LOFTY CLOUDS SOLITARY BEACHES

... returned from the beaches near Wilmington, NC.

... had beautiful weather, lofty clouds, cooling breezes

... solitary beaches.

The white-hot sun of day was slowly falling when we arrived at Shell Beach. 

Shell Beach --- the perfect name.  

Mounds of shells crushed to tiny fragments, the beginnings of new sand.

Hand size half shells of alabaster and sandstone, 

 piled like drift wood along the shoreline.

The evening sun split blades of sea grass

into thin ribbons of warm light, 
shooting above split rails.

The most spectacular surprise were a dozen or so cactus, in  amazing colors.  Bulb upon bulb, crimson, violet, purple, fuchsia, 
theo-violet....all balanced by greens, blended into blue.

Too quickly, the plummeting  sun was at an oblique slant, flooding everything in golden light.

Then our evening  diminished into darkness and the rush of the ocean waves.

...on the wings of wind
...we closed the day with a sherbet sky
...and a sand bucket of memories. 

 ...smiles: sharon

Silver Brush Art Show

This has been a house of near-silence.

This has been a house of rather intense focus.

This has been a house with little social networking.

This has been a house that is NOW

Ready to Go For It !

Silver Brush Art Show this weekend.

November 13 and 14, 2015

Details below.

If you are in the area please stop by. 

If not, the new paintings are up on my website.

Sharing a few here.

Seems like I had a lot of ideas, sketches, photo references 

to pull from. As a result I ended up with a

mixture of styles, colors, surfaces: from encaustic

to oil to acrylic to mixed media grabbing anything near my easel.

Some times I wonder just how many tubes of paint I go through????

This is the Biggie 36x36 !

This one is wee, 6x6, inches that is.

Encaustic and Mixed Media...loads of fun!

Lots of flowers in this show...roses and sunflowers.

Enjoyed doing five mixed media paintings of women in various stages of contemplation.Would love to see you at the show..fabulous paintings, jewelry, clay work and photography. A portion of proceeds benefit Blessed Assurance, a local day care facility for adults.  A gift of giving.

Have a beautiful month filled with Thanksgiving.  May your blessings be bountiful. 

Thank you for the support and friendship you have given to me over the many years of painting, art shows, blogging, IG and a tiny bit of FB.

Silver Brush Show, November 13, 5:30-9:30 refreshmentsNovember 14, 9:30-4:30
Weaver, Bennett and Bland
196 North Trade Street
Downtown Matthews, NC

Popping back to Charlotte, North Carolina

Fresh on the heels of a 22 hour flight, I POPPED back to Charlotte,  excited to  take a workshop with  Lost Aussie on the Loose, Marie Otero. Marie is a warm, soft spoken, friendly, talented artist, photographer and photoshop guru.  Be sure and check out her website to see some GORGEOUS photography, her online classes, workshops and digital artwork.  

It felt a bit like a time warp returning to the US where everything seems sooooo easy: we write and speak English, can count change all by ourself and not always be asking for directions. The time had come to change cultural perspectives and rethink photography choices.
As a side note: I returned to a kaleidoscope of color after all of the soothing greens in Asia; so I just had to share this beautiful autumn photo of a tree in our front yard.

 Fine Art Creative Black and White Photography Workshop was a two day, one evening class held in Charlotte. Mornings were devoted to exploring the wealth of photographic possibilities, in the city then returning to a hotel conference room where we learned various ways to convert our color photos to black and white.  

Marie worked her way between  "students" helping us get correct camera settings, points of view to consider and sundry tips just right to maximize our photographs.  

I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH CHARLOTTE 
through the lens of my camera.

I have been delighted to live in the Charlotte area these past three years, but with this workshop my eyes were re-opened to its vibrant, elegant, sophisticated architecture; the cohesiveness of the city by the planning gurus; the varied, interesting, and stellar monuments and sculptural pieces; quiet streams, ponds, and waterfalls softened by the fall of autumn leaves; green metal benches lined up along roads beckoning  the walker to sit awhile and  LOOK and SEE what was before them. Ah, so much to see and take in...and a lens truly clarifies just that.

A moment of tranquility in a park.

Queen Charlotte of 4th Street.  I chatted with a few men who were sunning in the warmth of the sun on a green metal bench. This kind soul rescued his dog when it was tossed out of a car on that street in front of him.  He nursed him back to health.  I so appreciated him allowing me to take their photo.  
Capturing the "humanity" in others is the ultimate joy for me.

 To end this little photo-log, I loved this photograph I am calling "reflection upon reflection"...love the  touch of color.

I will share more views of Charlotte...perhaps you will fall in love with the Queen's City, as I have, just remember to bring your camera. 

The world looks different through a camera's lens.

Also posting to another wonderful photographer, Kim Klassen's, Friday Finds.