Do They Ever Stop Eating?

“Do They Ever Stop Eating?”    6 x 8.5     Pastel    $144     © Sharon Lewis

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             I received a new pastel surface to try out (Canson MiTeintes - Velvet) at an arts conference this summer and I’ve been eager to paint on it. This surface is velvety soft (thus its name), holds lots of layers of pastel, and comes in different colors which I love. This painting was done on a warm tan color which is a great color to start with when you’re painting lots of greens. My only issue with the paper is it’s a little hard to blend colors; the benefit is trying to blend on this surface doesn’t destroy your fingers like blending on a sanded surface does.

        This painting is based on the green hills of Scotland where the sheep are everywhere and always seem to be eating.

            Happy Weekend!

 

Quiet Visitor

“Quiet Visitor”        5 x 7    Oil    $105   © Sharon Lewis

                    I’m trying to get more used to plein air painting because I enjoy being outside (except in the depth of a Georgia summer) and I learn valuable art skills – like how to simplify a scene and more accurate depictions of colors, light, and shadows. It’s still hard for me to paint in public when I’m on my own as people always want to see what I’m painting. I still remember a woman coming up to me after hours of painting on the beach. I had done several paintings of the ocean earlier and was trying to make some uninteresting dunes more interesting by changing the scene. She looked at where I was looking and looked at my painting obviously puzzled. To her credit she didn’t say anything but her facial expression conveyed, “What the hell???” and maybe even a little, “Poor thing! She thinks she can paint”. Fortunately for my ego, I liked that painting and it later sold to someone else who also liked my imaginary arrangement of dunes. 

                   This painting is my backyard with a bunny I saw conveniently hiding in the grasses.

                   Happy Weekend! 

Beautiful Abundance

               

“Beautiful Abundance”        11 x 14    Oil    $300   © Sharon Lewis

                  There’s an ongoing drought in the southern part of Georgia right now and like many places prone to drought, there are currently wildfires. Perhaps this is why I was drawn to paint this abundance of water in the form of this beautiful waterfall. We found this one summer on a hike through the countryside.

                   Happy Weekend!

Going Sledding

“Going Sledding”      8 x 10     Pastel    $160    © Sharon Lewis
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            This painting is loosely based on a photo of a snowfall several years ago in the Atlanta area. Given that snow is not that common here in the south, we react differently from my northern family and friends.  We get out and enjoy the snow since everything shuts down at once. Everyone, including adults, grabs something that remotely resembles a sled (garbage can lids, trays, cardboard), finds a hill (plentiful here in the foothills of the Appalachians), and goes sledding. 

Happy Weekend!

 

Dunes Walk

 “Dunes Walk”         8 x 10     Oil    $160    © Sharon Lewis

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            I’ve always been attracted to the play of light and shadow on the landscape. However, when we stopped at this National Recreation area, I thought I wouldn’t be able to find anything worth photographing, given how intense the sunlight was. Then I saw these dark shadows falling across a path, contrasting with the bright sand giving me my inspiration for this painting.

            Happy Weekend!

 

Summer in the Mountains

“Summer in the Mountains”    6 x 8     Oil    $144    © Sharon Lewis

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            It was a beautiful summer night when I was lucky enough to have this view. The sun was setting beyond the mountains and flinging beautiful colors up into the sky. The clouds starting drifting lower until they started to hide the tops of the mountains. The air was rapidly cooling as the colors grew more intense and then gradually faded away. 

            Happy Weekend!

 

Delightful Diversity

“Delightful Diversity”    8 x 10     Oil    $200    © Sharon Lewis
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            When I decided to paint this scene, I didn’t really stop to consider the difficulty of painting so many different shades of green. However, once I began painting, I just got into painting all the beautiful textures and forms of the trees and plants in this park. Although each plant is green it differs subtly from some of the plants around them. This reminds me of how delightfully different we all are and yet, in the end, we are all humans, worthy of kindness, respect, and compassion. I admire the people of Minneapolis who are going out of their way to help their neighbors. They are demonstrating through their sacrifices, what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.

            Have a safe and Happy Weekend!

"Cool Company" - Merry Christmas!

“Cool Company”    Pastel      8” x 10”    $160     © Sharon Lewis

            I hope wherever you are, there are blue skies, the laughter of children, and the warmth of family and friends.

To all my family and friends that celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas and as always, Happy Weekend!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

“The Accent Tree”     5x7    Pastel      $105      © Sharon Lewis

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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 today, and always.

            Happy Thanksgiving!

 

A Beautiful Find

 “A Beautiful Find”     7 x 5     Oil    $ 105    © Sharon Lewis

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            There’s something mesmerizing about waterfalls. There’s the beauty of the water as it falls from above to splash into pools or streams below, the often impressive rock formations the water travels over, and also the rhythmic sound of the water. These all seem to combine to make waterfalls immensely appealing. This particular one was no exception and was discovered only thanks to some friendly Norwegians who had hiked everywhere in this area and shared their beautiful find. 

            Happy Weekend! 

Turquoise Waters

“Turquoise Waters”    5 x 7     Oil    $ 105    © Sharon Lewis

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            It’s been over a decade since I visited Norway but I still find my memories of the country and her people so vivid. We took a train across the country to the west coast and drove up along breathtaking fjords with crystal clear, turquoise waters. Everywhere we went, the people were friendly and warm – much like the temperatures that summer. I love to escape the hot, humid summers of north Georgia so I was hoping for cool or even cold temperatures. In talking with Norwegians along the way, we found they were having an unusually warm and sunny summer. Apparently, it is often cold, cloudy, and rainy so everywhere we went, people were outside delighting in the warmth and sunshine. I may not have experienced the cool temperatures I was hoping for but I was so lucky to meet such warm people and photograph such gorgeous scenery. 

            Happy Weekend!

 

The Red Roof

 “The Red Roof”      5 x 7     Oil    $ 105    © Sharon Lewis

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                   As a landscape artist who is often working with many, many shades of green and blue, I love when I run across red as an accent color. When I’m lucky enough to find it in a coastal scene, which I also love to paint, I feel I’ve hit the jackpot. So, of course I took many photos of this house on the rocks, admiring the red roof and imagining the killer views they must have from their front porch.

            Happy Weekend!

 

My Backyard

“My Backyard”     7 x 5     Oil    $ 105    © Sharon Lewis

            It has finally become more fall-like and even the mosquitoes don’t seem to be around as much so I’ve been painting outdoors from time to time. I always find this challenging in that I have to figure out how to simplify what seems to be just a huge mass of different greens competing for my attention. But it’s also all beautiful and I’m so grateful for the good weather and the opportunity to be outdoors doing something I love doing.

            Happy Weekend!

 

Sky Meadows II

“Sky Meadows II”     5 x 7     Pastel    $ 105     © Sharon Lewis

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            Today is a beautiful fall day – sunny, breezy, and cool. I would love to have days like this for weeks! Instead, I see the weather forecast is for the low 80’s next week. In spite of the unseasonably warm weather, the leaves are changing signaling fall is here. Last year around this time, I was in this lovely park in Virginia, hiking with my kids. The leaves were not quite this colorful, but I used a little artistic license to adorn them with rich autumn colors.

            Happy Weekend!

 

Mountain View

   “Mountain View”       5 x 7     Pastel    $ 105     © Sharon Lewis

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          On the way back to Boston from rural Maine, we stopped in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, a place I’ve been several times and love. On my way to walk in the woods and explore a stream and waterfall, I had a view of Mount Washington in the distance. Even from this far away, it looks impressive.  On a previous trip, we thought it would be fun to drive to the top of Mount Washington, something I don’t want to repeat anytime soon. For the passenger, the drive up gives you some magnificent views….of how far you will fall if the driver makes a small mistake and drives just a tiny bit too far to the right. It’s a sheer and very scary drop off the right side of the road as you drive up to the top and I recall having a death grip on the arm rest as if that would save me if we went off the road. 

         On that cheery note, have a Happy Weekend!

 

My View

“My View”              2.5” x 3.5”       Pastel        $25        © Sharon Lewis

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             I’ve been visiting family and staying with my daughter and son-in-law. They live in a beautiful neighborhood with lots of trees all around. To warm up, I painted this small study of the view from my room of their neighbor’s beautiful house with flowers lining the front.

            Happy Weekend!

 

The Start of Summer!

“The Start of Summer!”      8” x 10 ”       Oil        $200        © Sharon Lewis

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           Friday is the summer solstice and the official start of summer. Summer to me means, the gift of time, fireflies, bird song, the chance to read many, many novels, and the opportunity to escape to the ocean.

            Happy Weekend and Happy Summer!

 

Return of the Sun

“Return of the Sun”   5” x 7”       Pastel        $105        © Sharon Lewis

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             It’s been raining every day here in the Atlanta area for what feels like weeks. As a result I’m especially drawn to any of my reference photos that show sunlight. In this painting, I wanted to indicate some dreary rain clouds moving off in the distance and some sun (finally) shining through the trees and illuminating some of the rocks.

            Happy Weekend!

 

Quiet Beauty

 “Quiet Beauty”      2.5” x 3.5”       Pastel        $26        © Sharon Lewis

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One of the things that I’m looking forward to as I transition into retirement from my day job, is more opportunities to paint outside. This small painting is of a view I had on Orcas Island, one of the beautiful San Juan Islands in the state of Washington. One of the benefits of painting plein air that I’ve learned, is that it encourages me to focus on the quiet beauty in a landscape – not the flashier or more striking, but the beauty others might dismiss as too ordinary or uninteresting. The challenge for me is to slow down, become more aware and truly see what beauty lies in front of me.

            Happy Weekend!

 

The Sweetness of Memory

 “The Sweetness of Memory”     2.5” x 3.5”        Pastel        $26        © Sharon Lewis

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The past week I’ve been back in DC, busy with grandchildren’s birthdays and caring for and playing with my now one-yr old granddaughter. All I had time to paint was this corner of my daughter’s yard.

Being around my busy working kids and watching them care for their kids brings back so many memories. I remember the sweetness of when they were so young but also the never-ending challenges of being a parent who works two jobs – one for which you receive money and the other for which you receive hugs and kisses – the sweetest compensation. 

Happy Weekend!