Umbers and Ochres on the Road

A lot of what you see from the train window is other people going places in trucks and cars. Sometimes their color combinations are a joy to behold.

Umbers and Ochres on the Road

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

 

 Although I am not an enthusiastic traveler, I do enjoy a good train ride and since some of my children and grandchildren live in Brooklyn I have often taken the train from Philly to Manhattan.  What I like about the train is the soothing rat- a -tat -tat of the wheels over the tracks and watching the world go by out of the generous windows.  

A couple of years back I began taking pictures out the window and painting them when I got home.  So as a change of pace I will be posting these paintings.  I plan to make a book of these creations.  If you recognize any places let me know.  If you want to take some shots yourself and send them to me I will paint them if I they strike my fancy.  So we can make the book together.

This painting was done close to home.  I think it may be pulling into 30th Street Station.  Not sure if I still have it but if you are interested in it, I will let you know as I go through everything.  I think it is 6" x 8" on canvas board.

Pen and Ink with Water Color

 After coming across the couple of pen and ink and water color pieces from the old days I decided to see if I could rescue some of the pieces I have been doing lately that just don't seem to make the grade.  I think the pen and ink does make a big difference and it is also fun to do.

They all try to capture some of spritely feeling of Forsythia and the sweet freshness of spring.

FORSYTHIA #1

10' x 14"

FORSYTHIA #2

10" x 14"

FORSYTHIA #3

10" x 14"

And the last one of the Forsythia at St. Joe's that used to be untrimmed in the fall.

FORSYTHIA #4

10" x 14"

Let me know which one you prefer and if you want it, it is yours.

ALLIUM

While going through the pile of work I am to sort through and possibly move to the basement, I found water colors with pen and ink.  I had forgotten about them and that particular way of adding a bit of form to water colors.  Here they are one of Allium, which is just beginning to shoot up in our garden and one of yellow tulips now fading away.

ALLIUM

10" x 14"

pen and ink and water color

YELLOW TULIPS

8.5" x 11"

pen and ink and water color

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SHOES

 This is a water color from many years ago when we took a trip to visit our son and daughter in law in Venice Beach California.  We had a wonderful time and for some reason these shoes in the sun say it all.

SHOES 

water color

9" x 12"

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weeping cherry over the years

 Here is a short video of the Weeping Cherry over the years.

         

WEEPING CHERRY #6, FADING AWAY

 The Katsura (in the foreground) is coming into its own now and the cherry is fading away and will be weeping green for the rest of the season.

WEEPING CHERRY #6, Fading Away, oil on canvas board 6" x 8"

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WEEPING CHERRY #5. EARLY MORNING IN APRIL

 Today is my Mom's Birthday. I miss her and my Weeping Cherry planted in her memory. There are other Weeping Cherries but only one Mom.

EARLY MORNING IN APRIL, WEEPING CHERRY #5, 

6" x 9" oil on canvas board.

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WEEPING CHERRY #4

 Right now the blue veronica is blooming in the lawn and the cherry trees in the neighborhood are in full bloom so this painting was probably painted on my Mom's birthday April 15th.

WEEPING CHERRY #4

        12" x 12"

oil on canvas

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WEEPING CHERRY #3

 Get our your hankies again, although this Weeping Cherry looks pretty sprightly, before long it will be dropping its petals and reverting to green, still down but not shedding tears.

WEEPING CHERRY #3

oil on stretched canvas

12"" x 12"

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inset WEEPING CHERRY

Weeping Cherry #1 and #2

 This week is Weeping Cherry week so get out your hankies.

Here is the first and second in a very long series.  There are more but this is all I could find so far. I tried to post them in the order that they were created but they are not all dated.  The size tells me something but not necessarily as I adjust to fit the composition.  The Cherry blooms just as the Katsura is beginning to leaf out and is a butterscotch color.  The combination is thrilling after winter's gray.

WEEPING CHERRY #1

8.5" x 11" framed oil on canvas board

WEEPING CHERRY #2

12" x 12"

oil on stretched canvas

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 This week I am going to spend time with an old friend the Weeping Cherry that used to be in the center of my yard. I planted it in memory of my mother because it bloomed around the time of her birthday. This is my Mom and me at Easter. Looks like I am around 10? I painted many versions of the tree over the years. I am posting the ones I have left. Later in the week I will post a video of some of the paintings.

Here is the first one.  Just planted.

WEEPING CHERRY #1

    7.5" X 10"

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FORSYTHIA FREEDOM

 I love Forsythia as it burst out of corners and the middle of fields with the abandon of new life.  One of my pet peeves is the way some gardeners insist on creating balls of yellow instead of letting Forsythia do its thing in the Spring.  There is plenty of time to trim it after it blooms and let it grow naturally all summer so it can really "spring" at the end of winter.  Here is an oil painting from a few years back when St. Joe's did not trim their Forsythia at the wrong time.  Since then they have consistently created tame hedges of thwarted life instead.

I tried to no avail, at least so far, to create a water color of Forsythia.  Four paintings in the trash so far but I will try again.  This serendipitous approach is fun but hazardous.

FORSYTHIA FREEDOM

12" x 12"

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DAYDREAM

AUTUMN

 It's the wrong season for this water color but it is the right time to post it as it fits in with the nature theme.

AUTUMN

12" x 16"

water color

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Daffy Daffodils #2

 Another Daffy Daffodils, this time a close up.

DAFFY DAFFODILS #2

10" x 7"

water color

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DAFFY DAFFODILS

 Here is another way to get around the problem of either colors running together or having a thin line between them with water colors - simply leave space between colors.  Of course the white has to make some kind of aesthetic sense.  Here I think it is fine as it adds to the Daffodil cheeriness.

DAFFY DAFFODILS

10" x 7"

water color

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The Den

 This is a water color of the den we used to have.  One thing about painting your environment as opposed to an abstraction is that there are memories, associations and unconscious reverberations that simply do not exist when viewing an abstraction. On the other hand you can project whatever you want onto an abstraction.

THE DEN

10" x 8"

water color

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ONE TULIP

 On this rainy day in March when we who live in this area are at the end of our patience with winter, it is the imagined joy of spring that keeps us going.  I hope this image of one tulip helps you hang in there a bit longer.  It works for me.

ONE TULIP

9" x 12"

water color

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 Here are a few simple Daisies to brighten your day.

PINK DAISIES

12" x 9"

water color

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