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I’ve been looking at my photos of the West coast in anticipation of my upcoming visit there and decided to paint this scene of the Oregon coast. I’ve checked the weather and while it will be in the upper 80’s and 90’s here in the Atlanta area, it will be in the low 60’s on the coast – perfect August weather as far as I’m concerned. I can’t wait!
Happy Weekend!
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It’s funny to me that I don’t really like some amusement park rides because they’re too scary but I love standing as close as I can get to huge, scary waves, especially if there are also large rocks. I’ll readily admit it’s not always safe to stand so close but I find violent surf as it crashes against the rocks, endlessly fascinating and thus I also love painting these scenes.
Happy Weekend!
“The Gift of Cherries” 10 x 8 Oil $160 © Sharon Lewis
I enjoy painting cherries because of the many shades of red you find in them, they taste amazing, and as I discovered recently, they’re also really healthy. They are a great source of vitamin C and polyphenols (plant compounds that protect us from developing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and neurodegenerative diseases). In a 2018 review of the effects of cherries, researchers found that cherries reduced exercise-induced muscle soreness, blood pressure, arthritis, and improved sleep, among other things. Scientists concluded that eating sweet or tart cherries decrease or prevent oxidative stress and inflammation and thus improve our health. Who knew this really pretty fruit could do all this?
Happy Weekend!
“Wildflowers” 6 x 6 Oil $108 © Sharon Lewis
Whenever I hike in new places, I’m always on the lookout for the unexpected, whether that be a bear or something more pleasant like a breathtaking view, ripe berries for an impromptu snack, or beautiful wildflowers. I love finding these spots of color along the highway or sprinkled through a mountain meadow. I found these colorful flowers several years ago in a meadow, alongside a seaside cliff. It looked as if someone had created a garden in the middle of nowhere. I love these unexpected gifts from nature!
Happy Weekend!
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“Meet-Cute” 8 x 10 Oil $160 © Sharon Lewis
When I was on the coast last summer, I noticed a group of teenagers surfing – mostly all males. As I was walking by trying to get as many photos of the waves as possible, I was struck by these two surfers facing each other. He seemed to be posing, and she had her arms folded, possibly because she wasn’t impressed by his pose or she was cold. She still had her wet suit on (this was really cold water) while he had pulled the top half of his off – maybe hoping to persuade her he was worth talking to? No matter what their story, I loved the juxtaposition of these two young people, the surfer behind them, against a sky of beautiful clouds.
Happy Weekend!
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“Good Friends” 5 x 7 Oil $105 © Sharon Lewis
There’s nothing like meeting with a good friend to laugh, gossip, and catch up on all that’s important.
Happy Weekend!
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| “Quiet Visitor” 5 x 7 Oil $105 © Sharon Lewis |
This painting is my backyard with a bunny I saw conveniently hiding in the grasses.
Happy Weekend!
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| “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!
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“A Walk on the Beach” 8 x 10 Oil $160 © Sharon Lewis
I’m back from an exciting but exhausting two weeks helping my daughter and son-law as they waited to greet their second daughter. She arrived on April 11 and we are so happy to have this tiny, new member of the family!
Today’s painting was done on location when I was at the beach a few weeks ago.
Happy Weekend!
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“A Night Out” 10 x 10 Oil $200 © Sharon Lewis
I started this painting years ago in a painting class taught by the talented artist, Karen Appleton. I apparently made a very rough start, filed it away under other photos and paintings, and then got busy again with my day job. Unfortunately, my reference photo was terrible so I did my best to research what a gold purse would look like if spotlighted. Even given the challenges, this was a lot of fun to paint.
Happy Weekend!
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“Fleeting” 4 x 6 Oil $70 © Sharon Lewis
This past week I was able to get away to the beach and had a wonderful time walking and running on the beach as well as trying to capture the beautiful sky and sea. It was a beautiful respite from the news.
Happy Weekend!
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“Lean on Me” 8 x 10 Oil $160 © Sharon Lewis
With all the grey, rainy weather lately, it’s a relief to be working on something colorful. Pears are fun to paint for their rounded shapes and their diverse colors. I love also how they can lean on one another helping each to stand steady, much like good friends. This week and every week, I am so grateful for the support of my friends. When things get scary, I know I can lean on them to help me stand steady.
A round of applause for good friends and Happy Weekend! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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“Dunes Walk” 8 x 10 Oil $160 © Sharon Lewis
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!
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“Summer in the Mountains” 6 x 8 Oil $144 © Sharon Lewis
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!
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| “Delightful Diversity” 8 x 10 Oil $200 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Buy |
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!
“Warm Colors in the Cold” 4 x 6 Oil $70 © Sharon Lewis
I’ve been thinking a lot about good teachers lately. I’ve been lucky to have had good teachers in both my Psychology and my art careers. The teachers that stand out in my art career as being exceptional have been of course, excellent artists themselves but they have also been kind, especially when giving critical feedback (criticism is so important when you’re starting out but it can also be demoralizing). They’ve also been: generous (with both helpful information and praise), patient (as you continue to make that same mistake that they pointed out last time), good problem solvers (as they help you out of the mess you may have created), and passionate about art. I think of Karen Margulis when it comes to teaching pastel painting. She is one of the most dedicated and talented artist-teachers I know. I also think of Karen Appleton who no longer teaches oil painting but is an exceptional artist. I love her creativity, her kindness, and her compassion. I learned so much from these outstanding artists.
The painting above is based on a modification of a still life that Karen Appleton set up for a class several years ago.
Happy Weekend!
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“Loving Pink” 10 x 10 Oil $ 225 © Sharon Lewis
With these grey days and the news getting increasingly scary and heartbreaking, I find myself trying to focus on something beautiful. When I go grocery shopping (a chore I hate for some reason), I treat myself to some flowers. I tell myself that I’m investing in a painting subject (which is true in this case) but sometimes, I just need to a reminder of the wonderful fragrance and colors of nature.
Happy Weekend!
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| “Winter Sunshine” 7 x 5 Oil $105 © Sharon Lewis Click here to buy |
Sunflowers are fun to paint any time of year but they’re especially so when winter brings us grey skies and cold temperatures. I did a deep dive into all things interesting about sunflowers and I’ll share just a few. I discovered that in addition to being beautiful, the sunflower provides us with sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, and is a symbol of the sun god in some cultures. Wild sunflowers produce many flowers on each plant but small seeds and the domesticated varieties produce a single large flower and larger seeds. Sunflowers are considered heliotropic in that they follow the path of the sun through the day. Finally, they can remove toxic elements from the soil, like lead and uranium, which is pretty amazing. So sunflowers are both beautiful and beneficial.
Happy Weekend!
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“The Colors of Autumn Remembered” 8 x 10 Oil $ 200 © Sharon Lewis
It’s grey and brown outside now and I long for the colors that were just here the other day – the reds, yellows, and greens decorating my backyard and neighborhood. So, I paint pears the colors of autumn, to remember the joy of bright colors in spite of the cold grey of winter.
Happy Weekend!
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| “A Beautiful Find” 7 x 5 Oil $ 105 © Sharon Lewis |
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!
