Pink Freesia with White Roses

Although tiny, this little crystal vase is my new favorite.   It is perfectly shaped and looks lovely with miniature blooms from the garden.   I placed it on a small pedestal in a sunny, studio window and prepared to paint.    Shadows from the window grids were cast onto the set up and I was trying to decide if they added or subtracted from the composition.

Pink Freesia with White Roses

"Is there a term for the window grid things?" I asked my husband.   Without hesitation, he blurted "mullion bars."  He said it with an intonation that implied this was common knowledge.    He spotted my doubt immediately and he proceeded to look up the phrase.  Now to me, "mullion bars" is some vague, unknown term.  But expert carpenter/renovator that he is, he further added more terms that also mean window grids, "muntin bar, stiles, grids."     Haha, whatever they are called, they were casting shadows on my still life and the question remained was this good or bad?

I began painting.  The backlit still life had two white rose buds and a small freesia stem.   There was an interesting vase shadow, and within that, a bright refraction from the crystal.    The verdict of those other shadows came easily once I saw how much was going on in this small painting - no extra shadows from the mullion, muntin,stiles, grids or whatever you call them! :)

Lunch Along Boston Harborwalk

Family Lunch

These lucky folks are enjoying lunch at the Boston Harbor Hotel along the Harborwalk.     The two parents, a son, and a daughter are vacationing in Boston.   The daughter is slated to start school in the Fall.  In anticipation, there are lots of nerves, judging by their faces, but they are enjoying this, the last pre-college family trip.

What attracted me to the scene was the curviness of the bright iron tables and chairs.   The family of four, was encircled with all the lines.   Also the dark red brick really set off the white furniture and dinner napkins on the laps of the diners.   With this many shapes and colors, the painting should keep the viewer interested for more than a few seconds.  At least that is the goal.

The truth is, I painted this from a reference photo taken from five floors up while I was on vacation.   It was a wide angle shot that included a band that was playing, almost panoramic.  This family was incidental to the photo, but I cropped it and zeroed in on this snippet.  Also, I made up the whole first paragraph.  I have no idea who these people are!   :)

Breakwater

Breakwater - Stage One

Have I mentioned lately how happy I am while I am outside painting?   Add to that being a location like this breezy seaside view, gentle, rolling waves - pure bliss.    As I set up, I was convinced that this would be a boring repeat of a scene I've done before.   As I dug into my Gamblin Radiant colors (radiant pink, lavender, teal) to create the sky, I was more encouraged.   Next I mixed the various sea-grays and spread it thickly with the palette knife, I was very happy with it.  The actual painting is so much more colorful than these photos with streaks of pink and lavender in the sky and sand.  Maybe you'll see the original sometime.

I did meet one of my faithful readers who bought a Green Harbor painting a number of years back.       (S - It was great to see you!)  Nice paint-out all around!

Breakwater - Brant Rock