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“Summer Sky” 2.5 x 3.5 Pastel $26 © Sharon Lewis
I’ve been away visiting family for a while but I had a little break to work on this summer sky. Skies with beautiful clouds remain one of my favorite subjects to paint.
Happy Weekend!
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“Summer Parade” 5 x 7 Pastel $ 105 © Sharon Lewis
This is a painting I completed while onsite in Maine. It was August but it was sunny, windy, and cool – for me, an ideal summer day. I had a constant parade of clouds drifting by and so I had to quickly paint what was in front of me. For a relatively slow painter like me this was challenging but also exhilarating. I feel so lucky that I had the opportunity to be outside on a gorgeous, sunlit day getting to do something I love.
Happy Weekend!
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“Sailing Saturday” 5 x 7 Pastel $ 105 © Sharon Lewis
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This is another painting I did while in Maine recently. I was in my version of heaven, painting on the coast, in sunny, cool weather, with gorgeous clouds overhead and sailboats gliding by.
Happy Weekend!
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“Racing the Rain” 5 x 7 Pastel $ 105 © Sharon Lewis
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While in Maine recently, I was lucky to be treated to the sight of many clouds racing across the sky, with lots of sailboats trying to beat the rain clouds. I love painting skies outside, especially in cool, sunny weather but it was a challenge to capture these fast-moving clouds before they exited stage right.
Happy Weekend!
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“Alexander Lake” 9” x 12” Pastel $216 © Sharon Lewis
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This is a painting of Alexander Lake in Panola Mountain State Park, a place I love to hike in the fall, winter, and spring. I’ve seen some of the most spectacular sunsets when walking there in the winter. It’s almost as if Mother Nature compensates us for the short hours of light with a gorgeous light show at the end of the day. Happy Weekend!
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“Breezy” 5” x 7” Pastel $105 © Sharon Lewis
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On another beautiful day in April, 39 years ago, I gave birth to my first child, Sean. He has grown to be a very kind, smart, caring, compassionate person, a wonderful father to his two kids and a thoughtful, loving son. I am so lucky!
Happy Weekend!
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“Just in Time” 5” x 7” Pastel $105 © Sharon Lewis
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It’s been gray and rainy here in the Atlanta area and it’s due to be that way for several days. As much as I welcome the much-needed rain, I hate the gray days. So, I’m focusing on a different place and time. Earlier this summer, we arrived on the coast of Washington State just in time to see this spectacular sunset. I plan on holding this memory close this weekend.
Happy Weekend!
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| “Summer Memories II” 2.5” x 3.5” Pastel $26.25 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
I’m ready for the cooler temperatures of fall but still holding onto the memories of the long days of light I enjoy in summer. I’m remembering looking out over the many blues and greens of the sea against the background of fluffy clouds and a beautiful, blue sky. Ah, the end of summer and the beginning of fall is always bittersweet.
Happy Weekend!
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“Summer Memories” 2.5” x 3.5” Pastel $26.25 © Sharon Lewis
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Like many of my friends I have mixed feelings about Labor Day. I appreciate that it’s a holiday for most people but it also marks the end of summer. Although I love that fall will bring cooler temperatures and less humidity (eventually), I will miss the long days of light we enjoy during summer. Summer also gives us spectacular displays of clouds which I love. Yes, clear blue skies can be nice but for someone who loves painting interesting skies, I’ll take some huge clouds any day.
Happy Weekend and Happy Labor Day!
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“Reaching Toward the Heavens” 12” x 18” Pastel $ 324 © Sharon Lewis
Happy Weekend!
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“Firebird” 9” x 9” Pastel $240 © Sharon Lewis
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I rarely work from other people’s photos but this shot that my daughter took is exactly the kind of scene I love. When I finished painting this, I stepped back and thought immediately of a firebird. The firebird is often described as a bird glowing with red, orange, and yellow light and has several different myths associated with it. I like the Suzanne Massie retelling of the legend, that has a young, talented artisan turned into a firebird by a sorcerer because she chose to remain true to her values. She sheds her beautiful feathers over her village where the magical feathers show their colors to those who love beauty and who seek to make beauty for others.
Happy Weekend!
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“From Above” 5” x 7” Pastel $105 © Sharon Lewis
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It’s always hard to come home from an enjoyable vacation but sometimes you get a treat at the very end. Flying back from the scenic views, great hiking, and cool weather of the west coast back into the hot, sultry weather of Atlanta in July is never easy. However, on that evening, as we descended to Hartsfield-Jackson International airport, Atlanta treated us to a spectacular sunset, with the lights of the city below – a great welcome home!
Happy Weekend!
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| “Aerial Chase” 8” x 12” Pastel $288 © Sharon Lewis Click Here to Purchase |
Looking at clouds never gets old. Ever since I was a child, clouds have excited my imagination. I could see so many things in the sky above. Now, they also inspire awe and delight as they put on their daily show of color and beauty. I have friends who will comment approvingly, “Look at that! Not a cloud in the sky!” I will respond sadly, “Yes, not a cloud in the sky” as I search desperately for clouds in the distance preparing to present me with aerial shows of gorgeous color and forms that could be people or dogs – there’s always at least one dog to be seen in clouds. In this painting, I see maybe a happy dog smiling in the middle or maybe a parent cloud running after that smaller cloud on the left, who couldn’t resist chasing after that ball of light in the sky. What do you see?
Happy Weekend!
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“Bridging the Divide” 12” x 18” Pastel $430 © Sharon Lewis
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I love how beautifully clouds can sweep across the sky out west. I especially love how these dramatic dark and light clouds met in the middle….much the way I wish members of different ideological groups would. I wish we would listen to each other’s concerns and hopes and see the possibility of meeting in the middle.
Happy Weekend!
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“Beach Promenade” 11” x 14” Pastel $300 © Sharon Lewis
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I’m looking at lead gray skies with cold rain in the forecast so I wouldn’t mind being on a beach like this right now. I can feel the warm sun on my face and see the billowing clouds ahead and a sparkling turquoise sea on my right. Ahhhh, this is the way to celebrate January!
Happy Weekend!
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“Bright Beginning” 11” x 14” Pastel $300 © Sharon Lewis
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This is my first painting of the new year and not surprisingly, I chose one of my favorite painting subjects: a sky full of beautiful color and light. I wanted to convey my overall optimistic feelings about the new year in spite of some of the sad and terrible things happening in the world. May this new year bring peace, sufficient food, and safe shelter to those who need it the most.
Happy Weekend and Happy New Year!
| “Shared Joy” 9” x 12” Pastel $100 © Sharon Lewis |
Happy Weekend!
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“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!
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“That Je Ne Sais Quoi” 8” x 10” Pastel $75 © Sharon Lewis
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Today’s painting title comes from me trying to understand my love of the light you see at the end of a sunny day. It’s a wonderful, warm light that makes everything glow and appear more beautiful than earlier, in the full light of day. It’s that “je ne sais quoi”; that elusive quality in the light that although I can’t fully describe it, makes me stop just to watch how magnificently the setting sun transforms the landscape.
Happy Weekend!
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“Reaching Toward the Heavens” 12” x 18” $250 © Sharon Lewis
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If I could, I would always live by the water. I grew up by the ocean and my early memories are of the soothing, rhythmic sounds of the waves. The beach was my playground where there was always something new and interesting that the sea had uncovered.
However, my beach looked nothing like this. There were no rocks unless humans had brought them in to form a jetty and the sand was a soft yellow, not the dark gray of this cove. This cove was also a lot more peaceful, with no children screaming with delight, no big waves, just the quiet, gentle, rhythmic lapping of the water. Ahhhhhh.
Happy Weekend!
