It’s fun to try some other media besides watercolor. The yellow and blue strokes on this orange make it a bit different. Do you like this version, or would you prefer one that is strictly realistic?
6″ x 6″ original acrylic on masonite board.
This holiday season isn’t all we had hoped. But there is still much to be grateful for. And science shows that an “attitude of gratitude” improves health and resilience.
I painted this a couple of years ago after a performance of Circus Smirkus. Obviously this is more abstract than most of my paintings, but it was inspired by the incredible energy and the variety of acts, like the jugglers.
Last week, a new book, How Seniors are Saving the World: Retirement to the Rescue, was published, with a chapter in it about me. In this time of uncertainty and fear, I hope the stories in this book can help provide inspiration as well as concrete examples of how a person can help work toward peace, justice and equity.
Ever since college when civil rights and the Vietnam War were raging, I have been a social justice activist. I have volunteered on a range of issues, from reducing the risk of nuclear war to economic inequality. For 15 years I devoted myself to criminal justice reform. Our prisons currently hold 2.3 million people, far more than any other nation on earth, and those imprisoned are disproportionately black and brown. In 2005, I created UU Mass Action, a statewide Unitarian Universalist social justice network, and was President for ten years; it’s still going strong. As well as co-chairing Social Action at my UU church, I have also taught art in prison for 19 years, linking my art and social justice work.
This book has 24 chapters, each about a different person. These people have found meaning in life, and in retirement, by working for the greater good in a wide variety of ways. The chapter about my friend Peggy Ellertsen, for instance, spotlights her work to educate the public about the isolating effects of hearing loss. A link to the book is here.
This year is my 40th annual Walk for Hunger, to raise money for 400 food pantries and soup kitchens across Massachusetts. Food pantries are now besieged by 24 million newly unemployed people looking for emergency groceries for their families, so those who contribute to my Walk are more appreciated than ever. Because of social distancing, the Walk is forced to be virtual, and I can’t approach people personally to ask for pledges. If you are willing to sponsor me, you can donate to my personal Walk page by clicking here. Thank you so much!
Last week was gray, rainy and cold in New England, adding to Covid Claustrophobia. So the sunshine now is very welcome. On Saturday I spent a blissful hour in our front yard, sketching the emerging plants and chatting with neighbors (from six feet away) as they walked by. You can see from the photo below that sketches don’t have to be realistic — you can choose, alter and rearrange what appeals to you. Hence the term “artistic license.”
Some people are suggesting we treat this pause in our busy lives as a holy moment. Anxiety, yes, but also clarity. We’re getting real clear, real quick what is important.
Every morning with my cup of tea I sit quietly for a few minutes, counting my blessings from the day before, and visualizing a balanced day ahead.
This series of fruits and vegetables are Mike and Nora’s favorites, to be hung on their kitchen wall.
I am painting a series of peoples’ favorite fruits and vegetables to be hung in their kitchen. Here is a series I did for my son Andrew and his wife Eva, hung in their kitchen in New Orleans.
Paco looks like such a happy dog, I couldn’t stop smiling as I painted his picture. It was a commissioned painting to be given as a wedding present to his human companions.
In 2020, at least 50% of money earned from my art sales (originals, prints, house and pet portraits) will be donated to fund voter registration drives in swing states.
After 20 years painting in watercolor, learning acrylics continues to amaze me because you can change things over and over.
Here is the evolution of one painting of a red onion I worked on this weekend. After I finished the second version (on right), I wondered if I should have stopped at the first. Which do you prefer?
Wishing you a heart-full year!
This painting skirts the line between realism and abstraction.
What a beautiful, delicious and interesting fruit. Putting a highlight on the surface makes it clear it’s smooth and reflective. I had fun with the different reds and pinks.
Avocados, in my mind, are the fruit of the gods. Beautiful color, creamy texture, delicate taste, they are great from guacamole, salads, sandwiches, or alone with a sprinkle of salt or lemon juice. Here’s my tribute to them.
I’m enjoying my newfound love of acrylics, which have intense colors like oils, but dry quickly and lack toxicity. Pinterest is a great source of ideas and subjects, and I thank Katya Minkina for inspiring this one.
Trying new subjects with acrylics is challenging but fun!
Getting in the mood for Thanksgiving, with its colors and fruits.
An important quote.
This is the Brooklyn brownstone where our granddaughter Maggie, now 1 1/2, spent her first year. If you look closely you can see Maggie, our daughter-in-law Eva and son Andrew in the second floor window. Because there was so much detail, I used watercolor pencils as well as watercolor paint.
House portraits make great Christmas gifts. If you would like to commission one, please let me know soon. Information is here.
This is the first facial portrait I’ve done without a teacher. Because we know the human face so well, it’s challenging, but also rewarding when you produce a reasonable likeness.
I’ve felt stuck lately in my art. Just not excited. I poked around on the web and saw a painting someone made of their own eye. Decided to try it and, while I was painting, I felt that sense of delight and “flow” that is so sought after. It’s elusive and short-lived, but that’s why we create.
Acrylic on board, 6″ x 6″.
Portraits of a dog or cat (or bunny or hamster or …) make a great present for yourself or someone else, especially for birthdays or Christmas. If you’d like to memorialize your animal companion, get information by clicking here.
This is the last painting I made in the portrait workshop I took a few weeks ago. It took a lot of redrawing and correcting, especially to get the arm on the left and the hands right. Next week I’m going to try to paint a portrait on my own, without a teacher. Wish me luck!
We are in Chapel Hill for ten days with our granddaughter Lila while her parents both travel for work. The Farmer’s Market here is still selling beautiful summer bouquets.
I painted this in the workshop I took a couple of weeks ago, from a photo the teacher provided. It was challenging. A lot of time and erasing just to get the underlying pencil drawing. Doubt I would have had the courage to tackle it on my own.
One of the secrets of drawing people or other subjects is measuring one part of the body or subject against the rest. For instance, the average adult is seven heads tall. But a toddler is only four heads tall. This child is about five heads tall, so he looks maybe eight or nine years old. (For more info, click here.)
All this week I’ve been stretching my mind seven hours a day trying to learn to paint human portraits from Eudes Correia, a fabulous painter and workshop leader. Luckily, we’ve been painting strangers from photographs, instead of people we actually know, but still my brain is sore from all the exercise.
House portraits make great gift for yourself, or a birthday, anniversary or holiday present for others. They are a good memento of a past or current house, or a holiday cottage. Prints and notecards can be made for others in the family. Thank you, Amy, for letting me post my painting of your house. For more information, click here.
In New Orleans near where our son lives, there is a rooster who makes it his job to wake up the neighborhood, often getting loose and patrolling the streets to make sure everyone can hear him. Here is my photo of him, and a drawing using watercolor pencils.
A friend of mine once replied, when asked to do something, “What’s in it for me?” I didn’t know what to say, but this poem is the answer.
Flickers are one of our biggest species of woodpeckers. They are beautiful with ornate plumage. My painting is inspired by a photo in the Audubon magazine.
I took this photo of the Cooper’s Hawk who showed up at our bird feeder yesterday, looking for lunch! Needless to say, its lunch flew away.
This is a pet portrait I recently painted of a dog named Bonnie.
Dearly loved, greatly missed.
Pet portraits make great gifts for yourself or others. Details are here.
Abstract realism, especially with bright colors and interesting patterns, can be really appealing. (To purchase original 9″ x 12″ for $125 click here.)
For Christmas I gave Bruce a pole system which allows us to hang four more bird feeders, making a total of seven! Such wonderful winter entertainment. The Massachusetts state bird is one of our favorites.
Last weekend I spent four days in Maine volunteering to “get out the vote.” During the days I was there, the weather took a colder turn and the leaves changed quickly. The oak trees changed from gold to orange to rust to brown during those four days:
Maine’s hills and lakes are beautiful in the fall.
Our older granddaughter Lila will be 13 on Thursday. Years ago, when she was learning to read, I bought Lila the early reader Bob books. Seeing her curled up in her striped pajamas was too delicious not to photograph and paint. She is still a redhead and an avid reader.
Our long-time friend and neighbor Bill Saunders died unexpectedly on Wednesday from an accidental fall. May peace come to his spirit, and to his wonderful family.
The last stop on our trip was a final night in Chicago before flying home to Boston. It was a gorgeous evening to walk through Millennium Park, where Obama made his acceptance speech in 2008. The Cloud Gate Sculpture, also known as “The Bean,” is an startling stainless steel sculpture in the middle of the park. Designed by Anish Kapoor and completed in 2006, it gives the appearance of liquid mercury. Visitors take photos of the reflections of themselves, the crowd around them and the skyline of Chicago.
Some of my sketches take only minutes to make, but this took hours. It was a labor of love for this amazing sculpture.
You’d never know that spring is coming if you looked outside to see snow falling in Boston right now. But the bunnies who are appearing in the yards in our neighborhood seem to be confident that spring is on the way.
Meanwhile, Bruce and I are on pins and needles because our son Andrew’s wife Eva is 9 months pregnant with baby Maggie. We jump every time the phone rings, and can’t wait to hop in our car and head to Brooklyn for our granddaughter’s birth day!
“Steal Like an Artist” is a book title which conveys a basic truth: much art is only partly original. We are inspired by the work of other artists, photographers, and more. When I saw the work of Louis Turpin I was especially delighted by his monochromes of the farmland of England, and I decided to try my own version. How many groups of sheep can you see? How many ponds? Do you see a barn?
A reminder that Sunday is the deadline to let me know if you’d like a copy a 124 page book of my 2017 Watercolors. At cost, it’s $36 plus $10 shipping. I’ll place the order on Monday.
If you are really lucky, you have a local eatery which is a welcoming place to meet a friend and enjoy delicious food, coffee and conversation. One such special place is L’Aroma Cafe & Bakery in West Newton Square. Afkham, the proprietor who runs the cafe with his parents and son, greets everyone with a smile, often remembering your name and your favorite thing to order. It’s full of regulars, and new people too, who love the sense of community which is all too rare these days.
I am working on a sketch of last weekend’s Women’s March, which I will send you later this week.
Abstract paintings are not as easy as they seem. People think to themselves, “A child could do that.” This painting took 15 tries until I was finally satisfied.
Complementary colors are a good combination for a painting. Here they are several shades of red, and one little accent of green.
