mardi gras

I have not painted my colorful bowls in a while.  This is painted on an 11 x 14" linen panel.

tres limones

 I am trying to get back to painting after a long absence.  I actually painted most of this a while back but decided it was missing something.  I added the knife today and I think it works much better.  I plan on painting still life set ups for a few days because I miss it.  This is painted on an 8 x 10" linen panel.

A few pictures from our Costa Rica trip.   The first two are shots of canyoneering in the Los Rocos canyon.  Our favorite thing the whole trip.  

Lots and lots of cows everywhere.  Any small space of land would host some.  In the middle of our first resort.  

A sloth in the Rain forest.  They stay in a tree eating for a week or more. They only go down once a week for their  constitutional.  We got it to look at us by whistling.  Their predators are eagles. I have a mean eagle whistle. If they have a baby and it falls out the tree, they would rather have another one than to go down and get it.  That is not only lazy, that is bad.

A sable tree in the rain forest.  

Views of Tamarindo beach.  

keeper

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I am posting a large 24 x 36 x 2" painting that I painted a few weeks ago.  I don't always post the larger paintings that I do for shows.  I am not very good at photographing large pieces.  This is pretty representative of the work.

I had a wonderful vacation with my family and now feel like I need a vacation from my vacation.  We did volcano hikes through the rain forest,  canyoneered through La Roco canyon, fished, sons surfed, and we all hiked and zip lined through the cloud forest in Monteverde.   We started in the rain forest around Arenal Volcano, then went to Tamarindo beach area and finished up in the cloud forest at 5000 ft elevation in Monteverde.  I will try to share some pictures and information about this beautiful country in the coming posts.

I have been busy since returning preparing for the Art Event at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville this Friday through Sunday.  I LOVE going to Nashville.  I am lucky to stay with a good friend, visit with my artist friends, see previous patrons and meet new ones. I will mostly be featuring my animal pieces.  I will also have one display panel of my beach figurative pieces.  Click on the highlighted Lipscomb phrase to go to the link for the show information.

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".

jilly bean

I think this is the last Christmas commission I have to post.  Jilly Bean belongs to my cousin and her daughter commissioned me to paint her.  Jilly Bean was rescued from a puppy mill.  She had multiple litters of pups so her motherly instincts are strong.  She typically carries around a toy in her mouth.  We considered including one of her "baby" toys but decided just to focus on her sweet face.  She is living the life of Riley now.  This is painted on an 8 x 8 x 2" canvas.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! sold 

hocutts

This is a commissioned piece that a friend did for her son's family.  I have the pleasure of seeing this family at my church.  You see the boy's hair coming first  because they have these great mops of thick hair.  I have a feeling this little princess is going to be well protected. This is painted on an 11 x 14" linen panel.sold

gusty

Gusty has some great ears.  This was a commissioned painting that I did before Christmas.   I love the soulful look in his eyes. It is painted on an 8 x 8 x 2" canvas.
I am getting back to work today after taking several days off to spend with family.  I do not usually take this many days off from painting but it was worth it.   I have a couple of commissions to do and then will be painting for upcoming shows in Tennessee and Texas. sold 

june

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas.  I am still enjoying mine with extended family.
This beautiful dog belongs to one of my son's friends.  His wife commissioned  and surprised her husband with it for Christmas.  Funny how dogs often look like their owners.  One of my sons thought June looked a lot like her owner Thomas.  Both have pretty blue eyes.  This is painted on an 11 x 14" canvas.sold

sandy

Sandy is the pup of a young couple who moved from moderate temperatured Birmingham, AL to pretty frigid  Rochester, MN.  Her human Mom is a physician at Mayo and her human Dad is a dentist in Rochester.  The move was quite an adjustment for them all. They happen to be two of my Dad's favorite students when he was teaching at Birmingham Southern College. Ron Alyn surprised his wife Lisa with this painting for Christmas.  It is painted on an 8 x 16 x 2" canvas.sold 

robbie's babies

These two brittany spaniels belong to my sister in law.  This was a belated 60th birthday present from her family.  They are painted on 8 x 8 x 2" canvases.
I am excited to be finished with commissions that needed to be done before Christmas.  I have lots of fun things to post after the 25th.  A good feeling!  Nice to have time to focus on the Reason for the season!sold

blues and greens

Great title, hmmmm?  Lots of deep thinking went into it.  No time for that today.  This is painted on an 8 x 10" linen panel.sold

I had to laugh when I was looking at the pictures of the painting. Our Callie nosed into one of them. She was not sure about the edges of the apples.   I decided to include a a picture of her so you could see the rest of her.  She is an almost 6 month old golden doodle.

high stepper

It was fun painting a white rooster because I have not painted a lot of them.  I tried to keep the palette a little softer.  This is painted on a 20 x 20 x 2" canvas.  Tomorrow when I am painting at the Mt Brook Art Association show at Brookwood Mall I am planning on painting a colorful rooster on a large, elongated canvas.  Come by if you can.

horning in

I don't really think this long horn minded me horning in and taking his picture. ( I get cheesier by the day.) They were pretty friendly and some came up to the fence.  We do not see many long horns around our area but I found a pasture of them in Eclectic, AL.  Isn't that a a great name for a town?   I am doing the Woodlands Waterway  art show in Houston, TX in early April so I thought it would be fun and appropriate to paint some scenes Texans might see.  This is painted on a 24 x 36" canvas.

I am still busy painting commissions and have lots of fun ones to show you after Christmas.  I will be at the Mt Brook art association holiday art show tomorrow.  I will be painting off and on from 11-8 .  The show is located on the lower level of Brookwood Mall.  There are 80 artists exhibiting work until Dec 18th.  Folks are manning the show during mall hours so you have plenty of opportunity to go by if you are in the area.

she loves me.....

Hello again.  I have not been able to post most of my recent paintings because they are Christmas surprises.  I have been staying very busy painting a variety of subjects and will post them after they are gifted.  This beautiful little girl is also going to be a gift but grand mom does not think the receiver will see it.  She sent me several photos but we both loved this sweet pose.  She looks so innocent.  When I told her grand mom what I was going to title it she said that since she is in her two year old stage that the little one might choose, "she loves me not".  I am guessing she is hearing, "no" a lot.  This is painted on a 12 x 1 2" canvas.

I would like to announce that I am participating in the Mt Brook Art Association's holiday show for the next two weeks.  Work is displayed in the old Gus Mayer store, located on the lower level of Brookwood Mall.  There is lots of great work that you might want to buy yourself for Christmas.  There are 80 artists participating.  I will be there next Thursday, from 11-8 , painting and visiting.  Come by and say hello.  Bring your wallet and peanuts for the artist.  The hours for the next two weeks are mall hours.  

keeping tabs

This is a commission piece for a friend.  This is one of her sons and "his" dog.  You see who Jughead is watching.  Best of two worlds.  This is painted on an 11 x 14 x 2" canvas.

lucky 7

I have a patron from out of state who sent some pictures of all of her in laws grandchildren.  The pictures included all of their beautiful bodies.   I sent a picture cropped like this back to her and said this was more my style.  She liked the idea so here we are!  It is painted on a 12 x 24 x 2" canvas.  Very fun, don't you think?
This is a Christmas surprise.

my girl

Strangely enough, "my girl" was playing just as I had decided I was finished with this painting.  (insert eerie music here)  No lie.  I don't think I could have thought of a more appropriate title.
This is the first of many commissions I will be working on in the next few weeks.  This is a 75th birthday surprise for a special lady.  I do not typically do faces but I could not resist attempting this awesome photo.  It could be an ad for watches, cars, sunglasses or white tee's.  It is painted on an 11 x 14 linen canvas.

it's 5 o clock somewhere

A morning warm up before I paint a more detailed commission. This is painted on an 8 x 8 x 2" canvas. Thank you Alan Jackson for the title inspiration.sold

up close

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I just returned from a quick trip to beautiful eastern Tennessee.  My mom in law lives there and we were there to celebrate my sister in laws birthday.  I also took advantage of photographing some pretty scenery and curious cows.  My first interest in painting cows was peaked in this area by my father in law and uncle's cows.  Wonder how many cows I have painted since I first began? This one is painted on a 20 x 30 x 2" canvas.

I am looking forward to traveling to Savannah, GA this weekend for the Telfair Art Festival.  The show is Friday night through Sunday afternoon.  This will be my last traveling show until February.  Phew!  On to commissions after that!

robbie

In a bit of a hurry to post this morning because I am getting ready to travel to celebrate my sister in law's 60th birthday. She has accomplished so much in her sixty years despite being deaf from birth.  She graduated from California State, received her masters, and most recently her PHD.  She also is an accomplished athelete, winning at least five gold medals in tennis at the deaf olympics.  She is a professor at Gallaudet University in Maryland. Sold

This is painted on a 12 x 24 x 2" canvas.

land of milk and honey

This was another title inspired by what I was listening to at post time.  Steely Dan's "do  it again".  This is painted on a 20 x 24" canvas.sold
Have a great weekend!

Balsam Mt herefords

It has been a while since I have posted or painted.  I have traveled to a couple of shows and then caught up with home life when I returned. I have one more show that I am traveling to in a couple of weeks.  The Telfair Art show in Savannah, Ga November 14-16.
I took the reference photo for this painting in Balsam Mountain, NC.  I usually do not include much background in my animal paintings opting for the focus to be on the animals instead of the surroundings.  This scenery was to nice to leave out. This is painted on a 20 x 40 x 2" canvas.  I included a second picture to see the scale.
My January and February workshops are full but please email if you have an interest in being on the wait list or for future workshops.sold