Urban scene

I decided to try a sketch of an urban scene instead of my usual landscapes. I found that I didn't like this as much, probably because I find more inspiration in the trees, woods, mountains and lakes of my region (New England). When I travel, I tend to look for the same kind of scenery too.

Meanwhile, these buildings have stayed in my mind since 2006 when I was on a trip to Israel.  I found the apartment building in Tel Aviv interesting (photo below of actual building). I had taken a picture from the hotel balcony, so I was looking down at the scene. I was impressed with all the solar panels on the roofs of so many buildings in Israel. These are not as practical in our climate, but some people do have them (including my son).

I found that I do not have any desire to paint this scene, but I did enjoy sketching it in pen and ink (in pencil first).

We had a big storm here on Thanksgiving and lost power for two days. Brr.... It was very cold and we spent the third night at my son's house (he had power and heat). We were very thankful when we came home to find that the power was back on. I still like winter, but we do not have a fireplace or woodstove.  Several of our neighbors have purchased generators. Some photos below of my wintry neighborhood.

The snow was very heavy and broke some of the branches off the pine tree. We cleaned it up and now most of the snow has melted (until the next storm).

We have one more craft fair this weekend. I have been very disappointed with sales at fairs this year. I probably won't do many next year. I'm going to continue painting as I enjoy it, but I'll have to figure out another way to sell my artwork locally. My cards have been selling well on my website and I'll continue to post new work there as well. You can now buy cell phone covers and throw pillows with my designs directly from the website.