Show at Modern Dweller's Chocolate Lounge

"Branches with Blossoms"

16" x 40", oil on canvas

I just hung a show at a wonderful Chocolatier in Anchorage, Alaska.

16 Paintings in all....they will be on display and for sale during the month of April.

Go down and take a look and sip on some wonderful liquid chocolate ....or bite into a delicious truffle, you won't be disappointed :)

Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge

530 East Benson Blvd, Anchorage, Alaska 99503

phone # 907-677-9985

Flowers...

This is a detail of a larger floral painting I just finished.

I'm painting flowers for an upcoming show!

It feels great focusing my eyes and mind on color, warmth and nature waking up from 

a long winter of sleep. 

Spring is right around the corner....but in my studio, its already here!! :)

Thank you for looking....and reading!  :)

Flowers…#9

"Flowers,  #9"

8" x 10", oil on canvas

I'm not sure what I think about this one…

Painting at night in my studio, I turned off a lot of lights and put a spotlight on this little still life.

I even turned off some lights close to my canvas.

I guess I'd say I was painting in the dark.  The painting kinda turned out dark.  I'm surprised, because I thought maybe it would lead to a lighter painting.  

It was an experiment… which is the cool thing about 

 painting everyday, I'm 

feeling more casual about these little paintings, less pressure…more playful.

I like that.  :)  

Okay…thank you for checking in on me!

I appreciate it!  :)

Roses in Red

"Roses in Red"

12" x 12", oil on canvas

Flower # 8….. vibrant.  

Painting at night, with it dark outside, and dimly lit inside, except for the roses :)  I've been soaking up the saturated color, like a little bit of sunshine before bed.  

My son thinks I'm crazy…."why would you want to paint flowers everyday?"  with a confused look on his beautiful face.

"I love flowers!  It feels like sunshine in the dark winter"

Nodding in agreement, he walks off to his computer.

"Go paint flowers Mom!  Good job!"

I'm so lucky….

I love my family.  :)

Thank you for looking and reading!!  :)

Flowers….three days in a row!

"Flowers 3"

16" x 20" , oil on canvas

Sold

Okay…somehow I've managed to paint flowers three days in a row.  I was walking my dog this morning and was thinking ….what if I challenged myself to paint flowers everyday for a month?

Of course, just saying that is almost a jinx for me.  I'm really great at convincing myself of things I should do daily….then conveniently forgetting all about it by day three or four….7 tops!  

But maybe….painting flowers each day would be cool.  I love looking at them.  I'd love to experiment with painting them different ways.  I'd love to get better at painting them.  They make me feel great in the dead of winter during Alaska's darkest months….  

hmmm…… maybe I'll paint flowers everyday ...until who knows when.  :)

Thank you for looking and reading!!

I talk to myself a lot….it's nice thinking I'm talking to someone else on these blog posts! :)

Flowers...

"Flowers" 18"x 24", oil on canvas 

sold

There was a time when I thought that I never wanted to be a "flower painter".  For some unknown reason in my mind, it just seemed like a cliche that I didn't want any part of.   Be careful of the things you pronounce with strong emotion.  Because it means you have strong feelings about them….which means... they mean something to you, deep down.  Kinda like the kid on the playground that is accused of liking someone….and they protest loudly how much they DON'T like that other person!  

Well, there you go.   

So now I daydream about florals…heavy clumps of luscious petals,  dripping with color…alive with beauty.  I know I'm excited about something when I want to paint it on the biggest canvas I can find! 

I just went thrift store hunting for different vases, cups and containers for beautiful flowers to nestle into…. for me to enjoy looking at for hours, while I paint.  It seems like the best of both worlds…. having flowers to enjoy and exploring how to paint them in a way that brings a painting to life in front of me.   

Thank you for looking!  ….and thank you for reading!!

Flowers

"Flowers"

22"x 28", oil on canvas

sold

This whole painting was inspired by the colors of sunlight

 within this glass jar….me, trying to capture all that glorious color!

If I try again, would something new happen?  Would I see the colors the same way?  

I know the shapes could shift…that part I'm not too fussy on.  But the colors,

would I see and mix them the same way on a different day…different mood?

Recently I had someone want a painting that was already sold.  They asked if I could 

paint them another one just like it.  I said I could try….see how it turns out and let them know.

Even though they're almost identical, I can see the emotional part of it is gone, in the second painting.

The inspiration, that was there in the beginning…it's only in the first painting.

It's like a science fiction show….the cloned painting doesn't have the personality 

that the first did.  Maybe I'm the only one that would notice it in my own work. 

The inspiration, the spark…. the love…it's so important to a painting.

Its the main reason I don't paint commissioned pieces….

from someone else's photo.  It might be a wonderful picture/subject…but if it didn't 

tickle my brain….it might not turnout very well. 

Anyways…I do like this painting…and I won't try it again, 

cause I have something else I'm inspired about today :)

Thank you for looking…and reading!

I appreciate it :)

Flowers

"Fresh Flowers"

oil 16"x20"

I used to love painting from my imagination.  Now, after a few years of painting from life and what I see in front of me, I wonder if I can go back.  There is an amazing artist named Jill Carver.....she said  "artists should be poets and not journalists".  I love that simple statement, it says so much....and it speaks to me and what I'm hoping to accomplish in my own art.

I want my paintings to be poetry....

If I only paint what I see, am on on the right track?  That's my question to myself lately.

Thank you for looking....and reading.

Arizona Tea

"Arizona Tea"

Wow....it's been awhile since I posted a new, finished painting.

I've been stuck....

I'm exploring and learning to paint plein air (outside, on site)

And that's been fun, it's been a bunch of good "starts", but

no finishes.  This is my first finished painting in a while.

Feels good!  I should do this more often! 

 Some studio paintings to go along with 

my learning paintings.

Okay....so.....these Arizona Tea cans, aren't they beautiful?

I love the colors....the cherry blossom branches, and it made a perfect

vase for a bright geranium blossom.  Lots of favorites of mine in this little 

setting....colors....metal....flowers......sweet tea :)

Thank you for looking!

July Roses

July Roses

#9 

I was playing with a pallet knife on this one.

I'm tired of looking at my brush strokes....so out came the pallet knife!

This rose bush is on the corner of my house.  

Somehow it's managed to grow in spite of moose munching on it all winter and spring.

 Over the years it's grown to be about 6' tall.....in spite of all the munching and pruning.

What a survivor!  The roses are so pretty and they smell wonderful.  They're in bloom now for a few weeks and then they'll bloom again at the end of the summer.

This is the first time I've painted them.

This is #9 of my plein air paintings.....I'm going for 200.

That's my goal.  I have a ways to go. 

Thank you for looking!