Heart

5" x 6" oil
sold
I chose to paint this pose of Buttercup because of the strong light and shadow and it was nice to see a heart-shape in the layout. I sure love my dog, and she is always good subject matter.
This small painting will be at my art show in Salt Lake City later this month, opening August 20th at Alpine Art. See you there.

Once: Part IV - and a new studio!

30" x 40" oils, in progress

I moved into my new studio today! I've included some pictures below.

It's been weeks since I've worked on Once but I needed a bigger space to be able to work on it productively, which is why today is a special day. It was so incredibly nice to have a large space to work in, one in which I didn't have to worry about hitting my head on the low sloping attic ceilings. Today has been a long time in coming. I'm looking forward to having a real studio space in which to produce paintings.

A blurb about today's painting: Once has gone through numerous transformations in color and composition. Today was all about simplifying the color zones and softening edges that were previously very hard. Who knows what the next session will bring? I'm liking the color-field feeling in this one though, especially in the large 30x40" size.

a yummy texture close-up

walking through the entrance of my new studio

a "must-have" for me

the initial work area

my friend

Star Watch

8" x 16" oils
sold
In college, I just about minored in astronomy. However, I got engaged and decided to be done paying tuition, so I simply finished my Bachelor of Fine Arts. I still love astronomy, and it finds its way into my art now and again.
I recently spent a week at a church Girl's Camp and I was in charge of conducting a Star Watch with the girls, teaching them constellations, etc.
Yesterday while I was sketching and thinking, a sketch very close to Star Watch came out and today I decided that it would become a painting. The meandering white line along the bottom is in charcoal and it's an oversimplified gesture of the ocean's movement. No need for details in this one.

Master of My Own Destiny

18" x 30" oil
sold

Master of My Own Destiny is a strong and balanced painting. I began my day today with no intention of painting, but as I ate my morning cereal, this painting popped into my head and once I went into the studio, it just all came out of the brush and knife and less than an hour later, this 18" x 30" catharsis was sitting on my easel, full of soul, love, and longing. Let me explain that last bit: art is great for sharing, and art is what I do, so I'm not too shy to say that the last bit of life for me has just been hard. I've felt some failure and disappointment. I've not painted much, so I think that's why today's painting leapt from the brush: it was all stored up inside.
Here is a poem I wrote to summarize the meaning of this painting:

The roar of the sea within my heart
laments the chances lost,
laments the failures keenly felt,
laments the sorrow's cost.

But it does not do to hide inside,
to never risk a fall,
to never try to live or die,
to never try to fly.

The sea, it says "I can be strong,
I can rise up again,
I can be free of chains and night,
I can succeed." And then-

My diligence is born of strife
My path's laid out as light.
The sun it rises steadily:
My destiny, my life.

Waiting For Birds

6" x 4" oil
sold

Here is my dog, Buttercup, sitting around waiting for birds to land in the yard so she can chase them off. She single-handedly keeps my raspberry and blackberry patch safe from quail. When I pick berries, she likes to help me eat a few. She hasn't learned yet how to eat them off the bush, and I hope she never does!

Last night I was talking to an avid art collector about how some artists (including myself) paint from photographs. The picture above is a good illustration of how I use a photograph for the inspiration and drawing, without limiting myself to the photo's drab color. A lot of painters stress about making their painting just like a photo, but why bother? Your imagination is so much richer.

awwww...