Beggar

6 x 6" original oil

sold

Happy Halloween! I kinda feel like I should have finished a painting with some orange...

Thank you to my friend Bryn who supplied photographs of her dog Mollie. I love Mollie's face in this painting. This is how my dog looks at me when she's saying "You don't really mean that, do you? Can I have it? Please? ... You're so mean."

I love dogs.

detail area

Holi I

17 x 17" original oil

sold

I have had this reference taped to my studio wall for a couple of months now. I could see that it had great light, shape, blossom and color variety, and balance. I was surprised though when I started painting at how exciting this reference really was. There is a lot going on. Up close, the "cabbage" petals remind me of stained glass because of their outlines filled with little pieces of color. (See the detail below). I named this Holi I for the Holi Fest and all it's colors, and the numeral one because I plan to do a series from this patch.

detail area

Thanks to my friend Donna who took the following pictures:

Concord

10 x 10" original oil

sold

The purples in this painting, especially next to the yellows in Mosaic, are outstanding. I love these colors. It's not often I get to pull out so much blue in my tulip art. I named this painting Concord for the colors: the blue areas are like the peel of the concord grape, and the deep violets are the color of the juice. The color of sunlight coming through a glass of concord grape juice is one of my favorite colors ever. 

Each Thanksgiving when I was growing up, my parents would divide a bottle of Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice between all of our goblets. SOMETIMES we were lucky and there were two bottles. We each got a bit of the deliciousness. I remember looking at the color the juice made when I looked through my goblet up at the lit chandelier. See? Even as a kid, color fascinated me. 

This painting will be part of my art show on November 8th in Salt Lake City.

detail area

Mosaic

 

14 x 18" original oil

sold

 

 This is another painting I have finished that will be included in my art show on November 8th. Each brushstroke in this painting reminded me of a single tile in a large mosaic. The up-close views are ridiculous. I love how warm this piece is, and those little reliefs of red and gray-green. These tulips look fluffy. They are that peony-looking variety, and tons of fun to paint.

I'd like to thank the "Tron movie soundtrack" Pandora station for getting me through this painting. ;)

Be Yourself

10 x 10" original oil

sold

This little painting is going to be at my November 8th art show. It is a companion painting to Coral, meaning it is from the same patch of flowers. I originally planned for this painting to be a bit bigger so I may still repaint it larger some day, but I am loving the portability and compactness of these 10x10"s I've been completing. 

It's now 7pm and I'm headed back out to the studio to begin the next painting. This is what it's like before a show! I have a Band-aid over my right thumb where the brush has rubbed a split into my skin. I inventory the time I spend in the studio on beautiful days and sleepy nights, the splits in my fingers from painting and mixing colors, the cricks in my back and neck from working at an easel, and it all evaporates into bliss when I see a finished painting in the hands of a happy collector. I live and work to share my talent, and I LOVE what I do.

This last year I feel I've become stronger in being myself. Yes, I'm 33 (34 this week), I am married, I have no children, I am a Mormon, I am an introvert unless you put me at a U2 concert or on a volleyball court or other sporting arena and then I am an animal, I love loud music, I have zero self-control when it comes to good ice cream and I want to take Matt on a trip to hike the Alps and sleep under the stars.

Life. It's hard, it's sweet, it's short, so be yourself.