It has been a busy summer at the Plantation Artists' Guild and Gallery which is now my primary gallery. As part of my duties as Guild Director (not official until Nov.) I have started a Tuesday painters group where artists working in varying mediums gather to paint together and talk. I am finding it to be inspiring and productive. Two of the three new paintings I am adding here were done in the Tuesday sessions. "Approaching Murano" was based on a stormy photo that my daughter sent me from one of the family excursions to Italy. "Menemsha Docks" is a more impressionistic treatment of a scene I have painted before. "Fernandina Shrimpboats" is also a scene I have painted previously, but this time it is on a much larger scale.

Recently finished paintings

I have completed three new paintings this Spring and am nearly done with a fourth. First was a somewhat abstract view of the local area's shrimpboats. This is a bit of a departure for me, but I enjoyed it and am happy with the result. The second is a scene from the trip we took a year ago to the Greek Isles. The almost tame pink pelicans on the beach there were posing for pictures. I had to oblige. The third is from my own backyard. Butterflies and bees seem to love my bottlebrush tree. The colors are so vivid that I had to try to capture them.

Another Golf Painting Here's my latest. Another from the Fall trip to North Carolina. This one is called In the Fairway. This course had lush green fairways sweeping up and down through the trees. With the added color of fall foliage and the quiet of the mountain location, it was true serenity--no matter how bad the actual game was.

Colors of Fall
This Fall we traveled to beautiful Lake Toxaway in North Carolina to see the colors. The crisp air causes fantastic changes to the trees in those mountains. The views around the lake and on the golf courses almost look like a child's rendition with crayons. Brilliant reds, yellows and oranges mix with the bright greens and blues to make an almost unreal color scheme. In the first two paintings I have completed from that trip, I hope I have come close to capturing the feeling of the area.

What I did this summer

This summer I completed two more paintings based on scenes from last year's Greek Island visit. Both are in oil on 18x24 canvas. The top one is titled The Commuter and the other is Just Browsing. I was really taken with the widespread use of whitewash and bright colored ironwork. The bright Aegean sun made everything sparkle and appear beautifully clean.

Another New Painting

I just finished another one. Manarola Boatman is based on a photo looking down from the cliffs at Manarola in the Cinque Terre area of Italy. There are five villages in this area that are a hiker's delight. Great scenery--cliffs, vineyards, quaint villages--good food and not quite so many tourists.

New Painting

Just finished another painting that was inspired by a scene on one of the Greek Islands--I think it was Santorini. This open-air restaurant surrounded by little shops offered lots of color, but the lone seated customer was the real story. Check it out on my link.