AMOS LEE

About a month ago, before the BIG SHOW, I had printed out some interseting pics I found on the websites of some of my favorite musicians. There were quite a few black and whites with interesting shadows and silhouettes...and I vowed that I would do these in small sizes for my "painting a day"...and so here's the first in a series of musical "smalls". 5x7, matted in white, framed in simple black. Haven't even considered a price because I want him all for myself. At least for a little while!


I consider AMOS LEE the male version of Norah Jones...funky bluesy storytelling, reflective lyrics, perfect for disappearing into a painting! I found him while reading about Norah's newest venture and the other artists on the movie soundtrack for Blueberry Nights. Still haven't seen it, but am hoping that one of these two great musicians will venture into Florida one of these days. I am way overdue for a good show!

Peaceful Reflections

Whew! Finished in time for the show, this still life has been on my easel for the last week or so. I took the original photo in my living room several weeks ago. The light streams in my front window and I knew it would be awesome on the new bouquet of flowers, but I had no idea the reflection would be so strong through the vase. So beautiful... The arrangement sits on the black piano (which is the highly reflective surface) and the blue of the sky sets the tone for the whole scene. I will frame it tonight...black with non glare glass.

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME....

5x7, pastel, matted and framed in white

PARADISE FOUND

The Art League's Harvest of Art happens in exactly a week and I'm scrambling to get some pictures ready for the show. I took this out of the frame and sprayed it and added a bit more color to it. It now hangs in the Hernando Today lobby. I'll borrow it back for the show...along with a few others I've sent off to good homes.

Getting ready for the show is both exciting and stressful. I don't really feel as though I have enough new work this year, but I do have few colorful ones that will hopefully make up for that.. Quality rather than quantity....I've also matted a few prints, anticipating the fact that purchases in the under $50 price range will be very popular this year.

I am excited that we now have a Democratic government, though not on the local level. Change is necessary. Taxes need to be addressed and health care needs to be totally overhauled. Paying several hundred dollars for common antibiotics is outrageous and the nauseated feeling I get when I have to ask the doctor to change the script because I cannot pay that amount is intrusive. What do I have insurance for? Cheers to CHANGE!

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

I was VERY creative today, pumping out two small 5'x7' landscapes. They are framed and ready to go to the HARVEST OF ART in a little over three weeks. I am really enjoying the freedom of painting something small...by freedom, I mean I don't have to commit to a huge project that I know will take weeks. I know each one of these can be finished within an hour or two and I'm throwing myself into each one. I literally have hundreds of photos stuffed in boxes that I am resurrecting and going through. I think flowers will be next...I have so many referrence photos. Tomorrow, a field trip to the Chinsegut Nature Center outside Brooksville with Mary Alice Queiros and members of the Art League to sketch the old historic building and grounds.


Plein Air Painting....


LOVE my creative Wednesdays!

ALMOST FINISHED

I have moved the right eye over and am happy now with how it is lined up. I have added lights and darks and now have more of a 3d effect. It is hard to see in the photo, but the highlights are made up of many light colors including pink, blue, lavender and white. Mid tones are pinks, oranges, tans. Darks are blue, purple, green, reddish brown and some black in the very darkest areas. I have only the finest hairs and details to add...and to put a bit of color variation in the light blue background and Mr. Lee will be finis.

I See Lovebugs....

That can only mean one thing...times are a changin! Pesky as they are, I look forward to seeing love bugs return each fall as it signifies the change in season and is often the only visible clue until the lawns turn brown closer to Thanksgiving.
There is slight drop in temperature.... more noticeable just as the sun comes up (when my faithful pooch Boomer and I take to the street for our morning run.)



This picture is not new, but I felt compelled to post it to mark my favorite time of year when the leaves turn, the air crisps and the cider flows. It is titled PATH TO BROTHERS BROOK and is done from a photo of one of my favorite places in my hometown of Somers, New York. Down the path is a beautiful winding stream where my sister, Kiki, took me when I was young for picnics on OUR moss covered rock under the shade canopy of oaks and white birch. It was also a place where my friends and I came of age, jumping off the falls into the pool below ( never the girls!), told late night ghost stories around the bonfire and solved all the problems of the world. It was a much simpler time then, when parents could let their children wander the neighborhood. We would disappear for the whole day, jump off the rope swing, get caught in the rain and have to negotiate the road home in the dark on our bikes without helmets or cell phones. Imagine that.

Happy Change of Seasons...

ABOVE PICTURES TAKEN BY GEORGE RODRIGUEZ