Gardens at Tudor Place, Georgetown, Washington DC
(2009) Colored Pencil on Paper $495.00 SOLD
Located in historic Georgetown just minutes from the banks of the Potomac River, northwest of Downtown Washington lies this wonderful estate dating back to 1816 called Tudor Place. Martha Washington's granddaughter, Martha Parke Custis, and her husband, Thomas Peter, were the original occupants of this house which was designed by architect Dr. William Thornton who also worked on the U.S. Capitol Building. Descendants lived at Tudor Place until 1983. With period furnishings and most inspiring to me being its formal gardens in one of D.C.'s most prestigious neighborhood's, Springtime is my favorite season in Washington, particularly in late to mid April where captivating colors begin to take shape just prior to the steamy DC summer. Georgetown is a treasure to explore on foot particularly for its Federalist architecture making the streets a pleasant walk any day.
Located in historic Georgetown just minutes from the banks of the Potomac River, northwest of Downtown Washington lies this wonderful estate dating back to 1816 called Tudor Place. Martha Washington's granddaughter, Martha Parke Custis, and her husband, Thomas Peter, were the original occupants of this house which was designed by architect Dr. William Thornton who also worked on the U.S. Capitol Building. Descendants lived at Tudor Place until 1983. With period furnishings and most inspiring to me being its formal gardens in one of D.C.'s most prestigious neighborhood's, Springtime is my favorite season in Washington, particularly in late to mid April where captivating colors begin to take shape just prior to the steamy DC summer. Georgetown is a treasure to explore on foot particularly for its Federalist architecture making the streets a pleasant walk any day.
What I cherish quite a bit about the District of Columbia is its richness in nature and vegetation amongst the urban metropolis, from the immense acreage of Rock Creek Park, to its city squares, circles, and the annual Cherry Blossom Festival which goes without saying down along the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial. But it is also the Washington ' Beyond the Smithsonian and National Mall ' that I appreciate a great deal ,as on the properties of some of these homes I have visited- ( Tudor Place, Hillwood, Dumbarton Oaks ), and the side streets of Woodley Park, the Capital Hill neighborhood, and at the foot of the elevated National Cathedral to name a few.
The Flower gardens and greenhouses in the Washington Metropolitan area have provided huge inspiration for myself as an artist, as it is probably one of my favorite subjects to depict both realistically and abstract. I continue to generate new ideas with plant formations looking forward.
( 2011 ) Colored Pencil and Ink
Untitled Plant Formations, $ 165.00
( 2011 ) Colored Pencil and InkUntitled Plant Formations, $ 165.00
Hydrangeas
(2006) Colored Pencil and Gouache
With my deep affinity to Chinese Decorative Art, the term ' Chinoserie ' is defined as the taste for decoration. It is based on Chinese Design that was immensely popular in Europe during the 19th Century. With late 19th Century wallpaper which was largely stylized, it draws much inspiration from that periods vases. European designers at that time used patterns in many applications from wallpapers to fabrics to endpapers for books. Mid 19th Century English designs all draw their inspiration from high quality contemporary Chinese ceramics, as do I as an artist along with other Far Eastern two-dimensional works in my ardent desire to represent the flower, the leaf, and numerous species of plant formations on paper.
(2006) Colored Pencil and Gouache
With my deep affinity to Chinese Decorative Art, the term ' Chinoserie ' is defined as the taste for decoration. It is based on Chinese Design that was immensely popular in Europe during the 19th Century. With late 19th Century wallpaper which was largely stylized, it draws much inspiration from that periods vases. European designers at that time used patterns in many applications from wallpapers to fabrics to endpapers for books. Mid 19th Century English designs all draw their inspiration from high quality contemporary Chinese ceramics, as do I as an artist along with other Far Eastern two-dimensional works in my ardent desire to represent the flower, the leaf, and numerous species of plant formations on paper.
Winter Plants at Tudor Place, Georgetown in the District
(2007) Colored Pencil, then trimmed and mounted on foamboard $275.00 GIFT
A continuity and progression with pattern/repetition and careful modeling of form from light to dark and soft to hard application of the medium, along with my likeness of curvilinear form. Quite often, I tend to gravitate back to more subdue colors with blues, violets, and grey tones. The blue palette and shades it has to offer in the Prismacolor line is probably the one color I use most along with its variations of blue. Since Japanese textile designers, woodblock & linocut printmakers, and old Far Eastern masters like Hokusai and Hiroshige are of very strong interest to me with ' surface ', I have been influenced by these astonishing creators not only in terms of subject matter they captured, but in the way they handled form, shape, color, texture, overlap, underlap, and the use of BLUE especially in Japan. I have also been incorporating indigo in my portfolio for years dating back to undergraduate school where I took a textile studio course titled ' SHIBORI ' which was taught my good friend/mentor and retired professor, Richard Fuller ( Wilkes University.)
(2014) Colored Pencil Mounted on Rice Paper
' Flower for Miss Laura Thyme ' $225.00
From the hushed, contemplative designs of Japanese and Chinese gardens to the lush, tropical designs of Indonesia, Asian garden styles have had a major impact on Western sensibilities. Some individuals in Beijing epitomize the spare, stylized look in which plants are grown for their shapes rather than their flowers.
(2018)' ' The Royal Wedding Day '
Digital Illustration for Wallpaper
(2014) ' For Martha '
Colored Pencil on Board $ 175.00
( 2015 ) ' Regents Park Tulips '
Colored Pencil on Board $ 275.00
Colored Pencil and Photograph Mounted on Board
' Tulips in Virginia ' $175.00 Unframed
(2017) ' Spring has Sprung ' Colored Pencil with Photography (NFS)
( 2017 ) ' Tulips at Monticello, Virginia '
Colored Pencil and Photograph $ 175.00 Unframed
( 2016 ) Corel Draw Digital Pattern Illustration
Spring at Tudor Place in Georgetown D.C.
( 2015 ) Corel Draw Poster
Spring in Rock Creek Park
(2014) Colored Pencil Mounted on Rice Paper
' Flower for Miss Laura Thyme ' $225.00
From the hushed, contemplative designs of Japanese and Chinese gardens to the lush, tropical designs of Indonesia, Asian garden styles have had a major impact on Western sensibilities. Some individuals in Beijing epitomize the spare, stylized look in which plants are grown for their shapes rather than their flowers.
(2018)' ' The Royal Wedding Day '
Digital Illustration for Wallpaper
(2014) ' For Martha '
Colored Pencil on Board $ 175.00
( 2015 ) ' Regents Park Tulips '
Colored Pencil on Board $ 275.00
Colored Pencil and Photograph Mounted on Board
' Tulips in Virginia ' $175.00 Unframed
(2017) ' Spring has Sprung ' Colored Pencil with Photography (NFS)
( 2017 ) ' Tulips at Monticello, Virginia '
Colored Pencil and Photograph $ 175.00 Unframed
( 2016 ) Corel Draw Digital Pattern Illustration
Spring at Tudor Place in Georgetown D.C.
( 2015 ) Corel Draw PosterSpring in Rock Creek Park
Floral Studies during a Washington Summer
( 2006 ) Colored Pencil
An enormous influence to me in most areas of my work has been in the Art of China. China has a long and honorable tradition of exquisite pattern making in all of its decorative arts including textiles, ceramics, and painting. Many of the motifs used have a special relevance to the diverse Chinese cultures and religions or derive from ancient Chinese mythology. I hold a special interest in viewing and capturing nature as did the Chinese with favorable emblems such as cranes, peonies, and plum blossoms which were regularly used in subjects to ensure good luck, prosperity, happiness, and longevity.
Late Summer Plant Study
(2006) Colored Pencil
( 2006 ) Colored Pencil
An enormous influence to me in most areas of my work has been in the Art of China. China has a long and honorable tradition of exquisite pattern making in all of its decorative arts including textiles, ceramics, and painting. Many of the motifs used have a special relevance to the diverse Chinese cultures and religions or derive from ancient Chinese mythology. I hold a special interest in viewing and capturing nature as did the Chinese with favorable emblems such as cranes, peonies, and plum blossoms which were regularly used in subjects to ensure good luck, prosperity, happiness, and longevity.
Late Summer Plant Study
(2006) Colored Pencil
West Coast vegetation inspired from photographs taken in Hollywood Hills and Malibu, north and west of the tall glass skyscrapers of Downtown Los Angeles on a scenic elevated car ride up many winding residential roads around affluent Southern California in LA & Ventura Counties, and the San Fernando Valley. The lushness of the Golden State's outdoor growth is quite different from the eastern United States not only in its plant species, but in its colors. I was captivated by the numerous tints of greens and aquamarines found in many of the hills distant from corporate Los Angeles where a very peaceful serenity is found by day and night. Some orange added to the image was by my own choice to accent the piece somewhat.
New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx
(2008) Colored Pencil
' Stylized Floral ' NY Botanical Garden Series
(2009) Colored Pencil ( GIFT )
(2006) Pattern Design for Fiber/Textile and Carpet Motifs
' Stylized Leaves in Double Panel '
(2008) Gouache & Colored Pencil
on Board
Outdoor photograph of the estate.
Northwest in The District
( 2018 ) The Charm of the DC Suburbs
Corel Draw CAD Poster
New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx
(2008) Colored Pencil
An organic oasis in one of NYC's five boroughs offers both artists and photographers a treasure trove, whether it be for the canvas, paper, darkroom, or styllus on the computer for creating design. If you are a plant and nature lover who loves to view and capture the beautiful in our world, I also recomment the U.S. Botanical Garden in Washington D.C., just steps away from Capitol Hill on the National Mall where you can spend a great deal of time inside the greenhouse viewing plands from around the globe. Independence Avenue at 3rd Street southwest is its address across from the Museum of the American Indian.
' Stylized Floral ' NY Botanical Garden Series
(2009) Colored Pencil ( GIFT )
I can't stress much further the passion and admiration I hold towards not only the masters of Chinese Visual Expression, but also with the island of Japan and their skilled craftsmanship with two-dimensional design ; (dating back to the Dynasties and with today's contemporary talents with Surface.)
Far Eastern Art has been of great intrigue and inspiration to me in my artistic career. Many, many ideas have been energized within me to place down on paper after exposure to both artistic cultures and regions, namely China and Japan. Several of the floral/plant motifs that I have created in both my fine art works and digital pieces were inspired from Japan's Edo Period, whether it be a two color or multi-color repeat. The motifs traditionally found in Japanese patterns- such as flowers, trees, berries, butterflies, and animals..are a celebration of the natural world. But their designs and my work do not merely depict nature ; motifs are nearly always chosen for their symbolic meaning- prosperity, happiness, and long life.
(2006) Pattern Design for Fiber/Textile and Carpet Motifs' Stylized Leaves in Double Panel '
(2008) Gouache & Colored Pencil
on Board
A solid gold background in Chinese Decorative Art indicates that fabric was intended for the Emperor or one of his descendants, and bamboo stems along with other plant leaves signify youth and long life. I have occasionally combined various shades of green with gold that I find harmoniously attractive together. As mentioned earlier in another one of my pieces, a solid gold background indicates that a fabric was intended for the emperor or one of his descendants. Bamboo is a symbol of hard work and fortitude.
' Mid May in Full Bloom at Hillwood Estate, Northwest Washington DC '
$ 275.00
(GIFT)
$ 275.00
(GIFT)
June Morning in back of the White House
( 2006 ) 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Photograph and Surface Design with hand drawn florals cut and mounted on foreground of White House Lawn.
(2012) Corel Draw,
Digitally Hand Rendered Illustration
Digitally Hand Rendered Illustration
' Summer in Washington '
Outdoor photograph of the estate.Northwest in The District
( 2018 ) The Charm of the DC SuburbsCorel Draw CAD Poster