Orphaned Buildings 1

5"X7" Oil on board

This handsome Ontario Gothic is surrounded by houses built in the forties and fifties. It was particularly appealing at seven this morning as I went for my walk. It is already flying the maple leaf, ready for Canada Day (July 1).

I plan to do a small series of these "orphans", every city has them but I think that we have more than our fair share in St. Catharines.

With two major highways and a couple of branches of the old Welland Canal cutting through the city, there are many areas that have become severed from their original neighbourhoods. I have always been fascinated by these "orphans"; grand old houses marooned amid a sea of concrete and neon as the avenue becomes the main drag, 19th century farmhouses surrounded by the subdivision that was built when the land was sold and the genteel home standing stubbornly between the crack house and the brothel because grandad refuses to move from the house where he has lived for sixty years.

 $75 -Please contact me for more information.
sarah[at]splynch.com

Rainbow

12"X12" Oil on canvas

Remind me never to try this again!

A midsummer rainbow over Youngstown, New York. Not this year, not a drop of rain in sight as temperatures hover around 35C.

There are numerous problems with tackling a painting like this, not the least of which is that it is almost impossible to photograph a rainbow effectively, so I had to resort to memory and research.

The rainbow has to be lighter than the surrounding sky, but also has to be slightly transparent, try achieving that with paint! Keeping a steady hand while drawing the arc is tricky too.

All in all a salutary lesson in knowing my limitations.

$300 - please contact me for more information.
sarah[at]splynch.com

Strawberries

4"x6" Oil on board

We are at the height of strawberry season here in Niagara and they are pretty good this year. We had better make the most of it because the unseasonably warm spring and late frost ruined most of the tree crops.

$50 - Please contact me for more information

June Common

12"X12" Oil on canvas

Here is another view of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Common. I am running out of names for these, I am going to have to start just numbering them. I posted a couple of WIP here and here.

 $300-Please contact me for more information.
sarah[at]splynch.com

Still on the Canal - Port Weller

12"X12" Oil on canvas

Port Weller Dry Docks

This area by Lock 1 is often glassy like this, sort of like a mill-pond.

I find these massive old industrial buildings rather majestic. This building (do they call it a hangar?) is big enough to take one or the giant lakers which come here for refitting and repairs. The crane is either "Bonnie" or "Clyde". A few years ago there was a tragic accident when one of them came down in a storm, taking its operator with it.

$300 - Please contact me for more information

White Peony

5"X7" Oil on board

And now for something completely different.
I try to paint the peonies every year but I think I missed them last year. I nearly missed them this year, my own came and went already last week so I bought some from the market on the weekend.

SOLD

Lock 2 Evening

12"X12" Oil on canvas

Looking south, late afternoon in June. One of the giant lakers is just emerging from Lock 2.

$300 - Please contact me for more information