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!

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.