"Mendocino Sunset"

"Mendocino Sunset"

oil on board, 5" x 5"

NFS

This is for my friends who had a lovely stay in Mendocino at the beach. Again I am struggling with photos for these really tiny paintings. This is a bit lighter and less blue in real life...

"Squished"

"Squished"

oil on board, 5" x 5"

Wanted to try a "squeezed" sandwich before I painted a really large version... This was sooo fun. I really love to paint peanut butter and jelly. Sorry for the photo quality on this one. I will try to update tomorrow when I have more controlled light.

"Glowing Ears"

"Glowing Ears"

oil on board, 8x8"

SOLD

Thought I'd work up a few kitty paintings while I had some time, but not a lot of time. Love the light making his ears glow.

"Green Eyes" to CVG Show

"Green Eyes"

oil on canvas, 48" x 60"

perspective...

This piece just got accepted into the Collective Visions Gallery juried show in Washington State! It was chosen out of 700 entries. The show will begin in late January and I'm very excited to be a part of their show. I will post with more updates later...

"Nikko" and Thanks!

"Nikko"

oil on board, 8x8"
SOLD

Nikko was a cat of mine from years ago. I always miss him when it snows though, because he loved to be out in the white powder. His green eyes were stunning! Don't know why I painted him now, just going through pictures and saw his lovely face.

I want to thank those who braved the weather to come to my studio and made the last 2 weekends such fun! Come back next time in May for lots of new work and garden mosaics too. Happy Holidays to all!

Eco Art Mosaics!

"Bawk!"

10.5" x 17"

SOLD

"All That Glitters"

10.5" x 17"

NFS

Recycled Glass and Mirror Mosaics on recycled cabinet doors.

As I am in the middle of my 2 Vashon Art Tour Weekends, I realized the the only work I did not have represented was mosaic. So I worked up a couple this week! They took a whole lot of time, more than it looks and are hard to photograph because of the sparkling nature of glass and mirror. They are quite a bit shinier in person. These are done in recycled glass and mirror on recycled oak cabinet doors from a local thrift store. I love finding things I can reuse in my art. These were the perfect size for some small mosaics hangings. They will be for sale this weekend! Come on by...

"Midday Rest"

"Midday Rest"

oil on board, 8"x 8"

SOLD

Somedays I just have to head back to my impressionist roots. This little deer was so pretty with the sun coming through her ear.

New Website!

I finally have my new website up and running! Check it out and come see my upcoming show! Click above on the title to have a look.

"Recycling Is Nature" and Studio Tour Coming Up!

"Recycling Is Nature"

scratchboard, 6"x 6"

I've been loving working on scratchboard pieces. This one takes me more back to the days of painting furniture instead of oil painting in a realistic way. I really enjoy the time thinking of art in other ways and it's super fun to experiment... and I have always loved patterns. I started with the acorn and away it went. I might make some t-shirts with this one. Double click for a closer view.

AND the Vashon Art Studio Tour is coming next weekend and the one after. December 4th, 5th, 11th and 12th. I am going to have a sale on small pieces in oil and I will have some of my furniture for sale as well. Check it out here- Art Studio Tour

"Cowboy Bar"

"Cowboy Bar"

oil on board, 8"x 8"

SOLD

If you've ever been to Jackson Hole,Wyoming, you know this sign. It's part of the infamous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar right in the middle of town. My family lives in Wyoming, so we end up venturing that way every other year or so and Jackson is such a fun town to visit. I've been thinking about neon quite a bit and this sign seemed perfect to try. I may paint it big later... small is still challenging for me but I like how this came out. I'm going to do some more daily painting in combination with my big works. The skills seem to be quite different and I want to be adept at both.

Art Bug...in progress

Art Bug

I am a firm believer in living an artful life. I've always wanted to paint a car, especially a spectacular 1973 beetle, and this summer it all came to fruition. I should point out that the weather went south before I got it done... I haven't posted my car at all but much of my summer was spent in bliss painting away. It really makes me love being an artist and the freedom it gives to create anything you want. Hopefully sometime next summer this car will be done, although it could possibly go on forever. The sides have chalkboard paint and are interactive with viewers if they so choose. I generally leave chalk out for freedom of speech. It's been a real blast. Art can take on so many forms...

"Slow Burn"

"Slow Burn"

oil on board, 16" x 12"

Been working on some large works but wanted to paint something I could finish in a day. I'v been thinking of smoke and how beautiful it can be... add fire and you've got something delightful.

"Big Chuck" Scratchboard

"Big Chuck"

scratchboard, 9" x 12"

SOLD

I've been wanting to get my hands on some of this stuff for a while now and yesterday I bought some. I've seen some incredible art done with scratchboard. I don't really have any tools specially for this so I used some sewing tools and push pins. It was really fun. There will be more... not bad for a first! Double click for a closer look.

"Honey Jar"

"Honey Jar"

oil on board, 12" x 12"

SOLD

Since I have been painting really large, a couple of people have asked if I had smaller versions of my large works. I am going to be part of the Vashon Island Studio Tour in December and wanted to have some smaller works as well. SO , this is actually a completely different painting than the last, using a much closer crop of my reference photo. It let me focus on the glass lettering and all it's detail. I could paint honey in jars for a while, the colors are so pretty.

"Oh Honey" and Coos Bay Art Museum

"Oh Honey"

oil on canvas, 40"x 30"

SOLD

I painted honey in jars earlier in the year and I loved it so much that I tried again, bigger this time and with lots more details... What beautiful colors to work with... and all the glass. Loads of fun to paint.

AND I should add that I have a piece accepted into another National Juried show. This one is at the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay, Oregon. The theme is "Fish and Fishing" and with my sense of humor I chose to enter my swedish fish painting called "No Escaping the Bag" and they bit! I'm very excited. It will open in December and be there until the middle of February. I have a feeling it might be the only candy fish there...

"No Escaping the Bag"

oil on canvas, 12" x 36"

"Sweet Catch"

"Sweet Catch"

0il on canvas, 48"x24"

I guess I just love a good Swedish fish and I'm back to painting them again. I also wanted to work on some clouds so this was a great combo for a whimsical painting...

"Melting" and PAL juried Show

"Melting"

oil on board, 11"x 14"

SOLD

I'm trying to work a few smaller pieces for the Studio Tour here on the island coming up in December. Still can't get away from food. It's so much fun to paint.

And I'm proud to announce I had another big work juried into an upcoming show. My piece "Cascading Chips" will be entered in this years Peninsula Art League's 2010 Eighth Annual Open Juried Show. It opens in Gig Harbor, Washington on October 20th.

"Cascading Chips"

oil on canvas, 36"x24"

"Christmas Day Kayaking"

"Christmas Day Kayaking"

oil on board, 12"x 24"

I've been wanting to look at painting some landscapes and thought this might be a fun place to start... Space Needle in the distance and all. We used to do this every year when we lived in Seattle.

"Market Flowers" and the AIRS International Show

"Market Flowers"

oil on board, 12"x 16"

SOLD

I have been working on many projects through the end of the summer and doing a bit of traveling. I went to San Francisco to see the fisher collection exhibit at SFMoma before it came down and also got to the market there. These flowers were begging to be painted and so I thought I'd try. I've been painting really large for a while so painting small again was fun.

I am also very excited as my piece "Jelly Runneth Over" has been accepted into the International AIRS show in Vancouver Canada! It will open October 14th. Here is some info about the gallery and show- AIRS.

"Jelly Runneth Over"

oil on canvas, 24"x 48"

SOLD

"I Remember More"

"I Remember More"

oil on board, 9"x12"

This is for those of us who have survived. And yet are forever changed in shape and form...

"Honey"

"Honey"

oil on canvas, 24"x 18"

commissioned work

I just delivered this yesterday to a friend who commissioned this for his 10th Anniversary gift to his wife. How sweet life is!, he said. What a lovely gift and the thought behind this is so lovely. My 10th is coming up and now the pressure is on... I really enjoyed the reflections and warmth on the glass. So fun to paint, I will probably paint some kind of larger version for a show.

"Cherry on Top"

"Cherry on Top"

36"x 48"

Calorie Free Oil on canvas

Favorite 15% of Boldbrush Painting competition!

SOLD

I have guilt for not posting often anymore but I am still working large and the pieces take considerable time. I did take some time off after my last show so it might be a bit more frequent for a while now.

This piece is a commission for the Vashon Allied Arts Art auction in September. I 'm really excited to be one of their 6 commissioned artists and tried to work up something really great for them. I've been considering ice cream for some time and this was as fun to paint as peanut butter and jelly... and my kids enjoyed it a whole lot when I was done photographing it. part of my life has become food stylist!

Getting there...slowly

Here is the perspective on this painting. 48" x 60". I am getting there but not done yet. I may go back in and even up some skin tones and add freckles and touch up. I had to go slowly and it was hard to have perspective on overall color until I had the canvas covered in paint. Below is how it looks now and I will post it again when I feel solidly done. It was really fun painting his sparkling eyes. Maybe that's what this should be called. Somehow painting food or cats seemed much easier...

In Progress...

work in progress, 48"x 60" total size

This is a small section (maybe a third...) of the large canvas ( 4'x5')I'm working on now and it seems like it's taking me a few weeks. I'm still loving large paintings and just have to keep going. It makes my posting less often for sure and I'm sorry about that but I am painting everyday. Still lots to go and final details (like more eyelashes etc.) a plenty. I will post the finished painting when I can paint no longer.

The picture below is at the Silverwood Gallery for my show that is up now through the end of June. It was a wonderful opening night and please stop by if you are on Vashon Island!

Perspective...

Thought I'd add a little perspective since it is hard to tell... Adding a last few details.

"Lilly"

"Lilly"

oil on canvas, 48"x60"

Well, I'm still painting huge... and I spent a week in New York looking at museums and the end result was me being really thrilled with the huge portraits of Chuck Close. It has inspired me to try a portrait this large although I admit I wasn't quite ready for a person and thus decided on a cat. I painted this image once before but it was 6"x 6" not 4' x 5'. I may never paint small again... What do you think? Double click to see detail. Thanks to those of you who comment. I really appreciate the input!

"Part of a Balanced Breakfast!"

"Part of a Balanced Breakfast!"

oil on canvas, 40" x 40"

Favorite 15% of Boldbrush painting Competition!

September 2010

SOLD

Now this was fun to paint... Although it was hard to buy. I live on an island full of vegetarians, vegans, and people living off the land. It is crunchy to say the least and going into the grocery store and purchasing a box of Froot Loops without anyone seeing me was a challenge. I even had second thoughts about painting this but the neon colors and texture took me away. NOT that there is anything wrong with Froot Loops except for the fact that the very first ingredient is sugar. Enjoy.

Never having had this kind of cereal ever in their lives (at my house at least), my children were beside themselves when I brought them home. One hated them and won't go near them, the other has rationed them out so he can make it through the rest of the box over a couple of weeks, but then his other favorite food is bacon. What's a mother to do?

"Stacked"

"Stacked"

oil on canvas, 45" x 15"

Favorite 15% in Boldbrush Painting Competition

October 2010

SOLD

I am getting down to the wire on what I can paint and have dry for my May show. This was fun at first and then proceeded to wear me down towards cookie number eleven. I think I 'm done but might tweak a few spots for hightlights etc in a day or so. I have 2 empty canvases left and that's it. Then I can work on all the finishing details of everything. I'm trying to give myself space to not have to get crazy right up until hanging day.

"Chocolate Swirl"

"Chocolate Swirl"

oil on canvas, 18"x 18"

I had another canvas the same size as the last one so I painted a companion strawberry with the swirl. Mmm, chocolate. Thankfully I have kids to eat some of these things or I might be gaining quite a bit of weight...

"Chocolate Dipped"

"Chocolate Dipped"

oil on canvas, 18"x 18"

SOLD

I had to paint something smaller today, something I could finish in a day. Lucky I had a yummy inspiration for this one. Mmm. It was good too.

"One With Everything"

"One With Everything"

oil on canvas, 54" x 54"

Ok, this hotdog almost killed me.

But here it is nonetheless. I could work on this forever, altering shading and highlights but for the moment, I'm done. I may add more texture to the napkin but it will have wait and see.Here is another shot to put it in perspective...

"Brave Cone"

"Brave Cone"

homage to Brandon Bird

oil on board, 11" x 14"

Hat Rack

acrylic on wood

Ahhh. I've been working soooo hard lately with much to show eventually. It is auction season here and I have many projects in the works and I'm still working on my May show. This hat rack was a commission from a friend of mine and is finally finished. There are tons of details in this but only show close up.

The oil above called "Brave Cone" in an homage to Brandon Bird's work called "Brave Cone Dog". He is the brother of a friend of mine and she turned me on to his cool work!! Check it out here. I was influenced by his piece and wanted to paint something like it in my current theme- food. It lent itself well...

I am in the final stages of a giant painting (54" x 54")and some mosaic work I will post soon.

"Bacon Stands Alone"

"Bacon Stands Alone"

oil on canvas, 15" x 60" WIP?

Who could paint food without painting giant slices of bacon? Not me, that's for sure... This one is very impressionistic up close and I might still be working on it. I keep touching up but the paint is super thick on top so days go by while I let bits of it dry. So many reflections on bacon when you look close. This one needs some serious distance. I know small paintings are so in right now, but I just can't help myself. I'm aching for a 5' x 6' canvas... Just think of the possibilities.

"The Five Little Bears"

"The Five Little Bears"

oil on board, 12" x 16"

SOLD

I still had a few gummi bears left so I thought I'd try a smaller version of just a few. I only had board left today to paint on and I have to say that now that I have been painting on canvas for months, I like it much better. And big is better for me too. This was much less fun to work on in some way although I like the outcome. I think that I have found myself in the larger format and taking a step back to paint small definitely made me realize how much I like my new direction. So get ready for some more large works...

"Pineapple Bear on Top"

"Pineapple Bear on Top"

oil on canvas, 12"x 36"

"No Escaping the Bag"

oil on canvas, 12"x 36"

The Gummi Bear painting is a companion piece to the Swedish Fish. Again, these are in my series of large format food paintings for my upcoming show at The Silverwood Gallery in May and June. Maybe you too have some of these hiding out in a drawer somewhere for that desperate moment late at night when you need just a little something sweet...

"Pink Buttercream Goes Naked" and Awards

"Pink Buttercream Goes Naked"

oil on canvas, 36" x 36"

Yes, 3 feet wide cupcakes. I couldn't help myself. I have a thing for cupcakes anyway... but painting them this big was a real blast. I'm really enjoying myself. And it cracks me up.

And now to my list of favorites for the Sunshine Award. This list should be so much larger but I know many people I would put here have received this many times over already. Some of these people only have websites too and won't be able to pass this on, but they inspire me so they are on this list... enjoy-

Pam Ingalls (Russian Impressionist Master, friend, my mentor and if you don't know her work, you should!!!)

Liz Wiltzen

Dana Cooper

Angela Elledge

Michael Naples

Gwen Bell

Carol Horzempa

Paintblog (Not Just a person but a Whole World... I love this!)

Lisa Walsh

Olga Wagner at Cat Claw's Studio

Barb Hillier

Carolee Clarke

"Peppered Turkey on Rye" and Sunshine Award!

"Peppered Turkey on Rye"

oil on canvas, 24" x 48"
SOLD

Here is another of my big pieces. I liked the peanut butter and jelly so much I did a companion piece for those of us who like more of a Daggwood Sandwich. The lettuce was so fun to paint. I have to say I am really enjoying painting this big pieces more than anything I've painted so far. I've definitely found a thread...

And I was given a lovely Sunshine Award by Kelley MacDonald and I am so thrilled to be recognized by other painters online! I am supposed to pass it on to 12 others that bring Sunshine into my day but alas I am SOOO busy this morning that I will post again later this afternoon and fulfill my obligation....I am in the middle of 3 projects today so check back to see the list later... and a big Thank You to Kelley!