Napa Valley Winery

 

This is a mineature painting, only about 2 inches by 3 inches in size. It's very detailed and captures the essence of the beautiful Napa Valley. I know that I repeat myself but the very 'air' is different there. So soft and peaceful and fragrant! A delight to the senses, a chance to treat your eyes to beautiful scenery and your pallette to delicious tastes of local wine. If you have the chance, go.

Watercolor 2x3 $75
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Waterfall

 

This is my first and possibly, last, attempt to paint a waterfall. Duplicating moving water takes lots of creative talent and most likely, lots of practice. Perhaps I was so discouraged that I never tried another? The ducks were added to pull the eye away from the falls.

Watercolor 12x16 $150
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Hollyhock Memories

 

While I was growing up in Valley Stream, Long Island we always had a beautiful flowering garden in our backyard. There were roses, lilacs, daffodils, iris, bridal veil and always....hollyhocks. These stately perennials are really beautiful to see, tall, graceful and filled with blooms. Since my mother passed away I wanted to honor her memory by planting a hollyhock in our yard in Suffolk County. It flourished and gave me some fond memories when I looked at it. Before we moved south I took photos enabling me to have a painted memory.

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For Me?

 

This watercolor evolved over time to become a surprised lady, maybe being given flowers? Or a gift of some kind? Done on Yupo paper it was started by putting colors down in puddles and letting them mix and mingle. When dry, I search for a clue to proceed, find meaning, emotion, and/or a feeling to complete the painting. These pieces of artwork really create themselves.

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Lilac Farm, WA state

 

The Pacific Northwest has great weather for growing flowers. I've been to tulip farms, rhododendren and rose gardens and also one stately garden that is strictly lilacs. It's not a large area. maybe several acres. It was cultivated soley by one woman who loved lilacs. At one point a flood destroyed almost all the bushes but she lovingly re-planted what she could salvage to restore her life's work. It was so beautiful with all the lilacs blooming at the same time,which was April, and the fragrance was uplifting. A nice experience.

Watercolor 10x14 $200
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Winter Wonderland

 

I went into a local thrift shop and saw 6 unframed prints for sale. The idea popped into my head to purchase them and use them for my watercolor class. They were placed face down and I asked each student to choose one at random. Sort of like a lottery. They were given the option of trading with each other if they really felt unable to paint the one they wound up with. I don't advocate copying others work except in a classroom situation. It does help students learn about compostion, color, shadows and values. This print was signed R.W. Ware and this is my rendition of his work.

Watercolor 10x14 $115
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Pelican Perch

 

This watercolor was painted as a demo for my class. The focus was on texture. Creating a weather wood effect takes practice and learning how to make your brush behave. Just the right amount of paint is needed to get the stippling result needed to mimic woodgrain. Too much paint and it flows, too little and nothing happens. Just right and the paint just touches the uneven bumps in the paper and leaves a sparkly effect.

Watercolor 9x12 $175
email sferina222@yahoo.com

House of Refuge frrom the South

 

The House of Refuge is a local historic building built to help the survivors of shipwrecks. It is located by an underwater reef just off a barrier island. There were many catastrophes due to this hidden peril. Survivors would swim to shore and then be stranded without food or water, nor a means to reach the mainland. In current day it is an active museum. The surroundings are breathtaking. The ocean crashes, the wind blows and you get a feel for the isolation that occurred before it was built.

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House of Refuge from the North

 

The House of Refuge located on Hutchinson Island in Stuart FL is over 100 years old. It was built to rescue survivors of shipwrecks who would reach shore and be stranded. Without food or water nor a means to reach the mainland, many perished. The guardian of the house would be in charge of the shoreline for 25 miles in each direction. It was a lonely life. Mosquitoes abounded, it was hot, humid and very isolated. Boat was the only means of transportation to leave the island at that time. This was painted from photos I took on site.

Watercolor 9x12 $200
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Twinkle Toes

 

I found the reference for this painting in the newspaper. The toe dancing young lady's part was in the "Nutcracker" and I felt she looked so graceful. I learned a lesson about masking fluid from this work. Never put it on the paper if the paper is wet! When you try to remove it, the top layer of the paper lifts up. So, of course it was the last thing I did and the painting was rendered unsaleable. Never one to be discouraged I finished it and had notecards made.

Sunday Options, Pray or Play?

 

This particular painting was done in response to an exhibit requesting reflections of Florida. This church was just named to the list of historical buildings in the area. It's over 100 years old and is still in use as a church. One day as I drove past it I saw the boat and trailer parked close. It just clicked in my mind that this is how it is in Florida. Workmen take breaks to fish if they are working near a pond and it's accepted as the norm. I can just see someone dashing into church for a short spell and then hitching up to go fishing for the day.

Watercolor 18x24 $350
email sferina222@yahoo.com

For Cheyenne

 

This painting was done when I first began to do watercolors. My granddaughter Cheyenne was turning two, she will soon be thirteen! Anyhow, sometimes it's good to look back to the beginnings of something. This is a painting I feel good about. Trust me, there are some that show a novice at work, very basic stuff. Those have the ability to make me see how far I've progressed and so, have a purpose too.

Fireworks

 

This is how to create a floral design by starting with just drops of water on the top half of the paper. Then begin dripping colorful paints onto the paper letting it run together a bit. This is about the only control you have, choosing the colors. Add a container, pot or vase to hold the flowers. Then some greens for leaves and stems to complete your painting. Voila!

Watercolor 8 x 11 $115
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Spring Illumination

 

Tulips continue to be one of my favorite flowers and also continue to be a challenge to portray. I visited tulip fields in southern Washington state that were just magnificent. Color, bright color everywhere! Fields of different colors and varieties of tulips on all sides. I find it very uplifting to visit all kinds of gardens. That day I was able to take photos of my grandkids 'posing with the tulips' and they are definitely treasured.

Watercolor 9x12 $110
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Crashing Waves

 

Painting this watercolor took many washes of several different colors of blue to produce the threatening sky and moving water. The white foam is nothing more than the paper without paint. It's tricky to preserve the white paper while using so many glazes of paint but essential to produce the necessary effect. Masking fluid can protect the paper but leaves a hard edge while white paint is opaque and doesn't provide the transparency that makes a watercolor so appealing. Let it happen!

Watercolor 9x12 $175
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Village Street in Italy

 

This painting was developed from a photo taken by my student Sandy. It's a village on an island located near Venice.
Very typical of many little towns and villages throughout Italy with their narrow streets, cobblestone or slate paving and wash, always wash hanging across the way. No one seems to care is you can see their underwear hanging in plain view. It's just the way.

Watercolor 9x12 $145
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Through the Shutters

 

This painting is a demonstration piece for my watercolor class. I found it very engaging to be painting a view from inside to outside. It's like looking at something from the safety of your home, a very comfortable feeling. Some of my students were very new to the media and a bit intimidated by the apparent complexity of this piece. In the end they were quite pleased by the ease with which they were able to replicate it. I liked it so much I chose to do another with a tropical view through the shutters.

Watercolor 9x12 $155
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Gentle Ben

 

I usually ask my students what they would like to paint the following week. Sometimes I get a surprise, like when one student asked if we could do tigers! Somehow when I paint animals or birds they wind up with a personality and I have to give them a name. This big fellow looks quite meek and harmless and has an appealing look in his eyes, hence the name Gentle Ben.

Watercolor 9x12 $135
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Replica of John Singer Sargent's Cottage

 

If you ever want to look at an enchanting watercolor book, try the Watercolors of John Singer Sargent. I took it out of the library but found his work so captivating that I just had to buy it for myself. It's on order right now. My class painted this picture to learn about shadows. Aren't these shadows just so great? And what you're looking at is is my painting, a copy. His, the original, is absolutely amazing.

Watercolor 9x12 $120
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Rose Bright

 

This is not my compostion. I found it in a watercolor book and decided my class would enjoy the simple, straightforward way it is designed. It can be painted petal by petal until completed. The lesson was actually on 'backgrounds' which are always challenging. Do I paint the object first, or the background? That is a question I am asked over an over. The answer depends on the subject matter, how you feel that day and what you decide to do!

Watercolor 9x12 $175
email sferina222@yahoo.com

In Memory of Jean

 

This painting was originally done by Philip Steele and sent to me as a postcard. I decided it would be a good lesson in values for my class. One of my students was diagnosed with a brain tumor and given a short time to live. This happened very suddenly. Her name was Jean and she came to class that day to say good-bye to all of us. She sat next to me as I painted. When I demonstrated how to do lettering I got a sudden inspiration to put her name on the boat.
I have since given the painting to her son. We all miss her.
I recently learned that the painting is hanging on her son's boat. Seems just right.

Enjoying the Surf

 

Once again my painting is a demo that was done to show a technique to my students. In this case the object was to show how easy it is to depict people in the distance. It's merely a dot of paint for the head, a longer one for the body, then arms and lets. It helps to make your people have motion, it adds to the energy of the painting. This connects with the majesty of the ocean and gives a nice feeling to the work.

Watercolor 9x12 $115
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Lovely Lilacs

 

I still remember the first time I painted lilacs. They wound up looking like rockets flying up out of the vase! They need to be soft looking due to the multiple tiny flowers that compose each blossom. It's easy to overpaint and wind up with hard looking flowers. I'm happy with this version that was demonstrated for my watercolor class.

Watercolor $65 9x12
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Sea Turtle

 

Jensen Beach FL, where I live is well known as a spot where sea turtles lay their eggs. The turtles swim to shore, walk up the beach to dig holes to protect their young. When the eggs hatch the little turtles know enough to head immediately to the sea. Groups of people monitor this process and watch to see that electric light is shielded to ensure the proper growth of the hatchlings. It is very fitting that my watercolor class painted the symbol of our area.

Watercolor 9x12 $90
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Pineapolis

 

This was painted during my phase of using bubble wrap, saran, wax paper, foil etc to make imprints on paper. I've constantly worked to loosen up and be painterly about my watercolors. This is one way to create representational abstracts, meaning you can detect the images created and identify the subject matter. This painting is like a city of pineapples, like Minneapolis, Indianapolis..........

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