116 Van Briggle Vase, One Lily and a Bud

111. Sunflowers in a Cobalt Vase

I am getting my money's worth from these sunflowers in terms of paintings.  The petals' edges are starting to curl and darken, but that is part of their charm. 

106. Market Bouquet, Sunflowers with Gladiolas and Snapdragons

As a child I enjoyed pinching the snapdragons to make the "dragon's" mouth open and close.  Now I love showing it to kids---always brings a smile to their faces.

105. Market Bouquet

This bouquet from the farmer's market has such a beautiful variety of flowers, and gives me many opportunities for paintings.  This one includes a sunflower (actually two), red gladiolas and purple statice.

Bar Musician With Saxophone

#100. Celebrate and Eat Cake!

This is my 100th consecutive daily painting for Daily Paintworks.  (www.dailypaintworks.com)   I realize it's nothing compared to the likes of Lisa Daria Kennedy and many others who have been doing this for YEARS.  I so admire all of them and especially appreciate Lisa's advice on many things during my start-up.  I can only aspire to continue to grow as an artist and improve in my technique with each new painting.   I am loving the journey!

Please note:  This painting is available at  www.theleighgallery@comcast.net

All You Need Is Love

If I were looking at this for the first time,  I would guess it could be a scene from Anywhere, USA, but it is actually a scene from busy Beirut. 

The Prophet

I was very hesitant to tackle this painting, which is of a statue of Kahlil Gibran located in Bcharre’ Lebanon at the Kahlil Gibran museum along with his tomb.  My daughter and I visited it in September of 2011.

Kahlil Gibran was a prolific poet and painter (watercolor, oil, and guache), most noted for his book, The Prophet, published in 1923, but still interesting and very pertinent in today’s world,  He left Lebanon at the age of 12 and moved to Boston. He came from a very poor family, but blossomed into a philosophical essayist, novelist, mystical poet and painter. He died in the US at a young age (in his 40’s) and according to his wishes, he was returned to Lebanon and buried in a 19th century monastery.   I was familiar with his drawings from his books, but not his paintings, which are truly beautiful.  He focused on the subjects of relationships, family, creation, the earth, etc. and his palette consisted mostly of the calming and mysterious greys we artists struggle to mix. 

Standing Figure, a Painting of a Sculpture

Sculpture by Diane Cochran, located at Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden.