Bianca and me

This past weekend,  my granddaughter Bianca made her First Holy Communion.  How proud was I..?!
The day turned out to be such a perfect day.  She did a reading in Church and she read it so beautifully... of course, I needed to share this special moment with my friends.

Fairy Princess

I thought I would post a fun painting today.. A few years back I painted my Granddaughter sitting on a Moon.   My cousin always wanted her daughter painted as the Fairy Princess sitting on a Moon as well.  Of course, Samantha is not a child anymore...in fact, she's all grown up and a School teacher but her Mom still wanted this magical painting of her...I had so much
fun painting this pastel and hope you like it as well...

Baiting Hollow Farm

I took the reference picture of this sweet horse in Baiting Hollow Farm vineyard on Long Island.  It's not only a vineyard but a horse haven.  The horses here have been given a second chance in this beautiful sanctuary.   You can clearly see these rescued horses were given so much love...they were once marked for destruction and now they are safe and secure.  When you buy wine from the winery, a portion of the profits support the horse rescue....So, if you're on Long Island it's a wonderful place to visit!!  And the wine is outstanding!!!

Golden Beauty

I rarely paint horses but I enjoy seeing them on everyone's blog so I decided to paint a pastel portrait of this beauty after seeing this on Morgue.com.  I loved painting this cropped version so you can see all those wonderful details.  Last Saturday, I visited a horse farm on Long Island and took some reference shots for another horse portrait which I'm doing now in oils.    I hope you like my Golden Beauty...

The Head of an old man

Besides John Sargent,  one of my favorite Artists is Rembrandt and "Head of an old man" was one of my favorite of his paintings.
He painted this portrait about 1629.  As you know, he painted many self-portraits but I really like this one enough to copy the
"Master".   I think its a good practice...of course, the shadows and colors are already there for you to copy....so do we really learn ??  I'm hoping we do...!   Although the original was painted in oils, I chose to paint it in pastel.

Deep in Thought

I took the reference picture for this pastel painting from morguefile.com that I found from visiting Linda Popple's wonderful blog. http://lindapopple.blogspot.com .  She was generous to post Morgue file which displays hundreds of free pictures that you can use.  I usually use my own photos but when I found this man's picture...Well, his face was SO full of emotion that I really needed to paint him.  The photo was in black and white so I painted it in sepia and added a little color.  I only wish I knew something about this man that I was able to  share with you.

Since I am the original dinosaur,  I don't know how to highlight so I hope you'll be able to find this site!!

Zion's National Park, Utah

When my husband and I went hiking near the Narrows, in Zion's National Park, we got to a certain spot when I put my "foot" brakes immediately on after seeing a bear on top of this huge rock in front of us!!   I zoomed in with my camera to take his picture...
slowly,  I put my camera away...then decided not to move since we certainly couldn't out run this guy.  My husband, John, said he looked like he was coming down the rock toward the water, so I waited hoping he was right.   Slowly but surely he walked in front of us to the water.   I stayed perfectly still not looking at him, and at that moment,  I decided "never" to hike by ourselves.    I think hiking with a group of about 100 people would be perfect !!

Dance Recital

I took the reference picture of Lexi right before her recital a few months back.  (So many pictures of the grandkids!)   I told  her not to smile, once again!!  She's getting used to me already..and knows when I take a picture...you're not allowed to smile.  LOL
I used my Unison pastels for the bows and trim on the dress.  Unison pastels are very soft and the colors are so intense.  I went to Blick's this week and as you all know, going there is like going to a candy store..!!!  I hope you like this portrait....  I enjoyed painting her.

Grandma's Little Doll

A little over 15 years ago, my daughter presented me with a gift..probably the best gift I've ever received.  When I opened the box, it was her Wedding dress with a note..I was, of course, ecstatic to find out she was having a baby.  She asked me to make a girl's Christening outfit from her Wedding dress as well as a boy's outfit since she didn't want to find out the sex of the baby..
I think I was so excited that I took my sewing tools out the next day and started to cut up her gown.  Since she had a girl, she packed away the boy's  Christening outfit so that someday her girls would have it for their children.  It turned out to be such a very special day for me !  This painting was done in pastels.

Massapequa Preserves

My daughter, Jennifer lives in Massapequa Park and only blocks away from the Preserves which is a total of 423 acres.  You can hike for miles enjoying the sounds of nature and walk around the many ponds around the preserves or like many people,  their bikes to get around.  In December, 2006, this preserve was named "Best Nature Preserve on Long Island."  There's fresh water fishing in several of the lakes and streams in the preserve.  You can see many beautiful and unusual plants around..Beautiful orchids for one !!  For those who do plein air paintings..this would be the perfect place...  I hope you like this painting as much as I loved painting it !

Vicki

Vicki was a bridesmaid at Christina's Wedding in North Carolina.  She was not only beautiful but she took care of my granddaughter Lexi, who was the flower girl at the wedding.  She took her under her wing and made Lexi feel comfortable and not so afraid.  I have been practicing painting " teeth "and I'm finally happy with the way it came out.  Thank you Vicki for making this very special day even more perfect.!

A Perfect Moment

First of all...Happy New Year to all my friends here in Blogland.!!
When I went to Raleigh, North Carolina to attend a Wedding,  I was
so happy when my cousin Al caught this beautiful moment of  his son- in-law Adam in that perfect pose with his wife, Christina.  Sometimes, its those candid shots that are the best..Christina's Mom called it the "Loretta Young" pose!   I thought it would be nice to paint it with oils and a little "impressionistic" for a change!!  The wedding was at the Clarion Hotel.  The lovely Clarion Hotel is right in the heart of the City.  The Hotel's 20th floor is home to the "Top of the Tower" Restaurant and lounge offering panoramic views of the City...This is where she got married and the reception followed and a good time was had by all !!!