Beach Cottages

"Beach Cottages"

oil on board, 4" x 4"

SOLD

This is really tiny for me but I loved the idea of painting the ocean spray on these little cottages on the north end of our island. Not sure if I want to be there in the middle of winter though... This is right near the north end ferry dock on Vashon.

Red Dog

"Red Dog"

oil on board. 6"x 6"

This is my puppy Zoey. She is adorable and growing up quickly. Thought I would catch her at 6 months. I've tried to paint her a couple of times and somehow it's pretty hard but I like this one!

Overflowing PBJ

"Overflowing PBJ"

oil on canvas, 24" x 48"

commissioned work

I'm so glad to finish this today. It seems like I've been working on it for months, which is probably the truth. Big works just take time. I love adding the labels and jars in the background for this piece. I always love a great PB and J painting and otherwise...Double click for a closer view.

(whew, big sigh of relief.)

On to other huge food pieces for my shows later in the year!!

Beach Walking

"Beach Walking"

oil on board, 6"x 6"

NFS

These are some of my friends taking a lovely walk in the sun. I don't often paint people but I loved the light so much. Could be worthy of a larger painting later!

Daffodils

"Daffodils"

oil on board, 6"x 6"

Hard to capture but so pretty. We have just a few bunches and they are so precious each year.

Salad

"Salad"

oil on board, 6"x 6"

I thought I would paint part of the big picture I have been working on with kids. I have been in residence at our local elementary school on Vashon for weeks now with the Vashon Artists in the Schools program (VAIS). We have had an incredible change in our lunch menu to really healthy food and the art grant is for creating huge healthy food murals to go along with this. There will be six 5 foot by 7 foot panels painted by three classes. The first set is of salad. The kids tossed out a millions of ideas for what should go into the salad. Below is the first mural finished. It was painted all by the kids and is 5' x 14' long!!!! I'm very proud of their hard work. I should add that they are all in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade. It is a composite photograph as I could only shoot it in 3 frames due to size. There will be 4 more panels to come.

kids working...

"The Big Salad"

5' x 14' mural 

by Mrs. Berliner's multiage class

(click to see it larger!)

French Doors

"French Doors"

oil on board, 6" x 6"
SOLD

I love the colors that show through windows and doors in the evening. It always looks so warm and inviting.

Bottoms Up

"Bottoms Up"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I'm loving the small chicken paintings right now...

Two Wishes

"Two Wishes"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I love the idea of wishes just hanging out in the air on their way to a destination. Here's two for the day.

Sunny Day Pecking

"Sunny Day Pecking"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Hoping for more sunny days for my poor chickens who have been enduring the deluge of Northwest weather...

Just a Bit Muddy

"Just a Bit Muddy"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Here is a little piggy friend I met on Vashon last year. He lives at the same farm as all the cows I was painting last summer. He was so inquisitive yet shy. I love animals. They are so refreshing to be around. There is just no other agenda going on with them. 

Holy Bread!

"Holy Bread!"

oil on wood, 5" x 7"

SOLD

I had a  beautiful holey loaf and had to capture the intriguing inside with it's toasty crust. Very fun. Of course it was also fun to make a pun of the name.

Dog Sketch (Zoey)

oil o board, 6" x 6"

I still keep trying to get Zoey right and here is a quick one. She is half lab and half Rhodesian Ridgeback and growing by the day. She was 12 lbs in December and suddenly she is 48! There will be more paintings of her to come but they will probably be much larger to get her right...

Half Veggie

"Half Veggie"

oil on board, 8" x 8"

Thinking of working on a large pizza painting but wanted to try a small one to get some of the colors worked out. It's very squishy up close. The PBand J is almost finished. It is covered in paint and just needs some final details. It was too wet today to do the finish work.

 I am looking forward to jumping into some other large works for my shows later this year. I will be having a solo show at the Hardware Store Restaurant on Vashon in September and will take part in an  4 person invitational show food show at Artswest Gallery in West Seattle at the very end of October through December 15th. I am excited about both and will be starting into some new projects in a day or so.

 I am also working with Vashon Artists in the Schools program on some giant canvases for the cafeteria. Our schools have implemented a terrific new healthy lunch program over the last couple of years and I was asked to create some work with 3 multiage classes to showcase the healthy food being served. We almost have one of six canvases done. I have never painted this large before. It's a truly exciting project. I will post some of the works when we have finished.

Carrying the Torch

"Carrying the Torch"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

I can't believe how hard this was!!! I wiped it off completely once after an hour or two, and began again today. Even now I can see some things I will have to go fix but I guess this is the kind of piece that makes us stretch ourselves. I am deep into my PB and J commission and have one slice of bread to go before I add all the final details and highlights... I guess I can post a WIP pic. I have about a month into this piece so far. Here she is in her unfinished glory-

I should add that this piece is 2 feet by four feet. I hope to be done this week. The bread is exhausting somehow, but oh how I love a huge PB and J!

Brown Bear

"Brown Bear"

oil on board, 8" x 8"

SOLD

I'm currently working on a really large commission which should be done in about a week or so, but in the mean time, I'm going to fit in a few smaller works. I had the idea of using 3 brushes and 4 colors for this but ended up using 6 brushes. The colors were raw umber, phthalo blue, burnt sienna and titanium white. It could have been black and white but I loved the subtle brown and green shades this creates. She is a grizzly bear at the Woodland Park Zoo and I just loved this shot of her resting in her cave area. What an incredible creature!

"Ellie in the Sun"

"Ellie in the Sun"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Another small painting of my friend's dog Ellie. I love the light on her in this one. Makes for great contrast.

"Ellie"

"Big Smile"

oil on board, 6"x 6"

SOLD

I'm working on this for a friend of mine. I think I captured her but you never know for sure. I may try a few more...

The Meaning of Life

"The Meaning of Life"

oil on canvas, 15" x 45"

commissioned work

I apologize for the great delay in posting on my blog. I have however been very busy painting and raising a new puppy. I have forgotten how much it is like having a baby and how much time that takes out of a daily schedule. However I did just finish this piece, which is quite reminiscent of a piece I painted 2 years ago called "Stacked". I had a client who wanted it then but it sold and he came back and asked me to paint another. It was a real joy. Oreos and milk are just plain fun to work on. I have another couple of commissions to work on in the next month or so and then a huge project of Food Art for our local elementary school depicting the healthy food that they now serve in the cafeteria. 

I especially want to thank all of you who came to my multiple shows in December and January and made it a real pleasure to be an artist! It was my best couple of months ever and I am truly grateful. I will be posting as I paint in the next couple of months and will be fitting in some small works along the way. Once again this year my focus will be large food pieces and I have an exciting show coming up at the end of the year as well as several others. I will post more when it is all official!

"Tongue Tongue"

"Tongue Tongue"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

NFS

So much could be said about my friend's dog Tongue Tongue. He is a rescue and had a terrible brain injury and his tongue never goes in farther than this. He is really something special and a Must Paint for me. Thanks to all the vets out there who help out animals like this one and then can't help but take them home for an easier life. Here's to you Dana!

Patience

"Patience"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

"Namaste"

oil on board, 4" x 4"

SOLD

A couple of other small works for me today. It is good to keep working small as this is where I feel most challenged.  It's so hard to get it right in so little space...

"bird"

"bird"

oil on canvas. 10" x 10"

And here is something completely different for me as well. I thought I would experiment. What do you think?

Fresh Fish

"Fresh Fish"

(Pike Place Market)

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Here is an unusual one for me. Not sure if it is my best painting ever but it's always good to try new material. I love all the neon in the market area. I might some realistic paintings of some neon signs, large of course. It could be fun.

"In the Golden Sun"

"In the Golden Sun"

oil on canvas, 9" x 12"

Again I painted from a black canvas and found it intriguing. Here is Butterscotch again. She is just too fun to paint with all her wonderful colors. My other chickens are all in dark reds, blues and blacks so they are more challenging...

We are on the cover!

My friend Elaine Summers and I will be on the Holiday Art Studio Tour at my studio for the first 2 weekends in December! Come and see her gorgeous mosaic works and my collection of small works. My large works will be on display at Artswest in West Seattle form November 22nd to January 14th. I'm so proud that we were also selected for the cover art for the brochure for this Holiday Tour. Come out and see all the great artists on Vashon and stop by Artswest this December!!

"Shadow"

"Shadow"

oil on canvas, 10" x 10"

Who doesn't love chicken paintings? This one is on a black canvas to start which is something I never do... It definitely made me feel disoriented and paint in a more impressionistic way. I like it a lot though. This is my Buff Orpington named Butterscotch. I love how her colors catch light. Very pretty.

"Self Sealing" and "Big Bear"

"Self Sealing"

oil on canvas, 18" x 36"

"Big Bear"

oil on canvas, 36" x 48"

SOLD

Finally have my honey bear done with all the details and 98% done with "Self Sealing". Have been working very hard on these large works for some upcoming appearances in December and beyond. I am definitely heading towards abstraction with these pieces and am loving the idea of that. I will continue in this vein for a while I think. Can you guess what is in the top jar?? Double click for a closer look!

Two New Small Works...

"Many Colors"

oil on board, 8" x 8"

SOLD

"True Beauty"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I am very excited that my friend Elaine Summers and I got the cover of our upcoming Vashon Art Studio Tour brochure! They chose my Gumball Machine painting and her Mosaic Dog. I will post a copy when it is published. Anyway, I decided to do a couple of more gumball machine pieces in a much smaller size to have available. Somehow I thought this would just take me a few hours as it wasn't that large but who am I kidding!! It took me three days to finish as each gumball is it's own little world of color...

This swan is lives not to far from my house. He was really showing off his beauty for me. I definitely have a thing for large birds after raising our orphaned geese last year.

"Queen of the Couch"

oil on board, 6" x 6" 

SOLD

Doesn't seem like I can paint Lilly enough. She is just so striking... Same cat, different light and definitely different mood.

"Nesting"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

One small piece and off to work on my large canvas. Butterscotch wasn't really wanting to be disturbed while she laid her egg but I couldn't help myself...

Some Small works...

"Into the Fire"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

"Scene 1 from the Tank"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I've been really busy on some more big pieces after I finished the Big Honey Bear last week but am trying to fit in some small work too. 

I have a bunch of shows coming right up, especially in December and am working hard to be ready. You can check out my large works in December at ArtsWest in West Seattle, or some miniatures at The Blue Heron Master's in Miniature Show on Vashon, and also a piece of mine at the group show in Valise Gallery on downtown Vashon. I will also be showing small works in my own studio for the Vashon Holiday Art Studio Tour with my friend Elaine Summers, who does incredible mosaic work. Also on November 5th, I will showing work for one night only at the Woodinville Winery for the release of their very finest Flagship Red Wine.

Ok. Now I now why I feel so busy!!

Oops- I should also add that I have all my Cat and Dog works at the Hardware Store Restaurant (on Vashon) right now in helping out the upcoming auction for our Vashon Pet shelter VIPP and I have a few other works downtown at the Women Painter's of Washington Gallery in Columbia Tower til the end of the month.Whew. That was a lot of promoting.