Scenes like this are common in Italian towns. Charm everywhere you look. I was attracted to the great light and the angle of it hitting the window. I was really out of my comfort zone when I was painting this but that is a good thing. You never learn if you don't stretch yourself.
I snapped these two mapquesters in Florence, Italy. I am drawn to the old versus new in this painting. These two modernly dressed kids and motorcycle posed in front of a centuries old door. That is one thing that is so interesting about Italy. Lots of "old" stuff. I love "old" stuff. 
This painting takes me back to my childhood and the blissful feelings that a bike can bring. I loved the feeling of the wind blowing my hair, the sun on my shoulders, and the freedom of speeding past houses and the sound of my brother yelling at me to bring his bike back. It was cooler to ride a boy's bike.
I guess this photo could have been taken anywhere but it happened to be shot in Siena, Italy. Siena is a city that is divided into seventeen districts. All of the districts have an animal mascot and each sponsor a horse and rider to compete in an annual horse race in the Piazza del Campo in the center of the city. The race takes place in July and the winning district has bragging rights for a year.
I did this painting in response to Dana Cooper's challenge on Daily Paintworks. Dana is a very talented artist who is as kind as she is talented. Click on the highlighted words to see Dana's work and the daily painting challenge.
This baby was not straying far from it's mom's side. I painted this on a 6 x 12" canvas.sold
I know most people think I am a schitzo painter but I just paint what makes me happy. Painting new subjects keeps it fresh to me. This is one of my Boston ladies. I never tire of looking at the pictures I took this summer. I feel like the pictures were a reward for doing all that walking for the Susan G Komen walk. Being able to participate in the walk was so rewarding but my bathing beauty pictures were a bonus. This one is painted on a 4 x 12" gallery wrap canvas.
This is a commission piece for a client from North Carolina. It is a surprise gift for her husband's birthday. I loved how the Springer's paws were crossed and the Jack Russell's stare made me laugh . I was all over the place as I was painting this. I would be working on a paw of one dog and then jump to the nose of another dog. Kind of confusing. I really like the end result. This is painted on an 11 x 14" canvas.
This is a commission piece for one of my patron friends. This is her neice and nephew and she is surprising her sister with it. The kids were taking a sunset stroll at Rosemary Beach, Florida. There was a large shadow on the sand in the foreground that I had to play with color wise. I more often paint the sand when the sun is high. A good exercise for me and hopefully a good outcome for my friend. This is painted on a 6 x 8" linen panel.sold
I usually give a small painting to friend's and family's children who are getting married. Most of the time it is pears. Good for me because I love to paint them and good for them to have a piece of art work to start out with. I laugh when I think back about what I put on the walls of our first apartment. I taped matted drawings that I did in college classes to the wall. 
Very happy with this baby face. My favorite thing about this is the eyelash shadow on the left side. He is painted on an 8 x 8" gallery wrap canvas.sold
A good loosener upper after being away for a few days. This is painted on a 6 x 12" canvas. Always a fun shape to paint on.sold
I wanted to paint the clementines one more time before heading out of town for a few days. This is painted on a 5 x 7" linen canvas.sold
I have thoroughly enjoyed painting still life this last couple of days. It has been nice to let loose and it not matter if the painting turns out or not. Congratulations to Leslie Newman who is the winner of "great white". Thank you all for subscribing and I will do some more giveaways in the future.
I saw these clementines with the leaves intact so I made some time to paint them. It seems that I have been painting more animals and people instead of this type of thing. I learned how to paint by painting still life and would recommend starting with that because it is live.... and still. A great way to learn the basics and then move on from there. This is painted on an 8 x 10" canvas. 
This is the Brad Pitt of the pasture of cows I photographed the other day. He has a steely stare, gorgeous eye lashes and beautiful markings on his face. I have referred to this cow several times as a he but of that I am not sure. Lets just go with it. Brad was a willing model so I got lots of good pictures of him. Think he is going to be my next 3' x 3' painting. 
Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day following two or three cloudy, rainy days so I decided to go out in search of cows. I had a little luck when I found one pasture of lovelies. This cow was a deep burnt sienna color. As much as I love painting cows, I should take the time to learn more about them besides their color. This is painted on an 8 x 10" linen canvas.sold
These pears have turned a beautiful golden color after a couple of weeks on my still life table. Pears are always a good go to after I have been away from painting for a week or so. I concentrated on standing as far away from the easel as I could and keeping a very light hold on my brush. And.....squinting! Nothing beats the shape and colors in pears. This is painted on a 5 x 7" linen canvas.
Merry day after Christmas. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Our family is back from spending a few days with our son who lives close to Philadelphia. He lives in Phoenixville which is five minutes from the Valley Forge National Park. Gorgeous area of our country. It was lots of fun exploring this area with our three sons.
I was missing painting my furry friends so I fit in one more dog before Christmas. I have been talking with this friend for a while about painting their furry family member. Belle is painted on an 8 x 10" gallery wrap canvas. It is pretty dark and sprinkling outside so I think the picture could be a little better. My photographing method is still lacking.
I painted this pooch as my entry into Daily Paintworks challenge to paint something that is meaningful to me this Christmas. Furry things are very meaningful to me. Oh, and great light! Of course my family and friends are very meaningful to me but I did not have time to paint them. There are lots!
This is the first time I have included a male in the Boston series. There were a couple of them enjoying the beach the day I took these photos. This is my entry to the daily paintworks reflection on water challenge. This is painted on an 8 x 10" gallery wrap canvas.
I wonder why it is that odd number groupings are more pleasing? Tell me your thoughts. 
This is the first time I have painted from life in a while. My nose has been close to my computer monitor painting animals and such. It was nice today to back away from my easel and try to remember the basics to a good painting. These onions had been waiting for me in my studio for a long time. They were developing some nice, rotten, ochre color. This is painted on an 8 x 10" linen canvas.
