Magnolia Lake

This painting is from a photo taken by my niece, the great and talented Roxanne Stark. Thank you Rox for allowing me to use your photos for my paintings!!

This scene is from Magnolia Lake in Ocean View, N.J. 

8x10 oil on gessobord

                                                                         SOLD

Advice from a lake:
Be clear, make positive ripples, look beneath the surface, stay calm, shore up friendships, take time to reflect, be full of life. 
~ Author Unknown

Sunset at Siesta Key

Another in a series of Siesta Key paintings. Give me a sunset any day and I will be on cloud 9. 

Have you ever heard of the green flash phenomenon that occurs at sunset and sunrise? Check out the story here:
http://www.livescience.com/26376-green-flash.html

8x10 oil on gessobord

SOLD

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. 

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, California

I love to visit lighthouses! I've never been to Pigeon Point but working from a photo can be the next best thing. I have many photos of my lighthouse visits and at some point I will paint from them, but I do prefer the plein air style of painting and will try to do that more.

Here in New Jersey there are no shortage of lighthouses. I've been to a number of them including; Hereford Inlet, Navesink Twin Lights, Absecon Lighthouse, East Point Lighthouse, Barnegat Lighthouse, Sandy Hook, Cape May, Finns Point, Sea Girt, and Brigantine Lighthouse, to name a few.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse has an interesting history if you care to investigate its past. It is currently closed due to the need for some structural repairs, but there is a hostel there set just beside the lighthouse. If you decide to stay at a hostel, Pigeon Point appears to be a great one to visit, set high on a cliff with a magnificent view.

8x10 oil on gessobord

SOLD

Although not inspirational, I love this quote:

"Lighthouse: A tall building on the seashore in which the government maintains a lamp and the friend of a politician." 
~ Author unknown

Niagara Falls Rapids

This is my third Niagara Falls painting. I love that area. It is so beautiful. The power and force of the water is truly a beautiful sight to see. I'll never forget walking along these rapids and feeling terror and being awestruck at the same time. 

8x10 oil on gessobord

Thy white foam pillars ever moving stand, and ever standing, move harmoniously to the rough music of the dashing spray and roaring tumult of thy boiling base.  ~ James K. Liston

Clouds Illusions

This is from a cloud study that I did last year. It just needed a little tweaking and I was in the tweaking mood today so here it is. 

I love how the moon tried so hard to shine through the clouds; a very noble effort that was rewarded with this display.

8x10 oil on gessobord

We're captured on a carousel of time.  We can't return we can only look behind from where we came and go round and round and round in the circle game. - Joni Mitchell  

Niagara Falls Canada

This is my second painting of Niagara Falls. The first one was of the American side of the falls, this one is the Canadian side. 

I remember standing there at the edge of the falls. There's a low brick wall and the falls are right there. It's unnerving and breathtaking at the same time.

If you've never been, be sure to put Niagara Falls on your bucket list. It's a must see adventure! 

8x10 oil on gessobord

I stood within a vision's spell; I saw, I heard.  The liquid thunder went pouring to its foaming hell, and it fell, ever, ever fell, into that invisible abyss that opened under.  ~ Anonymous

Browning Avenue in the fall

I saw this tree on my morning walk this past fall.  It struck me with it's beautiful leaves not long into the process of turning color. I love this. 

I put the photo of this tree in my "things to paint" folder and came across it the other day. Leaves are my nemesis so I was proud (and brave) to give this painting a try. 

8x10 oil on gessobord

From the hedgerow, lawn and wooded hill departs the summer's chlorophyll; the elms and hickories lose their green and glow instead with carotene, while sumacs, maples redden in a burst of anthocyanin, and Time is moved to tell it's clients, the reason why in terms of science.  ~ From the October 20,1941 issue of Time. 

Lazing on a not so sunny afternoon

This one is from the way-back machine, aka, a repost from yesteryear. 
I've painted more water scenes than anything else, but I've got a forest scene, flowers, and a new Niagara Falls painting in the works. Stay tuned!

6 x 6 oil on gessobord

And I can't sail my yacht, he's taken everything I've got, all I've got's this sunny afternoon. ~ The Kinks

Rock me on the water

Another sista's day, another painting. We painted my favorite scene; the ocean! Loving the waves and especially the rocks and the reaction of the water surrounding them, an ever changing 
fun-tastic scene to paint.

9x12 oil on gessobord

To get up when you are down, to fight more intensely when you're struggling, to put in the extra effort when you are in pain, to come back when nobody expects you to, and to stand tall when everyone is pulling you down, are what makes a champion. - Apoorve Dubey