Lake View

This 10 x 14 watercolor was done for the Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas. It looks like a perfect place to spend a day.

Bright Begonias

I don't usually paint flowers, but these were out on my patio sitting on my railing all summer. I had 3 flowerboxes of these giant begonias. Two of them fell off the railinglast week because they had grown so tall and topheavy. Some of the flowers broke off, and I ended up putting them down on the ground next to my railing. I love the color of these and decided to paint them before they're gone. This is 10 x 10.

Wave Watcher

4 x 6 done at the beach this weekend. This little guy got creamed by a wave a little while after I finished painting this.

Surf's Up

I couldn't let the summer go by without trying to capture a boogie boarder in the water while I was there. This is 4 x 6. It wasn't easy to capture him.

Beach Fun

Here is another 4 x 6 painted at the beach. With the summer ending my supply of models will be ending soon too. It's been fun capturing kids enjoying the beach.

Holding On

This 4 x 6 painting was done at the beach. I love watching parents with their little kids and capturing those everyday poses.

Ogunquit Rocks

5 1/2 x 8 1/2 watercolor done on my trip to Maine. I was sitting on the beach, keeping cool. The lighthouse-like structure isn't a real lighthouse. It was built to cover something from the water department and they wanted it to fit in with the landscape.

On the Dock

This is a 4 x 6 watercolor done on the dock at the Maritime Museum in Sayville, LI. I liked the texture of the dock and the boat with the water and beach grasses.

Beside the Garden Gate

This 7 x 10 was started in plein air, but finished at home becuase it started to rain while I was painting. My sister and I stopped there to paint on our way home from dropping off paintings for a show. She did the waterlilies while I did the flowers and the gate.

Perkins Cove View

This is 7 x 10 and was painted on location in Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine. I love the stripes of the canopy of the restaurant and the sails of the boat docked there. A lovely spot!

Outside Seating

This 4 x 6 was done on the return ferry to Orient Point after my trip to Maine. People are so cooperative as models on the ferry...they almost always stay put.

Buoys Together

This 3 1/2 x 5 ink & watercolor was done while I was sitting at a table at a lobster pound where I had lunch in Maine. I loved the buoys all clustered together.

Flowers Galore

I painted this mini 4 x 6 watercolor of a restaurant window in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. I like the cascading plants and the weathered wood.

Coastal View

This 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 ink and watercolor was done by the beach in Ogunquit, Maine. I loved the green canopies on this inn by the water. It must be a lovely view from the balconies and decks.

Pemaquid Beach View

This watercolor is 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 done on location at the beach in Pemaquid, Maine. Can you imagine being in one of those houses, with this kind of view every day? Paradise!

Ocean Point

This is 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 and was done on location near Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The fog was rolling in and out that morning, giving a misty look to the water in the distance. I love the coastal scenery up there...the rocks, water, and trees.

Rachel Carson Preserve

This 4 x 6 ink & watercolor was done on location at the Rachel Carson Preserve in Kennebunk, Maine. It was a pretty spot, but I ended up with lots of insect bites by the time I finished. Next time I'll have to remember the bug repellent.

Camden View

This is 7 x 10 painted in plein air in Camden, Maine. I've been there many times, but I usually paint the boats in the harbor. I love the church steeple and the rocks in the harbor too.

Beach Roses

I just came back from a trip to Maine where I did a lot of painting and some visiting. This is 4 x 6 with ink and watercolor done on site. It was done along Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine, on a walkway along the ocean. There are many beautiful spots along the way to paint. I love the beach roses against the ocean and the rocks.

Beach Fashion

This is another small 4 x 6 inch painting done at the beach. The little kids look so cute with their sunhats and bathing suit. This one even had crocs on her feet.

Sketches from the Ferry

I was on the Cross Sound Ferry from Orient Point to New London and then back. I did one of these each way.

They were done in my 5 x 7 sketchbook with a sepia ink pen and watercolors. It's a fun place to sketch people that have nowhere to go for the 1 1/2 hr trip.

Digging Deep

There is an endless variety of subjects to paint at the beach. There is always someone building something, or digging something, or jumping waves, or... So many scenes, so little time. This mini painting is 3 1/2 x 5.

Quick Dip

Here is a mini (3 1/2 x 5) watercolor I did at the beach yesterday. It's not easy to capture people who are in the water. They move around a lot!

Contented

I find it hard to resist painting little kids at the beach. They always look so happy, but they are hard to do because they move around so much. This is 4 x 6. I wish I had sketched her more to the right, but I knew I had to take what I had because she wouldn't be there for long.

Yosemite

This 7 x 10 painting was done for the WDE on WetCanvas. I visited Yosemite years ago and loved it. This is the perfect painting to show off the charms of Yosemite.

Ocean Path

I've been walking up this path at the beach lately and decided I needed to paint it, but larger than the tiny ones I've been doing at the beach. This is 7 x 10. The beach grasses and the fences always amaze me. There are thousands of variations with them.

Bath Buildings

This watercolor was done for a Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas. It is 7 x 10 from a reference of Sally Lunn's House in Bath, England.

New Orleans Pride

This is a "shot-gun" house in New Orleans. It is a 7 x 10 painting done for WetCanvas's Weekend Drawing Event from reference photos that were provided by the hostess. I love the architecture of New Orleans...so proud and lovely. I have such good memories of the trip I took there a few years ago, and it breaks my heart to think of all that the people of New Orleans went through and continue to go through.

Clam Bar

This was done in ink & watercolor. It is 7 x 10 and was painted in plein air. This is a local clam bar at a marina on the Great South Bay here on Long Island. A perfect spot for the sun, the breeze, a cocktail, and a bit of seafood.

Beach Patio

I spend a lot of time at the beach during the summer. This was done in plein air and is a small 4 x 6 little painting. I have to be quick to capture people at the tables before they get up. This was done in pen & watercolors.

Porch With Baskets

I did this 7 x 10 watercolor of the porch of a restaurant in Port Jefferson. I always love hanging baskets or pots of flowers. They give such color to any location.

Autumn Shores

This 7 x 10 watercolor was done for the Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas. I liked the overhanging branch and that distant shoreline.

Stone Bridge

This painting is 7 x 10 and was done in Hecksher Park. I loved the stone bridge to the little island in the middle of the lake. I plan to go back and do another view of the park.

Cotton Candy Roofs

This 7 x 10 watercolor painting was done for the Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas. I love the tropical colors of the houses and the water.

A Day at the Beach

This started out as just a small pen & ink sketch, but sort of grew while I was sitting there at the beach. It's small (5 x 7) and not even on watercolor paper. It's in my sketchbook. I used watercolor paints for the color.

Garden Bouquet

This is a 7 x 10 watercolor done for the Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas. The reference photo was from a garden in the Netherlands. I couldn't resist the vibrant colors and the trees in the background.

Iris Garden

This 7 x 10 watercolor was done in plein aire this week at an iris garden in NJ. I must give thanks to my sister for finding this place for us. I loved the white chair amid all the colorful flowers. I wish I had time to do more than one painting while she and I were there.

Longview Estate

This is a 7 x 10 watercolor. I painted it at a historical estate. The house and it's shadows captured my interest. I couldn't decide which end of the house to paint, but decided on this end because of the garden. I'll have to go back and do the other end. It reminds me of an old New England house.

Feeding the Ducks

This 7 x 10 watercolor was painted in a local park. It had a lake with boarwalks through the trees and marshes. This spot was lovely with lots of wild ducks. A number of people came and sat on the bench. I sketched on woman in and painted her after she had gone. The only problem with the spot was too many gnats.

Behind A Fence

This was done while sitting in a park in one of the local towns. It is 6 x 9. What a lovely house. I purposely didn't paint the entire house, focusing instead on the front door and side entry.

Docked

This 7 x 10 painting was done with an artist's ink pen and watercolors. I did this for the "scavenger hunt" in WetCanvas. I needed to sketch a boat, so I left out the other boats that were surrounding this one at the marina. One boat at a time is enough to handle.

Hecksher Park

This painting is 7 x 10 and was painted while I was sitting in beautiful Hecksher Park. I had never walked around the park before, and I has some lovely spots so I'm sure I'll go back again.

I Was Tagged

Jeannne Grant from WetCanvas has "tagged" me. That means I have to reveal 7 things about myself that people don't know. Then I have to "tag" 7 other people by posting their blogs and pointing them back to my blog for instructions. Here are a few facts about me.

1. I met my husband in 1973, but we didn't get married until 1997. We dated for several years, broke up for a long while, but got back in touch with each other. (True love.)

2. My husband and I had 3 wedding ceremonies before our wedding was legal. One ceremony was at my mother's bedside in a nursing home 2 days before she died, the second was in front of family right after my mother's funeral, and the last was 3 months later after the State of Maine notified us that we weren't legally married because we got our license in one town, but were married in another town. Since the marriage license was still valid, we went back to Maine and were married in my sister's living room.

3. I'm a middle child, and rather well-adjusted I might say.

4. I'm a former NYC teacher and retired after 32 years.

5. I hate liver and lima beans.

6. My first job ever was as an assistant to a dentist. I held people's hands and sucked gunk out of their mouths while he drilled.

7. I "saw" Santa one Christmas eve when he came to our house. I was home with my grandmother while my parents were at midnight mass. Santa spoke to me, and even though I wasn't in bed he left me toys.

It will be a stretch to find 7 people with blogs who haven't been tagged yet.
I have tagged the following people:
Michelle Himes
Holly LL
Nancy Ann

Spring Greeting

Last week I managed to do a few paintings in plein air. This watercolor is 6 x 9 and was painted in Westhampton. On the way home from shopping I drove through a few little towns east of me to see if anything caught my eye. When I saw the gazebo, flowers, and trees I knew this was the place to stop.

Manor House

It is so nice to be able to sit outside and paint again. This is a 4 x6 painting done with sepia ink and watercolor crayons. It is of the Manor House at a local arboretum.

Cottage

This is 11 x 15 from a reference for the Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas. To me it looks like the perfect artist's retreat. I'm planning on moving in. I added the flowers to the bush on the left. I thought it needed a little color.

Patio

This is more of a sketch than a painting. I used sepia ink and watercolor pencils on this. It's about 5 inches square. I did this for an art "scavenger hunt" on WetCanvas. I had to find a lawn ornament and a barbeque.

Lori

I don't do portraits very often, but last week I went to "Sketch Night" with a group of artists locally. I'm trying to sketch and paint things that are a challenge to me. I did a sketch of Lori, the model, and then tried her with watercolor pencils. The problem was that I didn't have colors that were right for flesh. It didn't come out too bad, but she's much prettier than my painting.

Alpine View

This is an 11 x 15 watercolor that I did this weekend for the weekend drawing event on WetCanvas. Can you imagine...this is the view out of someone's kitchen window! I had a hard time with the fog, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Perfect Seat

This is a 4 x 6 watercolor that I did at the beach last Saturday. It was windy so I was sitting next to the beach pavilion to block the wind. This couple looked so cozy sitting there that I had to paint this. Luckily I started with the people, because they weren't there for long. After they left I worked on the rest of the painting. A while later someone said "Mind if we look?" When I turned around it was the couple I had painted. They were surprised to see themselves on paper.