"Sunflowers for Freedom" Praying for peace in Ukraine

"Sunflowers for Freedom"  8x10 oil on panel

 

I didn't know when I painted this still life at the Plein Air Washington Artists Paint In that Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine. Or that Ukraine is one of the worlds largest supplier of sunflower seeds and oil... until I started seeing artists post sunflower paintings online.

There are many atrocities and injustices happening in many places around the world and I'm not even sure if the invasion of Ukraine is the worst one. But at this moment in time the courage of the Ukrainian people standing up and fighting for their freedom and their families seems symbolic of the fight for freedom, stability and peace of oppressed peoples around the globe and I support that.

I have missionary friends in Romania who are preparing to take in the Ukrainian refugees even though they have little themselves.  They believe that true peace and real hope can only come from the Gospel of Jesus Christ which they will also share and I agree and support them as well.  

I hope you are finding true peace in your life.

"You Are My Sunshine" Plein air painting by Robin Weiss

You Are My Sunshine  11x14 oil on linen panel
SOLD

 

I'm posting this plein air painting done on Bainbridge Island at Suyamatsu Farm to announce a group exhibition coming up at the Roby King Gallery in Winslow.  I will be joining Cheri Christensen , Pam Ingalls, William F Reese (1938-2010) and Pamela Wachtler presenting original work celebrating impressionism and plein air painting.

"Snowy Tractor" original oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Snowy Tractor"  11x14 oil on linen       Sold

 

I had another go at the old tractor outside the studio, this time after the snow fell.  Below is another rendition from 2020. The one above is a studio painting from a photo and the one below is a plein air painting done from life.. Sometimes it feels like I learn nothing from all the plein air painting I do!  The one done from life has more life to it!! 

You just have to carry on! Continue to paint outside from life and hope it rubs off in the studio....and it will!  =]

"Winter Creek" original landscape painting by Robin Weiss

Winter Creek 14x18 oil on linen panel   $1000

 

I have always loved how a fresh blanket of snow can transform the most mundane scene into a magical fantasy land.  When the morning revealed the result of an overnight snow storm I grabbed my camera and went walking through the woods and around the neighborhood looking for a good scene to paint. I couldn't find anything close to the composition I imagined in my head until I almost gave up and walked up my moms driveway to get her mail and saw the scene above. The little winter creek that trickles through  the alders in the field by her house had been transformed. 

"Baby Cow" original oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Baby Cow"  20x20 oil on linen board  SOLD

 

Time flies! Been over a month already since my last blog post. I have been mostly busy painting! Spending a lot less time on social media and more time outside.  That all makes me happy, but I do want to get my paintings out there for folks to see so I have entered some competitions and applied for some painting events. The painting above was done over the winter from reference I gathered in crested Butte CO. I have entered this work into the Oil Painters of America  National Show and hopefully will be able to attend the convention in Steamboat Springs this summer.  

Over the winter I have been purging old paintings by throwing them out , cutting them up or in this case painting over old work. The fact that I don't have a lot of storage helps with the vital task of working over or destroying inferior canvases that tend to pile up in every nook and cranny.....Hey, it's liberating!  and what we need right now is more liberty!!  

If you want to get out and paint with me, check out my website, which has just been updated with some of my workshops and events scheduled for 2022!  Link to it HERE 

Hope to see you out there this summer!  =]

Plein Air Workshop in Ormand Beach Florida 2021