Sharon July 7th, 2009
Several years ago I was invited to visit a large historic house on the river. The owner, a delightful lady, shared her knowledge of the house which was built in the 18th century and which her family had painstakingly restored.
My grandfather was an architect in Washington DC and I’ve always been interested in buildings so I was pleased to be asked to do a painting of the interesting house in it’s beautiful setting.
Unfortunately it was a blustery February day when I visited the house and took reference photographs from every angle, including one from the end of the pier that jutted into the river. It was very cold and very windy out there!
I had every intention of getting to that house portrait as soon as it fit my workshop schedule. Unfortunately within days of taking those photographs I was quite ill with pneumonia. The house project was set aside and it seemed that I even shivered to think of it, remembering the cold.
Recently I was invited to a gathering at that house and it was a pleasant day with interesting people and another tour of the fascinating building. This time I came home and started sketching.
The completed painting shows the river front side of the home as seen from the end of that pier. The original photographs, taken in winter, showed more of the house behind leafless trees. My second set of photographs, taken in spring, were more colorful but somehow seemed to show less of the house in it’s distinctive landscape. I decided to paint a late winter scene with frost at sunrise.
This is painted in watercolor on 300 lb Arches watercolor paper, chosen for better control over the sunset sky. Some windows and doors are detailed with a little white fluid acrylic which I like better than Chinese white watercolor. The painting is 15×22″ and probably will be titled ‘Sunrise Frost: Almodington’.
Sharon July 1st, 2009
I was asked by a private school near Baltimore for permission to use my illustrated Chesapeake Bay map in a seventh grade project to learn how to do a grid enlargement. I agreed to let them use the map because I knew it would be a unique learning experience for the students.
Enlarging a drawing using a grid system is a classic low tech technique to copy something fairly accurately. Simply put, you draw equal squares on the small drawing and make a grid of equal number larger squares on the larger paper. Then it is a matter of copying the lines within one square to the larger drawing.
You have to think about where the lines start and end in relation to their position as they cross grid lines and I hope that while the students worked on this map, they also learned more about the Chesapeake Bay.
I think they did a very good job with their project and it was displayed in their school. They may not think they will ever have reason to use grid enlargements in adulthood but you never know! It is a useful skill for enlarging patterns or diagrams among other things.
Sharon June 23rd, 2009
I am nearing completion on a project that has taken me more than a year. It is a special commission for a map of the lower Chesapeake Bay region illustrated to show native American artifacts and the general location of settlements dating 6000 BC to contact.
This will be a special limited edition reproduction and availability information will be released at a later time.
The maps (I did two versions!) were drawn with ink on Strathmore Aquarius paper since it resists ink bleeding and buckling of the paper after painting. After the illustration was complete with ink I carefully tinted it with watercolors to bring out the small vignettes of natives in various activities and the border of artifacts and native plants.
Sharon March 15th, 2009
Recently I had the opportunity to work on a commission that was a challenge. I usually paint in watercolor and generally create art on the small side, preferring to paint flora and fauna in more or less actual size. The request was for a large flower closeup, the flower and colors of my choice. That’s really the way I like to do commissions, leaving me to let my imagination go where it will.
Necessarily this painting was done from a photograph. It is a pink lily that blooms in my garden in summer and I liked the ways the petals curl and flow from the center. Because of the size and other factors, I chose to do this painting using Golden brand fluid acrylics. They act much like watercolor, especially when painted on Ampersand aquamedia board.
I learned a lot in completing this commission and I am looking forward to working on the other two coordinating florals that are requested to hang with it.
Several years ago I was invited to visit a large historic house on the river. The owner, a delightful lady, shared her knowledge of the house which was built in the 18th century and which her family had painstakingly restored.
