simple pleasures

Painted on a 4 x 4" gallery wrap canvas.sold

cling and clang

My Dad used to call a set of twins that I went to high school with Cling and Clang. I think these were twins I photographed on the beach last weekend. When my twins were little, folks would always stop me and ask me their names. They would always seem so disappointed when the names did not rhyme. I would have been a lot more popular with strangers if they were Ben and Ken instead of Ben and Clint.

This is painted on an 8 x 10" gallery wrap canvas.sold

judge

This is one of those commissions that I kind of had to toil over but I am happy with the out come. My patron is giving this to her boyfriend as a surprise birthday gift. Judge is a boykin spaniel and apparently always has this ball in his mouth. At first I was thinking" really, you want a ball in his mouth?" I think it turned out to be a really fun painting. She could always get a more formal painting of Judge done another time. I love being part of people's surprise gifts. Life is good! This is painted on an 8 x 10" gallery wrap canvas.sold

eleven

Decided to do Carol Marine's challenge on daily paintworks to loosen up before working on some commissions. You basically divide a canvas into sections and give yourself ten minutes to do a quick painting of an object in each section. I'm not a good splainer...check out the challenge. It is a great exercise in keeping your painting loose and not overworking. These pool balls are painted on an 8 x 8" gallery wrap canvas. Lots of fun!

float

Finally a keeper after scrubbing three other paintings out. I think I have been on vacation too much. Not enough time at the easel. Had an opportunity to go to Florida last weekend and see some old friends. The weather was beautiful and I got some great pictures. The water was very calm and crystal blue the day I took this photo. It is painted on a 6 x 12" gallery wrap canvas.sold

ginger

Ginger belongs to a good friend of mine. The painting is a surprise Christmas gift for her husband. Ginger is an older chocolate lab and getting lots of character in her face with the greyish beard and eyebrows. She is a big Auburn tiger fan so I tried to include as much of her collar as possible. This is painted on an 11 x 14" linen canvas.sold

a little help

Nice, organic shapes. Only a couple of straight lines.

This is my submission to a fundraiser Daily Paintworks is supporting. "Every Mother Counts" is a non-profit dedicated to combating maternal mortality worldwide and creating tangible, concrete projects that truly work. The theme of this challenge is "Mom". You can read the back story and see paintings up for auction on the challenge page.

I took the reference photo for this painting in Siena, Italy. Guess the scene could be a familiar one just about anywhere. I edited out the horde of people around them. Thought this was a sweet scene. It is painted on an 8 x 8" cradled amperstand panel.

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first anniversary

Here is the left brained painting I have been struggling with. I could not give up on it because I am so impressed with the young man who commissioned it. It is a surprise for his wife on the occasion of their first annniversary.

I received an e mail from Matt a few weeks ago and he said he had been googling oil painters in Alabama and came across my work. He liked the way I painted and wondered if I could paint the church where he and his wife married. Government Street Presbyterian Church in Mobile, AL. Told him I did not paint structures but I would be happy to look at a picture. So....here it is. I almost threw in the towel several times but my son, Clint, kept me at it. He gets 20% of all my commissions. No. I wanted to make it work for Matt. What a romantic idea he had. I see good things for this marriage.

This is painted on an 11 x 14" linen canvas. sold

cowlick

A cowlick is a turned up tuft of hair that resists laying down. This cow has one.

This was a little break from a commission piece I am struggling through. The commission piece is kind of a left brained piece.....lots of straight lines! My left brain is not open for business. Out of character and comfort level for me but I am trudging through it. This sweet kid asked me to do it so I am trying.

This cow is painted on an 8 x 8" gallery wrap canvas.

Enjoy your weekend!!sold

celebration

This is a commission piece for a friend. She is surprising her husband with this painting for his birthday. He is a big hunter and has made a few trips to Africa. Lets pretend that Mike killed the hyena that was terrorizing the local village and they are celebrating their hero. In reality, this is a celebration of some type of kill. The guides lift the celebrant in a chair and wave branches. I love the look of happiness on Mike's and the guide's faces. Mike is a great guy and I hope he likes his surprise. This is painted on a 20 x 24" linen canvas. The picure is not the clearest. I have a hard time photographing bigger works. And...with dropping them and having to paint parts over because they were smudged. #$%#$#$#

On to another interesting commission piece. Can't wait to share the next story with you.

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wandering westie

Feel like I have been wandering too. Finally back home after being away. Think I am home for a while now. I had a great time visiting the mountains of western North Carolina. The air was cool, the sky sunny and the leaves were beginning to change color. October might be my favorite month of the year.

I took the picture of this Westie somewhere in Italy. We did not see that many dogs and the ones we saw looked fairly different from our breeds.

Need to start catching up with some commission works. The westie was a fun entrance back into the painting world. He is painted on a 5 x 7" gallery wrap canvas.

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whee

This is a boy I snapped enjoying the playground equipment behind my booth last Saturday. He is painted on a 6 x 6" gallery wrap canvas.

I am packing up for the North Carolina show this weekend. Think this will be the last painting for a few days. I am going up a couple of days early to enjoy the Fall weather in the mountains.

My work is being featured along with some others in DK gallery in Marietta, GA this Friday night. The theme is "creatures". I love creatures of all shapes and sizes so I am happy to be a part of it. Go by if you are in the area. OR come see me in Waynesville, NC on Saturday at the Church Street Arts and Crafts show.sold

one,two,three

I am out of names for pear paintings. I might have set a personal record for going the longest amount of time without painting a pear. These were too pretty not put into a painting. This is painted on a 6 x 12" linen canvas.

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here's looking at you

Two posts in one day. I wanted something more colorful. The boy in the last post looked lonely. He was probably talking to a roomful of girls and was trying to be cool by sitting on the open window ledge. Maybe I should start writing romance novels too.

This is another swan that I photographed at Lake Junaluska. Painted on a 5 x 5" gallery wrap canvas.sold

window seat

This does not look like something that I would paint. I guess I usually paint with livelier colors. Took this photo in Italy after one of my scouts pointed it out to me. My husband and I have traveled a good bit with the two couples that went with us to Italy. They are very supportive of my work and have been with me lots of times when I took pictures of things I went on to paint later. Fun for them and me. So......in Italy they were always on the look out for something that might interest me. Mary pointed out this guy sitting in a high window. Thanks. He is painted on a 6 x 8" linen panel.

Had a fun day yesterday at the Bluff Park art show. Beautiful day and got to visit with lots of friends and strangers. Even saw two boys (they will always be boys to me) I used to teach in High School.