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.

"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.