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 !!!

Happy Holidays

This is my "Christmas Card" to all of my wonderful friends here on Blogland!.. a little oil painting from a few of my ornaments on my tree.   I wasn't going to put up a Christmas tree this year because I felt guilty that my neighborhood is so dark and will be for a long time because of Hurricane Sandy.  Last year this time, everyone had beautiful lights outside for the Holidays...this year....so much darkness and sadness all around me...but I want to believe that by displaying some lights, it will brighten their day and give them hope.   I want to thank you all for all your support this year and look forward to seeing your work in 2013.  I have learned so much from all of you!!!  Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year to you all !!!

Rudy

Rudy is about a year old now and the cutest little dog.  He's
a cockapoo...a cross between the cocker spaniel and the
poodle.   He's very bright, affectionate and loves people !!
He's so sweet and extremely "Patriotic".. LOL... he made
his debut at this years 4th of July party at my niece Debbie's
house.  I enjoyed painting this pastel portrait of Rudy...loved
his curly fur...!!!

Somewhere out East..!

I took the reference picture for this oil painting when I was out East..somewhere on Long Island!!  This is the first  time I have no clue where this was..it's sad because since its so close to the water we'll never know if its still standing after the Hurricane.  I thought it would make a nice painting with the light hitting the weeds against the house and the wood pilings in the water...I enjoyed painting this ..!

Esperanza

Esperanza in spanish means Hope.  She is my Aunt, my Mom's sister and such a special "lady" who I love and respect.
When baseball season comes around, she is glued to the television always wearing her Philly's hat...and yells at the T.V. if things don't go the way she wants.   On December 18th , she will
turn 103 years young !!  Amazing, right?  Imagine the stories she can tell you.   She loves and embraces life everyday!

Sandy

Thank you all for being such devoted and concerned followers...you are all so wonderful !!  I have been living with my daughter in Massapequa Park, NY.  After 12 days without power, I just found out that my power is back and I will be going back home to East Rockaway.  Living with candles was an adventure, the first night...but a nightmare after that!!  We only got about 7 - 8 inches of water in the basement but enough to ruin the boiler, washing machine and dryer and hot water heater...but compared to what my neighbors are going through, I consider myself so incredibly blessed.  My neighbors had 6ft. of water which destroyed the first floor of their house.  My daughter, who lives in Oceanside didn't have power since the Hurricane as well.  She was so cold, living without a generator..a nightmare!!    Her friend is living with her right now.  She lived in East Rockaway as well, and lost her entire house.  She didn't evacuate in time and had to swim out of her house to safety.  When she finally returned to see the damage, the staircase collapsed!!  Houses were destroyed in my neighborhood with sewage that filled bathrooms and basements.   I thank God we were spared.  I will be posting soon...and pray everyday for those still suffering with the aftermath of Sandy !!!   

Acadia National Park

Last year, I painted Jordan Pond in Bar Harbor, Maine.  I found another reference picture of another hiking trail by the Harbor, which I thought would make a nice pastel painting..I loved  looking at the water hitting the rocks creating this foam with a lot of different colors.  Unfortunately, I don't know exactly which hiking trail this one was... The view was breathtaking.. the rocks were beautiful,  and the water was so blue and so clear!  Acadia National Park has many trails but they're short in mileage....some no more than about 3 miles...however, some  trails connect from one to another making it a longer hike, if preferred.

  

Bronx Zoo

I took the reference picture of this tiger when I visited the zoo, this past Summer....he looked like he was going to leap at any moment.  The picture, unfortunately, wasn't clear so I did the best I could with the other pictures I took that day.  I did some research of tigers and found out that the pattern on their stripes are like fingerprints in a human..Interesting!  In the early 1900's there was about 100,000 tigers..Now, between 3,000 -4500 exist in the wild...so sad!!  I hope I was able to capture the beauty of this amazing animal in this pastel painting.

Lullaby and Goodnight

There's always that "one" toy or that special doll that belonged to your child that you just don't want to "let go".  This was my daughter's first little doll that I put in her cradle the moment she came home.  I remember when she started to look around, she stared at Raggedy Ann..Wow!  Now that I think about it.. I hope it wasn't too scary for her. LOL!  too late!!   It had a wind up in the back, that played "Lullaby and Goodnight" which always helped to put her to sleep.  Many years have passed by since that moment, but some things we never forget....and never put away !!

Sierra

I have painted Sierra several times in the past, but when you get a wonderful model, one tends to keep them....especially when they're your granddaughter.  She's only 14 but loves to model for me.  She's growing up so fast.  She has the perfect hair that I love to paint.  I painted this, of course, with pastels and loved the shadows in her face from the sun when she was looking out the window.   I value the opinions of all my Artist buddies...my question....Should I omit the shadows?

St.Mary Lake - Montana

I enjoyed our trip to Montana a few years back.  I took many reference pictures.  St. Mary Lake is in Glacier National Park located on the East side of the park and is 9.9 miles long -300 ft.deep.  During the Winter, the lake freezes completely over with ice up to 4ft. thick.. We took a 2 1/2 mile hike that day and I remember how beautiful the lake was...I saw so many colors that even a camera doesn't see.. Well, at least my camera!.. I have another beautiful reference picture of the lake that I might someday paint in pastels..I enjoyed getting my oils out for this little painting.

Julia

When I visited my friend, Josephine, she showed me a picture
of her beautiful granddaughter who recently made her First Communion.  I looked at Julia's face and thought it would make a
beautiful pastel painting.  I realized afterwards that one of you should have painted the flowers for me..LOL.  You all do such amazing jobs with florals...yet...I find it extremely difficult..I have practiced in the past and will continue to practice.  I'm on a mission!!

Chinatown, New York City

Chinatown, NYC contains the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia.  I visited Chinatown last September after leaving the annual Feast in San Gennaro, Little Italy.  I believe the reference picture was taken on Canal Street where you see color everywhere!!  and the smell of food was SO wonderful...I really hope that I didn't write something wrong  in Chinese...if I did, I apologize!  I guess I should have checked first!!.   If you haven't been to Chinatown, I recommend going there...especially if you're hungry!  The food is excellent!!  I took my time with this oil painting  and mixed my colors as best as I could in order to get that "perfect" shade. 

Still Life - Orange

I filled this small  bowl with colorful fruits for this still life and realized that there wasn't any room left for the orange, so I put it on the outside of the bowl which looked a little better.  I haven't painted a still life for awhile so I enjoyed painting this. 

Tuesday Afternoon

I wish I can say that this painting was from life but this is a pastel portrait of the young lady who modeled for us at Suzanne Young's workshop.  I had taken a few photos of her for  those details that I didn't want to miss, so I used a closeup reference picture for this painting.  It was pretty warm in the workshop so she "poufed" up her hair which I loved, and took the shot before she put it down.  There was those perfect shadows on her face that "called" me as well as her beautiful flawless skin!  I truly enjoyed painting her.

Life Drawing

I joined a three week workshop with Suzanne Young, an excellent figure/portrait artist.  At the end of the session, I took some pictures of this beautiful model since I wanted to get some details that I wasn't able to see without having the photos.  I guess I basically work with photos but it was a nice practice for me.  The model was absolutely beautiful..she was Arabic/Basque (beautiful combination) wearing a colorful outfit.. she told me that the vest belonged to her grandmother.  I give her so much credit for staying in one position for the 20 minutes at a time during the 3 hr. class.  I enjoyed painting from life...a change from working from a photo...

First time Dad

A Father's Love

A father is respected because he gives his children leadership...appreciated because he gives his children care...valued because he gives his children time...loved because he gives his children the one thing they treasure most....himself..
author unknown..
My heart melted when I was painting this..the love between Dad and son is so obvious.  You can see how proud he is of his baby boy..holding him so tightly and so lovingly.  I enjoyed painting this portrait as I did my previous "First time Mom"....This is the second commissioned painting I did and Mom and Dad will receive them on Saturday!!

First time Mom

I will always remember how I felt the first moment that my daughter was given to me by the Nurse.  The instant love is so strong that you just never forget that moment.  There isn't anything better than becoming a Mommy for the first time.  My cousin commissioned two paintings of this beautiful family--one of this bundle of joy with mama and the other is of the little one with his dad.  She will receive this portrait next week...so I think it will be safe to post it..I will post the second one soon..   Originally, I wanted to paint this with oils but who am I kidding?  I wasn't sure what colors to use.  After staring at all the beautiful colors that I would have used in an oil portrait, I took my pastels out, since I feel more comfortable with pastels..better idea..LOL!! I hope she likes this as much as I enjoyed painting her handsome little  boy!!

Long Island Winery

I took the reference picture from a winery on
Long Island... this barrel was in the backyard, which
I noticed when I was walking around the side of a huge
wrap around deck.  The barrel had beautiful
flowers on it which immediately caught my eye!!
I think the name of the winery was Roanoke
Vineyards, in Riverhead... I'm not sure, since we
visited a few wineries that day.....Excellent Merlot,
by the way!!!   and Music during the Summer months...Life is good !  
I painted this with oils..so basically had no clue what
I was doing but had so much fun trying.

Nikolas

This is my 8 year old Grandson, Nik.  I told
him that I wanted to paint a portrait of him but
I needed to take some reference pictures of
him first...he agreed and started to smile... I
told him that it would be better if he didn't
smile since I really don't like to paint teeth!!!
so he posed so seriously after that and
started to laugh!!  When he calmed down,
I took some nice shots but now he looks a
bit depressed.  LOL  I enjoyed painting
my handsome little man...

"Carlyle"

Did you ever see a person who you really
needed to paint?  Recently,   I went to
Carlyle Fairgrounds in PA, to see the car
show.  This man was walking with a friend
and had "that face" that called me!!   So of
course, I took his photo.  It was such a
beautiful day so the light hitting his face was
perfect with all those wonderful shadows..
which later I saw in the photo...AHHH!!!!
The little things that make me happy...

Mother's Day Portrait

I have two beautiful daughters....both amazing
Mom's.  This is my youngest, Jennifer, holding
Lexi just a few days old.  I wanted to paint a
portrait for her for Mother's Day.  I took this
reference picture when Lexi came home from
the hospital.  It was a candid shot which to me
is sometimes the best.  There is nothing more
beautiful than the love between Mom and child.

School Days

I took this photo from my family album
and decided to do a pastel portrait of
myself as a child.  I was in Elementary
School ...maybe 7 or 8 years old.   I
remember how I loved this dress.  I'm
pretty sure that this was close to the
original color since this was a black and
white photo.  I've been feeling a bit
nostalgic lately and seem to pick photos
from the "Good ole Days".  I remember
those days with a smile on my face !!!


9 x 12 Pastel Portrait

Navy Man

This is my brother-in-law, Joe, at
the age of 21 when he was in the Navy.
After leaving the Navy he became a
Policeman...then he worked as a uniformed
secret service officer in the White House
during the Kennedy Administration. How
proud am I ?! The original reference
picture was in black and white so I colorized
it a bit!. He still looks as handsome as he did when
he took this photo.

San Francisco

A few years back, we visited San Francisco.
So much to see...so little time. We went to
Chinatown, Alcatraz, visited the seals on
Fisherman's Wharf, Muir Woods and of
course, Sausalito... that afternoon, we
walked up those city streets ( or should
I say Mountains!) I felt like I was hiking..
very exhausting. We saw so many beautiful
homes with different pastel colors.. one
prettier than the other...They all seemed to
have colorful flowers on their front lawns..
a picture that I had to take for a future
pastel painting!!

Katie

We always have a Chinese Auction
at Curves every year.. This year, my
contribution was to paint a portrait.
The winner's name was Pat and she
decided she wanted me to paint a
portrait of her Granddaughter on her
Christening day...Katie is dressed in
the traditional Christening outfit from
Vietnam. She is a beautiful little baby
who now is 10 years old. I loved
painting Katie and was so happy that
her Grandma loved the portrait.

Sunset Beach

When we went to Long Beach,LI
last year, I took the reference
picture of the Ocean which took
my breath away. I've never seen
the colors again like I did that day.
Actually, the sun was just beginning
to set..These birds came just in time
for their picture to be taken..probably
looking for food that people left behind.

Still Life - Oranges-Apple

I bought this Brass bowl and the three
brass goblets at a garage sale last
summer so I decided to use them in
this still life. I used my oil paints for
this one..However, since I'm still new
with this medium I had a hard time
painting apples, so except for one, I
replaced them with oranges. LOL I
I enjoyed painting the wine bottles .

A Moment in Time

My Granddaughter Lexi was only about
two months old when I took the reference
picture for this pastel painting. I can't
believe 4 years have passed by already!
Last week, I went to an Antique shop
and saw a picture of a baby girl and it
inspired me to do this painting. I can
still smell the baby powder!!

For Sale

The reference picture for this
pastel painting was taken at the
Spring show in Carlyle, PA.
fairgrounds. This particular car
was for sale for $10,000.. it runs
and only has a little rust on it. LOL
I think its a Plymouth, maybe
1930-31 ? So hurry to the fairgrounds
before its sold!! For some strange
reason, I love to photograph antique
cars...and love to paint them as well!!!

Bird Watching

This is my granddaughter looking at
some birds through a telescope at the
Elizabeth A. Morton National Refuge
in Sag Harbor, NY. This is a wonderful
place to visit. They have many nesting
boxes and platforms protecting piping
plovers, roseate terns, osprey and other
shorebirds. They even close part of this
area between April 1st - August 31st in
order to minimize harm to nesting wildlife.
So if you decide to visit...don't forget your
cameras OR better yet..your paint boxes!!

Linda

I joined Curves a few years ago
after finding out I had high blood
pressure and was told to lose some
weight....Well, I did, and since then
I try to go at least 3 times a week to
maintain my weight. Linda is the
manager in Oceanside and an inspiration
to all of us. She has beautiful green eyes
that HAD to be painted! I hope Curves
appreciates the wonderful person
they have representing their Company.

First painting; 2012

My nephew's daughter was
sitting by the lamp in the living
room, Christmas Eve, when I
was captured by the shadows on
her face. I ran for my camera
and took the reference picture
for this portrait. I enjoyed
painting her so much...I always love
the challenge of getting the likeness
of the person on paper.

Nathan

I took the "challenge"and painted
one year old Nathan. Nathan is
Martine Alison's very handsome
grandson. You must visit Martine's
blog. Her paintings are absolutely
beautiful and so magical with glorious
colors!! www.martinealison.blogspot.com
Merry Christmas and Happy and
Healthy New Year to all of my friends
here in blogland!!!

John

My husband didn't have too many
pictures of himself as a young boy,
but this particular one was one of
my favorites..he was one of six boys
so by the time they got to him..well,
I guess they were tired of taking
pictures..LOL. As you can see, he had
his little Navy outfit on. This was
originally in sepia but I thought it
would be nice to colorize it..It's been
many years since this picture was
taken, but he's still my handsome
boy!!

Julia

I visited the Bronx Zoo recently and
met with this beautiful Gorilla named
Julia. I'm assuming this is her, since
they say that Julia is friendly and very
curious. She looks at everyone who
visits her at the Congo Gorilla Forest
each day. I was so surprised when a
little girl was waving at her and she
waved right back...you can imagine
how happy that made her. If you're
ever in the neighborhood...Julia would
love to see you!!

The Sound of Music

This is my first abstract of a picture
my Nephew found on line for me to
paint. He wanted this painting for
his music room. It's something that
I wouldn't paint normally, but once
I took the brush in my hand, I really
had a lot of fun with it. Someday I
would like to arrange my own
musical instruments creating a
different look......painting with oil..
of course..

Thank you, Elizabeth

I never wanted to be on facebook, but
one day I received notice that someone
was looking for me. My childhood friend,
Trina found me after 40 years with the
help of her daughter. Shocked ...but
incredibly happy, we reunited again. If
it wasn't for her daughter Elizabeth, this
reunion wouldn't have happened! I was
lucky enough to have attended Elizabeth's
wedding and this is her listening intently
to her sister's speech honoring her...

Heaven on Earth

I don't think there's a more
beautiful place...a more spiritual
place than when I visited the
Grand Canyon. What I saw was
layer upon layer of these beautifully
colored rock...almost like a staircase
going down into this amazing valley.
If you're in the right spot you can
see the Colorado River that snakes
around the valley.

Jordan Pond

We visited Acadia National Park in
Maine. We did some hiking by Jordan
Pond Shore Trail, which follows the
water's edge. It was an easy hike about
3 1/2 miles (loop) There was two
mountains northeast of the pond which
is called Bubble mountain. If you like
lobster and New England Clam chowder,
or just want to see some beautiful views,
visit Bar Harbor, Maine.!

Sunset in Venice

There is so much beauty in a
Sunset. Beautiful as it is peaceful.
My cousin and his wife recently
traveled to Venice, Italy, where he
gave me this reference picture.
I've never seen this rich orange
color in a sunset yet. I loved doing
this painting in pastel. I tried painting
it in oil but couldn't seem to capture
the softness. I still don't know
how to move those great colors around!
Someday. (I won't stop trying..)

Timeless Connection

The reference picture for this
pastel painting is of my Dad and
one of his 7 great grandchildren,
Skye. He cherished his moments with
them and they reveled the attention
of their "Papa". Pure love on his
part....pure wonder on theirs. He was
simply sharing some of his wonderful
stories with Skye. I often wondered if
she understood anything he told her
but I realize that it didn't even matter.
The language spoken between them here
is one where words are completely
unnecessary. It was just one of the many
moments where she was just bonding with this wonderful man she called "Papa"..

Kipper

Last Sunday, I went to my daughter's
block party and my niece Susan brought
her puppy Kipper. He is a MaltiPoo..a cross
between the Maltese and a poodle and
definitely a cutie.! I took a picture of
him and had to paint him.! Don't you
just love that face?

New York, New York

Last week, I spent the day in Manhattan with my
grandkids. First, we went to The American
Girl Store, then the Nintendo Store. We later
went to the Central Park Zoo. We decided
to take the subway there because we were too
tired to walk (Okay! I was too tired!)
This painting, believe it or not, was pretty
complicated for me.. I almost gave up
on it , but now I'm glad that I finished it.

Huntington, New York

Coastal Designs is the name of
the landscape company that had
this antique truck based in the
front of their property. I took
my reference picture of this
truck looking through the white
arbors. Yes, I can't seem to get
enough of these old trucks ..but
this time I only had to travel
about 1/2 hour from my home...

Hydrangeas

I love Hydrangeas and I've tried
drying them in the past with no
luck..they wilt immediately. My
friend Maddie has beautiful
Hydrangeas in her yard and she dried
a bouquet for me with all these
beautiful colors. I never painted a
floral but thought it would be
nice to try in oil.

My Sister

She is your mirror, shining back
at you with a world of possibilities.
She is your witness, who sees you
at your worst and best, and loves
you anyway. She is your partner
in crime, your midnight companion.
Someone who knows when you are
smiling, even in the dark. She is
your teacher, your defense attorney,
your personal press agent, even your
shrink. Some days, she's the reason
you wish you were an only child...
my favorite quote from Barbara
Alpert.