"Saint Sulpice, Montreal" pastel & ink 18 x 12

Back in March, we had a whirlwind weekend in Montreal to listen to our daughter speak at a linguistics conference at McGill University.  The city is lovely, and sparkling, and accessible, and we stayed at the beautiful hotel Le Saint Sulpice under the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral, courtesy of a friend. The narrow cobbled streets are filled with beautiful buildings, each with interesting moldings, details, doors, windows... sumptuous.  Here is a view of the street where we stayed.  You can see it in progress in this post.  

"Weekend Escape" 16 X 12 oil on board

"Weekend Escape"  oil 16 x 12

A few years ago we spent a weekend with artist friends at Gabriel's  in Provincetown, MA.  There were about 15 of us.  We painted, hung out, and were given kitchen privileges so we cooked a big potluck dinner.  Great weekend, and a great collection of suites in a few adjacent buildings.  I've always loved this image from the weekend.  Provincetown is an interesting place where cars, pedestrians, bikes can all share the narrow streets cooperatively.  Lots of activity, and everywhere you look is a possible painting.

This is the finished painting that I posted (in process) as part of my painting group's Golden Ratio challenge last month.  You can see the earlier painting here along with several photos of my process and a discussion of the Golden Ratio and how it applies to design.  

Thanks for looking. 

"City Sidewalks" watercolor and ink 10 x 9

It's that time of year. Since I was a little girl, walking about Boston's Downtown Crossing area meant seeing the wonderful glowing stars lit and suspended above the streets.  The stars have stayed the same for decades.  I assume these are not the same nets-with-lights-in-glorious-star-shapes that hung there when I was a little girl, but they are the same design so someone else understands their icon status, too.  The design is so appealing, and nostalgic for me, while contemporary, too.  This month's theme for Girls Just Wanna Paint  is "celebration".  When I see these lights, I don't think of retail.  I see history, and wonder, and the joy of the season, and beauty, pageantry, excitement.  That's a celebration for me, every year.

Thanks for looking.