Blanket Flowers

“Blanket Flowers”    9 x 12    Pastel    $ 100     © Sharon Lewis   

            I’m re-posting one of my favorite flower paintings as I’m currently traveling. I love the vivid colors in the Blanket flower (or Gaillardia grandiflora) and the fact that they attract butterflies and bees. Apparently, they’re also great in that deer leave them alone, something I have a hard time believing after watching the deer in my area eat everything in my yard.  

            Happy Weekend!

 

Lissome Lilac

“Lissome Lilac”          Pastel      12” x 9”       $100       © Sharon Lewis
Click Here to Purchase

                  For the last few summers, once the beautiful spring weather has vanished and the heat and humidity of Georgia have arrived, we flee up north to the coast of southern Maine for a brief stay. Here, we enjoy my idea of perfect summer days: cool nights and mornings and long days filled with light. One of the first things I do is to visit the beautiful lilac bush in the back yard and cut a few branches to bring into the house. The whole time we’re there, they fill the kitchen with this sweet fragrance. One day, the light was shining perfectly on this vase and it looked to me like the lilac had struck a graceful pose. It was so much fun to paint this symbol of summer in the middle of winter.

                  Happy Weekend!

A Gift of Beauty and Matisse

“A Gift of Beauty and Matisse”     Pastel    12” x 9”       $100    © Sharon Lewis
Click Here to Purchase

It’s the end of a busy week, and almost the end of January, a month no one seems to be sorry to see end. The sun is shining and it just seems perfect to focus on this colorful painting of flowers that I did recently. My wonderful kids sent me these beautiful flowers for my birthday in November. The print on the wall is one I just love, by the Fauvist artist, Henri Matisse, called “The Goldfish”. It violates so many of the rules that we artists have been trained to follow that it just makes me smile. And because it’s is so playful and colorful, it reminds me that creating art can be tremendously fun!

                  Happy Weekend!

Radiance

“Radiance”      Pastel       12" x 9"            $100             © Sharon Lewis
Click Here to Purchase 

            Every once and awhile I want to do something really colorful and totally different from my usual landscapes. Fortunately, this was also the time that my very gifted artist friend, Karen Margulis was teaching a class about painting wildflowers which gave me the idea to do these tulips. They’re not wild but they are beautifully colorful and are a lot of fun to paint.

            Happy First Weekend in Fall!

Happy May Day!

“Heavenly Hollyhocks”    Pastel      12” x 9”       $100      © Sharon Lewis
Click Here to Purchase
 

            Apparently, celebrating May Day is an ancient tradition, dating back to pre-Christian times and associated with the Roman goddess Flora (goddess of flowers). It is also now, in many cultures, a holiday that includes dancing, singing, and cake! I ask you, what’s not to like about a holiday like this?

            Happy May Day and Happy Weekend!

Attracts Butterflies, Resists Deer

“Blanket Flowers”    9 x 12    Pastel    $ 100     © Sharon Lewis 
Click Here to Purchase 

            I found these beautiful flowers when I went grocery shopping the other day and thought they might be a nice change from all of the fjords I’ve been painting. I enjoy flowers quite a bit but don’t often paint them because I never feel I quite capture their beauty. These Blanket flowers or Gaillardia grandiflora, are perfect summer flowers, with their vivid colors and their ability to attract butterflies. They also apparently resist deer and I’d love to know how since the deer that visit my yard make sure that they eat a little of everything.

          Wishing you a perfect summer weekend!

   

April: The Cruel, Crazy, but Beautiful Month

“Spring Beauty”     6” x 6”     Pastel   $40.00    © Sharon Lewis
SOLD 

            T.S. Elliot had it right when he said that April is the cruelest month. If you work as a professor and the university’s academic year ends in early May, April is the month when both faculty and students are going crazy with work and little sleep. It’s a time of year when your life as you used to know it seems a distant memory. It’s also a time when I make sure that I pay attention to the small but beautiful things in life. 

            As I drive to my office early in the morning I notice the stunning sunrise and how the light hits the beautiful blooming trees just perfectly.  Or as I leave my office 12 hours later, I might notice the gorgeous colors in the sky as the light slowly fades. As I’m grading mountains of papers, I take breaks to listen to the happy chirping and singing of birds outside my window. Or because I’m so fortunate to have such wonderful students, I read carefully, the beautifully written and very moving note of gratitude I received from a student of mine that will be recognized tonight for outstanding leadership. Yes, it might be a cruel and crazy month but it’s also beautiful if only I pay attention.

            Today’s painting is from photos I took early one spring morning in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Vernal Equinox: The First Day of Spring!!!

“Spring Gifts”    9” x 12”     Pastel     $100     © Sharon Lewis
Click Here to Purchase

            Ahhhhh, the first day of spring! Given the recent snowfalls around the country, it may be hard to believe but today is the vernal equinox, the official first day of spring. I looked up the meaning of this term and found a bit more information than I think I needed to know.  I won’t bore you with everything I found but I did find that my years of Latin in high school did not go to waste. I thought the term derived from Latin and found that I was right. “Vernal” comes from the Latin derivative  “ver” meaning spring and equinox derives from “aequus” meaning equal and “nox” meaning night. So the term suggests as I had always thought, that this is one of the times of the year when there are equal hours of daylight and night. Apparently, this is not precisely true but for me it’s close enough.
            I am just happy to see the increased hours of daylight and all of the flowers that are blooming as well as the flowering trees and bushes. I have daffodils and hyacinths blooming in my yard but no tulips this year. I planted tons of them several years ago but I gave up after battling the squirrels who dug them up as soon as I planted them and the deer that apparently find them tasty (Is there any plant that they don’t eat? I keep hoping that I’ll come out one day to find that the deer have conveniently removed all the weeds from my lawn and flower beds but apparently they don’t like my weeds anymore than I do.) So, instead, I try to find tulips at the grocery store and paint them from time to time. My painting of them is a poor substitute for the real thing but these require no weeding and so far I’ve been able to keep the deer and squirrels away.
            Happy Spring!

Flowers for Meg

“Flowers for Meg”     8” x 10”   Pastel   $75.00   © Sharon Lewis
Click Here to Purchase 

            

          Today is my sister Meg’s birthday and in honor of her I’m posting these flowers. Meg seems to be able to grow any kind of flower no matter whether it’s supposed to survive the cold Wisconsin winter or not. She manages to get all kinds of plants to grow and thrive. I think the secret is she just doesn’t give up on them. This seems to be an integral part of my sister’s character. She has recently gone through some really serious medical challenges but even when things got tough or scary, she didn’t give up. She has met every challenge with strength, courage, and grace. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the worst is over now. And so on this happy birth day, these flowers remind me of my sister Meg…. bright, colorful, and always beautiful. Happy Birthday Meg!