Sunflowers

 

“Sunflowers”    12 x 612    Pastel    $300    © Sharon Lewis
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I’ve been busy working on several paintings at the same time. This is one I started in a workshop at my arts conference last week and came home and worked on a bit.

Happy Weekend!

Wildflowers

“Wildflowers”   6 x 6     Oil    $108    © Sharon Lewis

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            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!

 

Happy Mother's Day!

“Blanket Flowers”   12 x 9    Pastel    $ 216    © Sharon Lewis   

I want to celebrate my daughter this year, who welcomed her second daughter just 4 weeks ago. She’s an amazing mother of two kids under two!

I also want to celebrate my two nieces Jaci and Ali and my daughter-in-law Emily, all my friends who are mothers, and all those kind souls who mother others with kindness and support. You make the world brighter for your presence.

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!

 

Pink Mums

“Pink Mums”    14 x 11     Pastel    $260    © Sharon Lewis
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I find that if I want to continue to grow as an artist, it’s a good idea to take a class or workshop from time to time. It’s not that easy to try another artist’s method when I’m used to my own, but I’ve discovered that I often end up adopting at least one idea or technique from the  array presented,  I often gain a different perspective or learn an alternative approach to painting, and I always meet some wonderful kindred souls in these classes.

I started this painting in a class taught by Margaret Dyer, an amazing figure painter.

Happy Weekend!

 

Finding the Light

  “Finding the Light”        14 x 11     Pastel    $300    © Sharon Lewis
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                      I ran across an older social media post where I referenced Amanda Gorman’s poem, The Hill We Climb, and thinking of those in Minneapolis, I want to share these words: 

We will rise from the golden hills of the West.

We will rise from the windswept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution.

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states.

We will rise from the sun-baked South…

We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover.

And every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful, will emerge battered and beautiful.

When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid.

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.

I have great admiration for all the people out in the bitter, Minnesotan cold, helping their immigrant neighbors.

Happy Weekend!

 

Loving Pink

“Loving Pink”      10 x 10     Oil    $ 225    © Sharon Lewis

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            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!

 

The Colors of the Season - Happy New Year!

“The Colors of the Season”        9” x 9”         Pastel         $160      © Sharon Lewis

On these cold winter days, I hope you’re warmed by the company of those you love. Wishing you a Happy New Year and in the words of an Irish blessing: May love and laughter light your days and warm your hearth and home.

 

Winter Sunshine

    

“Winter Sunshine”        7 x 5     Oil    $105    © Sharon Lewis
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            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!

 

Delphiniums with Tiger Lily

Delphiniums with Tiger Lily      8 x 8     Oil    $ 195    © Sharon Lewis

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            I enjoy painting flowers from time to time and try to make sure that I always have some in the house. The flowers I painted here are primarily delphiniums which as it turns out are associated with positivity, big-heartedness, cheerfulness, and love. So, today I’m sending some of these good feelings out into the world with the hope that it encourages all of us to be the best versions of ourselves as we interact with others.

Happy Weekend!

 

Erinn's Flowers

“Erinn’s Flowers”   8” x 10”       Pastel        $160        © Sharon Lewis

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             When I was visiting family recently, my son-in-law, Tyler surprised my daughter with these beautiful flowers. She placed them in a vase and put them on her kitchen island near a bowl of fruit. I loved the contrast between the beautiful blues and purples of the flowers and the lush red, yellow, and orange of the fruit and knew I wanted to paint it. And voila, here it is.

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!

 

Pretty in Pink

“Pretty in Pink”       12” x 10”     Pastel      $240    © Sharon Lewis

            Some anniversaries hit harder than others. This Thursday was the anniversary of losing my sister Meg AND it was the last day teaching my wonderful Oxford College of Emory University students. What connects these two events in my head is the difficulty of separating from people you love. I feel lucky that I had my wonderful, quirky, creative, amazing sister Meg in my life for as long as I did and I am also feeling so grateful to end this last semester of teaching with such smart, kind, thoughtful, and compassionate students.  So, although it is painful feeling the loss of my beloved sister and saying goodbye to students I’ve come to love, I hope I always find the courage to choose love and be grateful for its presence in my life.

            Happy Weekend!

 

Spring Tidings

“Spring Tidings”      5” x 5”      Oil      $87     © Sharon Lewis

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I’ve had a long fascination with tulips because at every stage of blooming, they offer us interesting colors, patterns, and shapes. The tulips I’ve painted in oils this week are at some of these different stages. I love the contrast between their vivid, saturated colors, and the grays and browns of everything outside. 

Happy Weekend! Bring on Spring!

 

Spring Tulips

“Spring Tulips”   9x12        Pastel          $216        © Sharon Lewis

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I’ve been thinking about spring lately and that brings to mind tulips – one of my favorite flowers. There are so many colors and even within one tulip, so many variations in colors. I’m traveling this week so I’m sharing some tulips I painted several years ago.

Happy Weekend!

 

The Colors of the Season

“The Colors of the Season”        9” x 9”         Pastel         $100      © Sharon Lewis

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            On these bitter cold, now winter days, when the vibrant colors of fall have faded, I’m warmed by the sight of red flowers and green leaves. I was fortunate to be able to paint a small study of these beautiful flowers when staying on the west coast several years ago.  They didn’t look exactly like this (nature rarely arranges her flowers in perfect compositions) but with my photos and small study I was able to create this painting.

            I hope you’re warmed by the company of those you love this weekend. To all who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas Weekend!

 

Beautiful Without Regard

   “Beautiful Without Regard”       9” x 7”    Pastel     $75    © Sharon Lewis

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Sometimes, I’m so enamored of the beautiful sky, trees, and water at a local park, that I forget to look down. After I finished a long walk recently, I took a moment to pause and look out across the blue water of one of the small lakes. Fortunately, I looked down and noticed these small, yellow wildflowers growing around the lake, almost glowing as they caught the light from the setting sun. I’m always amused when I realize that what we see as weeds are sometimes quietly beautiful wildflowers simply growing where we didn’t intend them.

Happy Weekend!

 

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

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

             I want to celebrate all my family and friends who are mothers as well as all those kind souls who mother others with kindness and support. You make the world brighter for your presence.

            Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!

Happy Easter!

“Mad About Tulips”          Oil        10” x 8”          $100   © Sharon Lewis

            I love this time of year when signs of new life are all around us. There are the beautifully flowering trees like the dogwoods as well as the very old apple tree in my front yard, still delighting me with its pink, fragrant blossoms.  Then there are the flowers blooming in neighbor’s yards while mine have long ago been eaten by all the deer. And I can’t forget the birds, singing their cheerful spring songs as I spend hours grading good but very long papers.

            To all my friends who celebrate Passover, Happy Passover! To family and friends who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter!

 

Sunburst

  “Sunburst”            6” x 6”          Pastel         $50         © Sharon Lewis

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              I’ve been going through my studio continuing to excavate paintings some of which I’m putting out of their misery and filing in the trash bin, some I’m working on if they seem to have a good composition, and a very few I decided that I liked as they are. Finding this one was a nice surprise since I love sunflowers; they’ve always seemed like such a great symbol of summer!

            Happy Weekend!

 

A Touch of Scarlet

“A Touch of Scarlet”     2.5” x 3.5”      Pastel      $25      © Sharon Lewis
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            This pot of scarlet geraniums was just one of many wonderful surprises I saw on my first visit to Monterey, California. These beautiful flowers (one of my favorites) were sitting on a balcony overlooking the water where I could see otters, some with babies, cracking open their dinner as they leisurely floated below. There were also gulls, cormorants, and sea lions. What an amazing place!

            Happy Weekend!