Naval Park and Erie Basin Marina.......

A Sunday with nothing pressing, we decided, with cameras in hand, to spend a day at the waterfront. We had never toured the naval ships before, so what better time like the present!

I love the photo on the right- all the greys on the majestic ship matched in the threatening sky.

My husband on board the ship with his camera getting some shots, with the ever threating sky behind.

So nice to see the improvements in the waterfront. Touring the ships was so much fun! Following the yellow lines throughout the ships and the submarine, imagining what it must have been like sailing on those ships in wartime.

I took the photo on the left aboard the USS Little Rock. The cloud formation clearly indicates a powerful storm brewing.....what else is new?!

I'm hoping to do some paintings of our visit to the Naval Park. The ships, the beautiful waterfront, and the "interesting" skies we've had lately all would make wonderful paintings.

Day Lilies....

I can see that I'll be doing some day lily paintings in my future!
We have had so much cloudy and rainy weather, that I was
actually suprised to see sunshine this morning! My day lilies are in a bed where I can spot them from my kitchen window, and when I saw them glistening in the sun, I knew I had to photograph them....and quickly! This summer, one never knows how long the sun will shine!
I think the photo on the right would make a nice painting.
I will use some deep greens and blues for the background, probably Windsor Blue and Windsor Green, with some Indigo thrown in. I will use some Lemon Yellow for the center of the flower, and no doubt some of my discontinued Vermillion, coupled with various pinks for the flower petals.
I'm so glad these lilies are blooming so heartily. I know they like dry weather conditions, and with the cool and moist July we've been having, I was concerned that these blooms would suffer. Glad to be proven wrong!

Art on the Riverwalk 2009.....

Another "Art on the Riverwalk" has come and gone. Could there be a more perfect spot for an artshow? A grassy setting underneath large, sweeping maple trees facing the Niagara River....gorgeous!

The view on the left here shows my booth all set up and ready. With all the rain we've had this spring and summer, I was so thrilled to wake that Sunday morning to a cloudless, blue sky.

The photo on the right is the view I had looking out from my tent- directly across the river from the Grand Island hotel. What a sight to look at all day! The view on the lower left is a long view of the show. I love the photo at left- the dappled sunlight making patterns on the grass. The booths all nicely spread out under the canopy of the trees. We had a really nice time at the show. It's fun to catch up with friends, and I was surprised and honored to win an award at the show. Sales at the shows this year haven't been over the top, but people are still buying.

All in all, a wonderful show.

Purple poppy.....

I have an outdoor show this Sunday, "Art on the Riverwalk" and I wanted to have another smaller sized flower painting for the show. My purple poppy isn't quite

completed, but I'm sure I can have it ready for this weekend. These poppies were growing in my friend's garden when she called me to say if I wanted photos, I'd better get over quickly because a storm was fast approaching, and these beauties soon would be gone. I sped over, took many photos, and yes, the storm wiped all these out the next day. I was so glad for her call!

I did a quick drawing on my Windsor/Newton paper and began putting color down, using Windsor Violet, Rose Madder Genuine, and some Permanent Rose. The leaves and stems have Sap Green, mixed with some Prussian Blue and some Aqua. In the center I used Lemon Yellow and some Naples Yellow gouache for the little stems. I will purposely leave the background white, as I often do on these botanical paintings. I think it sets off the flower and makes the colors pop.

I sold 4 smaller paintings at Allentown, and I am glad that at least I have been able to get 1 smaller sized painting completed before the show.

Oh.....to have more hours in the day!! :D

East Aurora Art Show '09......

Another East Aurora Art Show has come and gone. Such a fun show to do! The view on the right is from my tent looking out upon the snow fence artists setting up. The snow fence is such a great option for those artists who don't have the whole tent and display set-up. Such a lovely setting. It's so nice getting to see friends who I may only get to see during this show. We all get there pretty early in the morning; so much work is involved setting up an art show. Caffeine is an absolute necessity!

The photo on the left is my booth at the show. Saturday couldn't have been more perfect. Sun and low 70's. A good friend and wonderful artist, Jane Stoddard, won Best of Show, and another friend won 1st place in watercolor. I was so happy for them-very well deserved. I won best of show last year, so I was so pleased that the wealth could be spread around.

If only Sunday could have been better. So much rain that we ended up leaving early. Last year was the same, too. Perfect Saturday, and rainy Sunday. What's up with that? My tent was so soaked that I had to hang it out to dry on my clothesline on Monday.......of course Monday was breezy and sunny!

There's always next year!