Welcome

Welcome to my blog where you can view a sampling of my watercolor paintings and discover why for me, Art Is Instrumental. These, as well as many more in my studio, are for sale and looking for good homes!


The materials available through this Web site and other Web sites owned or provided by Bertie Brown are the property of Bertie Brown, and are protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. If you wish to use any text or imagery from Bertie Brown Web sites, please obtain written permission by contacting Bertie Brown directly. Inline linking and content framing is also prohibited.


Methods and Madness

Sometimes I paint fast and loose

Other times quite controlled

The subject decides the method

But each work has the same goal:

A painting that is successful

And beautiful to behold!

BB


Click to email Bertie Brown




Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Musically Inclined Series (Percussion) by Bertie Brown

Musically Inclined

original: 10 1/2"w 10"h

The French Conundrum

The French Horn is happy

Wherever it plays

From Woodwinds and Brass

To the Strings with such class.

Yes, the instruments agree

That it’s sound does so please.

And most of the time

The horn is quite amiable.

But it can get unruly

And downright unplayable!

BB'10

Musically Inclined

original: 14 1/2"w x 14 1/4"h

Daddy’s Drummer Girl

Hey there BB

Let’s imagine

That I’m gettin’

My own drumset

And I’ll practice

That’s a fact-ice

BB wait until you hear me, I will be great!

I’ll have snare drums

(No, not square drums)

And some tom-toms

With pink pom-poms

I’ll have cymbals

Mini tymbals

Just like Daddy’s, his are bigger, well that figures!

So now BB

Can’t you just see

Me and Daddy

In his drumroom

Heads be-boppin’

Four feet stompin’

To the music, we will get the whole room hoppin’!

BB
questions/info, click: email

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Water Music Series (Middle Creek) by Bertie Brown

original: 14 1/2"w x 11"h
Long Level Libretto
original on aquaboard: 6"w x 6"h

Water Music

original on aquaboard: 6"w x 6"h

Symphony for Sophie

Sophie eyes were all a-flutter

As we watched those geese

Spit and sputter

With such great flurry

And greater hurry

They crashed into the water

They just couldn’t bother

To gracefully dive

When chaos apparently

Allows them to thrive

And noisy city streets

Have not got them beat

Their honking cacophony

Is their own spring symphony.

BB
questions/info, click: email

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Water Music Series (Middle Creek) by Bertie Brown



Water Music

original: 14 1/2"w x 11"h

Sporty Sophie

Who would have thought it

With temps higher than 40

Sophie and I

Were feeling kinda sporty

We got out the bike

It’s one built for two

Sophie’s quite the pedal-ator

No longer a mere navigator

We took a quick jaunt

To Strasburg and back

We had other things to do

Our music and art, too.

With sunshine so bright

The landscape and light

Inspired us to create

A work with a poem

A painting with a mate!

Then on to our music

Piano work and tunes

Our repertoire is limited

We’ll learn more real soon.

Before we knew it

The daylight was gone

But tomorrow will bring

A new song to sing...

BB

info/questions, click: email

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Com-posers (Series) by Bertie Brown

Com-posers
original: 8 1/2"w x 11"h

Com-posers

original: 8 1/2"w x 11"h

Forward Looking

Sophie came by for a visit, a short stay

Attired in a rosy red sweater

To warm her this chilly day,

And even better

Underneath that sweater

On her T-shirt , I’d say,

Was a garden of chattering flowers.

I could see us that way

Chattering in my backyard for hours...

BB

info/questions, click: email


Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Daffodil Daze By Bertie Brown

Daffodil Daze
original: 7 1/2"w x 11"h
Daffodil Daze
original: 7 1/2"w x 11"h
Daffodil Daze
original:7 1/2"w x 11"h
Daffodil Daze
original: 6"w x 8"h
Daffodil Daze
original: 6"w x 11"h

Daffodil Daze

original: 6 1/2"w x 8"h

Sophie’s First Daffodil

As Sophie and I

Went out for our walk

We sang silly songs

And giggled and talked

Till we came to a hill

And there by the way

Bloomed a lone daffodil

A perky yet mellow

Friendly little fellow

We bent down to sniff

The petals just a bit

But I must confess

Though our ‘sniffers’ did their best

We didn’t smell a thing

Except perhaps

A bit of Spring..........!

BB’10

purchase info, click: email

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Fabric of Our Lives Series (Apples Bowl Bottle) by Bertie Brown

Fabric of Our Lives

original: 21 1/2"w 17 1/2"h

Sophie Says

Hey there Sophie

What can we say

Of this painting

That is waiting

For a clever

word endeavor

Tying everything together to the letter...

We have apples

Dark and dappled

A green bottle

And that’s not all

There’s a yellow

Antique fellow

Grandma’s bowl, how cheery filled with bright red berries....

Did we mention

That cute donkey

Trotting gamely

Through this painting

And those patterns

Folds and colors

Help unite these red fruits all to one another!

BB

info/questions, click: email


Sunday, March 21, 2010

Musically Inclined Series (Orchestra) by Bertie Brown

Musically Inclined

original: 17"w x 22"h

Mozart, Sophie and Me

Sophie came dandied

And dressed up today

She had an appointment

She couldn’t stay late

She chatted away

Said “Hello”

(And yes, I know...

This time there is no video

You really must

Learn how to trust)

We listened to classics

We’d had enough pop

It makes us much smarter

We’ve read that a lot....

Suddenly we heard it

A clarinet was sailing

On tumbling rolling seas

Of high notes and low notes

With others in between

The accompanying horns in A

Were wailing right along

Fearsome parts to play

They sounded quite strong...

Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto

Got us in the groove

We grabbed up our paints

Our creativity on the move

We had work to do

In our creative arts room..

BB’10

purchase info/questions, click: email

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Com_posers Series By Bertie Brown

Com-posers

original: 7 1/2"w x 9 1/2"h

Forward Looking

Sophie came by for a visit, a short stay

Attired in a rosy red sweater

To warm her this chilly day,

And even better

Underneath that sweater

On her T-shirt , I’d say,

Was a garden of chattering flowers.

I could see us that way

Chattering in my backyard for hours

Sophie and me, enjoying a golden summer day.......

BB

purchase info, questions, click: email


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Musically Inclined Series ( Bass) by Bertie Brown

Musically Inclined (Bass)

original: 11 1/2"w x 8"h

A String Thing

The strings are such

A complicated section,

We say that and invoke

Our greatest affection,

With notes that soar

To the highest of heights

The violins bow frantically

Trying to get it just right!

And notes writ so low

The basses’ brows frown

As they bend down to bow

So low to the ground.

Always self important

No humility, not a trace

They sit right up front

And take up prime stage space.

The rest of the orchestra

Accepts this with grace

Their parts they play well..

They are quite exceptional,

And oh so professional...

BB’10


questions/purchase info click: email

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Com-posers (Series) by Bertie Brown

Com-posers

original: 16 1/2"w x 20"h

Enigma

A survey of stinging bees, on tiptoe

Sipping nectar, sneaking about

A bevy of ballerina butterflies, en-point

Nibbling coyly, wings stretched out,

While a frenzy of furtive goldfinches

Swoop down in full fury

Stripping petals, splitting seeds

With great flourish, greater flurry

Lustily filling up their bellies

In my backyard Sunflower Deli......

BB'10


purchase info, click: email


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Musically Inclined Series (Horn, Viol., Notes) by Bertie Brown

Musically Inclined

original: 10 1/2"w x 10"h

The French Conundrum

The French Horn is happy

Wherever it plays

From Woodwinds and Brass

To the Strings with such class.

Yes, the instruments agree

That it’s sound does so please.

And most of the time

The horn is quite amiable.

But it can get unruly

And downright unplayable.......BB


Purchase info /questions, click: email

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Amber Waves of Grain by Bertie Brown

Amber Waves of Grain

original: 10 1/2"w x 6 1/2"h

Amber Waves

While out jogging yesterday

I noticed the morning light

Quite transparent, dramatically bright.

As I crested a hill

An extraordinary sight

Reached out and grabbed me,

Holding me tight

There stood a shimmering, golden ochre sea.

An ordinary harvest

Of ripened soy beans

Waving to a cerulean sky, so serene.

I must get my paints, my brush

I thought ..I started off in a rush......

When I returned to begin

Panic settled in

Could this simple view be wrought

I had to try it, I thought...

So here’s my impression

And it’s just a suggestion

Of the beauty that is found

In our natural surrounds....

BB'10

comments, click: email



Saturday, March 13, 2010

Fabric of Our Lives Series (Eggplants, Pumpkins, Peppers) by Bertie Brown

Fabric of Our Lives

original: 21 1/2"w x 17 1/2"h

Sophie Says

Hey there Sophie

What can we say

Of this painting

That is waiting

For a clever

word endeavor

Tying everything together to the letter

We’ve got eggplants

Pumpkins, peppers

Doin’ dances

Stealin’ glances

Some romantic

Silly antics

All in view of stodgy bottles with those long necks.

Did we mention

That cute donkey

A slow stepper

To the pepper

And those patterns

Folds and colors

Help unite the veggies all to one another...

BB'10
questions/comments, click: email

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Com-posers (Series) by Bertie Brown

Com-posers

original:8 1/2"w x 11"h

Even Santa Likes Spring

Sophie and I

Are feeling quite spry

As we welcome back spring

On a robin’s sleek wing

The invitation was sent

Mailed out December tenth

For this special event

By that Santa Clause gent(!)

(Seems he was just tryin’

For pleasant sleigh ridin’.....

Didn’t work out

As cold winds and snow

Were bandying about....)

Now the timing is right

For spring’s arriving flight

As predicted is here

And it’s suddenly clear

That summer and sunflowers

Are hovering near....

BB.

questions/comments, click: email

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Musically Inclined Series (Flugelhorn) by Bertie Brown

Musically Inclined

original: 15 1/2"w x 11 1/2"h

Flugelhorn

The Flugelhorn’s not a copycat

(But you already do know that)

Not a trumpet or cornet

Or a curvy French Horn-et

Distinctive and unique

It has its own mystique..

The Flugelhorn can choose

A jazz tune or the blues

With a certainty of style

That makes me want to nod

And smile...

BB’10

questions/comments, click:

email


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Poppy Pizzicato Series by Bertie Brown

Poppy Pizzicato

original: 6"w x 8"h

Poppies

Curvaceous long legs

Popping up from their beds

With ruffled petticoats flouncing

Such perky orange heads!

They do the Pizzicato Polka

It’s the right dance for them

As they twirl and spin around

On those curvy long stems!

BB

Questions/comments, click:

email



Monday, March 8, 2010

Rhythm & Blues Series ( Flower, Vase, Fabric) by Bertie Brown

Rhythm & Blues

original: 12"w x 15 1/2"h

Rhapsody

“Rhapsody in Blue”

Was our music today

Sophie and I thrilled

To the opening way

That the clarinet soared

Through that octave and more...

We set up a still life

With lots of great blues

We have so much fabric

It’s hard just to choose..

Then added some spring blooms

In a vase of, yes, blue

And hummed to the tunes

While painting till noon

Sophie, my rhapsody

In tap dancin’ shoes

Gerschwin and Orchestra

Playin’ his blues!

BB

questions/comments, click:

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Sunflower Alley Series By Bertie Brown

original:19"w x 15 1/2"h

Sunflower Alley

original:15"w x 21"h

And So It Goes

Seems the sun has turned a sudden cold shoulder

On our summertime romance,

Apparently now over.....

Gone are those golden sundrops

Dripping so warmly upon my face

Shivering shadows

Have now taken their place

While cobalt blue breezes

Rustle about,

Announcing the advancing autumnal season,

Teasing my summer tee shirts,

Taunting my silken skirts.....

The sun flowers are ruined

Their beauty in tatters,

Seeds, petals.....leaves,

Tossed about.....scattered.

So begins the march

Of the soldiering squirrels

As they gather the remains

Of my golden sun girls.....

[As quickly as ants

At a summertime picnic, they advance,

And I thought finches

Were sunflower grinches!]

So I’m left with the memories,

A great golden wall

Where my sunflowers surround me

Standing true, standing tall.

But wait,

Did that sun just now say?

“I’ll be back”

For next summer’s jitter-bug days!

BB'10

questions/comments, click:

email



Musically Inclined Series (Strings) by Bertie Brown

Musically Inclined

original: 15 1/2"w x 15 1/2"h

A String Thing

The strings are such

A complicated section,

We say that and invoke

Our greatest affection,

With notes that soar

To the highest of heights

The violins bow frantically

Trying to get it just right!

And notes writ so low

The basses’ brows frown

As they bend down to bow

So low to the ground.

Always self important

No humility, not a trace

They sit right up front

And take up prime stage space.

The rest of the orchestra

Accepts this with grace

Their parts they play well..

They are quite exceptional,

While being so professional...

BB’10

questions/comments, click:

email

Friday, March 5, 2010

Watt & Shand an Icon by Bertie Brown

Watt & Shand an Icon

original: 16 1/2"w x 14"h

An Icon

The three-tiered neon sign so bright

Flashing yellow:

WATT & SHAND
WATT & SHAND
WATT& SHAND

What a spectacular sight!

And deep scarlet canopies down below

Announcing Lancaster’s Shopping District

Where savvy Lancaster shoppers always go!

Alive in our memories, those days gone now

We remember it fondly.

Shopping back then seemed better somehow.......

BB’10

questions/comments, click email


Thursday, March 4, 2010

Musically Inclined Series (Brass, WW. Strings) by Bertie Brown

Musically Inclined

original: 17"w x 21"h

The Maestro’s Woes

Horns near the backdrop

The Strings own the front spots

Right in the center

Are the Woodwind renters

Drums and percussion

Beat out the instructions

Harp and Celesta

Join in their discussions...

Playing together for better or worse

Learning the music

They all must rehearse

Perfecting rhythms

Some tricky, some fun

All of the orchestra

Playing as one...

Allegretto

Meno mosso

And Con Brio, too

Mezzo, Piano, Fortissimo Piu

We love all those ways

To play!

Tubas and trombones

Will fight for their turf

Oboes with puffed cheeks

Look ready to burst

Flutes, Clarinets

The Violas, Trumpets

All so polite

As they try not to fight.....

Instruments waiting for Maestro to cue

Watching the down beat

His hand in their view

A Violin shrieks

A clarinet squeaks

Scowls from the Maestro

But onward they go...

When notes don’t sing

From the high Strings

Or a horn butts in

The music continues

The Maestro in tow

The audience shouts

“Bravo!”

BB’10

comments/questions click email