Tulip Festival

Tulip Festival is a big thing in many areas but especially in Lewes, Delaware. One of the icons of this event is the tulip festival signs that are placed around town in many of the tulip beds. It was the centerpiece and inspiration for this picture.

Fishermen's Delight

Fishing is a native sport when you live near the ocean. There is an inlet nearby that the fishermen boat through on their return from a day’s fishing. At sunset the sky fills with color giving them their very own magnificent lightshow.

Days End

t has become a favorite pastime of my husband and me to walk the many beaches in our area. On one such late afternoon we passed a kayak laying in the brush toward the end of a stream. I imagined a full day of kayaking that had left it's occupant unable to finish removing the kayak from the marsh. A day well spent

Summers Last Bloom

I think one of my favorite flowers to paint is the sunflower. This particular setting was one that I made up from the best of several different photos. I liked the setting of the barn but added my friend Bob's beautiful sunflower's to the foreground. Their position seemed to be struggling to be upright leading me to feel that they were nearing the end of their season.

Historical Holiday Greeting

Near our home in Rockland County, NY was a historic home with a marker designating it as such. Pauline was the home's original owner and during the holiday's she would place a wreath out by the old well.

Last Catch

Many times I use photos that I have taken to paint something.  One day as the sun was going down I took a picture of these two fishermen heading back to shore.  I could only imagine a long day and trying to make that final catch before heading home.  My father had three girls and tried to turn us all into fishermen.  Thanks Dad, but I get too seasick!

Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse

This is our other lighthouse in Delaware.  It's not quite as vibrant as the red lighthouse, but the rust certainly adds a special charm.

Christmas Tweet

Being self taught I never had the luxury of being educated to paint.  I always had to work at being a nurse.  So since my retirement I have decided to treat myself to one workshop a year.  This year I took a workshop with Tom Lynch.  His style is so different than mine and so is his palette.  I decided to use the colors that he introduced me to do this painting.

Beware

For some reason I love pumpkins.  I think it's the color with it's boldness.  So this year I decided to paint some more of them.  Not Quite as goofy as my last ones, but quite fun just the same.

Lewes in Bloom

In the spring Lewes, Delaware has a tulip festival. Last year I was on a mission to capture some of the springtime scenes that occur during this time of year. “Lewes in Bloom” was a picture that I’d taken of some tulips on the corner of a building. I thought that it center pieced the tulips quite well and chose to paint them in all their glory.

Goetschius  Garden

Based on an original photograph taken by me in Saddle River, NJ.

Not too far from our home in Spring Valley, NY was a historic site called the Hopper- Goetschius house located in Saddle River, NJ.  Each year a magnificent garden would be planted adjacent to the old house.  The brilliant new life of the garden in stark contrast to the aging building and out kitchen provided the perfect contrast of old versus new.  This painting won the Marsha Holt Memorial award in January 2006 from the Ridgewood Art Institute.

Sunset

Based on an original photograph taken by a friend of mine who had traveled to Europe.

This picture is titled “Sunset” not because of the time of day, but because of the positioning of the flowers.  Every sunflower picture I’d ever seen traditionally looks at the front of the flower.  I was fascinated by the uniformity and beauty of the rear facing field of sunflowers.  It gave me a day is done type feeling.

The Lone Cypress

Based on an original photograph taken by Grandpa on the California Coast.
My in-laws vacationed in California and took this picture of the “Lone Cypress” while there. My father-in-law was tickled to see what I’d done with his snapshot and often bragged that he’d taken the picture. This picture was given the Ulrich award at the Ridgewood Art Institute’s Annual winter show in 2011.

Lonesome Highway

Based on an original photograph taken by taken by nephew Eric in Costa Rica

Having lived in the New York area the better portion of my life, I have spent much time stuck in traffic.  Within this situation is a distinct feeling of “aloneness” in the chaos that surrounds you.  What struck me with this setting was the solitary bicycle, surrounded by the business of the jungle foliage.  It made me think that in any situation in life, there is always the potential to feel alone.  The title of the painting was inspired by that feeling.  The picture was taken by my nephew Eric while traveling in Costa Rica. This painting received 1st place in the 2014 Delaware Technical Community College’s 24th Annual statewide art exhibit.

Lewes Style Christmas Klompen

Because of an unexpected set of circumstances my husband and I found ourselves transplanted to Delaware. We are now living in the first town of the first state. And for our “first” Christmas here we decided to take in all the charm that Lewes has to offer by going to the Christmas tour of homes and Christmas parade. While wandering the streets of downtown Lewes we came across this window in a home on Shipcarpenter Square. My cousin’s wife (being of Dutch heritage) photographed the decorated wooden shoes in the window. What fascinated me about this picture was the variety of wooden textures. The contrast of the shingles, shutters, and wooden shoes provided a perfect exercise in the elements of wood. That combined with the fact that I too am of Dutch heritage led me to paint this particular window.

Buganvilla

All parenting comes with challenges. One of the major challenges I have faced is my daughter’s wandering heart. In 2012 she visited both Peru and Nicaragua. During her time in Lima Peru she photographed this picture of Buganvilla at the Museo Larco. Shortly after she got back she then took off alone to Nicaragua in order to further her doctoral studies. Talk about giving your mother an ulcer! I painted this as a tribute to her safe return and the blessings (and trials) our children give us.

Cornfield Cousins

Part of the problem that I have with painting is my obsession with detail. This in turn can sometimes make a single painting take many months to do. In an effort to have a bit of fun, I took a photo which my daughter Kim had taken at a farmer’s market and painted it. It was more whimsical than many that I typically do and was a much needed relief from months of concentration.

Acadia

After many years of working without a vacation, my husband and I took our first trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. During a trip on one of the many bike paths we spotted this scene overlooking a lake. Acadia is truly magnificent, and with the use of my cell phone camera I was able to capture this view.

Faith

The summer of 2016 was my "painting" summer. My son Freddie decided that as a gift for his fiancee's 30th birthday he wanted to give her a painting related to Albany NY where they live. This picture is of a statue of Moses that is situated in Washington Park in Albany during tulip fest. I'd never seen the setting before so I sent him back multiple times to photograph it. By the time I'd gotten to the right side of the picture it was no longer spring but summer, so I had to imagine the trees just starting to bloom. It was named "Faith" because after a multitude of hurdles with my daughter's doctural degree, I was driving her to her defense and looked over my shoulder. I'd placed the picture in the backseat of my car so I'd have something to do while she defended her dissertation.  I asked her if she knew what made Moses such a great man and then explained it was his great faith. And in that moment decided on the name of the painting and explained that we needed to have that level of faith as we proceeded. My daughter passed and Freddie was able to present his fiancee with "Faith" for her 30th birthday.

Standing Guard

Also local to our landscape are towers that were used during World War II. It’s fascinating to imagine that generations ago there were people who climbed these towers to protect our shoreline. One day on a walk in Cape Henlopen State Park we came across this particular tower with the vultures standing on its top. Looking below I was facing a sign that was labeled “Standing Guard”. It seemed the perfect name for the painting as the birds were doing the very same thing.

Home for the Holidays

In downtown Lewes is located our historical society. One year as part of the tour of homes this particular house was dressed for the holidays, cake in the window included. The setting reminded me of the warmth of the holidays and the blessings that family and home brings.

Delaware Breakwater Lighthouse

At our beaches we have 2 lighthouses. On a beautiful October day when the tide was out, my husband and I were able to wade fairly close to the Breakwater Lighthouse to take this photograph. It’s the first time I’d painted this lighthouse and was delighted by the great contrast of the blue sky and ocean against the red of the structure. It lent itself to a very pleasing setting.