"The Brooklyn Bridge"

15 x 17

Oil on linen on board

It was a sunny summer day and I was painting in a lovely little park on the Brooklyn side of the bridge looking over towards Manhattan. New York City has many beautiful bridges but I think the Brooklyn Bridge is the most beautiful of them all.

I'm Baaack...

I got back from Arizona a couple of Sundays ago and have held off posting this blog for a couple of reasons. One, I had lots of things to catch up on after having been away for almost a week. And two, I was waiting until I got permission from my friends to put photos on the internet. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I have not been able to communicate with all of them yet. Soooo, I will skip ahead to today and come back on a later date with details of my trip to Scottsdale and Sedona.

"Here Today..."

Tomorrow I am on my way to Arizona for a few days to visit Scottsdale and Sedona. I have never been to these two places before and I am excited to see the beautiful rock formations and colors of the desert. I will be taking lots of pictures that will hopefully inspire new paintings. Also, I will get to spend some time with my good friend, Pat. Ciao for now.

"Gravy Boat"

12 x 12

oil on cradled panel

When my Aunt Jean passed away, it was left to me (as she had no children) to clear out her house in Brooklyn. It was a beautiful brownstone that served as the family home of my father 's family for about 80 years. I found many things there that I remembered from my childhood visits. I couldn't keep everything but the things I did keep are reminders of the many happy times, especially holidays, spent there with my parents, grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. This gravy boat was one of the pieces of memorabilia that I saved from that period.

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, contact me at ritamarandino1@mac.com

"Afternoon in Jerusalem"

8" x 10"

oil on linen

nfs

This painting is of my daughter. She is in a side street in Jerusalem and I think you can actually feel the heat rise from the cobblestones. She was carrying a long sleeve jacket because she had just been to the ancient part of the city where you can't walk around with bare arms or legs. I may do a series of these with her in Israel. It is such a beautiful and historic place from the viewpoint of all three religions.

"Black Tie Not Required"

20 x 24

oil on linen

Eric is one of my favorite models to paint. He has such a nice personaltiy that you can see it through his soulful eyes.