Figuratively Speaking - It's Free

5"x7"original oil   For Sale $100

In moderate weather the Staten Island Ferry is one of the really fun free things to do in NYC.  It is a  great place to do some serious people watching and it has a great vantage point for viewing the Statue of Liberty from the water. New York City is a very expensive tourist place with oodles of things snazzy things to do.  On the other hand,  is a magical city with loads of authentic and low cost or free things.  The High Line and  Central Park are two of them, along with the Ferry.  I love finding off the beaten path jewels, but this applies to any place I visit, and even in my own back yard (Go Figure!).  What is a favorite, low cost place you like to visit?

Figuratively Speaking - Baby Steps #11- Bird's Eye View

6"x6" pastel $50

It is hard to recognize today's date without thinking about where we were and what we were doing in 2001 on 9/11.  I was a teacher and was in my class when another teacher burst into the room and said to me, "New York is being bombed!"  Besides not having factual news, she had forgotten that my daughter lived in NY.  I got someone to cover my class and ran to find out what was happening.  After many long moments of high anxiety and inability to get her on the phone, she finally was able to get through to me. It was a poignant conversation.  No one on the ground in the city knew what really was happening and communication lines came down quickly. Long story short, she ended up having to hitch hike across the Triborough Bridge to get home.  She had a clear view across the East River to the billowing smoke and dust.  I went down to be with her the following weekend.  She had to go to Pace University to pick up something that weekend.  Pace is a stone's throw from the old World Trade Center buildings.  I will never forget that image and all the sensory input that went with it.  There was a heaviness, a profound sadness in the city and it lasted for a long time.  But, as in all tragedies, and with all the horror of what humans are capable of, it also brings out the best in people and really good people shine forth in the darkness. Who would have guessed a short year before those fateful events, when we were going through all that Y2K nonsense, that  in a short time we would be facing such a huge and real attack.  Our hearts still feel sorrow for the victims, and police and firefighters who gave their lives to try and save others.  I have no more to say on this...Go Figure.

Shoppers On the Go

6"x6" oil Price $100

This is the last painting for the 30 in 30 challenge.  These shoppers are taking off for new and more exciting things and so am I (in the painting realm at least).  This was fun to paint with all the blacks and movement.

Seeking the Destination

5"x7" oil

I can't help but wonder what makes couples attracted to each other.  Beautiful looking people often pair with beautiful people and their attraction, which could be much deeper, may also just be based on that, but what attracts people who seem so different from each other?  What made me want to paint this one was the interesting texture of  their hair.  Both of them had big hair that was kind of fuzzy.  I wonder if that was their first point of attraction?  Could be.

Music

6"x6" oil

This took me a bit to figure out the floor and finally I just decided to add a red rug and that seemed to pull it together.  It is interesting that when I struggle with a painting, somehow the struggle just shows up in the painting.  Sometimes it helps and sometimes it just looks fussy and ruins it.  You decide.

Mirror Illusions

This was tricky. The idea of painting a concave surface made of multitudes of hexagonal mirrors was daunting, but in the end, it is all illusion anyway!  Someone said, and I often repeat it to myself, that it is all just shapes,  lines and values on a 2 dimensional surface when you apply chemicals that reflect color.  This simplifies it for me when I am feeling overwhelmed.

Want To Be There

One of the wonderful things about seeing fine art is that it can transport you to another time, another place, another state of being.