"Coffee and Conversation"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

contact River Bend Fine Art Gallery for purchase information

 

I was going through some unsold paintings and came across a 6"x6" one I did of this subject last spring. I looked at it and thought that maybe I could improve upon it so did it again. It IS definitely an improvement! Much better color, looser, better cropping and use of space. I love the subject. It seems like we rarely see much done about middle-aged people or that affirms commitment past the more romantic phase. This couple had the feel to me of being together through life's ups and downs and I am happy to celebrate that! The location was Sisters Coffee House in Sisters, OR.

"Companions" (sold)

12"x12"

Oil on Board

This is my 300th post!! Where does the time go?!

I decided to try a larger version of the painting, "Reminiscing" that I did last week and this is the result. I am pretty happy with it. I really don't know if the photo will do it justice--I'm having a tough time with my photos these days for some reason!

I really like this subject! I like the composition, the variety of values and the content, too. I've been re-reading Anne Morrow Lindberg's "Gifts from the Sea" and the chapter I read this morning really made me think about this painting. She talks of how when we meet the person we decide to share our lives with, it's so exclusive--that commitment to "only you"--and then how it changes over the years as we grow and our lives get fuller and larger. It's not feasible to have it just be "you and me" anymore! She says, though, that instead we have "only-you-moments" interspersed throughout. To me, the couple in this painting seem to be having one of those experiences.

"Reminiscing"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $10 domestic s/h

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I saw this couple at a coffee shop in Sisters, OR on a lazy Saturday afternoon recently. As I painted this, I kept thinking of the comfort of a long-established relationship that they seemed to be enjoying. I wasn't really able to put that into words for a title, so took my husband's suggestion of "reminiscing". It's kind of wondrous, though, when you think about it--looking past the surface of a couple of people and start imagining the depth of life that's gone on between the two. We're so close to our lives that we don't get to see the miracle of them, I think.