Fireflies

14x17" oil

sold

I've been so busy with commissions and the holidays that I haven't painted "just for me"; this painting is one I've had on the back burner for weeks. I really enjoy the colors in this piece. I deliberated over the background color for days - this color has just the right amount of green and blue in it to make me happy with the choice.

Christmas Surprises

I've finished this portrait and it's frame for a friend - a Christmas surprise. The photo is of her dad holding her as a little girl. I love her pigtails and little fist grabbing her dad's shirt.

Some Pictures from Tonight

Here are some pictures from tonight's live painting demo at Terra Nova Gallery. There was a good crowd and  I met many new people. One of my tulip paintings at the gallery sold while I was there. I always like meeting new collectors so I was happy to be there at the same time.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Down Dog

6x6" oil

sold

OK, so the title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I can't help myself. I've been wanting to do a painting of my dog doing this yoga stretch since I got her, but I've never gotten a good shot of the pose until now. I love how she's squinting into the sun, and I can feel the stretch in my own ribs and legs when I look at this painting. This would be cool in someone's yoga studio. This painting is available at Alpine Art.

The beginnings...I decided to paint on red.

awwww, the real dog in my studio while I paint

Once

30x40" oil

sold

I love this painting. I got up early this morning and finished it. It's been sitting in my studio, unfinished, for weeks and weeks, waiting for me to come back to it. Usually they are fast and furious, done in a day or two. The title "Once" came from the feeling of being on the beach before daybreak, all things fresh, clean, and ready to begin again - a wonderful metaphor for life.

Enjoy the detail shots below.

Distracted but Happy

This is what I woke up to this morning... it's the first time on my birthday that I've had this much snow! The pumpkins on my steps are buried.

 Yesterday I picked Concords and made it through some of the juicing before the end of the day, but I need to finish it today since the picked grapes are just sitting there, waiting for love. I look forward to this all year!

 Before...

AFTER! (angelic voices singing...)

Blue Belles

8x8" oils

This painting will be available through Xanadu Gallery 

sold

Blue Belles is a fun title for this fresh, contemporary piece. I love how these tulips feel sunny and tall.



Luminaries

18x24" oils
sold
This is a personal favorite. The person that ends up buying this painting will have one beautiful piece. It would have looked great on my own wall.

The photo below shows a preview of the painting I'll begin next: whites and blues, very fresh with a contemporary composition.

Luminaries: Part I

18" x 24" oils
(sold)

I'm geeking out over the luminous salmon pinks in this piece. I'm very pleased with how this one is coming along - even the stems (my nemesis) are cooperating and the composition feels very natural. This is my favorite color of tulip to paint - the pinks are so very luscious.
My brain is officially fried though after working on a piece this large with this many blossoms all in one sitting. If I had more steam, I'd do the background and finish it all tonight but I'm hungry and Netflix is calling my name!

Saturday Night's Mali Rising Fundraiser

At the dinner

James and Shelby, the new owners of Soul

Our table of friends

One of the silent auction tables

Mamadou Diabate: a Grammy-winning musician who entertained the crowd

Saturday night was a great night. My painting, Soul, sold quickly and I was glad the proceeds went to a good cause.  I even won something at the silent auction.

Compliments

8 x 8" oil

sold

Here is a preview of some new work that will be at my Fall Show this November. I began this painting today with the intent of painting light pink tulips, but it must be the reds and oranges I can see up on the mountains, because these strong harvest colors are what came out of the brush. Light pinks will have to wait for another day.

This variety of tulip is a favorite to paint. The blossoms are strong in both color and line, and this little 8x8" hanging on a wall is just a POP of color that would make any art-lover giddy.

Soul

7x7" oil
sold at the Mali Rising Foundation dinner auction

She's finished: my beautiful Mali girl, full of soul. Soul is the only word that would work for the title too - she just has this look in her eyes of strength, goodness and power. Here is a video about Yeah Samake and the Mali Rising Foundation: http://www.youtube.com/v/mn18CoUfweo&hl=en&fs=1

almost finished. . .

(7x7")

I've got to work on her shirt some more and I think that will be about it. My husband is going to build a wide frame for this that I will finish with a black-brown coat of wax. I'm glad to get this painting out of the way. It was intimidating but I think it's turning out really well. Looking at her makes me feel peaceful.

Now it's about time to start two other paintings for the Dollhouse Fundraiser that are due at the end of the month. I'm going to paint tulips for those. I have no idea what tulips, but tulips nonetheless.

Today's Happenings

I got the mail today and there was a surprise check from my Salt Lake City gallery - Waiting For Birds, the above painting of my yellow lab, has sold. It was a favorite and I'm sad to see it go, but happy it is in a fellow dog-lover's home.

Above, you can see two pictures showing the portrait I'm starting of the (beautiful!) Mali girl. This portrait will be for sale at the dinner-fundraiser-auction next month for Mali Rising, the foundation that builds schools in Mali, West Africa. Thanks to James Arrington, my friend and fellow artist, who took the picture in Mali and is letting me use it for a painting. She is just stunning. I can't get over her eyes. It will be hard to capture her grace - what was I thinking taking on such a hard painting?

Aaaaand...I'm shopping for another easel. I'm hopefully going to end up with three easels that I can work on all at the same time: one set up for tiny pieces, medium, and the big boy for huge paintings.

And after a lovely morning, I check on my chickens and they have this for me. I love my chickens.

Endings

19" x 22" - oils
sold

This is the painting I finished today. I started it last week and it was originally 25" tall, but there was no way around the big black nothing at the bottom - it was too heavy so I chopped it off and luckily it was on the end. Now the composition feels better. It feels like it's supposed to: balanced, peaceful with an edge, and open.

I titled it Endings because of the way the painting feels to me and because I see life happening in cycles. I have a quote on my blog home page that says "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." That sums it up nicely.

Enjoy the close-ups below.

Wyyyyyyoming

Taking a quick trip. It's time to get away. Views like this in the West make me want to be a landscape painter! So many things to paint, so little time...

Rain

6" x 6" oil

sold

This painting feels very fresh, and the soft grays and yellows remind me of being outside after rain has cleared. I love how crisp the light is on the stem and how balanced the shapes inside the petals feel.

Can I say I am LOVING the weather we're having in Utah right now? Beautiful and sunny with a cool breeze. I do my drawing outside now, and it's so invigorating.

...wow...now that I've posted this painting to my blog, I can see how perfectly it matches the grays and yellows in my layout. Weird. I guess I really do like those colors.

Garnet

6" x 6" oil
sold

The rich red color inspired the title of this piece, like looking into a lit garnet. Tulips can have the most amazing colors. Enjoy.

On a side note, it's been great painting in my new studio. The light for painting and photographing is much better out there, and I enjoy being able to step outside to take a break and get some fresh air, listening to the birds and feeling the breeze.

chroma!