“Enduring Beauty”

“Enduring Beauty”       Pastel        12” x 9”       $100       © Sharon Lewis
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            As many of us face the new year with some trepidation, it helps me to look up and see the beauty and the light around us….whether I find it in a gorgeous sunset, in the kindness of family and friends,  or in the delight on a child’s face. All of these remind me to not lose my perspective nor my hope that what matters most will endure.

            Happy Weekend and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!

We Three Trees

“We Three Trees”             Pastel             9” x 12”         $100       © Sharon Lewis
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            If you  celebrate Christmas and you’re realizing as I do that it’s only 3 (Yikes!) days away, you might appreciate this painting of some tranquil water surrounding these “Christmas” trees in a small bit of Maine woods.

            Happy Almost Holidays!

Holiday Baubles

“Holiday Baubles”               Pastel             5” x 7”           $50            © Sharon Lewis
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            I know at this time of year we’re often reminded not to focus on all of the material things. However, as I prepare for the upcoming holidays, I’ve been surrounded by brilliantly colored wrapping paper and bows, glittery ornaments and bells. As an artist, I’m delighting in all of the bright colors and with the happy music, I’m transported to my early childhood when magic was real and anything was possible.

            Hoping your weekend is filled with color and magic!

Evening Fog

“Evening Fog”             Pastel             9” x 12”       $100       © Sharon Lewis
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            With all of the stress I’m surrounded by…in my students as well as my colleagues, this just seems like a peaceful scene to contemplate. It’s probably exactly why I chose to paint this. It’s based on photos I took this summer when we were on the coast. After spending the day hiking in beautiful sunny, cool weather, we watched the sun set and the fog roll in with our glasses of wine. Ahhhhh, sounds wonderful right now.

             Happy Weekend!

In the Lead

“In the Lead”                 Pastel             9” x 12”       $100       © Sharon Lewis
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It’s the crazy time of year again…when my students and my colleagues and I are stressed out with all of the end of semester work. This is quite possibly why I’ve been painting sailboats lately. They tend to remind me of one of my favorite poems, “Sea Fever” by John Masefield.

For all of my tired, hard-working friends and students, two stanzas from this poem:

I must down go to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Happy Weekend!

Heading Home

“Heading Home”            Pastel            9” x 12”            $100           © Sharon Lewis
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         It’s that time of year when we join family and good friends to celebrate a feast and to remember what we are thankful for. I am so thankful for my two wonderful children who I will be seeing soon, my partner, my distant family, and all of my good friends. They all make my life immeasurably happier for their presence.

                                                     Happy Thanksgiving!

Harvest

“Harvest”              Pastel              9” x 12”             $100             © Sharon Lewis
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            This is the companion painting to last week’s apple painting. I photographed these apples on a railing up in the mountains with a gorgeous southern sugar maple tree behind them. These trees turn bright yellow in the fall and this beautiful tree inspired me to paint the apples with a backdrop of a warm, cheerful, golden sky.  

           Happy Weekend!

  

Finding Comfort

“Finding Comfort”      Pastel       9” x 12”       $100   © Sharon Lewis
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I’m finding comfort lately in focusing on the things that have not changed since the election on  Tuesday. I still have my wonderful family and friends, my students who give me hope every day that our future will be bright when they’re in charge, and the signs of fall all around me. We found these colorful apples on our way up to the north Georgia mountains and I couldn’t wait to paint them!

May you find comfort this weekend in the company of good friends and family, and in the delightful colors of autumn!

Hear the Woods Sing

 “Hear the Woods Sing”              Pastel              9” x 12”            $100          © Sharon Lewis
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            Ever since I was a child I listened to the trees sing. Each tree sounded its different notes as the wind blew through its leaves. I would hide myself away deep within a grove of trees or climb high up upon the branches until I found the perfect perch. Ahhh, the joys of childhood, gorgeous views from on high with the music of nature in my ears.

            Happy Weekend!

Wild Beauty

“Wild Beauty”        Pastel         12” x 9”          $100         © Sharon Lewis
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                  Temperatures are back in the 80’s again and I’ve begun to dwell more on thoughts of summer rather than autumn. This is a painting of the beautiful roses that grow wild around the house we stay in every year on Bailey Island, Maine. I’m hoping that cool days will be here again soon but in the meanwhile, it doesn’t hurt to remember the wild beauty of summer.

            Happy Weekend!

The Beautiful Changes

“The Beautiful Changes”            Pastel         9” x 12”          $100      © Sharon Lewis
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            I’ve definitely been in the mood for the cool days of autumn lately, especially every time I run my 4.5 miles. It’s mid-October and unfortunately, Georgia seems to think it’s still summer for we’ve had temperatures in the 80’s nearly every day. Nonetheless, the trees know it’s fall and they are wearing their beautiful leaves of red, yellow, and orange. I find myself wanting to paint pumpkins, apples, and wonderfully colored fall trees like the ones in this painting.

The title of this painting is borrowed from the title of a poem by Richard Wilbur and I use it to refer to two aspects of this painting. The old barn in the painting was probably once shiny and new and considered beautiful. It’s older now and not quite so shiny but in the glow of the setting sun, it’s luminous. The other “beautiful changes” are the gorgeous colors we see in the trees in autumn.

Happy Weekend!

Passing the Light Forward

“Passing the Light Forward”        Pastel         9” x 12”          $100      © Sharon Lewis
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            In the midst of all the political turbulence going on before the national election, it helps me to take a break, a deep breath, and celebrate the natural world with all its beauty. This painting was based on photos taken while walking on a very peaceful beach. As the sun set, the beacon in the lighthouse went on, almost as if the sun had passed its light forward.     

What a great idea to focus on …passing our light forward…not our fears, frustration, and anger, but our kindness, compassion, hopes, and dreams.

            Happy Almost Weekend!

Everyone's Welcome Here

“Everyone’s Welcome Here”         Pastel           12” x 16”           $200          ©Sharon Lewis
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            The day we hiked up and down this rocky beach I was struck by the diverse collection of animals on or near these rocks. I haven’t painted all of them here but there were 4 or 5 different species of birds along with harbor seals and even a few members of homo sapiens, all getting along quite peaceably. It reminds me of how lucky I am to work at a college that celebrates diversity and works toward creating an inclusive community…. sort of like this one here.

            Happy Almost Weekend!

Pacific Cove

“Pacific Cove”             Pastel               9” x 12”             $100         © Sharon Lewis
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            This summer, we spent some time along the Pacific Coast Highway (also known as Highway 1), especially near Monterey and Big Sur and it was absolutely gorgeous! In addition, every day was what I considered ideal hiking weather: sunny, breezy, and cool. Of course I wanted to paint everything I saw but there wasn’t enough time so I settled for mini paintings on location and larger ones once I got back to my studio. This painting is of a site that just entranced me because of the sinuous shape of the water as it flowed into this cove as well as all the gorgeous colors reflecting on the surface.
            Happy Almost Weekend!

The Promise of Blue Skies

“The Promise of Blue Skies”         Pastel                12” x 16”           $200              © Sharon Lewis
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            I find rocky shores and rock formations in the water endlessly fascinating. As a child growing up near an ocean with smooth sand and interesting shells but no rocks, I wanted a little more drama! My brothers and sisters and I had to content ourselves with playing on a giant banyan tree that had fallen into the water. That banyan tree was a fort, a pirate ship, a castle…..anything exciting and dangerous.
            I saw these rocks while on the coast this summer, and took lots of photos knowing even then that I would be painting them. As I got closer to them, I was amazed to see all of the different colors that from a distance looked only dark grey and brown.
            Hoping you see blue skies and have a happy weekend!

Keeping Vigil

“Keeping Vigil”                Pastel            12" x 16"            $200           © Sharon Lewis
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            This is the third of my recent lighthouse paintings. As you can tell, I really enjoyed this beautiful area as well as the historic lighthouse. Each time I looked up as we hiked around this area I saw a different but equally interesting view. In this painting I wanted to highlight the beautiful but possibly treacherous cove (if you were a ship lost in the fog), as well as the light hitting the soft, green grasses on the hill.
            Happy Almost Weekend!

Resilience

“Resilience”                  Pastel                9” x 12”               $100             © Sharon Lewis
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I love painting trees that you find along coasts! They have weathered strong winds and rains and still remain standing. They bend with the forces confronting them but often don’t break….something I’ve been thinking may be a good approach to life. Sometimes a small change of direction is all that’s necessary for us to thrive.

              Happy Almost Weekend!

Yaquina from Afar

Yaquina from Afar              Pastel                  18” x 24”                 $300               © Sharon Lewis

            Somehow I have ended up painting a lighthouse series without consciously deciding to do so. I don’t know if it’s just because I have a love of lighthouses (I do) or because I had decided a few weeks ago to paint on larger surfaces whenever I could and lighthouses seemed perfect for a larger format. Either way, this is the second of three lighthouse paintings I’ve done recently. I wanted to do this painting, which I based on some of my photos of the west coast, because I love the lighthouse silhouetted against this magnificent blue sky. It also shows how tiny the lighthouse and the living quarters appear compared to the size of the land it sits on. As small as it looks, this is Oregon’s tallest lighthouse and is made up of 370,000 bricks and has stood steadfast through winds and storms since 1872.

            Happy Almost Weekend!

Stalwart Sentinel

“Stalwart Sentinel”      Pastel        12” x 16”       $200        © Sharon Lewis
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            For some reason I’ve always been fascinated by lighthouses. It could be because they combine my love of being close to the ocean as well as my love of history – for they always have interesting histories associated with lighthouses. I think that they’re also special because in earlier years, they were staffed by individuals watching the sea, ready to respond whenever needed. Nowadays, most are fully automated and don’t have resident lighthouse keepers.

 On the west coast of Oregon, we ran across a cool lighthouse in a beautiful area called Yaquina Head. I found out that the Yaquina Head Lighthouse is Oregon’s tallest lighthouse and it’s been an active light since August 1873.

Happy Almost Weekend!