Glen Coe (#2), Scotland

  “Glen Coe (#2), Scotland”     9” x 12”    Pastel   $100    © Sharon Lewis
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            Here is another in my series of paintings of mountains. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really doing a series on mountain scenes in Scotland since I keep choosing reference photos from there to paint from. I have sooooo many photos from this area! It was such a hauntingly beautiful area I shouldn’t be surprised that I took so many photos.

            I wasn’t prepared to love Scotland as much as I did and do. After all, my not so distant ancestors are not from here; they’re from Ireland, a country I found to be everything everyone told me it would be: beautiful with very friendly people. Unfortunately, at the time I visited Ireland I did not have the nice digital camera that I have now and took very few decent photos. When we decided to visit Scotland, I expected it to be nice, maybe even pretty but since it’s not the home of my ancestors, I was not prepared to be so enthusiastically impressed by the gorgeous scenery and the especially kind people.

            Have a happy weekend!

Mountain Greens

“Mountain Greens”   2.5” x 3.5”    Pastel     $20    © Sharon Lewis
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           Another busy week has gone by. There’s been so much to do as I return to work at the office. There’s all of the usual beginning of the semester routines and challenges. In addition, I have to replace an old filing cabinet, one which is taller than I am and was in danger of falling on me.  This meant I had to take everything out of the old one and do something with all of the files that I have accumulated over the last decades. Yes, there was just a mountain of paper!  

          And speaking of mountains, I’ve decided to do a series of paintings featuring them. I’m also considering a series on animals but we’ll see if there’s enough time for both. I have two mountain paintings that I hope to finish this weekend and post next week. 

         Today’s painting is one I did late at night this week when I was missing painting like a cardiac patient misses fried chicken. This painting is based on photos again from the Glencoe area of Scotland. I’m not sure why this area is so appealing to me but may have something to do with the violet mountains towering above the velvety green meadows.

Stay warm and have a happy weekend!

A River Flows Through Here

“A River Flows Through Here”    9” x 12”     Pastel    $100     © Sharon Lewis
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             My sabbatical ended this week which means I am back at my day job now. No more the luxury of painting all day if I want. I am back to teaching, committee work, and research.  Fortunately, I have wonderful students and colleagues and an interesting day job so I really shouldn’t complain. However,  I have already been checking out my office to see if I could possibly fit an easel someplace for lunch time painting.

            Today’s painting is from the Glencoe area of Scotland, a place which I found eerie, fascinating, and beautiful.

Happy weekend!

A Fish of a Different Color

“Fish Scales”    9” x 12”     Pastel     $100    © Sharon Lewis
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            This painting may be a bit of a surprise for those of you used to my landscapes and still life works. However, after a particularly gloomy, rainy winter day, I decided some bright colors were in order. Today’s painting comes from sketches I made years ago when playing around with some ideas for colorful paintings. At the time, I think I wanted an excuse to use primary colors but for some reason, I never worked on the painting I had envisioned.  While straightening up my studio over the holidays I found my sketchbook with a handful of ideas about fish paintings and I just had to try this one. I painted this with Diane Townsend’s Wolf Kahn set of pastels. If you’ve ever seen any of his paintings, you’ll know we love a lot of the same vivid colors.

Wishing you all a happy weekend!

Symbol of Beauty, Rebirth, and Good Luck

“ New Year’s Apples”   5” x 7”   Pastel    $50      © Sharon Lewis
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            I’m back after a holiday break. I’ve had a wonderful time visiting with my kids and friends although the time passed far too quickly.  Although I haven’t posted here on my blog, I have been painting. I’ve been working on some landscapes but also on some paintings that are very different from what I usually post. I’ll talk more about these different paintings later.

            In the meantime, I was curious about what apples symbolize and so did a little research online. I was amazed at how cultures around the world view the apple so differently. In Greek myth, they’re golden and gifts of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. In Norse mythology, apples are symbols of beauty and rebirth. In Celtic traditions they may be given as tokens of good luck. So I offer you, in the form of a painting, these apples of beauty, rebirth, and good luck as well as my wishes for a very happy New Year.

Merry Christmas!

“Christmas Light”      9” x 11”     Pastel        $100      © Sharon Lewis
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            The presents are wrapped and one “child” is home with the other arriving this afternoon. I can’t wait! It never really seems to be Christmas without both my kids home. Once they’re married and have other parents to divide their time between I know I will have to adjust. For now though, we will still bake and decorate our traditional sugar cookies together, creating small masterpieces with frosting and sprinkles. We will have my daughter hang the star on the tree since she is the younger of the two kids and as she used to refer to herself, “the littlest” (she still is). We will have our Christmas Eve mini-feast, a fire in the fireplace, and toast Christmas together. We will open our presents Christmas morning, have a holiday brunch, and then have Christmas dinner later in the evening. I love holiday traditions!

            I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and for those of my friends who don’t celebrate Christmas, I wish for you a time of warmth, love, and togetherness.

Where Santa Lives When Not at the North Pole

“Christmas Marsh”    9” x 12”     Pastel    $100     © Sharon Lewis
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            Well, I believe I’m finally through with holiday shopping but now have to wrap all the presents. Even though by the time I get to this point I’m pretty exhausted, I still enjoy doing this. I love all of the colors of the wrapping paper and bows and even the tags. Each present after I’ve wrapped it, feels a little like a work of art I’ve created. I think I’m like most of my artist friends in that we need very little excuse to exercise our creativity…whether you want us to or not.

            Some of my artist friends might recognize the view in this painting although I’ve significantly changed the colors. It’s been a really grey, overcast day here and I felt the need for some bright, cheerful colors. The painting is based on some photos I took this September when visiting the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ. This is a beautiful, peaceful marsh, with birds everywhere and well worth a visit if you’re ever in southern New Jersey. Happy Weekend!