It's a Dog's Day

I was out at the  Wake Forest Historical Museum enjoying  Plein-Air painting "The Old Well" landmark one summer morning when Allen came by walking his dog Frankie. Apparently this is their neighborhood and hang out, and the go to place to walk on beautiful days. It seemed natural to add them into the painting I was working on and I appreciate Allen letting me take some photo references to use as well. I tried to capture the peacefulness and sunlight as well as  the relationship between Allen and Frankie. It was also nice to be able to put them in the surroundings that they are both familiar with. I decided to call this painting "It's a Dog's Day" because of the relationship between the man and his dog. Clearly when this dog is around ... the day belongs to him!

Anne and Her Dogs

8x10 Oil Study

This is a quick little study I did one Saturday afternoon.  I took this photo when I came to  a clients home to capture shots of her dogs in order to paint some large individual portraits. I got home and could not sit still until I got the paints out and dabbled. I took about 150 photos and this was one of the few times that the dogs actually got still. I thought it was precious. 

Playing in the Sand

Falls Lake Dam Fisherman

Pleinair Painting of a Man Fishing

Today I went out  to enjoy the fresh air and friends. It is very hot outside right now and everyone wants to leave after a few hours except me. I could stay all day. This man was kind enough to stand relatively still for us. I think we made him kind of nervous after he figured out that we were painting him. But he was a good sport about it.

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.

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!"

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.

Far Away

This is a painting that I wanted to do because of the way this old lady in India is in such deep thought. I find myself wanting to depict  the lives of women, especially as we get older and wiser.