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| “Mom, Always One Step Ahead” 12” x 12” Pastel $175 © Sharon Lewis |
I hope wherever you are, there are blue skies, the laughter of children, and the warmth of family and friends.
May this new year bring you good health, the warmth of family and friends, and abundant happiness!
Happy New Year!
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“The Colors of the Season” 9” x 9” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis
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On these bitter cold, now winter days, when the vibrant colors of fall have faded, I’m warmed by the sight of red flowers and green leaves. I was fortunate to be able to paint a small study of these beautiful flowers when staying on the west coast several years ago. They didn’t look exactly like this (nature rarely arranges her flowers in perfect compositions) but with my photos and small study I was able to create this painting.
I hope you’re warmed by the company of those you love this weekend. To all who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas Weekend!
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“Beauty Contest” 8” x 10” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis
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The trees where I live are almost bare now and I find myself longing for color in the landscape. Fortunately, I have lots of inspiration in my photographs of fall. This painting is based on photos taken during a weekend in the north Georgia mountains during peak apple season. I had a hard time deciding whether to feature the beautiful fall colors in the mountains or the gorgeous colors of the apples, so, I included both.
Happy Weekend!
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“Aerial Acrobatics” 8” x 10” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis
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While I don’t enjoy the shorter days of this time of year, I do appreciate that I seem to catch more sunsets. This is a sunset I caught one fall, while visiting a place in New Jersey called Crow Creek Farm, now known as the Sperlak Gallery and Sculpture Gardens. This beautiful place is run by the talented landscape artist, Stan Sperlak and is a wonderful mixture of woods, meadows, and marsh. I was fortunate to see the setting sun set the distant woods glowing while clouds performed acrobatics above.
Happy Weekend!
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| “Tranquil Once Again” 9” x 12” Pastel SOLD © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
With the end of the semester bringing lots of work to complete and deadlines to meet for my students, colleagues, and me, I find myself drawn to painting peaceful, tranquil scenes. This beautiful lake and the colorful fall trees reflecting on it are a stark contrast to the way I’ve felt the last several weeks. But, like the beautiful colors of autumn, the crazy deadlines will pass, the work will get done, and all will become tranquil once again.
Happy Weekend!
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“Autumn Colors Remembered” 5” x 7” Pastel N.F.S. © Sharon Lewis
I hope that wherever you are this Thanksgiving, that you are gathered with love to celebrate this holiday of gratitude.
May you feel the warmth of all those who love you this Thanksgiving.
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“The Warmth of Autumn” 9” x 12” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis
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As the days get noticeably shorter, I find myself appreciating all the more, the warmth of the fall colors still visible out my window. I incorporated many of the colors that I see in my backyard in this painting. Although I know this won’t last much longer, it is enough for now to be able to still enjoy the rich, vibrant colors of fall on this grey November day.
Happy Weekend!
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“Beautiful Without Regard” 9” x 7” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis
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Sometimes, I’m so enamored of the beautiful sky, trees, and water at a local park, that I forget to look down. After I finished a long walk recently, I took a moment to pause and look out across the blue water of one of the small lakes. Fortunately, I looked down and noticed these small, yellow wildflowers growing around the lake, almost glowing as they caught the light from the setting sun. I’m always amused when I realize that what we see as weeds are sometimes quietly beautiful wildflowers simply growing where we didn’t intend them.
Happy Weekend!
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“Holding Each Other Up” 9” x 9” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis
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I really enjoy painting organic, somewhat rounded shapes like pumpkins. I’m not sure if it’s because their irregular shapes are fun to paint or because I get to paint using different shades of orange which I only rarely use in landscapes. I think it’s also because painting pumpkins allows me to depict more serious subjects like the idea of supporting one another or accepting that we come in different shapes and sizes and that’s OK.
Happy Weekend!
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“Autumn Glen” 5” x 9” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis
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For someone who loves a riot of color in the landscape. I’m in heaven during the fall and spring. Lately, I’ve been noticing so many trees that have taken on the stunning, vibrant cloak of fall. It makes my drive to and from work a visual delight and possibly hazardous as it’s hard for me not to focus on the beautiful scarlet, orange, and sunny yellow foliage. I love all these colors but I wonder if they are all the more precious because I know they are so briefly present.
Happy Weekend!
| “Shared Joy” 9” x 12” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis |
Happy Weekend!
“Communing with Nature”. 6” x 6” Pastel $40 © Sharon Lewis
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While I really enjoy being around people, I’m always excited when I discover a beautiful beach with no one else around. Somehow, it seems easier to fully enjoy the beauty of the natural environment without lots of people all around me. On the west coast, this seems to be possible if you’re just willing to walk a little further than everyone else. I would have loved to have stayed longer in this serene and beautiful location!
Happy Weekend!
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“The Early Birds Get the Sunrise” 12” x 9” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis
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I love to sleep in in the morning and I love the colors of a beautiful sunrise. These two things are incompatible but I make it work. I’m fine with getting up around 4:30am to capture photos of a sunrise in a beautiful location and then go back to sleep with the sounds of happy birds rejoicing in another spectacular start to a summer morning.
Happy Weekend and may all your mornings be spectacular!
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“That Je Ne Sais Quoi” 8” x 10” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis
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Today’s painting title comes from me trying to understand my love of the light you see at the end of a sunny day. It’s a wonderful, warm light that makes everything glow and appear more beautiful than earlier, in the full light of day. It’s that “je ne sais quoi”; that elusive quality in the light that although I can’t fully describe it, makes me stop just to watch how magnificently the setting sun transforms the landscape.
Happy Weekend!
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“Cue the Lights” 8” x 10” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis
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I’ve always been drawn to high contrast scenes, where the sun illuminates features against a darker background. When I first saw this cliff face across the bay, the light was shining on it and I was transfixed. I ended up taking so many photos because it kept changing subtly depending on where I stood. I think this is one of the many reasons I became a landscape artist: because the natural world offers us a never-ending number of striking scenes to enjoy.
Happy Weekend!
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“Just a Glimmer” 5” x 7” Pastel $50 © Sharon Lewis
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This is a painting I started on location this summer and finished in the studio. When I picked it up, I considered changing the weather from cloudy, rainy, and cool to sunny but it matched today’s weather in North Georgia so closely that I decided to merely clean it up a bit. You might notice though, if you look closely, that I couldn’t resist putting just a hint of a beautiful sunset peaking out from beneath some of those gray clouds.
Hope your weekend is a sunny, happy one!
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“Copper Sunset” 5” x 7” Pastel $50 © Sharon Lewis
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It had been cloudy and cool most of the day, including when we arrived at Norris Point, but then we got a surprise. As the light began to fade, we were surprised by a burst of color that lit the mountains with a warm, coppery glow. Gros Morne Park, which is visible across Bonne Bay (the waterway you see in this painting), is an absolutely gorgeous area to explore and I only wish we could have stayed here longer.
Happy Weekend!
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“So I Don’t Forget” 11” x 14” Pastel $175 © Sharon Lewis
This past weekend I was attending my daughter’s wedding and thus, not producing my weekly painting. So, I offer this work, painted at this time last year, of a lovely beach with a young woman taking a selfie so she doesn’t forget? Or so she can make her friends envious?
Whatever the reason, I wouldn’t mind being on this beach again, enjoying the sun, the water, and that beautiful blue sky.
Happy Labor Day Weekend!
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“Hidden Cove” 9” x 12” $100 © Sharon Lewis
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While I was visiting a cool place this summer in Newfoundland that I’d hiked several times, I was searching for new vista when I stumbled across this beautiful cove. I couldn’t get over the striking color of the water and how the rock formations reminded me of a sleeping dragon or some strange, giant bird. What do you see when you look at this?
Happy Weekend!
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“Reaching Toward the Heavens” 12” x 18” $250 © Sharon Lewis
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If I could, I would always live by the water. I grew up by the ocean and my early memories are of the soothing, rhythmic sounds of the waves. The beach was my playground where there was always something new and interesting that the sea had uncovered.
However, my beach looked nothing like this. There were no rocks unless humans had brought them in to form a jetty and the sand was a soft yellow, not the dark gray of this cove. This cove was also a lot more peaceful, with no children screaming with delight, no big waves, just the quiet, gentle, rhythmic lapping of the water. Ahhhhhh.
Happy Weekend!
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“Pouch Cove” 5” x 7” $50 © Sharon Lewis
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The busier my life gets, the more I’m drawn to paint quietly beautiful places like this cove. The fog was rolling in just beyond the cliffs but before it encompassed them, all the colors of the rocks glowed in the sunlight. There’s something endlessly fascinating to me about all the textures and colors in coastal rock formations. I just need to remember to look up from the gorgeous blue water or down from that beautiful blue sky.
Happy Weekend!
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| “Before the Fog” 5” x 7” $50 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
As so often happens when I head north seeking cool temperatures n the summer seeking , I encounter fog. There are some absolutely gorgeous areas in Newfoundland along the coast, however, these same areas are often blanketed in fog. In the case of this painting, the fog was rolling into the valley below, but I was able to capture the sun shining on this beautiful hillside.
Happy Weekend!
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“Too Cold for Swimming” 5” x 7” $50 © Sharon Lewis
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It took me two days to fly back from Newfoundland (thank you Air Canada) so I decided to put my 24 layover in Montreal to good use and paint one of the many lovely views I saw in Newfoundland. I noticed that at many of the beaches, people had brought all the things we expect to see on any beach in the south: towels, snacks, and suntan lotion. However, no one was in the water and people often had fleece jackets over their bathing suits. It takes a great deal of optimism to enjoy a day at the beach in Newfoundland with the cold water and wind gusts or maybe you need simply, an appreciation for sparkling blue water and gorgeous views.
Happy Weekend!
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“So Very Blue” Pastel 5” x 7” $50 © Sharon Lewis
I thought I would be back in the states by now but I am still in Newfoundland, Canada due to a medical emergency involving my travel companion. The emergency has passed and hopefully we will be leaving sometime soon. In the meantime, I’ve been hiking at some of the beautiful places in St. John’s. They have been experiencing what they consider a heat spell (low 80’s) with sunshine replacing the ubiquitous cold and fog, so I’ve gotten some good photos of the beautiful, cold blue water on the coast here. Almost everywhere I look there is wonderful inspiration for a landscape artist.
Happy Weekend!
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| "Sunset Music" 7.5” x 12” $100 © Sharon Lewis |
Happy Weekend!
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| "Gull Island" 5” x 7” $50 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
This is a painting of Gull Island, a nesting place for gulls just off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It was a windy, cool, and for a change, sunny day with gulls swooping and diving above this beautiful island.
Happy Weekend!
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“The Outlook” 10” x 10” Pastel $125 © Sharon Lewis
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This was the view during a rare break in the rain the last time I was on this island. I’m heading back there next week with hope that we will get some sunshine so that I can paint and photograph this beautiful Canadian location. Can you guess where?
Happy Weekend!
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| “Harmony” 8” x 10” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
Although I’m primarily a landscape painter, I also love painting fruit. I love the rich, saturated colors in some fruits as well as the fun of modeling round, smooth objects so that you perceive a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface. It’s the magic of creating this illusion that I never get tired of.
Happy Weekend!
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“Evening’s End“ 9” x 12” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis |
It had been a stormy afternoon, segueing into a cool evening. As evening fell, the storm clouds moved out rapidly leaving behind this dazzling glimpse of the last rays of the setting sun. The tide had gone out, leaving pools of shimmering water in its wake. What a beautiful end to the day!
Happy Weekend!
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“Beautiful Morning” 9” x 9” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis
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This time of year, Maine is a wonderful place to be. The month of June is usually mild with cool mornings, and there are sunrises worth getting up absurdly early for, since they often involve a gorgeous explosion of color like this.
Happy Weekend!
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“Seaside Getaway” 2.5” x 3.5” Pastel $25 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
It’s almost summer now, with the temperatures warming with each passing day. Hopefully, sometime this summer I will be on a coast, enjoying the cool ocean breezes, the salt air, the sparkling sea, and the long hours of light.
Happy Weekend!
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“Where Important Things Happen Sometimes” 5.75 x 10.5” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
I’m on my way to our nation’s capital to attend a conference and see family. Coincidentally, I ran across some of my DC reference photos, taken from an Uber careening through traffic. In spite of having a hard time keeping my balance, I managed to capture this tranquil scene with geese flying from one historic monument to another.
Have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
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“One Fine Day” 8 x 10” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
I feel a little guilty that I, an Irish-American, love Scotland so much – especially the Highlands. The Glencoe area is one of my favorite places there; the views are gorgeous and it’s a wonderful site for hiking. Almost anywhere in the Glencoe area, you’re surrounded by violet, craggy cliffs rising above velvety green hillsides and meadows. As long as you don’t mind a little light rain (that’s why it’s so green) and cool temperatures even in July, you’ll love hiking here as much as I do.
Happy Weekend!
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“Blanket Flowers” 12” x 9” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis |
I want to celebrate all my family and friends who are mothers as well as all those kind souls who mother others with kindness and support. You make the world brighter for your presence.
Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!
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“The View from the Top” 12” x 12” Pastel $175 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
I was drawn to this beautiful hillside after hiking in this area. Sitting in this large stone chair, one can relax with a spectacular view of the sea. The southern coast of Oregon has dramatic cliffs such as this one as well as interesting rock formations where seals congregate. I never tire of Oregon’s gorgeous scenery and ocean views!
Happy Weekend!
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“Winter Warmth” 8” x 10” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
Walking in the winter can bring its own special beauty and warmth. Although by late November, the deciduous trees have lost their orange, red, and gold leaves, they leave behind soft mauves and violets. And those winter skies! When the air is clear, the humidity low, and the timing just right, you may see a glorious sunset sky!
Happy Weekend!
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“A Lucky Hiker’s View” 12” x 12” Pastel $175 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
Every weekend it’s not raining, I try to make time to get outside and walk at Panola Mountain State Park. My route takes me past the South River which I have to admit, on many days, is not the most picturesque river. It’s almost a shallow stream in drier times. However, after many days of rain and with sunny, blue skies overhead, it can present the lucky hiker with this idyllic, beautiful scene.
Happy Weekend!
