"Pearly Gates of Camp Merrie-Woode (Until We Meet Again II)"

 Just shipped this commissioned piece to its new home.  Love this place of tranquil beauty!

"Still Life Demonstration (Farmer's Market Finds)"

11"x14" Alla Prima Oil on Belgian Linen Panel available

While I participated in the Cashiers Plein Air Festival this July I was asked to give a demonstration for ticket holders and patrons of the community.  My still life was purchased from the local Farmer's Market a few yards away from the Village Green Commons where I gave the demonstration.

available at https://www.haganfineart.com/art/still-life-with-farmers-market-by-mary-hoffman

"Come Sit With Me II"

8"x8" Oil on
Gallery-Wrapped Canvas painted en plein air alla prima on location at the Skylight Farm in Cashiers, NC NFS Gifted

This was my first painting I painted while visiting Cashiers NC to participate in the Joy Garden Tour.  I loved the morning light highlighting this sweet vignette.

"Church of the Good Shepherd"

11"x14" Oil on Linen Panel  painted alla prima En Plein Air on location at this church located on highway 107 south of the cross roads of Cashiers, NC  sold

This lovely little historic church was the subject of my Thursday morning painting for the Joy Garden Tour.  At the Sunday Jazz Brunch when this was purchased, the buyer informed me of the heartbreaking tale of a woman who lost all four of her daughters under the age of 7 to cholera while her husband had to be away for the winter.

Imagine leaving your family for work and returning 3 or 4 months later to your grieving wife who tried desperately to care for your four children, lost them to sickness and buried them herself digging through frozen earth.  Imagine being that mother who faced a mother's worst nightmare alone.

My new friend who now owns this painting says that each time she comes to town she stops by to pay her respects at the monument the church set aside honoring this mother's courage and strength.  It is marked by an old iron gate behind the church.  There you will find the story inscribed at the site.

"Resting Among the Flowers"

 10"x8" Oil on Cavas painted alla-prima En Plein Air on location at The Mountain Man Caves off of Hwy 107 in Cashiers, NC  sold

(This image has no shine, the second image has good color but a shine, so I am showing the painting both ways.)

This charming structure was once the guard gate to one of Cashiers very exclusive communities: Wade Hampton.  It is now "retired" to the "Mountain Man Cave" property and is surrounded by lovely flowers and landscaping.

On this Thursday afternoon, I set to paint here for the Joy Garden Tour.  My friends who conceived the concept for the Mountain Man Caves purchased this little building and relocated it on their property to function as an extra "community" building, affectionately known as "The Dog House."  The Dog House is complete with a seating area and bathroom and allows the Man Cave owners to come and hang out together and play poker or "whatever men do in their caves."

"Meander"

16"x8" Oil on Canvas  sold

This is the morning painting, the first of two paintings, I painted for the Joy Garden Tour.

The top of this trickling brook is fed by a beautiful large pond full of rainbow trout and other species of fish that "happen" to find their way into the waterway through a pipe.  I'm told by the garden owner that they even find their way "out" down this little stream. 

This garden was created by the owner himself and it was glorious!

This stream winds its way down under a lovely little step bridge adorned with colorful flowers in a window-type basket.  The walk-way with which the bridge is connected leads the wanderer either back up into the garden (with this being the view on the way back up toward the house) or rambles away from the house toward the back of the property which leads to the golf course fairway.

"View to the Course"

The Copper frog was made in Charleston, SC and now resides in this glorious garden in Cashiers, NC

11"x14" Oil on Linen painted en plein air Alla~Prima on location at one of the 5 gardens featured in The Joy Garden Tour of Cashiers North Carolina. sold

This view is from the outdoor kitchen deck of the house looking down into the lower level pond out toward the back of the property which backs up to a golf course.  Yes, there is access to the golf course from here. :)

This is a fund-raiser for the community's Village Green: a beautiful 12-acre facility that caters to the Cashiers community & visitors and the surrounding area.

"Rock Mountain Morning"

The early morning mist gently rises from the cool valleys below

8"x10" Oil on Canvas painted en plein air alla prima style on location at Skylight Farm in Cashiers, NC  sold

I painted this painting as I awoke early that Saturday morning.  I noticed the clear sky was being met by the cool valley mist between the mountain tops and I quickly set to work!  This was painted with a cup of coffee in one hand and a brush in the other!

painting in my PJ's

"Quiet Interlude"

 12"x12" Oil on Cavas, painted alla prima en plein air on location at Skylight Farm in Cashiers, NC  sold

This was my final painting I was able to paint for the Joy Garden Tour.  I loved the organic, sweep of these rock steps and how the moss frames them in their nooks.  It is as though I must stop to consider the beauty before I step!

"Still Life with Flowers and Fruit" SOLD

14"x11" Oil on Linen Panel SOLD at the Joy Garden Tour

"Cool Waters" (revised)

 "Cool Waters" framed  available at Mountain Mist Gallery

"Cool Waters" 11"x14" Oil on Canvas. I "warmed up" the foreground pools of water.  This makes for a more natural lead-into the image and balances the coolness of the shadows everywhere.  

"Before The Day Begins"

9"x12" Oil on Canvas

Camp Merrie-Woode on Fairfield Lake is the scene of this painting.  All is quiet and still as the cool mist and the warm sun rise for yet another fun-filled day at camp.

available at Mountain Mist Gallery in Cashiers, NC
www.mountainmistgallery.com

"Distant Old Bald" SOLD

16"x20" Oil on Canvas  SOLD

Old Bald is the name of the granite-faced mountain which overlooks Fairfield Lake within one of the most beautiful locations in the region: Camp Merrie-Woode, an all-girls summer camp in Sapphire NC.
It's a magical place!

"How'D Do, Ladies"

12"x12" Oil on Canvas

While in the North Carolina mountains, I was painting at a farm surrounded by the most comical chickens and roosters.  Their personalities really shine and this rooster was the headliner!  In this picture I took, he looked as though he were "tipping his hat" to the chickens as he walked by them strutting all around the yard.  Hence, the title, "How'D Do, Ladies."