During the past two weeks I have not only been enjoying the holidays but working with my giclee printer to create three prints, on stretched canvas, in double the size of the original paintings.  I was dubious about retaining the quality of line and fluidity of the watercolor with increase of size and printing on canvas, however my concerns turned out to be unnecessary.  This is a project to be repeated! 


I stood next to them to show the size.  Currently they are being crated for shipment to a home in a Southern California beach town.

Yesterday I delivered Split Above and Below.  This is the triptych I have been working on for several weeks.  It was hung in a home located in Tahoe Donner, high on a ridge, with spectacular views to the south.  The painting is the focal point of the room, but how could it not be at 4' x 10' ????  The designers, from Spirit Gallery in Truckee, CA, selected a wonderfully warm color for the wall on which the painting hangs, a shade that brings out one of the hues I use in my rock paintings in small small amounts, a shade that complements the other hues in the painting.


This was an interesting project, because the customer saw and purchased the center painting and then realized it wouldn't be long enough for the space where they wanted to hang the work.  They then commissioned two additional canvases which would create a triptych.  The painting was returned to my studio so I could design the work as well as match paint colors and line work. 

 As you can see, I used photos of the original painting to assist with the drawing.  The intent was to retain the focal point and weight of composition in the center canvas while continuing the visual flow of rocks and water out to the right and left.  In order to accomplish this, I chose to paint fewer rocks and some lake bottom in the side panels.

The composition was selected and sketched onto the canvases.  They were moved on and off my easel many times, placed along side the center canvas to compare and adjust the paint colors and confirm the alignment of the rocks and light patterns from one canvas to the next. 

Then I 'live' with the painting, keeping it in my studio so I can confirm the lighlights, lowlights, and other details, making small corrections with my brushes and paint, guiding the work to completion.

Now it is time to enjoy family, bake cookies, decorate a Christmas tree, wrap gifts.  Happy Holidays to all of you!

My Holiday jewelry trunk shows have ended, so I have returned to painting, continuing work on a commission which adds two canvases to an existing painting, so the entire work will become a triptych.   This will be a very dramatic view of Lake Tahoe above and below the surface.  In fact, the title of the work is:  Split Rock, Above and Below.  Pictured here is the middle section of the triptych.  When completed the length of the entire work will be approximately ten feet.  The painting will be delivered this weekend to a home in Tahoe Donner which is being re-decorated by Cathy Nason of Spirit Gallery in Truckee.  


Right now my brushes are various shades of blue, my fingers are blue, and everything I touch is marked with blue.  

Busy busy time.  I am working with my jewelry daily, creating new statement necklaces with unusual pearls, jade, stone and porcelain from China.  Last week I had a Trunk Show at a private country club, The Quarry,  in the Southern California desert.  The men and women loved my work and purchased beautifully unique pearl and Asian inspired necklaces for Holiday gifts and for themselves.  It is very special when a woman brings her husband to look at a piece she adores and the husband immediately arranges the purchase.  It is also wonderful to watch the faces of the women who see a piece they cannot resist, try it on, and wear it home.  I love bringing happiness to others by creating something they can wear and adore.

The pearls pictured above are actually three separate necklaces stacked together.  Most of you know my motto:  More is not enough!!!!!!  Wear one, two, three or four together for drama and to be outrageous.

I have been creating flamboyant, statement jewelry pieces for my upcoming Holiday shows.  Working with huge pearls, druzy quartz stones, ribbons, and rich earthy tones has been a fun change from standing at the easel with paints in hand and on brush.


This first necklace is actually two.  The jade butterfly is a necklace by itself or becomes a pendant look when worn under the eight strands of pearls, jade, and Peruvian andasite which are gathered together with a wide black ribbon.

Fingers of black coral, druzy quartz, lava stones and Chinese coins are gathered together with a ribbon allowing this necklace to be worn short or quite long.

This pearl necklace can be worn long, or doubled.  When it is doubled it looks like three strands of pearls....elegant.

Nine Pie Apples    8" x 24"

As we move through fall, what happens in my studio changes just like what happens in the kitchen changes.   So...I find myself painting fall fruit and cooking with fall fruit and veggies.  I am not sure if the thought of baking apple pies led to Nine Pie Apples, the painting, or the other way around.  I do know that my parents taught me to make delicious apple pies, which started with peeling the apples.  We always tried to take the peel off in one continuous piece and then threw it over our shoulders while making a wish, and I think we then looked at the peel on the floor trying to figure out if it was a letter shape and that letter was indicative of the name of your intended spouse....silly and fun for a young girl!  Just the proper amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg mixed with brown sugar seasoned the apples, and then we always piled the apples high above the pie pan so the pie became a domed, golden work of art.  Every time I bake an apple pie I think of my parents.

What a surprise to have pointed out to me an article about my Tahoe paintings in Tahoe Art and Mountain Culture.  I had no idea..  They show three nice paintings...  all of them are 30" x 48".


Check it out:   http://tahoeculture.com/2009/09/04/tahoe-rocks-by-pamela-hunt-lee-2/