lovin' art

Thinking of summer...

2012-02-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Cannot wait to get back to the Outer Banks this summer...so look forward to time with Kim at "the Pea" and getting to see all the customers who come to visit. In anticipation, I have been doing many beach scenes. Here are some of my favorites so far....

And more of the beach....

2011-11-15T11:21:00.001-08:00

A trip to the mountains...

2011-11-15T11:17:00.001-08:00

A great trip to Fancy Gap, Va. with my friends, Georgia and Sasha. Despite the rain, we loved it all!

Wrightsville - my favorite beach

2011-10-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

Staying at Wrightsville

2011-10-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Cyndi and Ron, I am doing many plein air scenes of Wrightsville Beach. Here are just a few from the first week.

A new favorite

2011-10-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

This painting was done from a photo of a couple waiting for the Cedar Island Ferry to go to Ocracoke. They were charming and ask me to take their picture.

I love the light and immediate feeling of the painting. It is currently at Carolina Creations in New Bern.

Experimenting with a palette knife

2011-09-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is something new for me, and I am somewhat diffident but doing it anyway. Here are two of the paintings--"Golden fields", a site near Plymouth I have done before, and "Meadow", a composite of many paintings in my head...I love to do wildflowers.

A visit to the Arboretum

2011-07-16T05:35:00.000-07:00

On a recent visit to Wilmington, I stopped at the Arboretum, one of my most favorite places there. The day was rainy, but the rain was gentle, and I was totally overwhelmed by the beauty of the waterlilies. The koi eluded me; they moved so quickly.
The whole experience almost moved me to tears; it was that beautiful. Here are two of the paintings that resulted.

new favorites

2011-07-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

The last ones are always the favorites....these two I really love. The beach towel was at South Beach in Salvo; the flowers belonged to Cyndi McNeill, who graciously lent me the use of her house on Banks Channel at Wrightsville Beach. What a wonderful painting time....

You may find them both at Pea Island Art Gallery in Salvo, which belongs to my daughter, Kim. Check out her new blog at: http://artonhatteras.blogspot.com

Paintings from the Outer Banks

2011-06-03T04:21:00.000-07:00

After spending time with Kim at the gallery, I usually leave very early in the morning. These two paintings came from research during my last trip. Both are 24x30, the first is from the wildlife refuge and the second from the dunes before crossing the Oregon Inlet bridge.
My favorite time of day....

Sunset road

2011-05-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

Really fond of this little painting, 10x8, oil on linen. Love the colors at this time of day. It is at my daughter's gallery in Salvo, on Hatteras Island. (Pea Island Art Gallery).

morning glow

2011-04-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

The inspiration for this painting came from Cedar Island, when I was catching the early ferry for Ocracoke. What a beautiful time of day....
The painting is oil on linen, 24x30/

My favorite....

2011-03-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

The best always seems to be the one that took the least time.... This one on my last day at the north end of Wrightsville Beach. Everything went right...had my Zen on!

A painting holiday....

2011-03-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Just spent two wonderful weeks at Wrightsville Beach, courtesy of a good friend and client who let me use her beautiful beach house. Did twelve paintings, here is the first of many I will post. They are all small and affordable, the largest being 11x14.
It is such a beautiful place....

'Garden" and "Floating World"

2011-02-12T13:05:00.002-08:00

Getting ready for Spring. I am "pushing" color right now. I have done the algae before but not with such intensity.
I am so looking forward to warm weather and the gallery openings on the Outer Banks.

'Garden

2011-02-12T13:05:00.001-08:00

"Hush"

2010-11-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

Just returned from Kim's on Hatteras Island. This painting always reminds me of the beautiful sunrise there. It was done many years ago at Wrightsville Beach, but has always been a favorite. I took the reference photo when I used to jog on the beach in the early morning.

Crabtree Falls

2010-11-30T13:20:00.000-08:00

Another Virginia painting, a beautiful spot in the Shenandoah Valley.

Sunset on the Blue Ridge

2010-10-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

A recent trip to a beautiful location outside of Charlottesville, Virginia, was the inspiration for this painting. I think it may become one of my favorites. The location was Broom Hollow.

Plein air

2010-09-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Recently spent two weeks at Kim's and spent lots of time painting on the deck of her "peapod". Loved every minute of it (except the evening the bugs were really bad...)
This is my favorite, a painting early in the morning right before a gentle rain came. Just made it!
Appropriately it is titled, moments before the rain.

And another favorite...

2010-08-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

..part imagination, part Kim's garden put together. I love the color in her yard. Just moved the Sound a little closer.....

Nights in Rodanthe

2010-08-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Did a large (30x40) painting of the house in Rodanthe where the movie was filmed. It has been moved recently, as the ocean came much too close.

Virginia paintings

2010-07-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

More of Kim's garden and a trip through Virginia

2010-07-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Just love Kim's garden. This is one of her "container gardens". The title is "Petunias and gaura".
On a trip to a college reunion, I went through Virginia and the other two paintings were a result. It was a beautiful time to travel through that lovely state.

A delicate balance

2010-06-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have a special love for waterlilies and paint them often. Here is the latest painting, currently at Gallery 5800 in Richmond. It is 16x20, oil on linen.

Beyond the cotton fields

2010-02-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

Saw this beautiful scene one morning when I was out looking for something else. Sometimes the best things happen that way. It was down the road from me, near Ware Creek. First I did a small study and then a 24x30.

Winter on the Outer Banks

2010-01-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

Went to Pea Island right before Christmas, stopping at Coquina Beach on the way there and at the Wildlife Refuge early on the morning I left. It was beautiful, and the egrets were everywhere, the colors clear and crisp. Here are two of the paintings that resulted from my stay.

marsh in morning fog

2009-12-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

Between travels, I came home to find some lovely fog rising over Eastman Creek. This is one of the paintings that resulted.

The Richmond show was very successful, and it was so great to reunite with all the painters. A great crowd and several sales. It will be up for a month at Gallery 5800, Libby and Grove, in Richmond.

Have a new gallery in Lynchburg, Artifacts. Great people and a lovely selection of work.

painting for the Richmond show

2009-10-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

More finished paintings of Italy...brings back wonderful memories. One of my favorite places was Fonterutoli, and two of these paintings are from there. Will include some other finished works in the next post.

painting in Italy

2009-09-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Two new paintings resulting from a wonderful trip with ten other artists. We stayed in a beautiful old castle and painting in the surrounding countryside.

Ocracoke

2009-09-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Another new painting "Ocracoke blue" and another of the road to the beach "Roadside garden."
Headed to Italy to paint with ten other artists; it is very exciting!

favorites....

2009-08-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

Every artist has his or her favorites (at least for three to six months....) These are two of mine. "Poles" is from a spot near Cedar Island, where you take the ferry to Ocracoke. It is in Tidewater Gallery at Swansboro.
"Summer" sold recently at Pea Island Art Gallery in Salvo. It was from a scene along Hiway 64 near Manteo.

Fall in Crozet

2009-08-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

This is another favorite place, near Charlottesville. It is 18x24, oil on linen and is currently at Gallery 5800 in Richmond. I am fortunate to have a daughter and grandchildren in the area, and Fall is my favorite time to be there

Pulling in the crabpots...

2009-08-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

Paintings that resulted from my day with my artist friend, Georgia, and her husband, Randy. Weather was beautiful and we had crabs for lunch.....

to the Outer Banks

2009-08-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

Headed to Hatteras next week. Last year there were cosmos blooming along 64; this year they are gone, likely due to the economy. This painting was 24x30, oil on linen and sold at Handscapes in Beaufort.

Angel wings

2009-07-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

Although I very infrequently paint boats, this was one I couldn't resist. It was a fishing boat nearby and was just beautiful. The painting was 24x30 and sold at a show for women artists in Chapel Hill. I was fortunate to meet the owner, John Willis, recently and give him a print of the painting. He is from one of the old fishing/boating families here.
The title came from the nets on the boat.

Next week...

2009-07-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

...three of my grandchildren are coming from Charlottesville. We will swim alot, eat alot, go to the beach and laugh alot; it is always so much fun!
Attached are paintings I did after my trip to sit with them last fall, while Dave and Kerry had a get-away.
So there won't be alot of time for serious painting, but time for joint projects...which they love.

Silver blue morning.

2009-07-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

Beaufort and Downeast (the area close by) are near sea level with lots of marshes. This is one of my favorite paintings, done from some morning research when the fog was dense in many places. I started out very early and ended up near Harkers Island.
The painting is 18x24, oil on linen and is at Kim's gallery at Salvo on the Outer Banks.

a work in progress

2009-07-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

Probably the last large painting of Kim's gallardia, in front of the gallery. The painting is 24x36. I am very fond of her many wildflowers, and gallardia is prolific on the Outer Banks. It was one of the things I remembered from my first visit to Ocracoke in 1987.

Solo

2009-07-22T13:30:00.001-07:00

A beautiful reminder of our trip to Disney World. The blossom was in a small pool at Epcot. It had the beauty of a geisha.

Soundside garden

2009-07-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today I spent some time trying to remedy the damage in my yard and flowerbeds that resulted from about a month away from home. I am also working on a larger version of Kim's gallardia, and it makes me envious of her simple yard, which is a beautiful complement to her gallery.
This painting is an earlier version; one of many. It is in Gallery 5800 in Richmond and is 24x30. Most of the smaller versions have sold.
I will post the newest, and likely the last of these, sometime later this week.

other places to find my work...

2009-07-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

As well as the gallery listings on my personal website, be sure to check out an AMAZING new website --Artquiver.com. This site makes it so easy to choose a painting, hang it on an onsite wall with other art, and they will even send you a black and white proof to try. You can return any art you are not satisfied with, even after some time.
This painting is included on their website. It is 18x24 and is oil on linen.

"beach shadows"

2009-07-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

I am into cobalt blue right now, doing lots of shadows on the beach. Here is an 8x10 that Kim sold in her gallery. You can see some of the other "shadow" paintings at the top of my website, www.drobertsonfineart.com

2009-07-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

"A favorite place" is the view from Kim's new Peapod. This painting is currently at Handscapes in Beaufort, but Kim has several smaller paintings of this spot as I often paint plein air from her bridge. What a great view of the Sound!

2009-07-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

2009-07-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hi to everyone...
and many thanks to those who came to my opening in Manteo in June. And a special thanks to Clair for the birthday cake!
Spent several weeks with Kim at Pea Island Art Gallery in Manteo and love watching her studio take shape, called, of course, the Pea Pod. I get first dibs on the loft...