all in

I got an email a couple of weeks ago from a gentleman from Kent, England who wanted to buy his girlfriend one of my rooster paintings. She lives close to Denver, CO.  Not sure how he knew she liked my roosters but he named several of the titles of roosters he thought she would like.  Kind of crazy how small our world has gotten with the internet.  Anyway, this is the one he sent her for her birthday.  I admire his creativity and thoughtfulness.  This is painted on an 8 x 16 x 2" canvas. The title is kind of contrary to the actual rooster since it is not "all in" the frame.  I thought he looked like he was "all in" and ready for action.

I am happy to announce that I will be  away from painting and my computer for a few days.  Heading to Costa Rica with my husband and three sons.  Sorry, no more room in my suitcase. sold

kingpin

12 x 12 x 2" canvas.sold

bear

Bear belongs to a young couple who are celebrating their wedding anniversary.  I painted it a while back and am just now posting.  I love the tilt of the head.  This is painted on an 8 x 8 x 2" canvas.  sold

serendipity

The different look of this piece is due in part to an imperfection in my canvas.  I was happy with the way my guy looked but a raised streak kept showing up in the canvas. A few streaks. I am not familiar with the cause because I have never had it happen before. I decided to keep applying thicker paint hoping for the streaks to go away. I may get to keep this for myself or one of my children if this did not do the trick. This is painted on a 12 x 24 x 2" canvas.

I took this picture a few years ago in Kentucky.  I am not sure what you call this small guitar.  A small guitar?  I bet it has another name.

digging it

 This is the demo painting for the second day of my workshop.  All was well in painting land.  I deserved a smooth go after the first day's demo.  I channeled my mini mentor Nancy Franke and tried to keep it fresh. This is painted on an 11 x 14" linen panel.sold

Below are pictures of participants at work.  They were a great group and all worked very hard.  They had lots of talent and made it pretty easy for me.  The weather was cloudy when I photographed their work so the photos are a little dark.  Several painting slipped away before I got to photograph them.  Sorry guys.

have a heart

Have a heart is exactly what my workshop participants had to have yesterday as I struggled through painting this #%*! black cow.  I specifically chose the black cow because I feel like most people can use some help painting black animals.  Me included after yesterday.  What really made me proud was that three people chose to paint this same cow after seeing my pain.  They did great and so did all the others who chose various animals.  I will post some pictures of their work tomorrow. This beaut is painted on a 12 x 12 x 2". My talented and fun group. Too cold to take the picture outside.  They helped me take Christmas decorations down after the picture.

open arms

I know you want to trade places with these girls.  I took this photo a few years ago in Hilton Head.  I was there to take a workshop with Karin Jurick and she sent us out to find some subject matter. It was late evening and there was a warm, buttery light.  Such wonderful memories of that fun week.

My workshop starts tomorrow so I felt the need to brush up on painting children because that is our focus the second day.  There is so much freedom when you are not painting a commission.  I love painting specifically for patrons but I REALLY love being a little able to paint looser,  make mistakes and take chances.  This is painted on a 12 x 12 x 2" canvas.  

sal

I am preparing to teach a workshop at my home this weekend.  We will be focusing on painting animals Saturday and children on Sunday.  This was my warm up for Saturday.  I am not very rusty on animals but I have not done a lot of children lately.  Better get going on it.  "Sal" is painted on a 16 x 20 x 2" canvas.sold

Stay warm!!

ava

Who would have thought this sweet face could have been so hard to paint?  Now and then paintings do not flow as smoothly as others.  This was one of those.  It might be that it was the kind of 3/4's pose?  Not sure but little Ava was a handful for me.  This is painted on an 8 x 8 x 2" canvas and was commissioned by a young couple celebrating their anniversary.sold  

family ties

This is a commission piece for a family who has black angus on their farm.  It is challenging to paint angus because of their dark color.  I like them against the colors in the background.  This is painted on a 20 x 24" canvas.

I have one more commission piece that I am almost finished with and then I am not accepting any more until May.  Hate to do that but I need to focus on painting for upcoming shows.


I have a workshop at my home this coming weekend and then again in February.  I am looking forward to meeting some new folks and spending time with some of my favorite peeps who are coming back for more.sold

tickled pink

This cow is tickled pink that we have started a new year.  Wishing you all a very happy 2015!   This  is painted on a 6 x 8 x 2".