Evening Enchantment, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & $10 S&H

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A thousand times I could view it, and a thousand times I could paint it, and I would never, ever tire of the pink glow at sunset in Hull, MA.  Looking west with the peninsula tapering out off to the right, then into Boston Harbor, I am simply enchanted by the pinky orange glow that reflects on the wet sand of Nantasket Beach.  Every time I paint it I commit it more to heart.  I can always use a spot of sunset colors wherever I am and whatever time of day it is.

Some say only God can make a great sunset.  Some say after that only a photograph is worth it.  But I think back on the lovely glows captured by artists through time: Monet, Van Gogh, Fitz Hugh Lane, Emile Gruppe, Kevin MacPherson, etc. etc. etc.  I like painting, so I guess I like painted sunsets.  

Sign In The Clouds, 5x7 Acrylic Painting

Did you ever go through a really hard time in life, and you either needed to know if you were on the right path or you just needed to know if you were doing the right thing?  Well I have, and I bet you have, too.  One winter when we lived on the beach my Dad was living with us, and was declining,  and it was very hard - for all involved.  One day I didn't think I could do one more day - looking back I think "Of COURSE you could!" - but I asked for a sign that it would be all right.  That I would and could be up to the task.  And I walked on the beach in the very early morning, praying and thinking, and I looked up and saw this.  I took it as a sign of love.  My digital image is long gone (2 computers ago), but I made a print of it to paint from.

My alternate name for this was "Hope".  Think it is better?

Oh, Hull...., 5x7 Inches, Oil Painting of Hull, Ma

$125 & $10 S&H

I loved living in Hull, MA.  The sky is like a light show come sunset.  It is a magical peninsula, where you can see the ever changing light on the oceanside AND the bay side.  And there are many evenings when the pink of the sunset sky reflects on the wet sand of the sea side.  Pink, orange, pink - oh, it just SENDS me!  And the little glittering lights going through the town - to me it looks like a diamond necklace, laying on the ground...  You should go there... see this....

p.s. THREE squirrels were removed from my studio this weekend  Uncountable props broken.  Explains the lack of paintings from the past week, no?

Perfect View, 6x6 Inches, Oil Painting of the Sunset in Hull, MA

From one of the highest points of the seaside town of Hull, MA, you can see.... everything - to the right you see the ocean and the reflected light on the clouds when the sun sets.  If you look straight, you see the winding peninsula that is the town, resting between the ocean and the bay behind.  And slightly to the left, you see this.  The land mass is called World's End, a reservation where you can walk all around the drumlins on paths, and see Hull, Hingham and, in the distance, Boston.  At sunset, when you look here, sometimes everything is hot pink, salmon and lavender.  I was lucky enough recently to share this view with a few friends...

In other news, the Warren Walkabout is this coming Sunday!  12-5!  Should be SO much fun!  Below is a sneak peek of one wall of my studio (well, the bottom half of the wall anyway!).

And below are examples of students' work from our first class last week.  First we did value studies, then added color - some pumpkins were white, some orange.

*oh, yes, about yesterday's post - I believe it was McDonalds that had the lawsuit over the hot coffee  - not my beloved DD's!*

Here's Your Answer, Acrylic 6x8

This is from one of my all time favorite images.  A few years ago we spent the 'off season' living on the beach in Hull, MA, and I was going through a pretty difficult time in my life.  I would walk the beach every day and ask God for help and strength.  One day I was feeling particularly low, and alone, and I asked for a sign (you know how you do that when you're feeling desperate?) that I was NOT alone and that He/She was going to stick with me.  and I looked up and I swear there was a perfect heart shape breaking through the clouds.  I said to myself "That's a pretty great 'sign'!"  and snapped the photo, because no one would believe me.  Periodically I re-paint it.  The original, large size painting went to a friend who has a very large burden to bear in this life.

It Happened In Hull, 6x6 Oil

This is a painting of a Hull sunset, for a nice woman who is commissioning a series. So this one is not for sale. Hull is one of those places where every night the sky is a brilliant illumination of a design that can only be Divinely created. Where I live now is a similar light - all reflected off the water, in color combinations that are jaw-dropping. In real life the water is a bit darker and richer, but as far as photos go, it's pretty good.

Hull Sunsets, 6x6 Oil

I once lived in a beautiful town called Hull, MA. It's a peninsula that stretches up from the South Shore of Boston into Boston Harbor. If you've ever flown out of Logan Airport going south, you could probably see it's unique shape from the window as you pass over it. Because it's such a narrow finger of land, ocean on one side, bay on the other, and it's low, you get incredible light throughout the day. But the most magical time is sunset, when literally if you look west you see something like I've painted above, and if you look east you see the reflected light in the sky over the Atlantic, all pink, purple and teal. I've never been anyplace like it.

Now, I've been fortunate enough to be commissioned to paint 6 small Hull sunsets. I've been working from photos, and if anybody ever tells you they did an entire painting from 'life' when doing a sunset... be suspicious! This moments are fleeting! The first two, shown here, are complete, with the exception of the grass, etc. that blew on the wet paint. That will flake off when dry. I'm mid-way through the third, and will post #3 and #4 together. So these are not for sale, although I'd take one more commission on similar ones before the holidays.