Coming soon: More frequent posts!

Starting in November (Monday!), I will be attempting to post to this blog four times a week.  I will post on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings.  Mondays you can stop by to see a new original painting,  Wednesdays I'll be posting a new wedding invitation as I work to expand my collection, Fridays I'll be featuring the work of another artist, and Sundays I'll post about other projects I'm undertaking. 

I'll also be changing the blog name to more accurately reflect the new schedule and blog features.  I hope you will check back to see all the new changes.

Belmont Harbor IV

 

I love the drama of this scene: the most easterly trees bathed in the waning evening light, the other trees casting strong silhouettes against the vibrant sky, a glimpse of the skyline amid the trees, and whimsical clouds floating out of the frame.  What brilliant melding of the natural and the man-made!

Belmont Harbor III

This painting is another in the series of paintings of the stretch of lake path between Montrose and Belmont Harbors.  It features the weeping willows which dance along the edge of the path.  The late morning light reflects brilliantly what Carl Sandburg calls "...a blue burst of lake, long lake waves breaking under the sun, on a spray-flung curve of shore..."

Belmont Harbor II

This is another in my small series paintings of Lake Michigan from Belmont Harbor.  I am often drawn back to water as a subject matter.  My blog address (waterpaintings) was initially selected because I had once planned to paint only water for one year.  I found that my creative energies were drawn to a variety of projects and I strayed from that initial idea, but I continue to be interested in painting water.  It is a subject matter which seems eager to be poetic--constant, yet unpredictable, beyond our control, sometimes serene, sometimes angry.  

Belmont Harbor I

 

This is the first in a series of paintings of a lovely stretch of the lakefront in Chicago.  It is a quiet section of running path between Montrose Harbor and Belmont Harbor.  A bit of hidden corner of the city, it is a great place to sit quietly, run, see the sun rise, bask in the dusk light reflecting off the water, and paint.

North Avenue Beach

There are few things as wonderful about Chicago as Lake Michigan.  Chicago has 26 miles of lakefront accessible to the public, including 18 miles of path for running/walking/biking, many beaches, and beautiful parks.  I'm feeling nostalgic as summer draws to a close for the many hours I've spent on the lakefront these last months.  I have ridden my bike many dozens of times south to downtown.  I've found the route to be a delightful option when one needs to transport oneself downtown, a good time to reflect on life, and an effective form of exercise (particularly when the wind is strong, which is common along the lake).

The Raven

This year the Ravenswod Artwalk is featuring The Raven Project. Artists can submit one piece of art that represents the Raven, which will be displayed during the ArtWalk.

As a former resident of Baltimore, I feel a certain loyalty to Edgar Allen Poe.  When asked about his origins, Poe was fond of saying that he was a Virginian gentleman, but it was in Baltimore that Poe sought refuge when he had feuded with his foster father. It was in Baltimore that Poe found his future wife, Virginia Eliza Clemm, and in Baltimore that he began  his career.  His remains remain in Baltimore’s Westminster Burying Ground at Fayette and Greene Streets.

I always associate the Raven with Poe and so shall submit this image of the poet to the Raven Project.

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadows on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted--nevermore!