Belle and Sadie

 

The mother of these pups wanted a painting of them together. The problem was she did not have any good photos of them together. After she sent me over two dozen photos I finally said I would come to her home and take a photo, and she said that would be great, they would bark and growl for a while but would settle down. I am a bit afraid of dogs and did not want to do that under those circumstances. So she continued to email me photos of what she could get, after looking for common poses and themes I choose to merge two photos together where  they both had on a little costume. It ended up being a great adorable painting.... of the two of them together.

Saint Lucia

 

 A Catholic School wanted me to paint St Lucia for a festival they are having. They sent me the picture and I called back. "Do I have to paint the eyes in the bowl?" Yes, they said, " St Lucia was was an innocent girl killed for her faith and her eyes were poked out, so that was her "offering, or sacrifice." At first I was a little creeped out, but then I thought of all the places in the world- today- where Christians - young children- are being killed, maimed, & held in prisons for their faith. Although this young women lived many years ago in today's modern world there are other ways in which people sacrifice their life for the life of another, Police Officers, Moms and Dads, Firemen, the Military.  Scripture says " Greater love has no man than this- that he would lay down His life for His "friends." God intends for us  to love others before ourselves. We are called to love those who are different from us, to love those who do not believe what we believe, to be merciful and kind. God is love.

This is painted on 1/4 inch wood and cut out, the back is painted gold and I created a prop for it in the back so it could be set on a table with poinsettias around it  

I decided to show 2 photos because the one with the white back ground ( which is from where I sat the painting in my white shadow box ) does not show that it is a wood cut out. I included of the photo of the painting  on the easel so you could see that it is not on a canvas. 

Psalms 23 Trilogy

The women who commissioned this painting said she did not want art that came from a store or off a shelf. She wanted to be a part of the design and wanted an original painting in her living room by a real artist she knew-( me!)  She gave some serious thought to what she wanted to say and the feeling she wanted to convey .  When I finally met with her and she  told me she wanted to talk about a trilogy of  the Twenty Third Psalms I was really excited. These paintings are each 18 x 24 inches and I put the brown border on them to show how they would look when they were framed. One of the things she loves are poppies and so we did some research and found out that poppies do grow in the Holy Land so I put them at the foot of the mountain in the final painting of the sheep being rescued.  I read a book on shepherds and his care of sheep before I began and we discovered that there are  blue flowers that can make the sheep sick so I used little blue flowers in the painting where Jesus is looking for the lost sheep. We decided to go with a sky that was yellow and looked moody. It was early morning when  I delivered them and she was very happy with the results of all our collaboration. Her husband was sitting in the living room drinking his coffee  and in front of him was the blank wall  that would soon give him a peaceful scene to enjoy ... 

Maine: Walking the Dogs on the Breakwater

Posing With His Dogs: Painting from an old black and white photograph.

This was a gift I did for my mom and it made her very happy today. Her father died when she was a teenager and she was the apple of his eye. She told me stories of how protective the two dogs Queen and Belle were when she was growing up. My mother is very stoic - up til today I rarely have seen her get emotional. She kept saying it was like he was in the room with her. Then I realized, all these years all she had was a few small black and white grainy, faded photos of him. Seeing him in color on a 18 x 24 inch canvas brought him back to her. I never realized how powerful it could be to put color into her world in this way. Over and over she called me the next dew months telling how he greeted her each morning and how much it changed her to have him in the room with her. She felt at home for the first time in a long time... in a home she had lived in for over 30 years.

What God Told Her, Saint Catherine Of Siena

I painted this large painting 4 ft x 8 ft in 2001 and called it " What God Told Her."  I adapted it from a photo I ran across of  a marble carving in the year 1386  on the tomb of  Giovanni da Legnano  in San Domenico, Bologna, Italy. The tomb of course had no color and I really wanted to bring this little nun back to life.

I prayed over this painting and reflected on my life as I painted it. I made sure to paint that ribbon in her book scarlet red, to me the book represents the bible, the column represents the church, the gold rings the Trinity, the wooden floor earth and the rays spiritual understanding. After it was finished it hung in my studio a while and later  I rolled it up and tucked it in a closet. 12 years later I rolled it out when my kids were over visiting and told them, she needs to be in a Catholic Church or school somewhere. However, I did not know any Catholics personally !

So a few weeks later, out of the blue a Catholic lady I did not know called me for a commission. We became friends and talked often. I still forgot about the nun in the closet and then one day this lady mentioned her husband was the principal at the Saint Catherine of Siena school,.. I mentioned the nun and as it turns out she will be hung at the Saint Catherine of Siena school. .. here is the catch, in 2001 I did not know that this little nun WAS Saint Catherine of Siena.....

but after many hours research of the tomb we found out that  she is.

                                                            I guess it was time for her to go home.

                                                                             I'm going to miss her. 

                                                                     The providence of God is amazing.

I

Harnette County Homestead

I wanted to call this painting  "The Old House in My Mom's Neck of the Woods" but I was not sure if any one who is not a Southerner would understand that term. My mother and I went out driving one day so she could show me some of the old houses that our relatives had lived in. Most of the ones we were looking for had already been torn down . We did stumble on this one and although it is not connected to any family member living there it was still an old landmark my mom had known forever. So she patiently sat in the car on the side of the road so I could jump out and take photos.  I decided to leave this one sorta "shabby" in style. I  made that decision when I  got to a point in the painting  that if I tried to push it any further it would begin to look to new and spruced up.

Waiting For the Rain

        I pass by this house often and  each time I would tell myself I would stop one day and take some photos. Then one almost rainy afternoon when I was in a hurry to get home I passed by to see the azaleas had burst into bloom and made the contrast of old and new so vivid. I stopped. Mr Smith was 76. He posed on the porch of his ramshackle old tin roofed house and spit tobacco and told me stories, he has lived here all his life. He said "Do you like figs? Come back when the figs are ripe and I will let you have some."

Actually I love figs, or as Face Book would say I am in a relationship with figs. So  I unabashedly ( like a two year old) clarified what he meant when he offered figs" I  questioned him, "Mr. Smith do you mean one Fig, or two figs, or enough to make a jar of jelly?" He laughed.

Then he tried to give me a rooster. As he looked off into the clouds from his place on the porch I hollered from where I was snapping shots... "Mr Smith, I am going to call this one "Waiting for the Rain!"

Autumn Harvest

Learning the Ropes

This painting is of two young boys out at sunset pulling in a lobster trap in Maine. I visited Maine earlier in the year and took many photos to paint.. yet I was disappointed that  in spite of running up and down the coast I did not see any lobster boats with men actually fishing. Later I was told it was not the season. I came back to North Carolina and when looking for something else I found  this image on a web site.  I could not resist so I found the number of who I thought  it belonged to, took a  chance, and called to ask permission to paint it. To me  this whole painting symbolizes the wonderful people I met in Maine. It is a testimony of good will and trust among strangers. I explained to the man who answered the phone who I was and what I wanted and this kind man  said "Sure, we would be delighted for you to paint it!"

It made my day. I am going to paint it several more times, changing, tweaking, and  playing with the light and the water reflections. For sure it is my all time favorite.

Soon I will pack my camera and be will be headed back to Maine to see my son. I can not wait to get some more pictures of this beautiful area.

Red Boat on Rainy Day

I think I must have visited Maine in the rainy season. I was content with that because I was able to get most of my photos with out having to work around a lot of tourist. This painting was adapted from a photo I took of a crowded rainy boat dock . There was an abundant supply of boats, docks and water to choose from!

All Docked Up and No Where to Go. Rockport, Maine

Our Town

 This was my entry to the Wake Forest Call to Artist Competition. The entry's were supposed to depict the growth and updating of the Main street and the plans that the town of Wake Forest has to promote arts and entertainment. This painting took second place in the Competition.

Portland Maine- Lucky Catch

Camden Maine, Misty Boat Dock

Recently I took  a trip to Maine to visit my son. It was my first time flying alone and  I planned to  travel  alone  by car to take photos and explore. The first hotel I stayed in Orono Maine I told the clerk to give me a "safe" room. Close to the desk and not on some lonely hall by myself. The next morning my son called and asked me what I would be doing. I told him I would be out and about town taking pictures. He said "Have you looked out side? It is raining." I opened the big draped window curtain on the sliding glass doors to see a steady light rain falling and the most beautiful view. " Don't worry about me!" I said," I will be happy just painting my view from this hotel window!" At that moment I made up my mind never again to ask for a safe room... but for the best view.  A few nights later I was staying in Camden and this painting is  the view from  my window at the Lord Camden Inn.

Rockport Maine: The Green Garden Hose

Rocky Shore Light House

George Washington -Fayetteville Street, Raleigh Nc

As I painted this I imagined old George saying, "Don't make me have to come down and straighten this city out." My son works on the 6th floor of the pink building with blue windows, so I painted this  one for his office.

Carriage Ride , Charleston

Ford Fordson

I found this old car on a trip up north hiding in what appeared to be a junk collectors barn. I was thankful to have my camera ready to take a photo because I knew right away that it would be perfect for what I call " Under the Eaves" Collection- Things  that people have stored under the eaves of barns and sheds in the country. Really. You never find this kind of thing around the city.