Red Cross Ball 2010 - Fundraiser

The Red Cross is one of my special activities.....  Now more that ever we need to be raising funds for their good works globally.  Happily, I am their signature artist here in the Triangle again this year. Their theme this season was "Carolina Nights."  This offers so many visual opportunities. Our state is wide and diverse in its topography, people, food, etc. So I decided to offer three designs - one for each of our regions. To the east, there are lovely white-sand beaches of the coastal region.  The extremely diverse central area of the Piedmont has the busiest of towns known for banking, universities, and technology,and are interspersed with rolling pastoral farmlands.  Then to the west, the wonderful Blue Ridge Mountains.  Tonight I will share the painting of the Coastal Scene. Now go to http://www.trianglearc.org/EVENTS/AnnualGala/tabid/896/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Portraits and birthdays...

This is my husband's and daughter's birthday. When Doug was 40, I painted him in a three piece suit and tie and hung the sample portrait in the board room of our office. In recent years, he hit another milestone, and I suggested we do a more casual portrait. He said,"Yes, but this time paint the real me...the beach bum!" Well, although he grew up on the coast of Carolina, he hasn't lived there permanently in over 50 years! But one day, the light was right, the pose was accidental, and everything fell into place. This is a 40 x 30 oil portrait... I have as a sample in my studio now. Our children said it was "so Dad...in his story-telling pose." The Son of a Fisherman...

Beach Beauties and Blogs...

A wonderful artist friend, Mike Rooney, the North Carolina coastal artist who encouraged me to start this blog, offered to share some notes about using blogs in the art business. I am the speaker at the Pastel Society of North Carolina program this coming Saturday ( a week from today) and plan to include his information in this presentation. He's a great guy...just got back from painting in Cape Cod. You need to check out his site at http://mikerooneystudios.blogspot.com/
And so in his honor I am going to run this 5 x 7 oil of a beach beauty digging mussels one more time...
$150.00/ $9shipping/ NCSTx

Carolina Coast - One more time...

Here are a couple of closeup images from yesterday's post about the unusual restaurant at the coast of Carolina. Thanks for the calls and emails about this image. I agree with you - it was a most memorable place and it had to be painted. This is a pastel 20 x16 on Ampersand board, and here are two of the interesting areas.

Beach Beauties - Carolina Crusing at Cape Lookout

North Carolina fairly tilts on the Fourth of July as families make their exodus from the cities to the coast. Downtown Raleigh was a veritable ghost town yesterday with most everything closed including Artspace. Hope you enjoyed your celebrations with your loved ones. I pulled this quick study, 10 x 8 watercolor sketch out to share because I think it most represents this weekend's vacation time for so many people. It was a color plan for an oil painting. Carolina Crusing at Cape Lookout...