Crabs, Old Bay and Butter

Here's a watercolor I did about 2 months ago. It's large, and I did it because I love eating crabs. It's a social thing. My grandparents lived in Norfolk, and as a kid, my dad and I would go crabbing with chicken necks and string. We would throw the chicken necks out, wait a few minutes and then slowing pull the line back, keeping the chicken neck on the bottom of the bay. Then when it was close enough, I would slowly pull the crabs up. When we could see the crabs on the chicken neck, my dad would take the crab net and quickly scoop up the crab and chicken neck. He had a wooden basket that he would float inside an inner tube, and we would dump are catch in there. When we were done for the day, we would bring home our load. My grandmother would steam them and then the whole family (aunt, uncle, cousin) would sit around the table, picking crabs and talking. It takes quite a while to get your fill so there was a lot of talking going on. To this day, I love a crab feast. Not just for the delicious taste of crab meat, but also for the talk that goes on for hours.

Seagulls by the Rough Water

Here is a painting I did recently. I had assigned my students to do rough ocean waves and turbulent skies. After I finished my painting, I thought it needed more so I added some seagulls in the distance. Then after looking at it more, I decided to make some bigger seagulls. I'm please how it turned out. I started with one idea and kept adding to it until I was satisfied.

Daisies in a Coke Bottle

I haven't posted in quite a while. I had surgery almost a month ago and recovery has been slow. I decided to show some things I did before I went under the knife. This is a still life I set up with some old coke bottles and some daisies. It was fun to paint. I started off as a still life painter so whenever I do one, it takes me to my happy place. I'm still too sore to paint yet, but I'm looking forward to the day that I can get back to picking up a brush.

Bird's Eye View of Georgetown

Here's the latest painting I've done. It's of Washington, DC from the top of the Marriott. I went to a wedding there back in 2009 and took this picture. I'm finally getting around to painting it. It's a watercolor on a full sheet of watercolor paper. So it's BIG! I haven't framed it yet, but that's on my to do list for next week.

Koi in the Rock Garden

I have a stack of paintings that I started and haven't finished. So I'm methodically picking one out and working on it until it's done. This is one I started in the fall. It was about 85% done, so I focused on it this week and finished it. It's a rather large oil painting 17 x 23 inches. I've taken dozen of photos of koi up at the beach and this is about the 3rd or 4th painting I've done of the beach koi. Now on to pick another unfinished painting from the pile. I'm determined to get most of them done by the end of the month.

Rooftop View of Washington, DC

I haven't written on my blog for a while, but here is the latest painting I just completed. It was a commission for my friends, Jeanne and Joe, who live in Rosslyn with this beautiful skyline view. They live in Arlington overlooking the Potomac River, and this is their view of Washington. There are 3 monuments in the painting: The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. It must be wonderful to wake up every day and look out and see this view. Can you imagine watching the 4th of July fireworks from this rooftop? I totally enjoyed painting this beautiful scene.

It's Five o'clock Somewhere

Here's the latest painting I've done. I call it "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." I set up this still life with some bottles I had in our cupboard. I bought Don Julio's, not because I like tequilla, but because I liked the shape of the bottle. I went to Ayers 5&Dime over in Westover and bought the paper umbrellas and swizzle sticks. It took me a while to arrange all of these items. I didn't want bottles to line up at the top or at the bottom. I did some preliminary drawings. Then I painted on this still life for 3 days straight for about 8 hours a day. After I dismantled the still life, I worked on the painting from photographs to do finishing touches. I love how it turned out. It was so fun to paint. And before I could even put it in the gallery or in a show, the painting found a new home. I never realized how fun painting alcohol, instead of drinking it, could be!