Just a touch of spring as the days get shorter. 
Month: September 2017
House portraits
For the past decade, I’ve done house portraits for people. Here is an example of a rather fancy house I painted on West Newton Hill.
If you’re interested in a house portrait, for yourself or as a gift, you can find out more at https://www.lynnholbein.com/store/. If this is for Christmas, please let me know as soon as possible.
for Meditation
After trying to meditate for years, I’ve discovered the apps “Calm” and “Headspace,” both of which keep me on track with lots of choices for guided meditations. Here’s a wonderful quote, with one of my paintings. Feel free to print it if it helps keep you on track.
Kayaking
The days are starting to get shorter, so it’s important to seize the day!
Vermont Lake
We’ve gone up to Vermont to close up our cottage, which has no insulation or central heat, and (at 35 miles from Canada) gets a bit nippy at this time of year. I’ve painted this view of the Caspian Lake from our porch a dozen times, but I really like this one I did in August.
Fast or Slow?
Last Saturday a dozen painters, members of the Newton Watercolor Society, sat on the banks of the Charles River trying to capture the scene. For over an hour I labored over a painting which turned out less than mediocre. Finally, in frustration, I dropped the painting on the ground and picked up my sketchbook. This took only ten minutes, and it’s not great, but I like it a lot better. Sometimes we try too hard.
Garden
The center of interest in a painting — in this case, the watering can — is often painted with crisp edges, and the background (flowers) have a soft focus. This simulates the way human eye sees. In watercolor, hard edges are painted on dry paper and soft edges on wet paper.
