Some months ago, I found a tarot card when walking around the city. I liked the design and colors of it.
Following is a color study for the larger painting above. Here, I hadn’t thought of the tarot card, but a dead cardinal that I saw earlier this year, which I also found when walking across a street.
October 24 – November 23, 2025
Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery
2nd Floor
215 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Opening Reception: Friday, October 24, 6 – 8 PM
This exhibition showcases 3 of my recent paintings together with works by 40+ artists who won grants and scholarships in 2024.
As the recipient of the Xavier Gonzalez and Ethel Edwards Spanish Travel Grant, I traveled and experienced Spain. This exhibition will include 2 plein air paintings from Spain.
I am also including a portrait of Katie, which is one of my favorite paintings of mine.
Portrait of Katie – This item is available for purchase through The Art Students League of New York
So I had prepared this linen about 2 years ago, thinking I will cut it to make smaller canvases, but ultimately, it was destined for this painting of a rare quince tree in New York City.
I had been meaning to paint the Met Cloisters but never got around to it until this September, when I saw it covered behind these massive —and green—quince fruits. According to Deirdre, the fruit color turns golden in late October.
For more information about this magnificent trees, read The Golden Quince by Deirdre Larkin.
My trip to Spain began in July. The planning for this trip had begun more than a year ago when I received the Xavier Gonzalez and Ethel Edwards Travel Grant in 2024.
As soon as I received the grant, I knew I wanted to paint in Spain, so I began to prepare itinerary as well as a plan to bring my painting materials.
Traveling with simple art supply is a one thing, but traveling with oil paint and necessary chemicals takes another level of planning.
And, if I were to paint portraiture, I would just bring my minimal palette, but I had to bring additional colors to paint the nature, adding cadmium yellow and shades of greens and blues. I also packed lavender spike oil instead of odorless mineral sprit.
I test drove a few different pochade boxes in preparation for this trip and have used all of them for a year, and then eventually choosing one that I carried all over Spain. I also walked 100+ Kilometers carrying this through El Camino, but I will save that story for another time.
Because I was staying in small hotels and guest houses, I quickly found that I couldn’t use the lavender spike oil for painting. It smelled too strong, and there wasn’t a good way to keep my paintings indoors.
Once I got back to Barcelona, though, I was able to buy some odorless mineral spirits. That was nice—I like this European version of spirit better than the American ones.
Catalonia truly is a haven for painters and outdoor enthusiasts. Its mountains, rivers, ocean, and manmade buildings and monuments stimulate imagination.
And, if all the eye candy is not enough one can definitely be inspired by fresh food or variety of cured meat, which all can be readily packaged for painting in the Spanish wilderness.
And because the wild Spanish sun stays lit for additional hours than the one from New York City, I felt energized and didn’t feel tired at all during my stay.
This portrait was completed from April 21st through May 9th. I painted a small head study on the first day and quickly decided that I would need the all remaining days to paint this portrait.
The following image shows initial development of this portrait. Many changes came after this stage. Because this painting is completed from a live model, I adjust her pose and color constantly until I am satisfied with how the entire figure works with the composition.
These are near life size portraits. Each painting shown here is painted from life.
These are head portraits, smaller than the bigger portraits above. these portraits are around 12 x 9 inches
It has been several months since I have been painting 6 days a week. Before this new schedule, I had been painting 5 days a week. All the days have one thing in common—Painting from life.
After so many years of painting and painting, I am not tired of it.
On this post, I present to you 3 of my recent portraits. Two of these were completed from the same spot, and the head portrait was painted from a different location but from the same pose.
It has been a turbulent weeks of strange news. And, the price of eggs has gone up outrageously. Nevertheless, my days continue without missing a beat—Painting every day…
12 x 9 inches
Painting a small color study is so essential to starting a bigger painting. I really have embraced this process. The only times that I would skip painting a color study or a composition study when I am so sure of what needs to be done and because I need all the days that I have with the model.
Another good reason for small study is that it gives me time to plan for an appropriate painting surface. I usually have a few different canvases or panels ready to go, but sometimes I may need a few days to prepare one.
Sharon Sprung 2025 Student
Salon opens on Tuesday, January 21st!
It’s that time of the year where all the students of Sharon Sprung get to showcase a few of their paintings from this school year.
Gallery Hours
Monday – Friday: 10 am – 9 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 3 pm
Sunday: Closed
PHYLLIS HARRIMAN MASON GALLERY
215 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Sharon Sprung, artist who painted Michelle Obama, working on Yellen’s portrait – Reuters – January 12, 2025