Flowers for Julia

“Flowers for Julia” Pastel        2.5” x 3.5”        SOLD       © Sharon Lewis

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I was struggling a bit on what to post this week. I had a painting I did on Saturday but it just wasn’t conveying the mood and setting as I hoped. So, I looked around my studio and saw this small painting I did while on the coast. If I was at all successful in conveying the beauty and grace of these wildflowers, it is probably because of my exposure to the wonderful wildflower paintings of my immensely talented artist friend, Karen Margulis.

 I think this painting spoke to me today because it reminded me of the photos of beautiful flowers my youngest sister Julia used to post each week of the flowers she grew in her garden. A love of growing beautiful flowers is something my two sisters and I always shared.

Enjoy your flowers, hug the people you love,  and Happy Weekend!

Here She Comes

“Here She Comes”         Pastel        5” x 7”        $50        © Sharon Lewis
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Last weekend, we celebrated the life and mourned the passing of my youngest sister, Julia Deal Lewis West, one of the most generous and kind people I have known.  I find myself seeking comfort again in one of my favorite poems by Henry Van Dyke, Gone From My Sight:

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone."

Gone where? 

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...

                  Hug the people you love and have a Happy Weekend!

Sunset Music

       “Sunset Music”        Pastel        7.5” x 12”         $250         © Sharon Lewis
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            There’s often a time late in the day when the setting sun causes everything to glow. I was lucky enough one summer to catch that light just as it was causing these rocks to glow and making the waves appear even more dramatic than they usually do on these rocky shores. This is the time of day when the sounds of nature start to wind down at the shore, leaving just the beautiful, rhythmic music of the sea.

            Happy Weekend!

The Scenic Route

“The Scenic Route”       Pastel     9” x 12”     $100     © Sharon Lewis
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I don’t usually run while on vacation, preferring to hike or walk instead. After all, this is a time for relaxing, right? But I found a great path with such beautiful scenery that I couldn’t resist running along the water here several times. The water of course is gorgeous but the rocks are also fascinating. There are so many different colors and textures on Maine's rocky shores that I never get tired of painting them.

            Happy Weekend!