"Illumination"

"Illumination"

oil on board, 8x8"

$150 plus $10 shipping

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In the darkness of night on the last day of this year, I thought it appropriate to paint light. My representation is a nightlight. It may be small and  yet it can be so comforting to get through to the next day, a flicker that makes us feel safe in the darkness, hope that the morning will soon be upon us. Here's to an incredible New Year and all the hope it holds.

"Showing His Colors"

"Showing His Colors"

oil on board, 11x14"

$275 plus $10 shipping

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I was given some iridescent oil colors for Christmas by my husband and I thought that a peacock was the perfect place to try them out. I'm not sure the sparkles make their way into the photo here but it was a lot of fun to have some new paint. I generally only paint with 7 standard colors.

La Pavoni

"La Pavoni"

oil on board, 8x10"

commissioned work

I have been working on this for a friend of mine. It's one of those beautiful Italian hand pump espresso makers that I wish I owned... Maybe if I paint a few more of these, I'd have enough money to buy one... I love a latte. Perfect for an after Christmas coffee.

Louis Lane

"Watching from Above"

Louis Lane

for the VIPP shelter and all her fine friends

RIP

"Little Wooden Santa"

"Little Wooden Santa"

oil on board, 5x5"

SOLD

I have been really busy lately with Christmas presents and packages and finishing up a few commissions I was working on. Finally today I took some time to paint. It was really nice. I bought this little figurine at a thrift store and thought it would make for a sweet little painting.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All

(And happy painting my dear painter friends...)

Fairy Tale Chairs

Fairy Tale Chairs

commissioned NFS

mostly finished...

Original Set

I've been working hard on these chairs for a few days. They are being added to a set I did a few years ago that had a table and 2 Fairy Tale chairs with it as well as hidden pictures all throughout the set for kids to search out. It's been fun to work on Humpty Dumpty and the Tortoise and the Hare to finish it up. These pieces are in acrylics and take quite a bit of time. They will be a special gift for Christmas.

"Gertrude"

"Gertrude"

oil on board, 5x5"

NFS

The smallest of all my chickens is Gertrude. She is super friendly and comfortable being held. I loved painting her backlit. It made for beautiful shadow colors...

Blue Eyes (again...)

Blue Eyes

oil on board, 8x8"

NFS

Still trying to capture Blue Eyes just right. Here is yet another attempt...

DSFDF Portrait-Bill Brauker

"The Artist"

Bill Brauker

DSFDF Portrait Study

oil on board, 5x5"

original photo

I just got my photo for the current challenge from Different Strokes From Different Folks.

I decided to try a small study before painting larger but I kind of like how this came out. Maybe this one will stick, but I will probably try a few more times...

Update- I added a few details on this and decided that I liked it as is. I wanted to try again but sometimes it just comes out the first time how you see it. I included the original because I think it's interesting to see the reference. This was a really fun challenge. Thank you to Karin Jurick for her wonderful blog and the chance to paint things I normally wouldn't. Check out Bill Brauker's Blog to see his lovely portrait of me and his other fine work. Also Karin put a video of the portrait swap on youtube with the original photos and the paintings that resulted. It's fun to watch photos morph into paintings...here is the link-

photo swap.

"Old Turquoise Beauty"

"Old Turquoise Beauty"

oil on board, 8x8"

$150 plus $10 shipping

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This old car lived just down the street from when we lived in Seattle. I'm not sure how much it ever moved but the color drew me in again and again. Thought it was time for a little car portrait.

Thanks to all of you who came to my show last weekend and made it so successful! I'll have my studio open this weekend again and there are lots of other talented artists taking part in our annual Vashon Island Art Studio Tour. Come check it out from 10-4 Saturday and Sunday and see our beautiful island.

"Checkered Lily"

"Checkered Lily"

oil on canvas, 8"x 16" x 1"

$200 plus $15 shipping

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This little checkered lily is from Jacksonville, Oregon and is a member of an endangered species of Fritillaria known as Gentner's Fritillary. It only exists in 3 small pockets in Oregon and California. I happened to be there a few years ago during spring and found a few blooming in the wild. I thought it would be fun to put in paint with it's dusty outside and flaming interior...

"Eyes of Blue"

"Eyes of Blue"

oil on board, 8x8"

NFS

I like how this portrait came out, still not sure if I'm capturing my subject effectively, but I'm working hard at this... could be more to come.

"Jack"

"Jack"

oil on board, 8x8"

NFS

I didn't mean to take a break from painting for a week or so, but we had a round of the flu and then family came for the holiday and it all got away from me. I thought I would enter back in with a cat portrait. This is my 25 pound black beauty Jack. His eyes say it all.

"Shy Sneakers"

"Shy Sneakers"

oil on canvas board, 9x12"

SOLD

I wanted to paint another setting of these wonderful sneakers, so I chose this pose. Can sneakers really be shy?

A big thanks to Hannah for modeling her fantastic sneakers...

Sketch

I went to a drawing class tonight and was going to post 3 drawings. Somehow I can't make the computer bring them all up. So this is my favorite. Working hard on portraits and faces still.

"Keeley"

"Keeley"

oil on canvas, 12"x 12"x 1"

NFS

I decided to keep working on people and portraits this week and then go back and give the brothers another whirl. I'm painting subjects that I know in order to just get better at this. I like how this one came out. I've painted my son many times but haven't managed a portrait of my daughter. She has such a great spirit. This really captures her.

"Brian's Cup of Joe"

"Brian's Cup of Joe"

oil on canvas, 12"x 12"x 1"

NFS

I've been looking at this cool photo for some time, wanting to put it in paint. It's not my photo, but the subject is a friend of mine. I will post the photo credit when I get it. Love a cup of coffee by the water in Seattle.

"On the Move"

"On the Move"

oil on canvas, 9x12"

SOLD

This is my latest entry to Karin Jurick's challenge blog Different Strokes from Different Folks.

Check out all the other great entries. It always pushes me in a good way.

"Homebrew"

"Homebrew"

oil on board, 5x5"

$75 plus $10 shipping

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Loved the light coming through this pint of my husband's homebrew. Yes, it's a lovely hoppy amber. The IPA is on the way.

"Blackberry"

"Blackberry"

oil on board, 5x5"

$75 plus $10 shipping

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One of our little chicks has grown into a fine rooster, one of many. Still working on my portraits but thought I needed to paint something else today as well. I may have to leave the portraits for a few days and take a break. It is still eluding me and I have spent hours and hours... Great practice though. 

"Woof"

"Woof"

oil on board, 5x5"

NFS

I've been painting everyday, working hard on some portraits but, alas, they are not completed yet. I'm realizing how hard the perfect portrait is... Anyway, I took a break today and painted this fellow late tonight. He was in one of the reference photos and couldn't be ignored. Quite the serious look. 

"Electric Iris"

"Electric Iris"

oil on canvas, 30"x 40"x 1"

NFS at this time

This is one of the large pieces I have been working on for some time. I painted a realistic version of this few months back and had the idea to give it a neon quality. Fun to try new things and to add lots of texture in the background. This is definitely stepping out of my usual box. I enjoyed painting what I wanted to see, not just what I actually see.

"Brothers"

"Brothers"

oil on board, 11x14"

NFS

Still working on some final details on this. This is my first attempt at painting these brothers and I will try a few more...

"Modern Ballerina"

"Modern Ballerina"

oil on board, 5x7"

nfs at this time

I love how sneakers can say so much about someone and this pair is no exception. I think these have been my favorite to paint so far. And they are Custom Converse. (A special thanks to my model for the cool shots!)

"Little Daisies"

"Little Daisies"

oil on board, 5x7"

SOLD

I have been painting a lot lately, working on some big projects but just haven't had much time to blog recently...anyway, here is a small offering while I work on larger pieces. This is a tiny version of a huge painting I did a while ago and is for someone special...

"Beach Race"

"Beach Race"

oil on board, 5x7"

$100 plus $10 shipping

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Just some last memories from summer on the Northwest beaches. It's a lovely thought considering the chill in the air these days.

"Play the Game" Table set

SOLD

This table and chair set will be available at the Heron's Nest this next month. I've had it for around for a while but it is definitely one of my favorite pieces in this style. I am mostly working in oils now but will do a piece or two on commission. They take a lot of time but I love the happy nature of these pieces.

Portrait in progress

This is half of a portrait I am working on of 2 brothers. Still have a few changes to make on this this and then onward to the other half. I'll try versions from a few other photos to see what comes out best. Portraits are still a real challenge for me to capture the right essence. Working hard...

"Neon Hightop"

"Neon Hightop"

oil on canvas, 18"x 24"

NFS at this time

I finally finished my big sneaker. I really like how this came out in the end. I think I'd even love it really big. Anyway, I will probably be making prints of this one as the original is going to be in a show I have coming up in May and June at the Silverwood Gallery here on Vashon. I am also going to have some of my furniture in the Heron's Nest on Vashon next month (Nov/Dec) and I will be doing the Vashon Art Studio Tour the first 2 weekends in December with lots of paintings to sell in every size and price range...

"Neon Converse" in progress

"Neon Converse"

in progress

I've been working hard on this today, after I got my mosaics done. It has a lot to go. All of the brightest lines are a combo of 3 or 4 colors so it is taking a while with lots more detail to put in. I should add that this is 18"x 24". I liked the small quick version and wanted to do a bigger one with lots more depth. Hopefully done tomorrow??

Chicken Door Mosaics

I haven't posted in a few days because I have been really busy with this mosaic project for our chicken coop. I't is not grouted yet but at least I got them up today and could take a picture. There is a lot of little mirrored pieces in it and they take forever to cut by hand. There are also stones and the glass is all recycled. I love to add color to the outdoors. We have long wet winters in the northwest.

Zen Sun Mosaic

Zen Sun Mosaic

NFS

This is my art for today. I've been working on this for a while and it finally got put up today in our meditation studio. It was a bit hard to photograph in today's light but I love how it came out in real life. This little building is a hand built labor of love just for creating great head space on a daily basis. My husband is an incredible builder. Here's hoping it works really well...

"Hightop"

"Hightop"

oil on board, 8x10"

$125 plus $10 shipping

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Thought I would try a new approach to looking at my sneakers. I'm working on something much bigger with this but trying to work it out in a small format first. What do you think?

"Last One Picked"

"Last One Picked"

oil on board, 8x8"

SOLD

This was one of the last ones on my tree that the deer didn't get. It looked perfect with the leaves on and I wanted to capture the reflection. Amazing how pretty one lone apple can be...

"Old Friends"

"Old Friends"

oil on board, 8x8"

$150 plus $10 shipping

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Not sure what to paint today for a small work , so I painted paint. I'm in the middle of a much bigger piece but needed a break, so I set up this small still life.

"Buddy"

"Buddy"

oil on board, 8x8"

SOLD

I met this fellow at a party this summer. He provided quite a service of floor cleaning with his tongue as the guests dropped crumbs and things. He was quite eager...

"Glad to be Home"

"Glad to be Home"

oil on board, 5x7"

NFS

I can't help painting Saturn after his long journey away. I don't usually paint in an expressionist way but I liked the idea of this photo this way. Obviously he needs his rest.

"Red Balloon"

"Red Balloon"

oil on board, 8x10"

SOLD

This is my entry for Karin Jurick's blog Different Strokes from Different Folks . The original photo was of a lot of rooftops and I cropped it a bit and added my special touch... This was fun yet challenging as I don't normally paint cityscapes. I definitely learned a lot.

"Dirty Old Sneakers"

"Dirty Old Sneakers"

oil on canvas, 12"x 24"

NFS at this time

Finally finished painting my green sneakers after a night of quiet with my cat. I think he is glad to be home at long last. I may end up putting in some more details in this painting after it dries a bit. Sometimes I need to let them sit and take a look with fresh perspective in a day or so.

A big piece of my life...

...got returned to us this morning after being MIA for almost 4 months. I am beyond joyous and really happy that we live on an island. Saturn is home and purring on my lap.

"Green Sneakers" in progress

I ended up with a full weekend and finally got to painting today. Obviously this piece is not finished so I thought I would include the actual subjects in the photo as well so you could see my view. This is about 50% done, I am guessing... I love green sneakers. I had some in high school, maybe even junior high, that were kelly green and suede. My Mom thought I was crazy, but now she understands. Wish I had them to paint now.

"Red Hot"

"Red Hot"

oil on board, 5x7"

$75 plus $10 shipping

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I love the crinkles in this drying pepper. The only downfall here is my camera... whenever I have to photograph something with lots of variances in red ( from pinks to deep brownish reds) my camera fails just a bit. There are lots of color shifts in this that aren't easily apparent. Anyway, I needed a break from shoes. Who knows what tomorrow will bring...

"Converse Graffiti"

"Converse Graffiti"

oil on board, 8x10"

SOLD

Back to more shoes today. I'm studying them hard for a series I'm planning on later. These smaller pieces will the predecessors for some much bigger works in a few months. This one was challenging also. I think part of it is that I'm working with light backgrounds and white is never white...

"Pink All Star"

"Pink All Star"

oil on board, 8x10"

SOLD

first attempt...

I wanted to paint this baby's sneaker today. Somehow it was SO hard. The first attempt was somewhat of a failure and then I started a whole new painting with different light on it that I could control better. The first one was window light and I was having trouble mixing the right shade colors. I think it is better in the final version but will have to let it go and think on it. Pink shade colors with light showing through in places was challenging.

"Leaning Yellow Squash"

"Leaning Yellow Squash"

oil on board, 4x4"

SOLD

Painting small today as I went back into the boot, yet again. It's one of those paintings that might never be done. This little squash, on the other hand, was sweet and quick. It's very textural as well. This was fun after all that detail. More shoes coming this week. I found some really special ones this weekend digging through Goodwill's last chance outlet - the dregs of the dregs. I had to purell my hands a lot after I left. Can't wait to put them on a canvas.