Day 6, 7 and 8 - 30/30 Challenge - The Faster I Go, The Behinder I Get!

Day 6 - Summer Pond

6"x6", watercolor, $35

Day 7 - Casita Rosa, Autumn

6"x6", watercolor

Day 8 - The View from Cadillac Mountain

6"x6", watercolor, $35

I got behind. Work and life catches up with you and in my case, I gotta pay the bills.
I did paint the Summer Pond on the 6th, but didn't quite finish it and certainly didn't have time to post it. After a couple of days off (from this) I squeezed in a little time to paint two more. So I'm caught up through the 8th. I have to paint a couple more today! LOL

The Summer Pond is from a hike I took in the summer with my cousin and her husband in Rhode Island.
The Casita is the little cabin in the woods on my aunt and uncle's property. There used to be several cabins, but this is the surviving one expanded over time with pieces of the others. It's a rustic sort of bunkhouse, but there's air-conditioning and a kitchen and a shower, so it's not too rough. We  have a lot of fun there.
The View from Cadillac Mountain is from this past October. The cool purples and blues of the water and land with the intense color of the blueberry bushes and birch trees was spectacular!

Stay tuned as I catch up!

Day 4 - 30/30 Challenge - Favorite Sandwich

Favorite Sandwich

watercolor, 6"x6", $35

There is no doubt that a basic, homemade, softy soft, white (or potato) bread with lots of mayo (Hellman's only), salt and pepper, nice, juicy, thick sliced tomatoes, Tomato Sandwich is what I pine for every summer. Grocery store tomatoes are NOT an option. You simply cannot have one of these delightful mouthfuls of summer in December or January. Bleah!

Anyone see a theme developing for (at least) part of this Challenge?

Day 3 - 30/30 Challenge - Sea Cliff Beach Sunset

Summer Sunset, Sea Cliff Beach

watercolor, 6"x6", $35

One summer evening in July some friends and I grabbed a bottle of wine, some cheese and fruit and enjoyed each other's company with some laughs and a wonderful sunset.  

I think a lot about why we insist on painting sunsets. It is nearly impossible to capture on paper or canvas the spectrum of color, luminescence and majesty. The light and shadow, reflections and subtleties change constantly. It's even difficult to accurately capture one in a photograph – for one thing, the scale is always wrong.

Still, we keep trying. But while we're trying, enjoy the magnificence with some friends whenever you can.

Day 2 - 30/30 Challenge - Nathan's Famous

Nathan's Famous

watercolor & colored pencil, 6"x6"

Every year on the weekend nearest the first day of summer, there's a crazy parade on Coney Island called the Mermaid Parade. It's like Halloween, and New Year's and Mardi Gras and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. Thousands of people dress in costume and thousands more go to watch! It's funny, witty, risqué, inventive and whimsical. I highly recommend it!
There are certain traditional things I must do when I get there. The first is to go to the ORIGINAL Nathan's and have a hotdog and a Brooklyn Beer. YUM! This is the sign of the Nathan's on Surf Ave.

Day 19 - 30/30 Challenge - End of Season & Doug Dawson Demo

End of Season

6" x 6", watercolor, $35

Available in my Etsy shop - just click here!

I need to keep this simple, but this morning I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with deadlines to meet and [more] catching up to do. A client is on a deadline, another has an interesting proposition, and I need to choose paintings for the two upcoming shows for the Art Guild.

I went down to the beach late in the afternoon, to clear my head. I love it there this time of year - quiet and not too hot - a lovely place to read a book for an hour or so. All the kayaks and canoes are lined up waiting for somewhere to go -  all the kids are off doing homework or sports, the adults are back to their regular work schedules - and the sun sets earlier every day. Officially, Fall's a few days away. and the leaves on the trees are getting that crispy brown/green/reddish tinge.


Wednesday night I went to a pastel portrait demo by Doug Dawson at the Art Guild. It was very interesting and he had some great insights that I think will apply to landscape as well as portrait. I'm really looking forward to Saturday's class and wish I could go today and tomorrow, but the aforementioned commitments have to come first!