Just a Reminder

 Just a reminder....

5.5"x5.25" on canvas

Media: acrylic, ink, and collage on a wood panel

Please visit my online gallery.

Untitled

 This piece is part of an online auction benefitting the beautiful people of Ukraine.

Acrylic and India Ink

12"x9"

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog

Create Joy

Wherever your path leads, create joy along the way.

"Create Joy"

Mixed Media

Original available here for $30

12.5"x9" on wood leftover from a friend's woodworking project

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.)

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

She had no Words

I try to stay organized with all of my work, but every once in a while I forget about a piece and neglect to blog about it. When I was setting up our WEST show I found two such pieces. This is one of them.

"She had no Words"

Original available here for $30.

12"x9" on watercolor paper

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.) 

All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop. 

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

The Brightness Shone Through

For my friends experiencing challenges...allowing space for the brightness to shine through.

"The Brightness Shone Through"

Original available here for $30.

14"x11" on watercolor paper

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.) 

All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop. 

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

Celebrate!

Today my little guy tucked our cat, Tommy, into bed. You know, head on pillow, covers pulled up to his chin. And that cat fell right asleep and stayed asleep for several hours. Further proof that our cats are utterly and completely spoiled rotten. Perhaps this is why they consistently bring us dead rats. Feline gratitude is a very odd disgusting thing.


I love using small canvases as palettes. After I've used them for a while I think they make the most wonderful backgrounds for my paintings. Here's one I created today.

"Celebrate!"

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Dancing with the Stars - Part 2

It's so much fun painting a super loose painting like this. Going for pure whimsy is a delight! After starting my day with a full face collision with a newly formed spider web, I finished working on this. After I apologized to the spider, of course. Sweet little thing had clearly spent hours creating what I managed to destroy in a fraction of a second.

Here's the completed painting and a couple more steps I took before it was finished.

"Dancing with the Stars"

I added more stars and some color accents on top
of the yellow. I think they look like comets now.

I thought it needed some red here and there to balance it.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Love

Hazel purrs. It's true.

I know that's generally something reserved for the feline variety, but I swear, she does it. But only sometimes. Only when someone is giving her a super big hug, a long enduring hug, and then she starts this slow, sweet, rhythmic breathing with a purr sound. It's the best sound ever...and it's the sound of pure love.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Owl Love

The funniest thing happened the other day.


A friend stopped by after I'd told him the URL for my online gallery: "Who's there?"

Me: "I'm here."

Friend: "No, who's there?"

Me: "Um..." Seriously, I was thinking I was stuck in an Abbot and Costello routine.

Friend: "I want to buy your painting called "Hoooooo's There?"

Me: "Oh, great!"


And this is when my friend face palmed himself...in his imagination. He's too nice a guy to do it in front of me, ya know.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Glow

I did the big clear out today. Four bags of clothes and shoes, and a small bag of jewelry that I'm no longer in love with. It's odd how all that stuff manages to accumulate and even more odd how many of those things don't fit,  irritate me, or I just out and out don't like.

And now when I go in our bedroom there's a calm feeling, my bedside lamp glows, and my grandmother smiles from her framed portrait.

I have and early rainy afternoon urge to put on my PJs.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

For the Love of Art

As most of you know I've been taking an online course from the amazing Pauline Agnew. Not only is she a fabulous artist, but she is also a truly gifted teacher. From the beginning she expected and knew that her students would "go for it". This was a perfect fit for me because while I was entering totally new territory I committed to myself that I'd not have any negative self talk throughout the entire process. And I did just that...and I went for it. Pauline's critiques of my works were honest, constructive, and encouraging and I've produced work that resides on an entirely different plane than that of my previous work (the painting with this blog post is not one of my new pieces, look to previous posts to see some, they are clearly identifiable).

Thank you, lovely Pauline, for your wisdom, caring, talent, patience, and love. And thank you, my fellow talented students, for your kind and loving support.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

PEACE

There's a certain lack of it at my house sometimes, and a lot of it seems to revolve around the one and only Archie Bunker chair in the house. It seems it's the favorite sittin' spot for the male types. It's not like there's a shortage of seats available...there's a perfectly comfortable large couch right by the Archie chair. But it always, always ranks second. And since Dave is the Archie Bunker of our house he pulls rank and claims his throne much to the disappointment of our boys.


Me: "I know what will solve everything!"

Dave: "What?"

Me: "We need to get two more Archie Bunker chairs!"


Eye roll...I tell ya, I'm a seriously underrated peacemaker.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

SHINE

Today was the 5th and last day of the annual Mother's Day jewelry sale that the special education department at the school where I work has each year to raise money for student supplies and training. And I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it all is. We collect donated jewelry that folks no longer love or use and then sell it for $1, $2, $3, and $4 to kids at the school so they can give it to their moms, themselves, friends or anyone they'd like. And there is nothing more precious than children making such important decisions. It's a beautiful thing...and I cannot wait to see all the moms sporting their awesome new bling come next week.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Bliss

I've got that exhaustion, that blissful exhaustion that you get when you're doing something you love. I've been putting tons of time and energy into getting ready for my WEST show...figuring out which paintings to hang and how and where to do it, pricing pieces I hope to find new amazing homes for, deciding what cookies to buy for folks who stop by. You know stuff like that! And I'm so happily in the land of bliss. 

I hope you'll stop by!!!

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

For the Love of Trees

I love trees. I always have.

When I was a kid I counted the trees in my yard amongst my best friends. The Chinese Tallow tree in the front yard was where I'd climb up with all kinds of gear...a pillow, a drink, and a book, of course...and plan to stay for many, many hours. The loquat tree in the corner near my room would hide my late night escapes and early morning returns. And the tree, more of a bush actually, of unknown type on the side of the house, well, behind that is where I'd meet boys and try out kissing.

Yes, trees are wonderful. I painted a couple of trees a week ago and really loved paying tribute to these wonderful creatures, so I thought I'd do a series of trees.

Here's a sweet little cluster of late spring or early trees. They remind me of Crepe Myrtles when they're not in bloom.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Winter

Funny thing about winter. Historically I'm so not a fan. I've got years worth of complaining about it under my belt. Years. But something's changed. I'm rather in love with the overcast skies. The trees' beauty fills me with awe. And the chill in the air makes me feel alive.

Perhaps it's age...you know, all that woman approaching "the change" stuff. Maybe it's that once we decided we'd retire in the northwest my mind/body/spirit decided it better start adapting. Or it could be that I'm just happier now than ever. 

Whatever it is I'm loving it. 

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

The Quiet Door

Several years ago Dave and I got a new microwave. It was pretty. It was just the right size. It cooked food just fine. And we hated it.

For some reason this microwave was not designed with teenagers in mind. Yes, teenagers. You see, teenagers tend to want to eat at all times of the night on the weekends and of course this involves microwaving. Well, our microwave was impossible to close quietly. No matter what you did, there was always a very loud "CLUNK!" when it closed. And this woke us up. Every. Time.

So when this loud closing microwave expired in the middle of the night this weekend, in a very stinky/smoky way I might add, my only requirement for our next microwave was that it close quietly.


And the very next day Dave came home with a brand spankin' new microwave. It is pretty. It cooks food just fine. It closes quietly. And we love it.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

My Heart Swells

I took my beautiful sister-in-law and my amazing niece and nephew to the airport today. Sniff...sniff....

As we drove my sister-in-law asked them what the high and low points of the trip were.


High point for my amazing nephew: "Playing with everyone."

Low point: "I don't think there was a low point."


High point for my amazing niece: "The ornament making party."

Low point: "Right now."


My heart swells with love and affection for them...till this summer, my sweets.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Fuzzy

I'm absolutely convinced that some creatures are put on this planet simply to amuse me.  And one such creature has recently moved in with us.  By "in" I mean in the coop in the back yard.  We've got five chicks, all different types, but one manages to be hysterical just by simply being.  And it crosses over into being ridiculously hysterical when it runs at full tilt with a grub in its mouth whilst being chased by another chick.

Meet Fuzzy.

Click here to purchase this painting.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Inspired

I love to "cheat" every once in a while.  From time to time I find myself surfing the web for art subject inspiration.  Usually not...usually there's enough entertaining me in my own life to keep me filled with artistic ideas, but every once in a while it's fun to see what's out there.

So the other day when I was in the back yard hangin' with my chickens and tinkering with some chicken drawing ideas, I pulled out my phone and googled something along the lines of "how to draw birds" or some such thing.  Well, a video popped up.  A video geared to children, no less, and it showed how to draw an owl.  It was adorable and I just had to try my hand at it.  And then I added a background and color to make it more my own.

So much fun!

Click here to purchase this painting.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!