House of the Holy

 

   In the South you can't swing a cat without hitting a church. And the architecture pretty well runs the gamut. Two blocks from my house is a church in a small building that was once used by a beauty salon. A nearby strip mall has a church in a space that once was a furniture store. Go a few more blocks and you'll find a church that is one of the largest, most castle-like buildings in town.
   My preference -- as the architecture goes -- is of the smaller, more modest churches of the South, with  their white clapboard structures and tin roofs. Even with arched stain-glass windows, these buildings have a simple elegance.
   As for this painting, I often begin my work by under-painting the canvas -- often with a burnt umber (deep brown). Then I'll work out the sky and the land colors. This time, though, after I finished the sky I was happy with how the sky color worked with the burnt umber under coat. So, I left it.
  This painting is very nearly finished. Just a few touch ups and straightening of lines left.
   I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to comment, if you would like.

"I must confess that I have a weakness of empty places."

   
   The title of this blog entry is a quote by author Tony Hillerman, who is best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels.
   It's a confession that I, too, have realized. A weakness, or fondness, for empty spaces has become a reoccurring theme to my landscape paintings. The only thing limiting the sky and field is the size of the canvas. The farmhouse, windmill, barn or -- in this case -- grain elevator acts as a detail that draws your eye and further emphasizes the vastness of the sky and land.
   It's a place where I feel I can breathe. 'Empty' can have such lonely and negative images attributed to it. But when I look at this painting -- or some of the others I have done -- I am filled with a sense of calm and reflection.
   I hope that you also find a similar feeling when you look at this painting.

   Thanks for looking and please feel free to comment.

Blueberry Thrill

It's been a long time since I have painted fruit -- or any food, for that matter. On a recent trip to the grocery store, I looked at pears and apples, but decided on something new.

Blueberries are expensive, but so delicious. And, as I took a much closer look at the tiny fruit, quite beautiful. The soft and unmistakable blue, mixed with just a pinch of purple and green. Why not paint one? Two? I'll stop at three, for now.

I really like the way this has turned out. While I admit it's not quite the blue I was hoping to achieve, I do still like the overall result of my efforts.

On a side note, I will again be donating a painting to be raffled at The Business Journal's annual Women in Business Awards luncheon. This will be the third time I have donated a painting, which has always been well-received. I look forward to this every year.

Thanks for looking and please feel free to comment.

(I got a bit of a 'bounce' flash off the canvas. The middle blueberry really isn't that light. It looks much more like the one on the right.)

This painting has sold.