Kalimba and Lexi (Double Portrait)

I finished this painting back on March 16, but more recently I have been getting it ready to ship.  This week I signed it, finished sealing (painting) the edges, and added a wire for hanging.  Then I wrapped it up and delivered to the UPS store, and now it is on its way to its home in Tennessee, where it belongs.  I have enjoyed spending time with these lovely dogs, and glad I was able to create this remembrance of them.

Azaleas with Column (Lynch Park)

Here's another photo from yesterday's walk at Lynch Park.  Azaleas were blooming inside the walled garden.  I liked the way the pink flowers looked against the column, so I took some pictures.  Tonight I edited one of the photos to get this composition.

Looking at Magnolias (at Lynch Park)

We went for a walk at Lynch Park today.  There was a lot to see, including this amazing pink magnolia tree.

Spring Sky

I took this photo during a walk on April 27th. I looked up and saw the late afternoon hitting the trees, leafing out in green gold, and leaving the white pear blossoms in shadow. This is one of the pictures I took, edited to get this composition.

A Good Look at Daffodils

Once the weather finally started warming up a bit, we began to see daffodils here and there.  I took a photo of some daffodils during a neighborhood walk on April 23, 2021.  I cropped the original photo to get this composition.

Red Pergola at Long Hill

This is from a walk at Long Hill this weekend.  I haven't been there in well over a year.  It was nice to see one of my favorite landmarks, this red pergola.

Stone Wall and Forsythia

We went to Longhill Gardens today.  I hadn't been there in well over a year.  Things are changing there, lots of new features still to come.  But some things haven't changed, and it is still a wonderful place, so close to home.  I took lots of pictures, but this is one of the best, an old stone wall framing forsythia in bloom.

Weeping Cherry (with Prisma filter)

This image began with a photo that I took on April 14, of a weeping cherry tree at Lynch Park.  Here is another version of the image, this time with the "Watercolor" filter in the Prisma app

Reposting: Earth Rising (Collage)

I created this image decades ago, but first posted it here in 2009. This is a collage, acrylic paint on paper.  Well, for some reason, I thought Earth Day was April 20th, so I already posted  image for the occasion.  But I decided to post another image today because it is so important that we keep in mind that there is no Planet B.

Magnolia Blossoms in the Rain (with Prisma filter)

Here north of Boston, the magnolia blossoms are starting to open; I have two trees, right in my front yard.  I had planned to go out and take pictures today, but it started to rain.  I decided not to let the rain spoil my celebration, so I went out and took some quick pictures anyway.  I used the Prisma app to add the "Watercolor" filter to this one.

Reposting: Earth Rising (Digital Painting)

Here is my image for Earth Day. Well, it's late but I am trying to get this one in under the wire.  I first posted this back on Earth Day in 2013.  I made this image with the Brushes app on my iPhone. Back then, I said,  "This little fantasy of earth rising is  inspired by photos of the earth seen from space.  From an Apollo mission in the 1970s, we got our first view of the earth from space and saw it as a'big blue marble'. Thanks to the NASA, we saw beautiful pictures of earth taken from the surface of the moon.  But as beautiful as these images are, seeing the Earth rise from another planet is not the view I would wish for future generations.  The best views of Earth are the close-ups." This year, we have a Mars landing, but it is still the Earth that needs our attention.  Global warming still looms, but there is hope for change ahead. We have hopes of emerging from the pandemic that has plagued us for over a year.  And today's verdict in Minnesota provides a glimmer of hope for more justice in the world. Is earth rising? Maybe. I hope so.

First Look at Forsythia

This is a photo that I took during a recent neighborhood walk.  Spring usually takes its time, here north of Boston. So I always like to see forsythia in bloom because it is one of the first signs that spring is coming.  This is a welcome sign in a hopeful season.

Behind the Walled Garden (with Prisma filter)

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved stories about walled gardens. Well, there actually is one at Lynch Park, here in Beverly, MA.  On Wednesday, we took a walk at the park. It was too cold to walk near the ocean, so we took a different route, around the back of the walled garden.  In the original photo, the bricks are discolored and there is some litter on the ground.  That can be fixed with retouching (and I plan to do that). But for now, I just applied a little magic with my Prisma app and the "Dance" filter.

Weeping Cherry

I took this picture on April 14, 2021, during a walk at Lynch Park.  The weeping cherry was just starting to bloom.

Flowering Tree at Lynch Park (with Prisma filter)

I recently posted a picture of a flowering tree at Lynch Park, taken during a walk over the weekend.  Here is the photo again, with the same crop, but with the "Watercolor" filter in the Prisma app. 

Flowering Tree at Lynch Park

We had warmer weather over the weekend, so we took a walk at Lynch Park.  I finally saw some flowering trees, magnolias I think. Apparently magnolias are starting blooming in Boston, but these are the first I have seen here.  Temperatures here (Beverly, MA) are often cooler than in Boston,  Anyway,  I took a quick picture, and today I cropped the original photo to get this composition.

Wedding Cake 1943 (with Prisma filter)

I have posted other versions of this image in the past, but it is a classic. My parents were married on April 4, 1943, so I am reposting in honor of their anniversary.  (This image began with a sepia photo taken at their wedding breakfast at the Vail Hotel in Pueblo, Colorado.) I love the traditional pose of bride and groom cutting the wedding cake, and it probably appeals to me now because I saw it again just last week at our son's wedding. Another bride, another groom.  Today I edited the image with my Prisma app, and chose the "Watercolor" filter which provided the color.  I also did some final editing in iPhoto.

Guest Artist Alan Braunstein: "The Balloon Man" (Pencil Drawing)

Alan Braunstein is my first cousin. He has worked in the theatre and travel industries, but during this year of Covid, he has taken some time to re-discover drawing, something he liked to do as a child. Last week, he sent me this charming sketch, and I liked it so much I asked him to be a guest artist on Randiart.  This drawing really communicates a sense of this character, using simple but very expressive lines. 

Juniper Branches (with Prisma filter)

Here north of Boston, we seem to be stuck between winter and spring.  But still, we are going for more walks.  This is from a walk in the neighborhood last week; this is some kind of juniper shrub that our dog loves to sniff.  I cropped the original photo, and used the Prisma app to add a filter ("Sea Turtle").