My October Gallery Paintings

I just realized I never put my October paintings on this blog. So here goes. There were six. My work has been moving toward an Expressionistic style. Good bad, or indifferent, that's what's been in my head lately lol.

"Blizzard of '75"

This first one is called "Blizzard of '75". Some have told me they see a blue dancer in it, but the purpose was to paint something reminiscent of a snow storm.

The next one is

Daisies Looking In

This next one is 

"Windblown"

The inspiration for it was a windy day in the garden when all the colors seem to blur a bit and there is that excited feel in the air.

Carolina Air

This one is Carolina Air, inspired from our days living in North Carolina, although it really reminds me more of South Carolina winters than North Carolina in a way.

"A View From A Southwestern Garden"

This one is "A View From A Southwestern Garden". Inspired by our days living in New Mexico.

"Snowed Last Night"

This final one is "Snowed Last Night"-- I love the way the landscape looks with fresh snow on the ground, especially early in the season, when the snows are light and there are sometimes some of the leaves still on the trees. This is my rendition of one of those mornings when you wake up and the world has been transformed.

November Gallery Paintings

November's First Friday has come and gone. It was a wonderful evening with great music, a wonderful featured artist, and good comments on my newest works, which are tending currently toward the expressionist style. Here they are:

"Moonlight Glow"

I have had this painting in my head for a while. I'm actually thinking of doing a series on it, as I have a few other ideas along that line as well. I wrote a poem to go with it:

Moonlight Glow

Moonlight spreads gold and silver on the sea

It illumines her waves, as they sparkle with glee

Now, the sea ripples and laps at the land

The beach dares the breezes to tickle the sand

And the winds whisper to the waves to tumble and leap

Who slap at the dunes (that aren't very steep)

So Night's games go on, till, day arrives on the scene

Moon hides her glow till again she is queen.  

-- Margaret Bena Wickham 2010

The next painting was inspired by a walk through a forest, when I happened upon a lovely little copse where flowers were blooming. It was fragrant and peaceful. This is the result. 

 Woodland Garden

The next one also has a poem to go with it.

Autumn Arrives

Autumn Arrives

Autumn arrives with her retinue

Of brilliant leaves of blazing hue

Who dance their swan song in graceful flutter

Down, drifting down, the lawn to clutter

Then washed by rains, and melting snow

Will dance again when spring breezes blow 

     -- Margaret Bena Wickham 2010

Here is the final one: 

A Riot of Flowers

I'm finding that I am tending (at least right now) toward an expressionistic style of painting. I feel I'm learning a lot. Don't know if I will go back to realistic painting or not.

Photo Animations-- not quite a video... but fun anyway

Several years ago, my daughter in law sent me two pictures of my darling granddaughter who had gotten into her mom's make up. I got the idea to try to make an animation out of them, and this was the result.

Then, a year or two later, I had taken several pictures of the same granddaughter on a mini- merry-go-round (while her Mom was in the hospital having a new sister for her). I decided to play with them to preserve the memory better. 

This was the result of that effort:

Then, when her sister grew a bit, I made some of her as a month old baby - I will upload one if I can find one but at this point they seem to have gotten lost in a hard drive crash of a few years ago :-(. )

I did make this one of the two of them later that year:

I made this one just because I wanted to make something different, that might comfort others. I had taken this photo several years before, and thought it was the perfect image for the verse from the 23rd Psalm.

And finally, my younger granddaughter did make it into an animation (that I still can find) (we live 2500 miles apart so it's difficult to get photos that will "work" but I finally had some good ones.

One final one: this is one of my sons after getting on the outside of a HUGE ice cream sundae that he was kind of thinking even he, with his vast appetite, might be bested by.

September Gallery Entries

Here are the paintings that are in the gallery this month.

This painting is painted from photos I took of the Colonial garden at Ferry Farm in Fredericksburg, VA. Ferry Farm is the boyhood home of George Washington.

 Lilies from my front garden is the subject of this painting.

A Hibiscus from that same garden.

Newest paintings...

These are my two newest paintings. They can also be viewed at The Gallery at 915.

Got to run to do some errands will post more in a bit about what else I've been doing to stay out of trouble!

Newest works in the gallery

Starting July 2nd, I have four new works to be on display at The Gallery at 915 on Lafayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg.

The Gallery is one of the newest and nicest in town. If you get a chance to go, please stop in and check out my work as well as the other great artists whose work in on display there.

Here's the "sequel" to the blanket...

This is the pillow that I made to go with the quilt for our friend. The squares are from three friends. One had contributed before, but two of the ladies' squares had gotten lost in cyber space.

This is the back of the pillow. It has a removable cover so that it can be washed.

Here are the squares before they were sewn onto the pillow. I should have taken close ups of the sewn squares but I didn't.

Our friend should receive the pillow tomorrow or Wednesday so I'm on pins and needles hoping she likes it!