Bella In Black and White

Commission Dog Portrait: Bella is a proud mischievous little Shih-zu who, had she been human would have been a great little runway model. She posed very prettily for her photo shoot and we had a hard time choosing the one to be painted because they all came out so nice. This is because Bella is still young enough to  look good all the time .

Floyd: The ECU Pirate Dog

Floyd was a special commission for  "Jennifer" a little girl who was in my 2 year old class way  back in the day.  Jennifer grew up to be a lovely young lady and Floyd was her pet. About the time Jennifer got pregnant with her first child  Floyd passed away. Her mother called me and asked me to paint a picture of Floyd so they could have it on the wall for the baby to see as he grew up.  They chose the Photograph of Floyd with this big OLE grin on his face enjoying the sunshine. Jennifer was my absolute favorite two year old way back then before I had any children of my own and it was a special treat to be a part of her life again.

After School Bible club

This week I decided to work on my blog by adding a few community things. I am glad I did, it has been nice to stroll through memory lane.  I am sure now that maybe I am ready to retire and let the world spin on with out me. 

Looking back at this bitter cold wet day  in 1996 I remember the thankfulness I felt towards the men who showed up to pour all that concrete that the Sunrock company delivered for free. That side walk these men  labored over was at least 350 feet long, they were wet and tired but also set up ten heavy concrete picnic tables that were donated by the area churches and they  did it all in good humor.

Sometimes we rescue.

Sometimes we need rescuing.

That was a day I was rescued.

I am forever grateful that I am not a man.

It was hard work

I am forever grateful for men.

The kids made cement walk way stones.

Nap Time For Ricco: Tricolored Light Beagle

Ricco is my brothers dog and he was delighted I choose to paint him one day when I had a rare break between commissions. My brother was really happy I wanted to take Ricco to some art shows and let him be a star.

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.

Boxer Portrait: Cooper

This was a pet portrait commissioned as a Christmas gift to a young man by his mom. I pondered if a man so young would appreciate this unusual gift. No doubt, I was told he loved it.

The photo below is the original Photograph of Cooper that her mom sent me to paint Coopers Pet Portrait.

The Divine Eternal Reunion: Together Forever

 The Divine Eternal Reunion: Together Forever was envisioned by a nice man who commissioned me to paint it for him. This is his view of what heaven will be like and  as an artist it was my job to paint it as he saw it and what he wanted. That was a hard job! He called early one morning to discuss his idea and said he wanted me to work with him on this because he had seen some "spiritual" paintings I had done and trusted me with his idea. He explained that he had lost his beloved wife just three years earlier and wanted a painting of heaven and the reunion that we will all have at the coming of Christ. He began to share with me his idea of a painting of heaven based on Revelation 21:4.  I opened my bible and began to read the  verse. And God shall wipe away all of their tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall their be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.✞

 

 

We discussed the bright light and the colors of the rainbow and multitudes of people all hugging and being reunited with great joy. As an artist it is hard to not add your own ideas so I  got really into the angels and how Jesus would look and wanted to do a throne, a lion and a lamb. Later we both decided that it would best serve the idea of the painting if we left that off.  We talked about an angel pouring out all the prayers of the saints based on Psalms 56:8Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? and  also  Revelation 5:8And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 

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

Rockland Maine- Passing By the Light House- 2

This is not the same Painting as the one I did yesterday. I liked the composition so I Painted it again in a softer style. Note the clouds.. they were not in the other painting. Just trying new things! You can see that the paint is still wet. These are done in oil so they take longer to dry.

Passing By The Light House- Rockland Maine

It was raining very hard when I visited this light house. I put on my rain coat and dwaddled on out there. It took longer than I expected because I had to be cautious with the rocks being slippery and not all the same size. There is a 7/8 mile long rock walk that they call a "breakwater". It appeared to be about 10 foot wide. You can walk the rocks all the way and then go up the stairs to see around it.

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.

Ride 'em John

This is a painting I did a few years ago of my son on his hobby horse. His daughters now ride the horse and call him Jingle Bells because he has a ribbon and some bells around his neck. Life moves on but Jingle Bells never ages.

Evening Visitor 2

This is a tiny 8 x 10 painting. It is of one of the cows I discovered on a snowy farm in Virginia. Yes, that was one beautiful yellow sunset. It looked just like I painted it, and that is why I felt compelled to jump out of my car and trudge through the cold snowy air and watch the sun set on this cow.

Evening Visitor

It had just snowed earlier  on this almost spring  day and the sun was setting across this farm in Virginia. The cows were actually "lowing" which seems to be a long quiet slow drawn out sound which was not like the normal moo. They seemed  a bit concerned about me visiting them so late in the evening. Although it was February, the sound they made reminded me of  a song we sing in December.

  The cattle are lowing the poor baby wakes, but little Lord Jesus no crying he makes. I love thee Lord Jesus look down from the sky and stay by my cradle til morning is nigh."Away in Manger" ..

North Raleigh News, March 5 2013

High: 61° Low:  34°		38°
5-Day Forecast

HOME
NEWS
SCHOOLS
PUBLIC SAFETY - SPORTS- FALL SPORTS- SPRING SPORTS-  FOOTBALL SOCCER-  COMMUNITY-  ARTS -




COMMUNITY - ART NOTES
Tuesday, Mar. 05, 2013

Art After Hours Painter Uses Art To Help Community

BY SARAH BARR - SBARR@NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Painter Tammy Sorrell knows inspiration can turn up when you least expect it.

She keeps a camera at the ready to record the scenes that captivate her so that she can paint them later. And she has found a way to use her art that she didn’t expect – by working in the community to help at risk youth with problems such as cutting, depression, and drug addiction.

The Local-based artist, who paints under the name T. Angelique, is the featured artist at The Cotton Company,. The gallery will hold an artist’s reception Friday for Art After Hours.

Vandalism in the Pottery Shed

He was Baaaaaad.. really really BAAAAD! 

My reproduction of William-Adolphe Bouguereau's Painting -"l' innocence

This is a very large painting and so it was the one I decided to put in the window of my display at the Cotton Company in Wake Forest. I was delighted when the mother of an 11 year old girl called and explained to me that her daughter begged her to stop the car and go back to let her get out and look at it. After inspecting it she requested a smaller 11x14 reproduction for her upcoming  12th birthday.

https://www.bouguereau.org/

http://www.bouguereau.org/home-7-24-1-2.html

______________________________________________

You can also find more about William-Adolphe Bouguerau at Artsy: 

https://www.artsy.net/artist/william-adolphe-bouguereau

Copper and Apple : with a warmer background

Oil on Canvas 12x14

Shih Tzu with Orchids

How Much is that Doggy in the Window?

Rebekah's Pansy