featuring the art and design of Mary Siegfried
Images of Oakland, California
Lake Merritt at Sunset
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2009
Lake Merritt, referred to as "the gem of Oakland," is a small salt water lake fed by waters from nearbye San Francisco Bay. Every day the lake attracts thousands of people to its shores to walk, picnic, or simply watch ducks, swans, gulls, egrets and other birds feed from its waters. Pictured is the south shore of the lake as viewed from the boathouse. The buildings reflect the light of the setting sun as a fog bank forms overhead.
Price: Sold
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2009
Lake Merritt, referred to as "the gem of Oakland," is a small salt water lake fed by waters from nearbye San Francisco Bay. Every day the lake attracts thousands of people to its shores to walk, picnic, or simply watch ducks, swans, gulls, egrets and other birds feed from its waters. Pictured is the south shore of the lake as viewed from the boathouse. The buildings reflect the light of the setting sun as a fog bank forms overhead.
Price: Sold
Scenes from My Kitchen
Kitchen Still Life
Acrylics on Canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 1992
This still life (11" x 14") is one of my favorite paintings because of its color. The yellow soap bottle with its voluptuous lines is one that I have kept on my kitchen counter for several years. I bought the the bright white ceramic duck planter years ago at a thrift store. Both are fairly common items that I chose to picture here in front of my kitchen window as a reminder that beauty is everywhere around us if we choose to notice.
Not for sale.
Acrylics on Canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 1992
This still life (11" x 14") is one of my favorite paintings because of its color. The yellow soap bottle with its voluptuous lines is one that I have kept on my kitchen counter for several years. I bought the the bright white ceramic duck planter years ago at a thrift store. Both are fairly common items that I chose to picture here in front of my kitchen window as a reminder that beauty is everywhere around us if we choose to notice.
Not for sale.
Red Flowers in a Green Vase
By Mary Siegfried
Acrylics on masonite
Copyright 2010
I bought this old bouquet of red silk hydrangeas a few years ago at a thrift shop. I placed it on my kitchen table in a shinygreen ceramic vase. The contrast of colors--the bright red of the flowers against the deep green of the vase--finally compelled me to paint the arrangement. The result was this small (11" X 14") painting that conveys an air of cozy simplicity.
Price: Sold
By Mary Siegfried
Acrylics on masonite
Copyright 2010
I bought this old bouquet of red silk hydrangeas a few years ago at a thrift shop. I placed it on my kitchen table in a shinygreen ceramic vase. The contrast of colors--the bright red of the flowers against the deep green of the vase--finally compelled me to paint the arrangement. The result was this small (11" X 14") painting that conveys an air of cozy simplicity.
Price: Sold
Fluorescent Fruit
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2005
Any artist worth her salt at some time paints a plate of fruit. I placed this grouping of fruit on one of my blue and white stoneware plates, crafted for me in the early 1970's by a favorite potter. Then, I painted the scene in a way that emphasized the colors of the fruit in contrast with the bold pattern of the plate. The result was this 14" x 18" canvas.
Price: $50
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2005
Any artist worth her salt at some time paints a plate of fruit. I placed this grouping of fruit on one of my blue and white stoneware plates, crafted for me in the early 1970's by a favorite potter. Then, I painted the scene in a way that emphasized the colors of the fruit in contrast with the bold pattern of the plate. The result was this 14" x 18" canvas.
Price: $50
Little Lights that Shine--Portraits of Friends and Neighbors
Dorothy
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2004
Dorothy, my neighbor for more than two decades, is an outgoing and adventurous person who, as the oldest of eleven children, learned early in life to take responsiblity for the welfare of those around her. She is known in our neighborhood as someone who is always ready to help out with community efforts.
Her long history of community service began during World War II in Oakland's Chinatown community when she enlisted in the Cadet Nursing Corps and then went on to organize and found the Chinese Young Women's Society (CYWS). The group's purpose was to provide hospitality and support to Chinese soldiers and sailors who were excluded from events of white society.
After the war CYWS changed its purpose, concentrating on raising money for educational scholarships for young Chinese women. As the first Chinese community service organization in the City of Oakland, it continued for fifty years before disbanding. In the year 2000, Dorothy was honored for her leadership in the community at a conference in Washington, D. C. where she met and received personal congratulations from then President Clinton.
When not helping with grassroots efforts, Dorothy is usually either departing or returning from a foreign land. Travel is her passion, and now, in retirement, she pursues it avidly.
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2004
Dorothy, my neighbor for more than two decades, is an outgoing and adventurous person who, as the oldest of eleven children, learned early in life to take responsiblity for the welfare of those around her. She is known in our neighborhood as someone who is always ready to help out with community efforts.
Her long history of community service began during World War II in Oakland's Chinatown community when she enlisted in the Cadet Nursing Corps and then went on to organize and found the Chinese Young Women's Society (CYWS). The group's purpose was to provide hospitality and support to Chinese soldiers and sailors who were excluded from events of white society.
After the war CYWS changed its purpose, concentrating on raising money for educational scholarships for young Chinese women. As the first Chinese community service organization in the City of Oakland, it continued for fifty years before disbanding. In the year 2000, Dorothy was honored for her leadership in the community at a conference in Washington, D. C. where she met and received personal congratulations from then President Clinton.
When not helping with grassroots efforts, Dorothy is usually either departing or returning from a foreign land. Travel is her passion, and now, in retirement, she pursues it avidly.
Mel in Shades of Gray
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2004
I met Mel in graduate school years ago. Since then, he and I have remained friends, getting in touch from time to time to share "news and views." He has now retired from teaching at the community college level.
I painted Mel "in shades of gray" because, as a very perceptive person, he seldom sees things simply in terms of black and white. Instead, he makes the effort to understand other people and events in all their complexity. The fact that he may disagree with someone's way of thinking never prevents his comprehending how and why that person arrived at a particular viewpoint.
This ability is what made him a popular member and leader of our graduate school class. It is is a quality for which he is still known. I have learned a lot from him.
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2004
I met Mel in graduate school years ago. Since then, he and I have remained friends, getting in touch from time to time to share "news and views." He has now retired from teaching at the community college level.
I painted Mel "in shades of gray" because, as a very perceptive person, he seldom sees things simply in terms of black and white. Instead, he makes the effort to understand other people and events in all their complexity. The fact that he may disagree with someone's way of thinking never prevents his comprehending how and why that person arrived at a particular viewpoint.
This ability is what made him a popular member and leader of our graduate school class. It is is a quality for which he is still known. I have learned a lot from him.
Pat
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2005
Pat and I became friends at age 18 during our Freshman year of college. We were both English majors and shared a love of reading and literature. Since then we have remained friends in spite of the fact that we live 2000 miles apart--she in the Midwest and I in California.
This painting was inspired by an old photograph taken when the two of us we were on a "double date"in our early twenties. We were boating on a small lake, and in this shot Pat had "taken command" of the small craft and was steering it across the water with her characteristic sense of clarity and optimism.
Pat and her husband now have two grown kids and five grandchildren. Since retiring from her a career as a college English instructor, she has become certified as a master gardener and has taken the lead in establishing and overseeing community gardens. She is a published author of fiction and poetry. I am looking forward to the publication of her first "bestseller."
I consider my longtime friendship with Pat a big achievement. She is a kind and loyal person with a droll sense of humor who has "been there" for me through all of life's ups and downs. I am fortunate to have her friendship.
Acrylics on canvas
Mary Siegfried
Copyright 2005
Pat and I became friends at age 18 during our Freshman year of college. We were both English majors and shared a love of reading and literature. Since then we have remained friends in spite of the fact that we live 2000 miles apart--she in the Midwest and I in California.
This painting was inspired by an old photograph taken when the two of us we were on a "double date"in our early twenties. We were boating on a small lake, and in this shot Pat had "taken command" of the small craft and was steering it across the water with her characteristic sense of clarity and optimism.
Pat and her husband now have two grown kids and five grandchildren. Since retiring from her a career as a college English instructor, she has become certified as a master gardener and has taken the lead in establishing and overseeing community gardens. She is a published author of fiction and poetry. I am looking forward to the publication of her first "bestseller."
I consider my longtime friendship with Pat a big achievement. She is a kind and loyal person with a droll sense of humor who has "been there" for me through all of life's ups and downs. I am fortunate to have her friendship.
