Sedona Series ' Airport Mesa Overview 9 '15

'Airport Mesa Overlook' 12" w x 9" h Oil Painting

We  visited the Airport Meas four times during our recent trip to Sedona, and I came away  with a gazillion reference photos  from  taken  almost every vantage point on the Airport Mesa Overlook Trail.  It was hard to decide from that  set, which scene I wanted to paint, but I finally settled on this one because it included the wonderful this  twisted juniper in the foreground, with West Sedona and Thunder Mountain in the background. 

Sedona Series' Kachina Vortex: 9 "15

Kachina Vortex  8"w x 10" h Oil Painting

We drove by the Kachina Vortex  several times on this latest trip, and got several shots of this formation at a distance  but unfortunately  we did not have time to hike  to this famous landmark on this trip. 

My  reference Photos from this trip did not give me the angle of view I wanted.

So I relied on photos I had taken on a previous trip,  combined with the sky from this trip, to paint the great lady of the valley.

Charleston Series on Exhibition 8 '15

Charleston Series

Got my new Charleston Series hung in the SAG gallery today. I am pleased with how it looks.

Charleston Series Complete 8 '15

"The Good Life" 10 "w' x 8 "h pastel

I've finally finished all of the paintings of Charleston's landmarks that I started working on at the end of May. My goal when I began this project was to have eight paintings completed, framed and ready to exhibit by the middle of July.

St. Phillips on Church Street 8"w x 10 h pastel

I had four of them completed before we went to our family reunion in Sedona,


Chalmers Charmers 10"w x 8"h pastel

and had plans to paint another four by the first week in July.


The First Red Dot 8"w x 10"h pastel

Add another week in for getting them named, framed, and all the paperwork ready for the gallery and I should have been right on schedule for delivery some fresh new artwork to the gallery right at the peak of the summer tourist season.


Pineapple Fountain 10"w x 8"h pastel

Well you know what they say about the best laid plans. I hadn't thought about what a strong impact the trip to Sedona would have on me. 

The Museum on Meeting and Market

Not only was I terribly homesick for the West, I couldn't get the images of Sedona out of my head.


St Michael's on Broad Street 10"w x 8"h pastel

Five paintings of Sedona later, I've finally worked most of Sedona out of my system. Bruce and I took a day trip to Charleston so I could refill my mind's eye with all of that city's unique charm. It worked.


Midday in Philadelphia Alley 8"w x 10"h pastel

I was able to complete the paintings had begun in June, and added four new ones to complete the set. Of course, I will be delivering them to the gallery a month later than I planned., but the good news is that I have rediscovered how much fun it is to work in pastels.

Bell Rock Meadow: 7 '15

Bell Rock Meadow painting
I just finished my latest masterpiece. It was painted in oils with a palette knife from a photo I took of the meadows adjoining the Bell Rock parking lot. I've attached both the photo and a photo of the painting so you can compare the two. ( PS I will sign it once the painting has dried).

Photo of the actual Bell Rock meadow

Painting the Town:6 '15

Devil's Arch  (in Boynton Canyon)

Much of our time for the past month has been spent working the house for us being gone during the week we are tin Sedona. You know, all the usual preparation: clearing out all the leftovers in the fridge, deep watering the plants, arranging for a cat sitter, rearranging the garage so we could get the car in it ... work work work ... It's not the way to get excited about an upcoming trip.

Where's the Bear?

I decided to build some enthusiasm by looking through some of the photos I took on several different Sierra Club trips to the area. It worked! I started remembering all of the wonderful hikes we had taken in the area, and getting excited about revisiting those places, and finding new ones.

Moon Watcher

Looking at the photos I realized many of them would make great paintings, but I have never painted scenes from Sedona, or any of the Southwestern desert. Painting this landscape would require, me to explore a whole new color palette. In all probability. I won't have time to do any painting next week while we are in Sedona, so any landscapes I paint of the Sedona area are likely to be based on my reference photos. I decided to try painting a few landscapes from my favorite Sierra Club trip photos. That way I will be familiar with the color scheme, and set to go when I returned home with a new set of photos.

Bell Rock Trail

Above are some pics of the Sedona Series that I have been working on since the end of May. Unfortunately I don't have time to do a proper photo shoot, so the color is off, and they look a bit cartoonish due to the low resolution. They are much nicer in person.

For the paintings I have completed so far, I am using the old photos I took of the Sedona area landmarks prior to 1995. It will be interesting to see what has changed in that time. I will add more paintings to the series from the new photos I take on this trip. Once the series is complete, I  will properly photograph both these and the new paintings and repost them.

Spring Open House at SAG: 5 '15

It was standing room only at the Seacoast Artists Gallery's Spring Open House 

The community showed up in droves to support the event

In return the exhibiting artists brought out their finest, abstract or representational paintings, and photograghs.

Artwork by Sharon Sorrell