In the In-Between

“In the In-Between”     11” x 14”         Pastel        $300      © Sharon Lewis

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              I’ve mentioned before how much I love looking at and painting skies and as often as I paint them, you’d think I’d find them easy. Sometimes they are but more often I struggle to paint them in a way that fully conveys how gorgeous I find them. One of the times when they are especially gorgeous is that time in-between sunset and full night when the sky is often filled with this last, quick, intense display of beautiful light and color. Hope you enjoy!

            Happy Weekend!

 

Greening Up

  “Greening Up”    7” x 5”        Pastel       $140       © Sharon Lewis

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          It’s officially summer now although we’ve had plenty of heat and humidity for a while in the Atlanta region. I’m already longing for the cool breezes coming off northern waters but also rejoicing in the long days of light that summer brings. Summer usually gives me the luxury of time – time to get the many household chores done that I’ve been ignoring, time to meet and catch up with friends and family, and time to be creative. I can finally take creative risks and if I fail, I have time to try again. 

            Hope you’re enjoying the start of your summer. Happy Weekend!

 

The Early Birds Get the Sunrise

 “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!

 

 

Beautiful Morning

“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!

 

A Brisk Wind

“A Brisk Wind”        5” x 7”          Pastel         $50         © Sharon Lewis

            I painted this scene on a very windy day in Maine. I had to weight my easel down with multiple large rocks to keep it from capsizing, but I loved every minute of it. The sun was shining and the wind was cool; I could hear the mother ducks below me moving their tiny chicks into the cove where they were warmed and sheltered from the wind. There were gulls flying above checking me out to see if I had something more edible than my sticks of pastel. It's all of this that I love when I paint outdoors.

            Happy Weekend!

 

Summer Reflection

“Summer Reflection”     9” x 6”     Pastel     $70    © Sharon Lewis

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Sometimes a painting idea nearly jumps into your lap. Several summers ago, I happened to glance up and see framed perfectly in a window, a reflection of a beautiful summer landscape. It was the backyard of a house in Maine that I used to stay at. I snapped a couple of photos and have been waiting patiently for a time to paint this. Apparently, the time was this past week.

            Happy Weekend!

Cove, Early Morning

“Cove, Early Morning”   5” x 7”          Pastel         $50     © Sharon Lewis 

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             Sometimes I’m drawn to the play of light and shadow in nature. Light can create such interesting contrasts and the same colors can be almost magically transformed and brightened by light or dulled into some hard-to-recognize color in the shadows.

            And sometimes, I just love looking at a scene like this, with the water flowing off into  distant, unknown realms and I imagine and wonder where it might lead me.

            Happy Weekend!

Sky Bloom

“Sky Bloom”         6.5” x 9.25”          Pastel         $70     © Sharon Lewis

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I love the quiet, the hush of early morning; the promise of the whole day before me, the sounds of birds’ sleepy calls as each awakens with the light. And if I’m lucky, I see the early morning sky bloom with glorious color.

Beautiful Oasis

“Beautiful Oasis”              9” x 12”          Pastel         $100           © Sharon Lewis

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             I’d love to be here in this beautiful oasis, where I’d be watching the light slowly fade from a gorgeous sky, listening to the birds calling good night, and reveling in the thought that I could do all of this again tomorrow.

            Happy Weekend!

 

A Brand New Morning

 

“A Brand New Morning”     9x 12”       Pastel        $100    © Sharon Lewis

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            Once again, I’m “visiting” one of my favorite places – the coast of Maine. There’s something both peaceful and relaxing about a beautiful sunrise here, and also a little exciting. It’s the start of a brand-new day so who knows what will happen?

            Happy Weekend!

 

Ephemeral Beauty

“Ephemeral Beauty”       9x 12”       Pastel        $100      © Sharon Lewis

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            The photos I used as references for this painting were taken while I was being bombarded by hordes of hungry mosquitoes, who totally ignored the insect repellant I was wearing. Maybe because the summers in Maine are so short, the mosquitoes are incredibly determined to get their ounce of blood, or at least that’s what it feels like. I know that the gorgeously colorful scene unfolding in front of me was worth all the itchy bites I would discover later. These stunning sunrises are the reason that I, a non-morning person, am willing to get up at the first glimmer of light to capture the ephemeral beauty of the skies.

            Happy Weekend!

New Dawn Blooming

“New Dawn Blooming”    12” x 9”     Pastel        $100       © Sharon Lewis

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I borrowed today’s painting title from the poem read by the first youth poet laureate, Amanda Gorman. If you want to read the poem, The Hill We Climb” in its entirety, you can find it here. What an inspiring young woman and a wonderful poem! I loved the way she ended it with:

                                       The new dawn blooms as we free it

                                       For there is always light,

                                      if only we're brave enough to see it

                                     If only we're brave enough to be it

 

            Here’s to hope, a better future, and a Happy Weekend!

 

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

“Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”        9” x 9”    Pastel       $100     © Sharon Lewis
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I grew up hearing songs from musicals…all musicals it seems. My Dad loved them and apparently so did our grade school choir director so I learned to sing many of the songs from these same musicals. One of my favorites is “Oh, what a beautiful morning” sung by Gordon MacRae in the musical, “Oklahoma”. It’s a wonderfully cheerful song and it seemed the perfect title for this sunrise painting.

By the way, as everyone who knows me will tell you, I’m not a morning person but I will get up right before dawn, anywhere in the world, to capture a beautiful sunrise. It’s always worth it and then I go back to sleep like the good night owl that I am.

            Happy Weekend!

An ideal Summer Day

“An Ideal Summer Day” Pastel     8” x 10”     $75     © Sharon Lewis
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            It was for me, an ideal summer day. There was sunshine, a cool breeze, beautiful clouds in a blue sky, and I had enough time to paint this gorgeous view. I could have painted (and did) for hours, until it was time to celebrate the end of this wonderful summer day, enjoying a glass of wine and watching the sun set.

            Happy Weekend!

Setting Out to Sea

“Setting Out to Sea”             Pastel         5” x 7”        $50          © Sharon Lewis
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            Another view from one of my favorite places to visit, the beautiful state of Maine. It’s a windy, sunny, summer day with the wind blowing just enough to be perfect for those hoping for a great day sailing on the open water.

            Happy Weekend!

           

Turbulent Times

“Turbulent Times”        Pastel            5” x 7”           $50          © Sharon Lewis
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            I decided to post this particular painting today because it seems to represent both the challenges that I see my students and colleagues trying to weather this time of year as well as the political news over the past week.  Fortunately, these challenges whether academic or political, will pass in time.

            Hoping your weekend brings you peace and tranquility.

Wild Beauty

“Wild Beauty”        Pastel         12” x 9”          $100         © Sharon Lewis
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                  Temperatures are back in the 80’s again and I’ve begun to dwell more on thoughts of summer rather than autumn. This is a painting of the beautiful roses that grow wild around the house we stay in every year on Bailey Island, Maine. I’m hoping that cool days will be here again soon but in the meanwhile, it doesn’t hurt to remember the wild beauty of summer.

            Happy Weekend!

Gull at Inner Ledge

“Gull at Inner Ledge”            Pastel                5” x 7”               $50               © Sharon Lewis
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            This gull was just standing peacefully, gazing out into his or her domain, glowing in   the late afternoon sun. It would be so nice to be here, with the sounds of the angry political voices replaced by the rhythmic sounds of the waves and seabirds calling to each other.

Summer Garden Path

"Summer Garden Path"    Pastel      5" x 7"      $50     © Sharon Lewis
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            One of my favorite things to do when we visit Bailey Island, Maine each summer besides painting on location as I did here, is to visit all of the flowers blooming around the house. There are several different varieties of colorful peonies (some of which you can see on the left), a lilac bush, and several bushes of what I believe are antique or old roses. These are especially fragrant. From some preliminary research online I found out that the ones I painted on the right may be Rosa gallica officinalis, possibly the oldest rose in existence. It’s also apparently called the Apothecary’s Rose because healers used it to make medicinal remedies. I may have to do another painting later featuring this rose’s beauty more prominently.

            Happy Almost Weekend!

Sailing Time

"Sailing Time"                Pastel               5” x 7”             $50                   © Sharon Lewis
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            We’re on our way to the coast of Maine and I can’t wait! There will be cooler temperatures and more than enough wind for a sailboat or two, or even three. I will be painting from our backyard which looks out over the sea where views of lobster boats alternate with that of sailboats skimming the waves in the sunlight. Ahhhhhhh.

            Happy almost weekend!