marshes have many moods

This is the kind of mood I'm in today, just like a felt when I chose this scene to photograph.  I was out with a friend for the afternoon just to look for photo ops.  We drove all over the beach area and stopped the car when something caught our eye.  It was a great, very satisfying, fun day.  What I loved:  the smooth still water against the texture of the grassy marsh and the colors, of course.  It was just really nice.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/150105429/puddles-left-by-low-tide-in-a-celery

coming and going

I was trying so hard to photograph one of the many seagulls in flight on this beautiful sunny afternoon. The white birds against the blue water and wet shiny rocks was too enticing. There were many seagulls, some catching some rays on the rocks, and others just flying free.  It was difficult to focus in on one of them because they were so quick.  I was wishing I had a stronger zoom lens, too. Somehow, I was able to focus on the seagull landing on the rock and didn't notice the other one until I imported my photos to my computer at home. It was a "Wow!" moment. Truly a moment in time.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/150005645/two-seagulls-flying-free-among-the-beach

dreaming of summer

I guess I'm ready for summer.  This photo is reminding me of how lucky I am to live near the beach.  This is the coastline south of Boston, just north of Cape Cod.  After this winter, everyone is ready for the warm summer months.  Two snow storms really hurt our beaches this year, but the Beach Preservation and our town have been working hard and have made great strides in repairing the dunes and the beach.  It will be just as beautiful this year as ever.

recent additions to my etsy shop

I have a new shop on Etsy (see link).  Here are a few new listings to lead you there.

VERMONT PATH

Went camping in Vermont this Columbus Day weekend. The foliage was peaking, and we walked this path in the morning after a great pancake breakfast with delicious local maple syrup! We camped on our own land, and this path was one of the boundaries.

BAY FARM COBWEBS

Also at Bay Farm, there were so many really pretty cobwebs in the grasses in the field. Again, it was very early a.m., and the lighting was beautiful. I couldn't choose, so I posted all of them.

BAY FARM SUNRISE

Went to Bay Farm on Saturday morning to photograph the sunrise. It was low tide, and the sunrise was beautiful. An egret stood there the whole time posing for us. After the sun comes up, it casts a beautiful orange/gold glow on the trees and rocks on the shore.

SAILING ON DUXBURY BAY

This was a beautiful day that I just had to paint. I love living near the beach!

NEW PAINTINGS - JUNE 2010

I've been in my studio a lot these days. Here are some pastels that I recently painted. I'm trying to get away from "trees" for awhile and trying something new. As you can see, I'm sort of succeeding. Out of my comfort zone has been my theme lately.

RED-TAILED HAWK

I was at the fruit stand taking pictures when my friend spotted this hawk. Just as I saw him, he took off, and I swung my camera around to catch a photo. This is the best I could do, but I like that you can still see the strength in his wings and legs, so I saved the photo.

RECENT PAINTINGS - WAYLAND & DUXBURY

Here are 3 pastel paintings that I did recently. The snow scene is from a walk in the Duxbury woods, and the other two paintings are from Wayland. The weather is starting to warm up, and I'm anxious to get out and take some more photos in the spring.

AUTUMN AT WAYLAND

Inspiration is flowing since a painting weekend at Wayland last October. We took so many wonderful pictures to use as references and can't stop painting from them. The feeling that we had during that weekend still exists every time I get involved in one of my paintings.

WINTRY ROADS

Don't hate me, but I love the winter! Especially after a huge snowfall. I make sure I have plenty of food, wine and wood for the fire so I can hunker down and enjoy the scenery. I grab my camera and go out for a long walk. It's so quiet with very little traffic on the roads. This week's Photo Sunday challenge is "Road", so I thought I'd begin the season early with these photos.

AUTUMN ROAD

I also did this painting while at Wayland. It's from a photo taken of the road in front of our land in Vermont.

AUTUMN INSPIRATION

After getting my photos printed from a fabulous weekend in Wayland, I was immediately inspired to begin painting. "Reflections in Green" was done while at Wayland, and "Golden Larches" was completed yesterday.

FALL FOLIAGE IN WAYLAND, NY

Last weekend, my two best friends and I spent a glorious weekend in Wayland, NY, at our house. We went up to paint and had a wonderful time -- good food, ample uninterrupted painting time, some wine, and beautiful walks to take pictures of the foliage. The foliage was a little past peak, but it was still magnificent when the sunlit hit it. Here are just a few of the photos that I took.

MY FAVORITE TREE

This is a pastel painting of a beautiful tree by the pond on our land in NY. The view is from the house. I love the sweeping branches of this pine and its perfect shape.

LEAF PEEPING IN NH

Yesterday, Bob and I went "leaf peeping" in NH. We traveled many country roads and ended up at Mount Sunapee, where we took the chair lift to the top of the mountain. The foliage wasn't at its peak yet, but it sure was beautiful. There was still a lot of color. Here are some pictures.

THE BEACH ROAD

Today was a perfect day for photos. The tide was high so all the little rivers would be there along the beach road. And the sky was so very blue. I just had to go out and take pictures.

TIDAL SHIMMER

I haven't posted a painting in quite awhile. There is a beautiful spot over a bridge on the way to Scituate. When the tide is high, all the rivulets show up. When out with some friends one day on a picture-taking expedition, we got lucky and were on the bridge at high tide. This is a pastel painting of the scene before us that day. The grasses were a little wet and shimmered a bit in the sunlight.

FRUIT

Some friends and I went out to take pictures the other day. It was such a nice afternoon. We went to a farm stand and took lots of pictures of the fruits and vegetables. They were displayed so nicely for us.

WHALE WATCH 8/2009

Went on a whale watch yesterday. The weather was perfect. We saw a mother, her calf and a third whale all traveling together. We followed and watched them for quite a long time. It was wonderful!