Temporary Price Reduction on Current Artwork

I currently have a temporary price reduction on current artwork as an early start to the holiday season. Many of these pieces will disappear quickly at my next show in Greensboro, so let me know if you are interested in any of them now. annepfeiffer.com

The Narrows, Virginia Beach

The Narrows, pastels, 9" x 12"

We took our new-to-us 20-ft airstream to First Landing State Park and camped right next to the dunes. This Broad Bay beach is at the other end of the park, accessed by car, or via a 6-mile bike trail. We rode the trail in the torrential rain and still loved it, passing by cypress swamps and classic Virginia shore flora. We drove back one evening to paint and found the Narrows beach to be a favorite with families with dogs, young people and paddle boarders. he evening light was hitting the proud pines. I think they are Eastern White Pines, the kind with long needles, creating soft shapes. Can't wait to go back. First Landing is a unique preserve in the middle of an urban area.

Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks, oil on board, 8" x 6"

These hollyhocks grow wild at the top of our driveway with enough confidence to take over the neighborhood. We've been here 20 years and we don't know where they came from but I love their chutzpah. I put them in an aluminum vase that has the same finish as the big milk containers on my grandparents' dairy farm (which is now Distillery Lane Ciderworks, by the way). This was painted plein air.

It's been months since the last post. I had to take a break to spend as much time as possible with my mother as she fought and lost a battle with breast cancer, after being in remission for 35 years. This was the first successful painting since we lost her, so this painting is for you, Mom.

Plein Air Still Life of Summer Memories

I painted this alla prima in natural light. Oil on panel, 8" x 8".  annepfeiffer.com

A Nice Place to Show

Showing art in a restaurant or coffee shop can be positive if you put thought into where you show. I hung a show in Shockoe Espresso in Shockoe Slip in Richmond August and September. The light was perfect and the clientele consist mostly of regulars who are appreciative of artists. I'm hanging again at the end of January with a good friend, Diane Patton who paints beautiful non-objective abstract paintings. 

Catching Up: Spending Time in Water

Tim and I gravitated towards painting water this summer. How can you not if you live and paint in Southwest Virginia. The top painting is a plein air oil of an area just upstream from one of several great swimming holes on the Maury River in Goshen Pass. Here's a photo from our scouting trip. We call this "Nature's Jacuzzi".

The second photo is of a plein air pastel painting from a rock in the middle of Bottom Creek Gorge on Bent Mountain (a Nature Conservancy area).  Both paintings required fording river or stream, the top one the most challenging, but it was summer so no big deal, other than the strength it took to lug all the stuff as you balanced on rocks. It did inspire us to buy waders so that we could paint similar scenes in the cooler months

Under the Live Oaks

 We set up one peaceful day at Ft. Fisher State Park, near the ocean in NC and I drew the live oaks above. The next day we set up again in their shade and I painted the other direction.  It was during a heat wave, but the ocean breeze and the shade made it pleasant. I was bitten by fire ants, but my cold stainless steel water bottle eased the pain. We inadvertently chose a special event day and we became another attraction, but I can focus. What made it Extreme Plein Air Painting was the civil war cannon they fired without warning every 40 minutes or so that made me jump out of my skin every time.