Sunset River Marketplace

Sunset River Marketplace

Yesterday I drove south toward Myrtle Beach and went to Calabash, NC, to drop off some paintings at this gallery.  I am sharing a space with several artist friends and the group is known as the Southeastern Artists.  The space above is in transition so the paintings are not yet arranged-some of these are coming down and new ones like mine are just in a temporary spot( or still in boxes) until they all arrive.  I am excited about being in another coastal gallery, especially one as large and popular as this one.  Calabash is the southernmost town in N.C. and has a large number of seafood restaurants that tourists flock to. The next town is Little River SC, and my husband's ancestors settled there in the 1600's.  The house where his grandmother was born is still there, despite lots of new development.

Flowering Apricot Tree

Flowering Apricot Tree

These trees bloom in mid winter or early spring before the leaves come onto the branches.  It is really magical to see something in bloom this early, although not as surprising this year since we have had such a warm winter here in Zone seven.  I took quite a few photos of these gorgeous trees last week at a church not far from my home.  Most of them showed the trees from the ground up, but then I remembered the wonderful painting I saw in Philadelphia at the Van Gogh Exhibition. The title of Vincent's painting shown below is "Almond Blossom" and it is one of my new favorites.

6x6 in. oil on panel

Through Women's Eyes

Through Women's Eyes, By Women's Hands

This wonderful painting is by Jane Filer, a North Carolina artist whose work I love.  This will be part of the exhibition Friday night, March 2 in Chapel Hill.  I am excited to have two small paintings there also.  It takes place from 7-10 pm in the Great Room at Top Of The Hill. Tickets are $50 and all proceeds benefit The Women's Center of Chapel Hill. The painting above, "Fox Trot" will be part of a live auction

Gentleman In Orange Hat

Gentleman In Orange Hat

This man is leaving after having lunch at one of our Pinehurst restaurants which is patronized mainly by locals. The popular spot closes at 2:00, and you can tell it's late because the parking lot is normally crowded. 

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Tulips In Delft

Tulips In Delft

It's fun to have these tulips sitting under the skylight in my studio and reacting to every change in the weather  outside.  The day they arrived was stormy and pouring down rain and they were closed up tight. I may paint them again tomorrow because they look different after today's sunshine.

6 x 6 in. oil on archival panel

Lemon Trio

Lemon Trio

This was an experiment making a very dark background where none of the light was hitting.

Window Glow

Window Glow

This is another window from the old church I mentioned yesterday. I have always been fascinated by stained glass windows, both the simple and the ornate.  I especially love seeing them at night when driving by a church, all lit up from the inside.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

St. Phillips Window

St. Phillips Window

This church was built in 1891 in Germanton, N.C. and is in very good condition. It is on the market and may become the "new" church for a fortunate congregation.  I have some nice photos of it and I will be painting more soon.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

City Traffic

City Traffic

I painted this for the challenge which was posted by Terry Miura on his blog Studio Notes

The scene in the photo provided was very complex and the directions were to simplify as much of the information in the photo as you could.  There were other guidelines provided by Terry which 

were very helpful.  Thanks, Terry, for the interesting and fun challenge.

6 x 8 in. oil on panel

Crab Louie

Crab Louie

This little guy is named after an old-fashioned recipe that my grandmother used to make.  It is a salad with all kinds of good things in it- crabmeat, of course, avocado, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, asparagus, and a tasty dressing and probably a few more things I can't remember.

6 x 6 in. oil on archival panel