and hill-

In spring, the sky encircled them –

The sky is round them still.
 Come autumn's scathe -- come winter's cold –

 Come change -- and human fate!

Whatever prospect Heaven doth bound,

Can ne'er be desolate.

Autumn Reflections

                            "Fall Reflections"      Pastel     9" x 12"     $100      © Sharon Lewis

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             It’s a grey, wet day here and I already miss the color in my trees. Instead of orange, yellow, and red, I can see only dull brown and grey. So, for all of us that could use a little more lively colors, I’m going back in time to a day I walked at a local park and saw this glorious, colorful tree casting it’s reflection onto beautiful, still water.

            I hope wherever you are, you have warmth and lots of colors in your life.

            Happy Weekend!