Stream Melodies

“Stream Melodies”           Pastel             5” x 7”       $50    © Sharon Lewis
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            It was my idea of a perfect vacation day. It was sunny and cool in Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands and we were hiking far away from people and traffic noise. We were surrounded by beautiful, soft green hills and mountains and I could hear the sound of running water somewhere. I think each stream has a different sound, a song or melody, depending on its size and maybe what the water travels over or around. This stream, on this day, sounded beautifully inviting and so I followed its melody down to the stream bed and there, perched on rocks in the middle, took multiple photos to use for this painting.

            Happy Weekend!

Cloudy, Blustery Day

"Cloudy, Blustery Day"        Pastel        5" x 7"         $50        © Sharon Lewis
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        I tend to get comfortable once I've figured out how to do something but I've also found that there is great value to challenging myself to do something differently. I think challenges like this not only help keep our brains healthy but also maybe make us more interesting people.

        I had grown used to working on one surface that I love (Uart sanded paper) but an artist I admire (Tony Allain) mentioned in a recent workshop that he used Colorfix. This is a different and rougher type of paper that I hadn't used in a long time. I was at first reluctant to try this since I was already challenging myself to use very different techniques in the workshop but I found it forced me to paint a little differently. This reminded me of how important it is for me not to just search for different, interesting images but to keep trying different things because I never know what I might discover.

From Memory

“From Memory”         Pastel            9” x 12”           $100            © Sharon Lewis
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           I’m back from a wonderful conference in Albuquerque (the International Association of Pastel Societies Conference). I took a great class with Jeanne Rosier Smith, one with Mike Beeman, and a terrific workshop with Tony Allain. I learned how to paint more beautiful waves from Jeanne, more expressive still lifes from Mike, and more striking and dramatic landscapes from Tony.

            In Tony’s workshop, he challenged us to paint a landscape from memory, something that formerly would have totally terrified me since I had a hard enough time painting from reference photos. Fortunately, I had painted a few landscapes recently and had a vague memory of one of them though I was painting so quickly that the final product wasn’t very interesting. When I got back, I made some changes in the composition to remind me more of the beautiful, striking sky I saw one day while traveling in Scotland.

In a Far Away Glen

“In a Far Away Glen”        Pastel         9” x 12”       $100       © Sharon Lewis
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         It’s been non-stop running around for the last several months and I think how peaceful and beautiful a place like this looks. It is the kind of place that you can hike to, spread out your picnic lunch on those golden grasses, and have a view of quiet water and majestic mountains all around. Your only visitors might be a few curious sheep. Ahhhh…..

After the Rain

“After the Rain”            Pastel            9” x 12”          $100          © Sharon Lewis
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            I’ve been enjoying the return of my hummingbirds and the joyous sound of birds chirping. The goldfinches and other winter bird visitors are gone leaving the old standards, the titmouse, chickadee, and cardinal.

            I know it’s not even summer yet but it’s already becoming warm and humid in north Georgia. I find myself dreaming of cooler, drier places like Scotland. Today’s painting is based on photos I took from the car as we drove towards Glen Coe, Scotland. The area before you get to the glen includes a beautiful river that flows through rolling hills. It’s a less dramatic but nonetheless beautiful area.

Where the Path Leads Me

“Where the Path Leads Me”            Pastel          9” x 12”           $100          © Sharon Lewis
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             During a presentation on some of my art that I gave two weeks ago, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed painting the Glen Coe area in Scotland. It’s such a strikingly beautiful mix of majestic, rocky mountains rising steeply from lush, grassy meadows. We didn’t have much time when we passed through this area but I would have loved to walk the path shown here to see where it led. I think I would have seen some small waterfalls running down the hillside, maybe some sheep, and even some wildflowers…. not a bad walk in my opinion.

            Hope wherever you are, that the snow has fled, the birds have returned, and the flowers are blooming.

            Have a happy spring weekend!