Fairy Tale

"Fairy Tale" 8 x 12 1/2" original oil

sold

Poppies and pansies, reds, blues, minty pale greens, oranges, yellows, whites...it just looks like a little fairy tale to me. There are some fun brush strokes in this one. I'm excited for the person who ends up purchasing this piece to have the chance to see and enjoy the surface of this little original. Update: I am happy to say that the same day I delivered this painting to the gallery, it sold! Thank you to my newest collector and to my fabulous galleries!

If you're heading south at all to St. George over the upcoming winter, be sure to stop by Authentique Gallery in Ancestor Square to see my work. They are a fantastic gallery.

The custom frame was made by my husband and me: 2 3/4" wide with silver leafing and a dark wax finish on the low areas. 

Content

"Content"

6 x 6" original oil

sold

Labs are so delightful. They are so happy and content. Years ago, when my husband and I decided to get a dog, we chose a lab mainly for their positive personality traits. I can learn a lot from my dog about being content in the moment. Bless her. 

Snow Day

"Snow Day"

10 x 10" original oil

sold

A few years ago, we took Buttercup to Idaho for the holidays. We stopped in Idaho Falls to attend church with family. Buttercup took a warm nap in the sunny backseat; she is really good in the car for long rides. When we came out, there was a skiff of snow on the ground and we let her run around and play in the park nearby. It was so fun to watch her leave little snowy paw prints. Watching her run around, free as a bird, is one of my favorite, favorite things. 

Five Seascapes: Peaceful, Darkness, Orange Beach I, Orange Beach II, and Orange Beach III

 

"Peaceful" 4 x 5" original oil

sold

This is the sea at an overcast, early morning on the shore of North Carolina. There is a healing tranquility in this little painting. 

I like angles that show the knifed-on paint.

"Peaceful" in its beautiful silver-leaf frame. 

"Darkness" 5 x 5" original oil

sold

I named this painting Darkness to inspire the purchaser: we all have trials, and it is the contrast between the light and dark in our lives that pushes us towards our full potential and beauty. 

"Darkness" in its frame. 

"Orange Beach I" 6 x 6" original oil

sold

My family vacationed in Orange Beach, Alabama for years. My dad recently sent me photographs of our beach hoping to inspire a painting. These three Orange Beach paintings are dedicated to him. 

"Orange Beach I" in its frame.

yummy detail of the thick paint

"Orange Beach II" 6 x 6" original oil

sold

My family vacationed in Orange Beach, Alabama for years. My dad recently sent me photographs of our beach hoping to inspire a painting. These three Orange Beach paintings are dedicated to him. 

"Orange Beach II" in its frame

yummy paint detail

"Orange Beach III" 6 x 6" original oil

sold

My family vacationed in Orange Beach, Alabama for years. My dad recently sent me photographs of our beach hoping to inspire a painting. These three Orange Beach paintings are dedicated to him. 

"Orange Beach III" in its frame

detail of scraping/texture

Here is what all three Orange Beach pieces look like lined up. I love it. Thanks, dad!

Luna, Pomona, and Minerva

I named all three in this rose series after literary characters in Harry Potter that I admire. 

Luna 4x4" original oil

sold

Luna Lovegood was funny, loyal, kind, and always herself!

Pomona 4x4" original oil

sold

Pomona Sprout, head of Hufflepuff House and Herbology, was an awesome gardener and always there to help in a pinch. 

Minerva 4x4" original oil

sold

Minerva McGonagall would have been a formidable opponent in a battle of wits. I love her spark and sharpness. 

Here is a progression of the painting Luna, ending with the palette and the piece in her finished frame. 

Here is a progression of the painting Pomona, ending with the piece in her finished (and beautiful!) frame. 

And finally, here is a progression of the painting Minerva, ending with the piece in her finished frame:

Did you know that Matt and I make my frames? Thank goodness I have a talented husband who knows how to woodwork, and thank goodness I have talented artist friends (and for YouTube) whom I have called on to ask for finishing advice, like what kind of sizing do you use to apply the aluminum leaf, and do you have a wax you prefer over shellac for rubbing the painted areas? The list is long of questions I have asked and answers I have received, and I'm grateful that I have been able to get help from others and grateful also that I have made some cool discoveries while experimenting with finishes on my own. It's most definitely been an organic process. My fingers have the cuts and burns to prove it! 

Flakey Jakes

6x6" original oil

commission

Thank you Gallery MAR for another dog portrait commission. This is Flakey Jakes. He is a beautiful chocolate lab who has passed away. My condolences to his mom and dad, and know that as a fellow dog-owner I understand that labs are a part of the family and dearly loved! 

I love this photo of Flakey Jakes on the beach wrapped in a towel. It's totally something I'd see my own lab doing. Her favorite thing is to be wrapped up like a burrito on top of my bed when it's cold outside. 

The paws were the most technically challenging area. They needed to have paw structure, but with sand colors irregularly on them. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I love the colors in the beach towel. It makes for a very striking painting. Flakey Jakes has the classic lab look and I just love him. I hope the family enjoys their portrait. 

XO

this painting's palette