Aspen

6 x 6" original oil

commission

This is Aspen, a beautiful yellow lab that belonged to a kind family and passed away just after Christmas. Her owner contacted me in January after finding my dog paintings online about doing a commission of this little sweetheart. I was more than happy to and was a little emotional in the process, knowing my own lab is already 7 and we've had her since she was an 8-week puppy. Time flies. 

 

Aspen reminds me so much of my own yellow lab, Buttercup. As I looked through photos of Aspen looking for a usable reference, it was evidenced in the many pictures with family that Aspen was very loved and included, as all family dogs should be. There were pictures of her in a boat with the boys, walking along the sidewalk behind some neighborhood kids, in a family picture at what looked like a big park or outlook, sleeping on the couch snuggling the boys who were also asleep on the couch, and wrestling the boys in the backyard. 

To Aspen's family, thank you for letting me paint your beautiful dog, and I hope this painting of her brings you comfort and a smile! She is a little angel.

Petticoat

20 x 20" original oil

sold

White on white is a favorite color combination of mine, mostly because it gives me a chance to use some blues and creams that I don't if I paint other colored flowers. Thank you Linda for the title idea.

The glare shows my brushstrokes, which I think is pretty cool. I love looking at originals because I can see brushstrokes, but it's harder when looking at photographs to see any brushstrokes. This photograph from the angle kind of shows you how I put the strokes together to build a flower. 

detail shot

detail shot

detail shot

This painting was so much fun to do. I exaggerated the blues and lavenders, but I'm glad. That extra color and the pull between warm and cool gives the whites some life. 

Determination

10 x 10" original oil

sold

I see a lot of people around me whose determination impresses me. I think at times I myself have some pretty good determination, especially when life happens, and you all know what I mean. But mostly, I want to thank my friends and family for the determination I see in them to get through trials and hard times. That's what was going through my mind when I was painting this foreground blossom, and it seemed to fit, how it's in the jumbled mass but above it all and blooming. 

The light was overcast when I shot this bed of tulips. I don't paint a lot from overcast light, but I hope someone likes it anyway. I loved that blossom in the front. It was actually blooming to the left, but I flipped it because it felt unbalanced blooming to the left. 

delicious detail and brushwork

Indian Summer

20 x 20" original oil

sold

More backlighting. I just love it. The colors here are just so yummy and the light is so strong. This is my favorite kind of painting to do. I will be repainting this bed of flowers with different cropping on a 30 x 45" scale for the piece I'll be submitting for consideration for the Spring Salon down at the Springville Museum. That is a show I have gotten in to once out of eight years of trying. Wish me luck this year!

Indian Summer is a name I chose for the fall colors and warm temperatures that fit the feel of this painting. It has a nice ring to it. 

This 20 x 20" will be available for purchase at Art & Soup the first week of April. It's a show that you have to buy a ticket for, but all ticket sales and a portion of all art sales will benefit Community Nursing Services, a charitable hospice provider. This is CNS's major fundraiser of the year. I'm happy to be able to participate and help out! Click here for ticket, location, parking, and other Art & Soup information.

I had so much fun with the blossoms in the background that are out of focus and full of different colors. I didn't mix anything ahead of time on my palette. I just grabbed two, three, four colors with my brush, swirled them around, and put them right on the painting. I exaggerated some colors, for example the reflective greenish edge on the one blossom in the background, upper left, but it's OK. My philosophy is that it's never a bad thing to exaggerate a bit of color, or a bit of warmth. 

Can't you just close your eyes and feel the sunlight warming up your face? I love that about painting. I can take a blank canvas and paint light on it, and when it's done, I can feel the sunlight. Not bad on a stormy day in March. :) 

I would have loved to post close-up pics of Indian Summer, but I was lucky to get nine shots in before the rain started pattering down, and I shot this one outside this morning in the perfect overcast light. Maybe later!

I had a group of artists from the Utah Valley Artist Guild come tour my studio a few days ago and they got to see this painting in progress. I hope some of them see the finished piece here on my blog and let me know what they think about how it turned out. It was a pleasure having them at my studio and I wish them all luck.

Promise

10 x 10" original oil

sold

I love this size of painting, and I love the backlighting here mixed with the juicy pinks and warm grays, greens, and hits of lavender. Translucence is so pretty in paint. I almost don't want to sell this one. 

This composition is a small cropping from a large bed of flowers. I originally had planned to paint the whole lot of them, but decided instead to zoom in tight on this little area. I may some day still paint the zoomed out view, but not anytime before mid May. I need to finish everything else planned and built for upcoming shows. 

I'd love to see any of you at my upcoming art shows! Please come if you can. Go here to see some more info on where and when.