In progress...

Step 2

Step 1

More shoes, a boot actually. I'm sucked in. Don't know why but shoes are fascinating me right now. I'll post some more progress tomorrow. This is 18"x 24" so it is a little slower going but I thought it would be worth the details on this old boot.

"Seen Better Days" finished

"Seen Better Days"

oil on canvas board, 16"x 20"

SOLD

I finished putting in my details and highlights on this set of shoes. I have a miserable cold so I'm not sure if I'll get anything else painted today... Here's to a big glass of OJ and some warm tea.

"Seen Better days"

"Seen Better Days"

oil on canvas board, 16"x 20"

work in progress

I found these leather clogs at a thrift store and I loved the worn nature of them. Someone really broke these babies in. I'm letting the paint dry for a while so I can put in details and more highlights. I will post it tomorrow when I finish. I'm loving leather right now.

"Jan"

"Jan"

oil on canvas board, 16"x20"

NFS

I went to my friend Erin's house today to paint together and a lovely lady named Jan sat for us. I'm still working on this and I think the colors in reality are a bit darker, but here it is. Fun to paint along side someone else and see how they work.

"If the Shoe Fits"

"If the Shoe Fits"

oil on canvas, 6"x 12"

$200 plus $10 shipping

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I finished my shoe painting and didn't get to another one because of a busy day with children and pets. That's how life goes sometimes. I love these shoes. They are sooo comfortable.

Still Life with Shoe

Still Life with Shoe

oil on canvas, 6"x 12"

work in progress

I saw some great shoe paintings online and wanted to study one in a dark setting so I dug out a shoe. I'm in the middle of this work but thought I would post before it got dark and I couldn't get a picture of it. There is a lot more stitching on this shoe to put in and brighter highlights. I will post the finished painting tomorrow.

"Golden Iris"

"Golden Iris"

oil on canvas board, 14"x 18"

$275 plus $15 shipping

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I wanted to paint something sunny and warm today before the sun goes away for the season.

I love the warm colors in contrast to the cool colors in this setting of the iris. 

"Awaiting New Paint"

"Awaiting New Paint"

oil on board, 12"x 12"

SOLD

This old barn is just down the street from me. It's been mostly scraped and ready for painting. I love the sun on the cosmos right next to it. It's a beautiful day.

"Bach Stradivarius"

oil on canvas board, 16"x 20"

$425 plus $15 shipping

contact me if interested

I put the finishing touches on my trumpet painting this morning. I really like how it came out.

I paint in 2 styles at this point. The difference is apparent when I choose a canvas verses board. Canvas I like for softer edges and more detail, and board for more impressionistic paintings. Today I have one of each...

"Bach Stradivarius"

"Bach Stradivarius"

oil on canvas board, 16"x 20"

work in progress

My husband plays the trumpet and has many in different keys, so I have lots of subjects to choose from. This older Bach model looked gorgeous reflecting the sky and my fenced yard.

I'm still putting in some finishing details but it's close to done. This was a really fun project.

Thank You!

I want to thank my fellow blogger Claire Beadon Carnell for awarding me with this honor! Check out her beautiful work as well as the others on her award list.  I am so pleased to be recognized by other painters and excited to send this award on to 7 of my favorites as well. I love being part of the online art community and it spurs me on to keep painting daily with all the others out there. 

To accept this award I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself and pass it on to 7 other artists. Here goes:

1. I played the french horn for 29 years (13 professionally) before retiring it to a closet.

2. I love painting so much I don't even miss the french horn one bit.

3. My one addiction is coffee, I should say lattes...

4. I have 5 cats (sadly one still missing), 10 chickens and volunteer in my local pet shelter.

5. I love living on an island in the Pacific Northwest even when the ferries are challenging...

6. My husband and I designed and built my 5 sided studio and all the walls lean out at 6 degrees.

7. I am a breast cancer survivor (way to young...) of 6 years and still going strong.

The artists and bloggers I pass this on to are all incredible and I have found out about their work from looking online and many of them participate in Karin Jurick's Different Strokes from Different Folks blog challenges. Check them out and thank you again to Claire for the award!

Carolee S. Clark for her incredible mix of reality and abstract qualities and cows.

Dana Cooper for her soft edges and terrific colors.

Kerri Settle for making landscapes seem easy and so soft.

Gwen Bell for her animals and still life.

Annie Salness for her figures and terrific style.

Lesley Spanos for the incredible warm colors.

Diane Morgan for the reflections and bees.

"Red Sunflower"

"Red Sunflower"

oil on board, 4x4"

SOLD

Wanted to paint my beautiful sunflower one more time before it was past it's prime. I have a few more in the yard but am reticent to cut them as they are so lovely growing. 

"Red Sunflower and Painting"

"Red Sunflower and Painting"

oil on board, 8x20"

$325 plus $15 shipping

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Today's painting was a flower sitting on a table in front of my big painting called "Last Wishes".

I loved the colors of the painting reflecting on the table and decided to put it all in. Below is a photo of "Last Wishes".

"Last Wishes"

SOLD

"Snowdrops"

"Snowdrops"

oil on canvas board, 16"x 20"

$425 plus $15 shipping in the US

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I took some reference photos last spring of a hiking trail on Vashon Island (where I live). If you hit it just right, there are millions of these little snowdrops blooming in the woods. These had this droplet sitting right between them reflecting the ground and flowers. I love the photograph and wanted to see how it might look in paint.

On the subject of ups and downs...

Heading off into a new career in the middle of my life has been such a momentous change and also given me cause to worry at times. Having had a successful career playing classical music and then being faced with circumstances that have made me set aside my instrument of 29 years was a hard one. Especially when you have gone to school somewhere prestigious. Julliard. Everyone expects you to play forever because you had talent. Anyway, I have days when I wonder about my choices and then, even in the face of self doubt, I am happy to realize that I always have the will to get out a brush and start painting. It is the thing that makes me a daily painter. My mentor and friend, Pam Ingalls, mentioned a quote to me once when I asked her about wanting to be in art and wanting to be successful and I 'm sorry to say I can't remember who said it.. but she said that if you really want it, you have to paint like your hair is on fire. And so I do. Thanks to those of you who are checking in on my blog and my art and thank you for the comments. I am proud to have a community close by and online that spur me on. 

I'm thinking of a self portrait, with flaming hair....

"New Plum"

"New Plum"

oil on board, 4x4" 

SOLD

Had to paint small today as I had a lot going on. My friend Amy gave me one of her little plums and I loved the blue dusty quality on it. Nice color combo - greens, crimsons and blues.

"The Art of Coffee"

"The Art of Coffee"

oil on canvas, 36"x 24"

contact me for pricing and more info

This is another in my Coffee Series. It is a large work and will likely be in one of my upcoming shows. Normally I price things but this is going to be framed first and I am still considering my options. I am loving painting coffee as the weather seems to be cooling off and I am wanting to feel more cozy. Sitting down with a "work of art" coffee sounds great right now... 

"Red Cup"

"Red Cup"

oil on board, 8x10"

$225 plus $10 shipping

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This is the second in my latte series. It was also made by an incredible coffee artist from the Naked Lounge Coffee Shop in Chico, CA.  I had to paint the red cup and the beautiful leaf pattern on this one. Lots of fun and fantastic coffee...

"Issa"

"Issa"

oil on board, 11x14"

$275 plus $10 shipping

SOLD

My sister-in-law has this beautiful parrot and when I was visiting I took a few photos. Issa was being shy with me and watched me on the sly as she preened her feathers. I've been painting more subtle things lately and today I was in the mood to paint bright...

"Big Latte"

"Big Latte"

oil on canvas, 12x12"

SOLD

I know I just painted this a couple of days ago but I liked the small version so much I wanted to paint it big. My kids are finally in school so I can paint bigger works in a days time, on the weekdays at least. I enjoyed working on the wood table below and all the coffee bubbles, some burst, some not. Working on canvas this time also gives this a smoother texture.

"Moonlit Studio"

"Moonlit Studio"

oil on board, 11x14"

SOLD

I decided to paint the studio again when I had a longer session to paint and try to add more detail and texture to the bigger version. I actually straightened out the walls in this painting as my studio has all the walls leaning out 6 degrees. It also has 5 sides. It makes for a great studio but hard to understand in a painting. I simplified the structure a bit and focused on the lighting.

"Perfect Pour"

"Perfect Pour"

oil on board, 6x6"

SOLD

For those of you who love a great cup of coffee, or I should say an extraordinary latte, this was mine from the Naked Lounge coffee shop in Chico, CA... I highly recommend it. So good I had to paint it. Yum.

"Cupcake Special"

"Cupcake Special"

oil on board, 6x6"

SOLD

This is my entry for Karin Jurick's blog Different Strokes from Different Folks and once again my photo quality is average as I am on vacation and only have an iphone... I will retake this when I return home. I love to paint cupcakes and was so glad she chose this for this challenge. I may paint a bigger version to submit when I get home but I only brought small boards with me so I chose to paint just these. It's always fun. (updated photo 9/8)

"Market Eggplant"

"Market Eggplant"

oil on board, 6x6"

NFS

This eggplant is from the beautiful farmer's market down here in Chico, CA. I loved the shine on it and it's funny shape. (Once again, I apologize for average quality photos. I only have an iphone at the moment until I return home... I will retake them when I get there in a day or so.)

"Roses by the Pool"

"Roses by the Pool"

oil on board, 6x6"

NFS

I am on a vacation to California with my family. We are fitting it in before school starts... These roses are from my friends house and I set them by their pool as I loved the color for the background. My good camera is out of power right now so the photo is not the best but here it is from an iphone...