Restful Garden

Restful Garden
Oil  12" x 16"
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$495.00 + $10. s/h

Recently, several members of my plein air group, Garden Artists, painted in private gardens on a local garden tour.  It was a great event;  a huge tour, beautiful gardens, wonderful people, and new locations for plein air work.  We were thrilled to have been invited.

These adirondack chairs were in the back yard of the house where I painted Saturday morning.  They were right outside the back door and seemed like such a great place for a restful moment, perhaps enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning or a glass of wine in the early evening.

The owners of the house told me that their son got them these Adirondack chairs many years ago in Maine.  I Googled "Adirondack chairs" to learn a bit more.  Here is what I learned:  "The first Adirondack chair was designed by Thomas Lee while vacationing in Westport, New York, in the Adirondack Mountains in 1903. Needing outdoor chairs for his summer home, he tested his early efforts on his family. After arriving at a final design for a "Westport plank chair," he offered it to a carpenter friend in Westport in need of a winter income, Harry Bunnell.^[1] Bunnell saw the commercial potential of such an item being offered to Westport's summer residents, and apparently without asking Lee's permission filed for and received U.S. patent #794,777 in 1905.^[2] Bunnell manufactured hemlock plank "Westport chairs" for the next twenty years, painted in green or medium dark brown, and individually signed by him."

I wasn't able to finish any of the paintings on location during the Garden Tour as there were so many people attending.  It was a great opportunity to meet new people and share my art.  I finished this piece later in my studio.

100 Garden & Floral Oil Paintings, Original Artwork by Pam Holnback, 46/100

Enjoy the View
7" x 9" oil on board
$100.00 + $10. s/h

Recently my plein air group painted at a home just south of town.  The yard, and the deck where I was painting,  had the most incredible views of southern Colorado.  You could see the mountain range miles away.  This chair was just asking for a viewer.

The aspen trees are in full fall color in late September.  So, I can imagine that this couple enjoys their deck! This piece is being submitted to Artists Helping Artists Blog September Challenge.

My plein air group, Garden Artists, is having our Fall Show on Saturday, September 11 from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm at Summerland Gardens 124 East Cheyenne Road, Colorado Springs, 80906.  If you're in the area, stop by.

Ocean City

8" x 10" oil on canvas on board
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When I was back east in July, visiting my sister in New Jersey and taking a color study workshop in Philadelphia, I was lucky enough to get to spend 1 day at the Jersey shore. I was mesmerized by all the colors at the beach: water, sand, umbrellas, toys, chairs, bathing suits, towels, skin-tones. It was non-stop visual stimulus. I felt like I was looking at, and walking through, a real live color study class (of course, I'd just spent a week in a color study class.) Anyway, I took lots of photos and now have painted several pieces.

These ladies seemed so content just sitting by the water, enjoying the day. Everyone was enjoying that day. It was so entertaining to me how people sat right by the water. I guess you can see your kids better, or keep cooler. Being from Colorado, we don't have many beaches. A few here and there by a lake or reservoir. One time when our son was 3, he came home from spending the afternoon at our small local man-made lake and beach and excitedly told us that he'd had a great day at the ocean!