Day Six

Day six of the #30paintingsin30days challenge is "Craggy Gardens" which are at Milepost 364 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a 9" x 12" watercolor.

Day Five

The Day Five painting in the #30paintingsin30days is "Mayberry Trading Post". This old country store, established in 1892, is off the BRP near Milepost 180. This watercolor is 12" x 16" and is on watercolor paper.

Day Four

Day four of the #30paintingsin30days challenge is "Pond at Mabry Mill". The mill itself is beautiful, but there's a lot to see around the mill itself too. I recommend that you  don't just ride by, but stop and take the time to walk around the mill, especially on days when they are doing demonstrations or showcasing music. Mabry Mill is at Milepost 176 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

" Pond at Mabry Mill" is  a 9" x 12" acrylic painting on wrapped canvas. Half the sales of these paintings go to Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Day Three

Today's #30paintingsin30days painting is "Puckett Cabin", a 12" x 16" watercolor of Orelena Puckett's Cabin near Milepost 190 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mrs. Puckett was a midwife for almost 50 years and helped deliver over 1,000 babies. Check out yessy.com/stonemarstudio/ for more details about this painting. 27 paintings to go!

Day Two

Today is day two of the #30paintingsin30days challenge. We are blessed to leave near the Blue Ridge Parkway and a quick way to get there is at Orchard Gap, at Milepost 193. The lay of the land changes briefly, and houses and cabins can be seen dotting the landscape. It's always a beautiful, relaxing place to stop along the BRP. Today's painting, "Orchard Gap" is an 11" x 14" acrylic on wrapped canvas.

Check out yessy.com/stonemarstudio/ for more information. Only 28 days to go!

Day One

Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the #30paintingsin30days challenge. All of the paintings in this challenge will be for sale and half of the sales will go to Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Today's painting is of the Bluemont Presbyterian Rock Church at milepost 192 on the parkway. If you aren't familiar with the rock churches or Reverend Bob Childress, you owe it to yourself to read The Man Who Moved a Mountain. It will give you an important perspective about the history and culture around Buffalo Mountain in Virginia. This painting is titled "Bluemont Rock Church" and is a 12" x 16" watercolor.

Half of the sales from the paintings in this challenge will go to Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a wonderful organization that helps the NPS maintain the parkway.  Go to http://www.yessy.com/stonemarstudio/30in30in201.html  for pricing details.  Only 29 more paintings to go!

Ararat Church

There are so many wonderful projects that I've been blessed to work on, and this is definitely one of them. This is the old Ararat Penecostal Holiness Church and one of the churches that my Grandpa pastored. It has a very special places in our family's hearts. I was honored to paint this for my Grandma's 90th birthday.  Here's a few of the images of the painting process from beginning to end.

I began by doing a quick, basic sketch and blocking out the different areas of the painting.

I gradually added more layers, details and color until I finally had my finished painting.  I love the peacefulness of this church.