Flying High

Trying to calm my frazzled nerves -- checking out a painting I did a while back and rediscovered: "Flying High," oil on canvas, 16"x16". Realizing I have to start selling some of my paintings again. Too many, no place to turn around.

 

 

FLYING HIGH, Oil on Canvas, 16"x16"

 

 

                                                         (c)  Loretta Paraguassu 2015

An Ode to Wayne Wood

Wayne, this painting is for you. So hard to say goodbye -- but standing in front of my easel and letting the colors tell the story, I felt your music and your songs, your passionate arguments for peace and justice. So, here we have waves of bright colors that remind me of the ocean at sunset. "To Life!" is the title.

Remembering a very good friend

Losing Wayne Wood was a shock. His music, his singing and his conversation are silenced. Standing in front of my easel and painting as I thought of him brought to the surface of my canvas bright colors and motion that reminds of the ocean at sunset. I call the painting "To Life!"

To Life!

In memory of Wayne Wood, a warm, wonderful man who loved music and loved people.

To Life!

A bright light was tuned off this past week when we lost Wayne Wood. I stood in front of my easel and painted my heart out. The result is a lively, happy picture full of light and activity.

May the Memory of Wayne Wood Live On!

The sudden loss of Wayne Wood Was a big shock. I stood in front of my easel and painted my heart out. The result is "To Life." It's bright and full of sunshine, a picture of his soul.

Victoria's Secret

The real Victoria surfaced when I let this painting rip. The elegant, graceful, generous person who will live with this painting emerged without any fuss or bother.

Victoria's Secret

In this case there is a real Victoria, a beautiful person who is talented and giving. She does much for others and asks little in return. As I made this painting for her, the lines and colors seem to choose themselves.

Victoria's Secret, an ode to a real life Victoria

With this person in mind I found the colors and lines playing out on their own. She is someone who is talented and smart and does much for others.

High Notes with Heart

With music and a hot summer on my mind, this was the result:

"High Notes with a Heart" Watercolor and Ink on Paper, 12"x16"

"Woman Wading in the Water"

Walking on the cool side -- a watercolor painting on paper that makes me want to jump into the middle of my own creation.

"Woman Wading in the Water,"
Watercolor and Ink on Paper

In the Heat of the Day

A Watercolor Thermometer:

Can you tell I was painting on a hot, August day? No matter that I was inside and the A/C was running. Could matter that the the A/C on my car is busted and I get cooked (sort of medium well done) when I decide to leave the house.

In the Heat of the Day

A Celebraton of Purples

Last night I set out to paint a birthday greeting card for a friend who isn't afraid of color and wears the most gorgeous combinations. She has also collected a number of my paintings. Without a plan, without a design planted in my head, I took out the paints and then diddled with pen and ink. And there it is!

 

Happy Birthday, Sandy!

April Fool

Aren't we all fools in one way or another? This is our day!
I'd be a fool if I ever stopped painting. It's my connection to sanity. When nothing else makes sense, the lines and color have a language that brings everything together. I finished this one last night and waited for the sunshine to photograph it. Only natural light brings out the warmth and color. Yes, there is nothing like sunshine.

"April Fool" watercolor and ink on handmade paper, 29.5"x 22"

Those Springtime Paintings

These are the paintings that paint themselves. I supply the energy, the color and the surface -- the ideas come from the ether. They happen on their own. Of course, I wouldn't want to stop them if I could.

 

 

 

The Inspiration of Music!

A while back, I was listening to NPR and the wisdom of the song made me run for my notebook to write it down and save it with a little line design. Here it is...sharing...

A Sketch in Time

 

 

The Beauty of Spring

When the sun is shining and flowers are starting to bloom, funny thing -- the colors and beauty of blossoms and flowers turn up in the paintings. They just jump out there and happen!

This little 2-minute sketch is an ode to the sweet bird who visited me and sat on the railing -- looking a me, looking around, looking at me and then finally sailing off for something else that was, apparently, more pressing.

A Welcome Visitor

 

 

Ice Crystals in the Sunshine

It was so beautiful outside I forgot it was cold and kept snapping photos of ice crystals on pine needles and shimmering branches in the sunlight. Extraordinary contrast and color was the payoff.

Last night branches were cracking and I kept hoping nothing would crash down on my house. Whew! No damage...only fantastic sights to see.

 

 And there was more!! I loved the lines and the close ups of ice

 

crystals in the sunshine.

Wishing for Spring, Dreaming of Roses

When you're a painter, you create your own world. With some snow still hanging around and talk of ice on the roads I'd rather think of spring and red roses. Here's what I worked on yesterday and today:
 

Floating Into Spring, Watercolor and Ink on Paper, 30"x24"

a. lower right hand corner

b. close-up

c. close up

                                                         

d. close up

                                                                             

e. close up

f. close up

g. close up

                                                                 

 

                              

Happiness is Making a Painting

Yesterday was pretty ho-hum...until I broke out the paints and starting playing with them. The very, very best part of my day. I found myself making strokes and adding colors that built something that looked like the sunshine and surf that I miss so much....Southern California, beaches in Hawaii. Oh, way too far away.

"Blue and Gold" is watercolor and ink on paper, 30"x24".

Colors CAN Dance!

It's true! Colors can dance. They can  play tricks with your eyes -- and your heart. Have you ever seen a red that made you smile? A blue that brought you back to the day you spent at the beach and watched the ocean? And yellows! They can be pure sunshine.

I felt as if I captured some of that in these two paintings:

"Dancing in the River"

"Skinny Dipping in the River"

Oceans of Life and Bright Spirits

Life brings events that defy words and twist our beings into positions we never thought we would find ourselves. A phone call did it for me last night. A cousin called from Virginia Beach...her brother...my cousin was gone...He died in an unfortunate accident in his home. A fall...that's all it took to end his life.

I painted ocean scenes for her and for my late cousin's sons...symbolic of our voyages on this planet. Without exception, they are all beyond our control. We can make plans, but the universe often has other designs.

When I turn to my paints and brushes, it seems to make more sense than trying to sort out what is going around me.

Ocean Voyage I

Ocean Voyage II

Ocean Voyage III

And while the paints and brushes were out, I made another painting to send to a friend of the arts.

Bright Spirits