Magnolia

 

One of the beautiful flowering trees that flourishes here in Florida is the Magnolia. The blossoms are huge and creamy looking providing a wonderful contrast with the leaves of two colors, dark green on one side, maroon on the other. This strong color differential provides great material for watercolors as the flowers immediately become the focal point.

Not for sale

Mountain Haze

 

This painting was first done in pencil and then color was added afterwards. Working this way gives more depth and dimension to a piece of artwork. The original composition came from a hand drawn notecard. I'm always looking for inspiration for my painting classes and sometimes I find it in the most unusual ways. I just purchased a decorative gift bag that gave me an idea for a beautiful watercolor. I'll combine this design with other elements to achieve a unique finished piece.

Watercolor 8x10 $65
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Celebration

 

This is a watercolor done with a new technique that I learned in a workshop. You merely toss drops of water onto the paper, using 10 fingers, achieving a randon pattern. After mixing rich puddles of analgous paint, you proceed to fling the paint onto the paper, never touching it with the brush. Some green is added if you want to make a bouquet, which I did. The result is varied and interesting and of course, never the same. A few lines are added for interest to resemble stems along with the vase. That is it.

Not for sale

Batik Iris

 

This painting was done on rice paper with gold threads throughout. To learn the batik technique I took a workshop with Carol Ann Sherman. It is a multi-stepped process and took all day to finish two paintings. Lots of hot melted wax is used, along with brilliant color and indelible ink to attain this unusual stained glass look. The last step requires an iron and a stack of newspaper to melt off the wax and voila! you have a finished piece.

Batik on rice paper 10x14 $150
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse, Holland

 

It brings me great joy to visit gardens, whether near or far. On a trip to Amsterdam I was treated to the wonderful experience of visiting Keukenhof Gardens at tulip time. Imagine seeing thousands of tulips, hyacinths and daffoldis of differing colors, all in bloom at the same time! The gardens are also surrounded with fields of these flowers, as far as the eye can see. Large shade trees, the greenest grass ever, winding paths and streams make this an amazing experience.

Not for sale

Squawk

 

Roosters are so interesting to paint. Like most male bird species they are more colorful than the females thereby commanding more attention. This guy is letting everyone know that he is king of the barnyard. His beak is open, his jaw flapping, thereby indicating he is announcing the break of day with lots of loud squawks!

Sold

Taking Over

 

Two beautiful yellow flowers painted on yupo paper, the synthentic, smooth paper without tooth. It's a challenge to keep things looking like they are supposed to but one I totally enjoy. Looks like one flower is trying to be superior, doesn't it? Vying for attention, standing tall? Guess we could look at it differently and say one is being protective and guarding the other, being the courageous one.

Watercolor 9x12 $80
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Monet's Japanese Bridge at Giverny

 

The local Garden Club asked me to donate a painting to their French themed annual card party. There was the thought to do a Parisian street scene but then the Impressionists popped into my head. Looking through my library of art books I came across this world famous scene, complete with water lilies. Monet painted in oil so replicating the work in watercolor took many layers of paint, and many hours of work. Enjoyable all the way, it was like a journey and a challenge to try and make it look similar.

Just Ducky

 

This is my first attempt at painting a waterfall. Let me tell you it's plenty hard to make it look like water falling. The entire compostion was conceived from my mind. The ducks add a natural focus. I've seen many waterfalls and do find them enchanting. I enjoy the pure beauty of rushing water cascading over the rocks, the mist and foam at the bottom and the resolution of the water moving away.

Watercolor 16x20 $175
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Time for Tea

 

For a long time I purchased art books because they called to me. Then when I got them I wouldn't even look at them. I am happy to say that now I use them all the time. Guess the timing wasn't quite right before. This piece has Shirley Trevena's influence from her book but it is my own composition. It's a combination of pastel and watercolor. I didn't have any idea how it would look like until I finished. I worked happily across the paper, adding whimsey as I painted.

Mixed media 16x20 $200
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Fields of Gold

 

An upcoming exhibition requesting expressions of Florida prompted me to paint this picture. The town of Jensen Beach where I live had a thriving pineapple industry in the late 1880's. Thomas Richards, an early settler along the Indian River realized he could grow pineapple when he successfully cultivated some on his land. He planted over 40,000 pineapple slips. His plants flourished for about 30 years until red wilt developed followed by freezes in 1917 and 1918 which wiped out the industry. I call this Fields of Gold because back then pineapples were truly like 'gold'.

Watercolor 18x24 framed $400
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Faith

 

I received a phone call from my childhood friend Pat. She was fighting the valiant fight against cancer. We were keeping in close touch and I was praying for her mightily so she could beat this invasion. The news wasn't good. I was so upset that I just had to do something to try and raise my spirits. I chose to paint, just wetting the paper and putting down bright, cheerful colors. This is my painting called Faith.

Porcelain and Poppies

 

This painting works because it is composed of complimentary colors, blue and orange. The cools and warms play off each other in a visually engaging way. Notice that it is complosed of mostly these two colors, yet it is not boring or unappealing. Shading knits this still life together.

Not for sale

French Cafe

 

For some uneplained reason I am very attached to all things French. French food, bread, wine, pastries, music.....you name it, I enjoy it. A neighbor gave me a cocktail napkin and told me she would love a painting of the scene that was portrayed on it. It was a French cafe done in oranges and greens. This is my rendition. I not only changed the colors but added a patron and a dog to give the scene 'life'.

Watercolor 12x12 $125
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Mean and Green

 

The funny thing I find when I paint birds or animals is that they wind up with a personality. I sat in a sand chair at the ocean and painted this bird. I was working on being loose which is one of the hardest things to do for some of us. Me in particular. Anyway when I got done I realized that the bird looked real nasty. Ready to bite. It was in the eye. A beady eye. Decided to leave it alone and accept it. It's like life.

Watercolor 6x8 $75
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Bunny for Caleigh's Room

 

We have a sweet granddaughter who is not even a year old yet. It has been my custom to paint a picture for each of the grandchildren as they were born and joined our family. Caleigh lives in Massachusetts and has her own room with an elegant round crib, white furniture and walls painted in soft pastel blocks of color. Large Chinese lanterns in similar colors hang from the ceiling. This painting fits right in because it is light and whimsical.

Palm Springs CA

 

This is a very loose rendition of the scenery I absorbed when we visited this oasis in the desert. Surrounded by mountains, the valley is quite flat but scenic with lots of palms to catch the eye. We walked the San Andreas fault which is located on an Indian reservation. It's a narrow canyon with huge rocks towering high above. When we left, we had a long drive to the airport so I sat in the car and produced this hazy, abstracted memory of all I'd seen.

Watercolor $75 9x12
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Under the Sea

 

I've painted a few of these underwater scenes because they are fun to do. There's no need for precision because the hazey, watery look is what I'm after. The coral in the lower part is done using dark paint and sea salt. When the salt dries and is brushed off, a textured effect is the result. The starbursts created look much like the real thing. Some of the fish were added after the painting was finished by using stencils to wash off paint with a sea sponge. The srencil can be made using flexible plastic such as that found in a package of bacon. A Sea scene created with the help of Sea salt and a Sea sponge.

Watercolor 11 x 14 $85
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Mussel Man

 

My husband and I were staying in a town called Bandol on the south coast of France. A few miles away along the coast we found an attractive little town called Sanary Sur Mer. We were entranced by the sunshine, the delightful outdoor market and the narrow streets of the old town, all enhanced by the crashing surf of the Mediterranean. What a place! We sat down to eat al fresco at an appealing restaurant with bright yellow awnings and umbrellas. Bob ordered mussels and was grinning ear to ear when his dish was served. I couldn't resist taking a picture of his sheer delight. This is my painting of our experience.

Not for sale

Coconuts

 

We live in Florida, the land of palms. When you start looking, you realize that different varieties in shape, color, height and frond abound. My neighbor's trees had bunches of coconuts and being a shorter variety I was able to get good close-up photos. Using them as a reference I sketched, then painted this vibrant watercolor.

Watercolor 10x12 $150
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Mountain Haven

 

This painting was started as a way to show brand new watercolor students a wet-into-wet primary wash to do the underpainting of a sky, mountains and the land portion. For a long time it sat unfinished as I contemplated what to do and how to finish it. First I put in the lake, refined the mountains, then added the pine trees and finally it still seemed quite bare so I added a cabin. But no, it needed more so then the barn, fenced area and old pickup truck were painted in. Now it has a focal point which was the missing ingredient!

Watercolor 12x16 $200
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Mountain Lake

 

My sister Linda had a beautiful painting in her home. It had a haunting quality that appealed to me. took it off the wall and attempted to do a replica. I worked wet into wet because I wanted to try and get the misty, mysterious feel of it As the paper got saturated with more water and layers of paint it all started to run together and I feared it was a lost effort. I put it away, forgot about it and came across it the other day. It dried nicely it seems. A little more work and it was done. So never give up!

Penta

 

I often get requests from students for instruction on painting leaves, making them look realistic, have form and shape, interesting in color too. One week I purchased penta plants and we worked from the real thing. Sketching from a real plant makes you look carefully at shapes and when you paint, you study the colors. At first glance all you see is green but concentrating further makes you realize that there are bluish and yellowish shades on the leaves, darker and lighter greens too. My sister Linda, an excellent calligrapher, put in the lettering for me.

Lemon Arbor

 

Visiting Italy reminds one how much the Italians use lemons in their cooking, baking and beverages, the peel served with espresso or a small glass of Limoncello offered as a degustif after dinner. Coming home I found myself drawn to lemons, even buying several ceramic ones for my kitchen. I knew that lemons grow on trees but didn't realize that they can be trained over an arbor. This painting depicts a "lemony" entrance to a garden with a walk paved in brick. Smell the tangy citrus aroma? Mmmmmm.....

Watercolor 10x12 $125
email sferina222@yahoo.com

Hibiscus

 

I knew enough to name this flower in the title, else no one would know what it's supposed to be! It was painted in Norma De Santis's workshop, done very quickly and was very obviously the first time I painted a hibiscus. It's a large piece, outlined in black and very colorful. Interestingly enough I've received many compliments on it.

Mixed media 22x28 $300
contact sferina222@yahoo.com