"Twisted"

"Twisted"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

We've been traveling and are back to work. Kisses are always a favorite. The foil is so fun. I'm working on a huge one as well but I thought I'd toss in a small piece too.

Lots of Paintings!

"Blue Chucks", oil on board, 6" x 6"

"First Egg", oil on board, 6" x 6"
SOLD

"Rainbow Hen", oil on board, 6" x 6"
SOLD

"Bill", oil on board, 6" x 6"
SOLD

Ok, I have been painting... like a mad woman, every single day. Huge projects at school with children and lots of others at home. A few are commissions for people and a few just because, all the while I've been also working on huge pieces for my show in September. I will post those as I finish. One is 95% done but I ran out of white yesterday... Hopefully the school paintings will go up today and I will post some pics when that happens. The kids did an incredible job. There are six 5' x 7' paintings for the lunch room of healthy food!! Whew. I'm a bit tired! Now I will focus all my attentions even more intently on my upcoming show.

"Frosted"

"Frosted"

oil on board, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I realize this is quite out of season... but gingerbread houses have been requested. This felt as if the paint was frosting. It's very squishy and thick. There might be others coming.

"Last Light KVI Beach"

"Last Light KVI Beach"

oil on board, 4" x 4"

SOLD

Getting ready for my Open Studio next weekend from 10 to 5 Saturday and Sunday. The next weekend will be open as well. Come on over to Vashon and see all the terrific art on the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour!! 

Cafe Fiore

"Cafe Fiore"

oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

SOLD

This is a real departure for me but this is one of my favorite coffee shops in Seattle. It's up on the hill behind Golden Gardens and is a delight for the quiet neighborhood. It's right up there with Lighthouse Roasters on Phinney Ridge. I love the warm lighting.

"Well Played"

"Well Played"

oil on wood, 6" x 6"

SOLD

I did a photo shoot for the cover of a local our local arts magazine a few months ago and was lucky enough to get some lovely shots of this very old cello. Fun to capture the aged wood, especially painting on wood. I think the instrument dated from the 1800's at least!

"Top Side"

oil on canvas, 4" x 6"

Peppers

"Peppers"

oil on canvas, 4" x 6"

Another tiny piece today and off I run to work with students...

Glow

"Glow"

oil on board, 4" x 4"

SOLD

A tiny painting of my cat Bob with his ears all lit up in the sun... I'm starting work on a really big piece as well and continuing my residency at the elementary school with a second set of huge paintings for the cafeteria. Busy, busy, busy.

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.