in the mirror

hair white as snow

hips still sway

shoulders move

feet tap and legs go

dancing to the beat

my body feels the rhythm

and I’m young again

 copyright 2011 Linda H. Feinberg

Red Rock Canyon (acrylic)

This is an acrylic painting on Richeson's uncradled painting panel (8" X 10"). I put on 2 coats of gesso. I found it easier to paint on this surface than on canvas. The painting is from a photo I took in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada last spring. I'm not sure if it's done yet so I'll wait awhile before I put varnish on it. Obviously I'm not trying to be realistic, but I thought it was a good impression of what I saw while we were hiking there. I think the plants are called "Yucca".

Here are two earlier versions as I was working on it. I thought it would be interesting to keep a record for myself.  I had a hard time with the red rocks which are not really red or orange. I finally dulled them down a bit with a blue glaze.

This is my beginning. The one below is a bit further along.

cross country skiing (poem)

 

colors sing to me

the whiteness of snow like Chopin

an etude in shades of gray, blue and brown

a glissando on my skis to warm up

the angels watching over me

so I don’t fall

the sound of the snowmobiles

breaks the serenity of the moment

hiding the winter warblers song

but the machines pass by quickly

leaving behind a nasty gassy smell

soon we reach a bridge

the snow beside it

covered with animal tracks

mostly dog, some deer

and moose too

the other side has open water

reflecting trees, evergreens,

birches and oaks

all at peace in winter

I stop to take photos

then look up to see

my love waiting for me

at the bottom of a big hill

and decide to turn back

wimp that I am

but we’ve both had

enough exercise this day

our hearts warmed up

no matter how cold the air

the bard compares his love

to a summer’s day

but my love is beautiful

as this frosty winter’s day

 
copyright 2011 Linda H. Feinberg

Shakespeare, Sonnet 18, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

Sketching

No time to start a real project, but I've been doing a little sketching. I had a very small notebook with me when we were at a recital. I'm not used to drawing from live models (especially one that keeps moving), but I took my little sketch and made a bigger one on old sheet music.  I found an old children's piano book that was falling apart, but I like the music and was able to buy a new book, so now I'm using the old sheet music for art. A good way of recycling.

This pen and ink sketch was done from a photo of the horses running around the arena last spring. The dog was herding them. I couldn't quite get the sense of movement with the pen and ink. Will have to practice more. The foreshortening on the black horse (at right) was very challenging.