Findlay Flowers part 2

This is another version of Findlay flowers..I tried the same technique as Greek window..It is much quicker than the traditional Blockley's style that I have always used..It is easier and gives good results in a short period of time...

Greek Window

This is a comission I did for one of our good nurses at DECH..I am trying to develop a completely different style of painting..I usually paint in washes, and details come at the end..Here I tried to be really loose, starting with details first..As you see the lines are not straight, but who says they should be!!! I was depressed and stressed out after a long day at work, but I felt happy and satisfied after I did this painting...

Hailey

I hope I spelled the name right. This is Lisa's daughter. She modelled for us yesterday at the Art center in Eastport! She's very pretty, and resmbles her mom a lot! It was hard to do this painting so quickly! But it worked, and I am happy with the result! I tried to create the curves and the 3-D by alternating warm and cool colors! And, I had to change the color of the shirt to give some color contrast to the background! She was actually wearing a crimson/violet shirt! I am really happy that I am getting quicker and looser with watercolors, and at the same time getting some details right!! I hope you like it!!

Friday Paintings

I finished the painting of Findlay Flowers, but I really hate it..I like the Dilsboro farms better..For some reason, it is still hard for me to paint flowers!!!It's frustrating!!!But I did it on Strathmore paper, which sometimes is not good to handle!! May be I'll try it again on better paper!

Drawing Session

I went today to Eastport, which is an hour away. We were supposed to have a model for a drawing session. The artists came, but the model didn't show up..So we decided to pose each for 15 minutes..I didn't want to draw with pencil only, I wanted to use some color..I was amazed that I was able to do these 3 little watercolor paintings so fast..I modeled too, it was a different experience, but I enjoyed it!

Findlay Market Flowers

This is from my last trip to Cinci..The Findlay Market was one of my favorite places to go! The painting is still in its very early stages, but it is taking some time..I hope I don't mess it up!!

Morning moon

I did this this morning..I took the dogs out..Looked at the moon, went inside and finished it in half an hour, while getting ready for work. It was done crazy fast but I don't think it looks bad. The camera flash took away the colors..I will try to do it again in a more relaxed state!

New Picture

I put this on for my mom to see.

New York

I went to New York for New Years. What a great city!! You see people of all colors, you hear different languages from all over the world, and most of all you feel alive in a lively city!! I went to the Metropolitan Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art, and I had a blast! I took pictures with different artists, Van Gogh, Mondrian, and Jack Nie whom I met on the streets of Manhattan....

Hand

I did that yesterday..Just experimenting with the human body..I tried different pencil sketches at first, trying to get the proportions right! I tried to exaggerate the hand, something like Michaelangelo's hand of God! I also wanted to experiment on the folds of cloth! I think I did a good job!

Juanita's Party

This was Definitely a merry Christmas to me... There is nothing better than having a dear friend who opens her house and her heart to you... Juanita is 88 years old but has a spirit of a young girl..She's also an artist, and a very social and intellectual person..I really enjoyed her company, and her big delecious Turkey!!

Another Christmas Day painting

Wow, three paintings in 4 hours!! This is an experimentation in Pastels!

Mido at the Farm

This is another Christmas day painting! This is Mido at the place where he loved the most: The Farm! This is from a sketch I did the summer before last. He was laying in the sun watching Burny, Frank, and Blockley fooling around!! He definitely misses those days!!

Bucks Harbor

Lebanese Drama

Just a quick word on the Lebanese Darma..One of my friends chose one side over the other, and it ended up with a huge battle of words on his blog..At this point of time, any one who sits back and looks from an outer angle will see that both sides are run by weird ideologies that only care about power and control...What we need is a fresh group of intellectuals who don't have any war history, no big family associations, and a spirit that says Lebanon only!!! However, this is a dream that will never happen as long as our youth are still breast fed with words, religion, and false pride!!! That's why I am here in the US, and why I am sad all the time, because day after day I am losing what makes me a Lebanese, and that is the fall of my poor beloved Lebanon!!

Christmas is coming!

With Christmas coming in, everybody is busy trying to buy gifts and decorate their houses..It is a good time of year...This is the first Christmas that I spend by myself..Christmas is not the same without your special ones..A lot of people don't know the importance of family..They take it for granted!! I miss my mom, my dad, my brother and sister..They are the ones I love most, and the ones that have always supported me, and I always supported them... I wish I could just see them for a few days...I also miss being with a person that I love and that loves me...But this is the price to pay for ambitions and dreams...I just have to keep going and remember that other people have worse situations than mine..There are a lot of people who lost their loved ones for cancer, war, or hunger..To those people I pray to God to give them strength and surround them with loving friends...Holidays are not about gifts and decorations..It's about love...

Blue Hill Fair

I was bored like usual, going through some old pictures...Memories and memories!! I decided to do this painting..Blue hill fair:...This calf was only a few days old...I wanted it warm and caring...Check the 2 cows in the background... I hope you like it...

New Hope

I have great news to share. I have been selected by the prestigious Transparent Watercolor Society of America for their annual show of this year!! Out of around 450 or 500 artists, I was chosen!!! I am so excited and full of hope! I felt as if God has responded to me, and wanted to lift me out of my saddness. Wish me luck!

Portrait study

In case anybody was wondering about the silly self portrait I put previously on this blog, this is it's sketch study . I guess I have a lot of time on my hands to reflect and dig old stuff, but it is fun. This sketch I did by looking into a mirror. I pictured myself like Norman Rockwell or Van Gogh. I don't usually smoke a pipe, it is just a childish act I guess. Any ways, the painting came different than what I expected because I was working on hot-pressed (smooth) paper, and the colors were running like crazy. I couldn't control the drying time or the hard edges. But it was a fun piece. I know it looks silly, but I will try to do it again when I feel interested!

First Snow

I was driving back from Pleasant point..The road was rough, and snow everywhere. However, in the far distance, the sun was beginning to set, and I saw all those pretty violet and blue colors! Everything else was grey and white though. I came back home and lit a fire, then I created this painting. I did not want it to reflect the melancholy inside and out. I tried to make it look cheerful. Every body knows that snow is white, but I made it reflect the sky colors, so there will be no sudden hard edges..I wanted it to be simple and the colors to flow smoothly. I hope you like it.

Today's paintings

Today we did two simple sea scenes, to remind us of the sunshine and warmth that we miss in this cold and gloomy weather.

I went today to the Nursing home of which I am the Medical director, and one of the house keeping ladies asked me if I was the plumber. When I said, I am the doctor, she said I knew you were too cute to be a plumber. I didn't know what to say..I thought it was funny! At least somebody still thinks I am cute!

Older paintings 2

I am posting some older paintings and they are in the following order: A self portrait, Sunset over Siesta Key, Sunset over Lake Erie, A portrait of an old woman, and Morning rise over Cincinnati. The last one actually was done from a sketch from the ICU window at the Christ Hospital. I was the Senior resident at the time, and I came early for the rounds, so I sketched it quickly with my pen before my team gathered.