"D'anjou Pear"

We got this green D'anjou pear from the store. I thought I would try to paint it. It had quite a few bruises hence the beat up look.

"Thank you, Lord for your guiding love. Thank you, Lord for the abiding love of fathers. "

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, especially to my husband!

"Pear Gallery"

One of my best loved long-time friends and her family came to visit a few days ago and it was awesome! She suggested I do something different with my paintings. I don't know if this is quite what she was thinking of but, anyways, I thought I would juxtapose images of a pear as a variation to still life.

I think this is quite interesting. I hope you like it, too.

"Lord, thank you for the moments of happiness that we find in the company of good friends and loving family. Thank you for healing and the hope that a new day brings."

I think the painting looks like four pictures that were pasted on the paper but of course, they're not. I used wet in wet and wet on dry techniques to make this one. I know what I still need : practice, practice, practice.

"Four O'Clock Buds in a Red Vase"

We went to the art show "Art in the Gardens" held at the Aldridge Gardens in Hoover, Alabama over the weekend. I enjoyed the beautiful paintings and other art creations. It was really great. I met a lot of wonderful artists including Ms. Patsy Blake, Ms. Laura Montgomery, Ms. Linda Dunn, Ms. Sue Hughes and Mr. John Tilley. My daughter and a friend of hers had the time of their life interviewing artists and taking photos of the different creations. I had a great time, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Thanks to my husband for taking us there.

Thank you dear Lord for your provision. Thank you, Lord and praise you, because you are worthy. Thank you for this day, dear God, another day to be here where I am, with my family and friends. Thank you Lord for the chance to serve you.

I am so grateful for everyday. This day especially. I hope you'll like these buds...

"Sunflowers Delight"

This time, there are four sunflowers. I am just awed by the beauty of sunflowers. It just takes my breath away.

"Lord, thank you and praise you, because you are worthy!"

What I find so delightful about watercolor painting is that it's so dynamic. Wow, ... wow!

"Teapot and Tulips"

In this painting, I experimented with using orange and violet to complement each other. I also tried echoing the violet with some tulips on the foreground. It was quite fun! Painting the teapot was an added pleasure. And then of course, the tulips... Fun, fun, fun!

"Thank you, Lord for this glorious day that you created. Thank you for the weekend, and the memories we make with our families and friends."

I liked this painting and I hope you'll like it too.

"Simplicity"

This is another Rose of Sharon painting. This time, I painted two flowers on a stem. One of them is sideways. I sure hope the third time's a charm. It was a great excuse to paint something purple, which is my favorite color.

"Thank you, dear Lord, for your unfailing love."

I sure enjoyed the dramatic contrasts of the colors in this painting. I hope you'll like it too.

"Center of Attention"

I really liked the flower "Rose of Sharon" and I tried my hand at it again. This time, I placed two stem cuttings in a clear vase with water. Only one cutting had a flower, the other one had buds and leaves only. I liked how my clear vase appears and I'm also happy with my work on the refraction effect. The single flower definitely becomes the "center of attention" in this painting, hence the title.

"Lord, thank you for answered prayers and for healing. Thank you for your infinite mercy."

I learned something from my husband, who's a wonderful encourager. That is, if you think you're not doing it right, practice some more. Practice, practice, practice! Or paint, paint, paint!

"Rose of Sharon"

I love purple and I also love Hibiscus. I didn't know that you could have a purple Hibiscus. Until yesterday, when my daughter cut a couple of these flowers for me... Yes, they were growing in our backyard! How cool is that?

And so I painted them... and painted them... This is the third attempt. When my husband asked me what I was painting, I said I was painting a Hibiscus from our backyard. He did not believe me. He said what we had in the backyard was the Rose of Sharon, not Hibiscus. Well, I said, they really look like Hibiscus to me... Of course, the matter was settled by the internet - we googled Rose of Sharon, and of course Hibiscus flowers came up... We googled Hibiscus, and Rose of Sharon came up... The fine prints said something about "cultivars" as the reason for the nice lavender variety.

"Thank you, Lord, for the colorful and fragrant flowers... for the language that they speak to us... the language of love and friendship... Thank you, Lord, for our friends, they are the flowers in the garden of life."

This time the line from that poem comes to mind... " a rose, by any other name... "
is a hibiscus!

"Tropical Idea"

This is another flashback painting, meaning I painted it maybe a month ago. It is a scene from memory... of coconut trees on a beach... Hmmm... relaxing... I painted this using wet on dry technique. I thought it would provide a nice change of subject. I hope you like it.

"Thank you, Lord for answered prayers. Thank you for the beauty of nature, a constant reminder of your love."

It's summertime, and you can feel the heat rising. The beach is a place where one can escape from the heat, and be refreshed. The cool water, cool breeze, fresh ocean air can really make it worth the trip. On top of that, to be in the company of loved ones, and friends, having good clean fun...now, that's the life.

"Tulip"

Whenever I'm at a loss as to what to paint, I paint tulips. This was the situation today, so I painted a tulip. But I tried to make it interesting by making one of the petals kind of hanging out. Initially, I painted the background using light orange and lavender as wet on wet washes. But when I thought it was finished, the colors came out flat against the red tulip petals. So I glazed it with a rich mix of blue, purple and white. Also in this painting, I tried making dew drops. I think the cooler colors for the background gives a more striking contrast with the red of the flower. Do you agree?

"Thank you, Lord, for the gift of life."

By the way, thanks to those who emailed me their comments about this blog. Special thanks to my mom and my sister for their support and encouragement. I appreciate all of your kind comments.

"Four in a Row"

Not that I didn't want the apples to feel slighted after the banana painting... but here I am trying to get back in the good graces, so to speak. After all, apples are one of the most popular still life models.

I started doing this "en plein aire". I placed the apples in a row on the picnic table. But when I saw the first flash of lightning, I packed up my apples, brushes, paper and mp3 player and went back inside. Good thing I took a photograph of my setup after I heard the first thunder.

I'm still learning about the light and shadows technique, at the same time, trying to stay impressionistic... I liked it. But what do you think?

"Lord, thank you for the rain that quenches the thirst of nature's foliage... thank you for the trees and the green grass. Thank you, Lord, even for the storms. They remind us that in life, after the storm, the sun shines again."

"A Banana A Day..."

Bananas are supposed to be really good sources of potassium. "It's good for the heart", someone said. "It's good for the digestive system," said another. Guess what, it's also a good model for a still life painting. I think so.

I enjoyed painting this banana and learning more about painting light and shadows. It's not perfect, I know... But I kinda like it. I hope you like it too.

What if, instead of the apple, a banana a day could keep the doctor away?

We went to the company family outing at the amusement and water park today. It was awesome. My husband and I had lots of fun relaxing on the "Lazy River" at the Splash Beach. I liked the "Space Shot" ride. My family loved the "Zoomerang"! I, on the other hand, chickened out of this awesome roller coaster ride. The last one I rode was "The Hulk" at the Universal Studios in Orlando. Maybe someday, I will ride another roller coaster. Still, it was another great family day!

I'm always proud of my husband! I think I'm the lucky one between the two of us. Days like these, make me extra proud of my spouse and that he works for the company

"Lord, thank you for a beautiful day spent with family and coworkers! Thank you for all your blessings of good health, family and friends! God bless the company and its employees! God bless America! God bless us all!"