"Flocked!"

"Flocked!"

oil on board, 6" x 12"

OK, I'm not sure which one of my friends sent the Flock of Flamingos over to my front yard BUT I figured- if you have lemons, you make lemonade...

This was one of the hardest color combos I've done in a while. Green and hot pink make for challenging edges! It was a blast though and I'd like to put all my friends on notice- You Could Be Next!

It's not exactly part of my chicken a day series, but close enough and maybe it will have to be a chicken every other day as I'm spending most of my days at one of the schools here working on big mosaic installations for the Vashon Artist in the Schools Program.

"Peep Peep"

"Peep Peep"

oil on board, 10"x 8"

SOLD

See how cute my chick is?? This is Caramel. It supposed to be a girl but I have a feeling I'm looking at a rooster.

"Barred Rock"

"Barred Rock"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I love the warm and cool light behind this fine fellow. I am contemplating "A Chicken A Day" challenge for myself. I have some busy weeks ahead so I'm still thinking but it sounds really fun and we have some beautiful chicks right now...

"Copper Roof" and Great News!

"Copper Roof"

oil on board, 6"x 6"

SOLD

Just a little painting today as I'm involved with a ton of projects this week from school auctions to mosaic installations. But I do have exciting news. I've been invited to join Women Painter's of Washington after two juried rounds (one live, one from photos of work) and I also had two paintings accepted into the Sequim International juried show coming up in May in Sequim, WA. Good news all around! I'll write some more about it all tomorrow...

"Cluck."

"Cluck."

oil on board, 6"x 6"

SOLD

This was a really fun little challenge by Carol Marine from Paintworks. Click here to see all the others and the Japan challenge. I'm still working on my entry for that!

"Last Light Rainier"

oil on board, 9" x 11 1/2"

SOLD

This is a view of Mount Rainier from my neighborhood on the island. It can be so beautiful with the last light on it. It never ceases to amaze me.

"Framed"

oil on canvas, 5" x 7"

I have never done a self portrait because it is just plain scary but I have committed myself to a local self portrait show in June. Here is my first attempt. I should add that this is tiny and the edges are painted in lime green which bring out the unusual colors I added to my face. I felt in an expressionist mood when I did this. Double click for a closer look at colors...

"The Good Eggs"

"The Good Eggs"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I guess I'm tired of seeing all the "bad eggs" in the news. So I painted some good eggs, from my friend's organic farm. They are so yummy.

Behind the Branches

"Behind the Branches"

oil on board, 9 1/2" x 11"

SOLD

This lone swan was showing off for me when I came close to his pond. What a beauty!

I may paint another version larger as I took some beautiful photos this day when it was actually sunny in the Pacific Northwest. It was one of those days I was so glad to have my camera with me and was thrilled to catch some moments with this magnificent bird.

"Vashon Time" phase one finished

SOLD

Phase one, a black and white grisaille layer, is complete on "Vashon Time". This has taken me a week and still has a few tiny touch-ups but I'm pretty happy. I can't believe how hard clock faces are, let alone three. This clock belongs to some friends of mine and I just had to paint it. I love that Vashon is in the middle of New York and Paris, as it should be... This will be drying for a while and then I will glaze color on when it's ready.

Small Works

"Soaking Up Sunshine"

oil on board, 9 1/2 " x 11"

SOLD

"Last Crow"

oil on board, 5" x 7"

SOLD

Working on some small pieces for my upcoming show in May. I guess I'm getting the hang of smaller for the moment. I'm still drawn to large but I'm out of big canvas. Maybe tomorrow...

"Escape Artists"

"Escape Artists"

oil on canvas, 36" x 18"

SOLD

Once again, I think I'm finished but undoubtedly there are a few more details to add as I look on it in the coming days. This is all my brain can do for the moment without a break. I'll be moving on to something new... What do you think? Double click for a closer look!

In progress "Escape Artists" Large

Here is about half of this painting that I've been working on for days. The further I go, the more details I see and I haven't even begun the gumballs in the jar. I could be working on this for some time but I think it will be really nice when finished.

Free Range

"Free Range"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I had three beautiful brown eggs left and had to paint them. They are so pretty...

I am in the middle of a large work as well and will try to post it in progress in a day or so. I am trying to finish 3 paintings in a week for a few months, one large and 2 small, in order to keep up for my upcoming shows.

"Escape Artists" study

"Escape Artists" study

oil on board, 7"x 5"

This is a small study for the possibility of a large work. I love the colors in gumballs and the details of this machine, although at this size, quite a bit is left out. I'm dreaming of a 24" x 36" canvas, maybe bigger...

Smooch! and Bellevue Fair!!

Smooch!

oil on board, 8"x 8"
SOLD

Haven't had time to work large again so I'm continuing to work on small things here and there until I can get a big hunk of time to myself...

The great news is that I just got accepted to the Bellevue Arts Fair, Bellevue Washington, in July and also got accepted in to the Ex-West Juried Show at the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay Oregon. Lots of excitement for me and more details to come in the following days...

"Last Gasp" DPW Challenge

"Last Gasp"

oil on board, 5" x 7"

$100.

This is a challenge from the Daily Paintworks Site started by Carol Marine. I'm so glad they have started up challenges as there is such a need and it is so much fun to see what others paint. This shot is from the great painter Michael Naples. He is one of my favorites.

Big Grin

"Big Grin"

(Tilly)

oil on board, 6"x 6"

SOLD

I keep finding things I want to try small and in a more impressionist style. Tilly is the sweetest lab. I see her at the beach sometimes and this day she smiled at me... nothing like a faithful and gentle pup.

"Dipped"

"Dipped"

oil on board, 6"x 6"

SOLD

Maybe I will paint some small works after all. This looked so yummy and I loved the red reflecting from the other berry.

Roses

"Roses"

oil on board, 8"x 8"

SOLD

I had some beautiful roses left from Valentines Day and they beckoned me for painting. I am not so sure how successful this is... The whites got more difficult as I went but I really liked the composition. Painting large feels sooo comfortable to me now that when I choose something little, I feel truly challenged. It is good for me to practice. If I had only had a 30" x 30" canvas hanging around...

I was, at one point, really wanting to join the world of daily painters and I admire the community surrounding them online. But alas, I have realized over the last year that painting large format oils is definitely my thing. Sorry to disappoint those who knew me in my A Painting a Day phase. I will promise to post progress shots on my large pieces in an effort to remain in the online art world. I do still paint everyday, it's just that now my works take weeks, not days. Thanks for hanging in with me through my journey.

Finished?

SOLD

I think I'm done or at least almost. I will touch up tomorrow and soften some things just a wee bit, but I have to call it quits after that and move on. I decided to darken the background a whole lot to make this more striking. I hope it worked... and again, photographing this was quite a challenge. The feathers toward the bottom aren't as blue as they are here but I will post the final photo when I get a great one with the light in the room really even. It's dark out today and my studio gets a lot of light from windows, hence the blue tinge here and there.

Rooster update WIP

He's still on the easel and still unfinished... working hard but it feels like slow going. More to come. I hope to finish this week.

Progress

My rooster finally has about a layer and a half of color. Part of it had to dry more before I could add glaze. Many more layers to come...

Trio of Figs

"Trio of Figs"

oil on board, 6"x 8"

SOLD

I have been terribly missing Karin Jurick's monthly painting challenge (Different Strokes from Different Folks) as she has been too busy to continue it since last year. The good news is that I came upon another one called "Draw and Paint Together" .(Click to go there!) Lela, the artist behind the blog has some beautiful subjects and challenges and it will be fun. This painting is from an earlier challenge and the photo was SO great that I had to paint it before I jumped into the current challenge. I am thrilled to find another sight to stretch my skills. (This is while the Rooster is drying a bit...)

Rooster Day 3

I still have a lot of details to work on in the comb at the top but it is coming along. At least it is covered in paint. I sooo enjoy the details...

Rooster on the easel

I am beginning to work on this new painting of my favorite rooster Blackberry. I'm doing a grayscale to start, as you can see, without the undertone in raw umber. I am trying to modify the process a bit to see if I can make it go quicker. This has tons of detail so I will work on this for days. The top comb is just blocked in... I should add that the canvas is 36" x 24" .

"Big Baby" finished!

"Big Baby"

oil on canvas, 30"x 30"

SOLD

I'm as done as my mind will let me be right now. I might touch up just a few tiny details but that's it... I must move on. I learned a whole lot with this one. That's for sure. Double click to check it out up close.

Adjusting Big Baby...

These are the latest two adjustment layers. The first was lightening and evening out the skin tones and the second was adjusting color and adding some details. Still working hard on this...

Baby with color in progress

This is Big Baby after 2 days of glazing and some softening of skin tones. I will probably work through at least 2-3 more glazed layers before calling it good. I'm really liking this technique. I'm still adjusting value as well. This is 30"x 30"...

I'd love some feedback on this compared to my usual style(s) from anyone out there if you have time! Thanks.

BIg Baby Progression

Here is big baby in progression til I finished black and white. This is a new technique for me and I thought I would keep track of how it's going with photos.

"Squish"

"Squish"

oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

I finally finished my bigger version on the PBJ in the box. It's January and maybe it will always be the month for my PBJ paintings. I enjoy them so. I might still have just a few touches left to do once it dries a bit, but I think that's it. This kind of piece really makes me glad I'm a painter. It's just plain fun.