"Free Spirit" .... as a painting progresses.....

"Free Spirit" 

 oil,  8"x 16"..not sure, but close

I want to paint a larger painting of this one.  

This is a small study...colors I want to use....layout, that kind of thing.

I took pictures along the way.  Not usually something I do, but did it this time.  

I love the look of the painting progressing...so I thought I'd show you.

I love these skull paintings.  Looks modern to me but I love the symbolism and ideas

 of spirituality that can be hinted at.  

Thanks for looking!

Reworked.....

"Waiting for Spring"

24" x 36" oil

This one was painted a few years ago, but it hangs in my house and is meant to be for the family,

a self portrait.  

So... because it hangs in the living room...I have the chance to look at it every day.  She kept whispering to me what she wanted.  I tried to ignore her.....tried to concentrate on the movie we were watching, or the book I was reading....but my eyes would drift over to where she was.  I'm a good listener....it took me years to get to it, but last night in the studio.  I did as I was asked. 

 You wouldn't know these things, unless you live with the painting and listen to her talk everyday!  The sky became a little warmer...her skin softened and warmed a bit on the sunlit side....petals floated and began to lay on her head and shoulders...her smile softened.  Ahhhh..... she's happy......I'm happy...it all worked out.  She was right...she's better this way.

  

Don't you just love to create??!!  Me too!!

Thank you for stopping by...looking and reading!

I appreciate it.

Plugged In

"Plugged In"

oil, 16" x 20"

Okay...finished her last night.  I like how this painting turned out.  Although I do think the lighting in my studio is so blue that it affected the color I saw and how I painted her skin.  It works....but I may not want the same look in my next painting.  Its wonderfully bright in my studio, but I can see this light is always going to lend a cool light to my paintings....not the warm glow I may want in others.

If you walked up to my studio at night....the light coming from the windows is so blue...

it almost looks like someone is welding inside!  I was going for "day light" bulbs, but I think I took it too far.  Back to Ace Hardware store!  I kinda love going there anyways...it's in my neighborhood...they recognize me, we work well together :)

At times, I've thought of working there....I could see myself as a hardware store girl.

It's very comforting being around all the tools, parts and pieces to make anything you want. 

I'll stick with painting for now.  

Thank you for looking!

Fresh paint....

I'm not sure of the title to this one.....it'll tell me soon enough.

I have it all blocked in and it ready for more today.

First I need to do other duties...hardware store.... get shipping tape and box cutters...make boxes

and ship some paintings.  Create some sketchbooks at Office Max...a great tip from Darrell Anderson  

on how to make inexpensive sketchbooks, so I'll sketch more!! The ipad is great for sketching, but what if a collector wants to buy my sketch?  Of course that happened on my first sketch!  The universe is screaming at me and sometimes I am so stubborn.  But when I'm shown what I cannot imagine on my own, then it sinks into my thick head! blah...blah...blah....

Moral of the story....I should burn through as much supplies as i need to get where I'm going!

Use more paint!!  burn through the canvases!! Use more paper!! paint until a brush goes bad, toss it and grab a new one!  Phew, that felt good.  I went crazy with the exclamation points...but its worth it.

I seem to love taking the long route when I learn....

Thank you for looking and reading my little art dilemmas :)

Sketching for fun.....

I just got a new iPad a few days ago, what a fun toy!!  I bought it for manipulating photos and working out new ideas for paintings.... But I got sidetracked with a sketching app!  

There is something so easy about picking it up and starting a sketch! I don't know why a piece of paper or sketch book is different. I guess I feel such a sense of commitment to create something wonderful....I'm not always up for that. If I don't like it.....I need to get rid of the evidence, rip it out and put it in the trash.  When my family hears the rip....they all turn, and of course...want to see what I thought was bad. Its kinda like a car accident.....there is a sounds that everyone will stop what they're doing to look....ripping paper always gets my attention too!  But this iPad....so silent, no commitment, just delete and start over...sweet. You know, I seem to like everything I draw on it too...I'm much kinder to myself with this little toy!

Okay.... maybe more than you wanted to know about my insecurities, but there you have it.  If you have an iPad and sketching sounds fun to you, download the "Sketchbook Pro" app, it's a lot of fun!!  It's something like $5 .....and  I use a little stylus instead of my finger, an inexpensive one works just fine :)

Salon International

"Sheltered" 

oil

8" x 24"

I am excited and honored to have been accepted into this year's Salon International!  I will have my painting "Sheltered" hanging in the Salon International this April at the Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, Texas!  The juror this year is David A. Leffel....thank you David, for choosing one of my paintings to be a part of this wonderful show!!

Check out The Greenhouse Gallery for more information....

www.GreenHouseGallery.com

Madrona Tree

Madrona Tree

12" x 16" oil

Alright....we don't have these in Alaska!  

My first morning on my trip to Bainbridge.....I'm sitting on the deck having morning coffee, and down below in the yard is this wonderful tree!  The bark is peeling....it's old and leaning out over the bank 

~ trying to get to the beach.... like the rest of us!  

When the sunshine hit this tree... the areas with the bark peeled away, glowed a beautiful shade of orange and some reds.  I knew I was going to paint this beauty! 

I found inspiration to paint everywhere I looked.

I love that about traveling....everything is so new and exciting...I want to paint it all!

Thank you for looking!

Sunset on Mt. Rainier

"Sunset on Mt. Rainier"

8" x 18" (estimated)

I'm on a trip and painting.  I have a glorious view of Mt. Rainier from my deck.

a few days ago..... the clouds moved and I saw it standing there....kinda blew my mind!  I had no idea it was there.  I was so focused on the view of Seattle from across the water.  

Sunset was minutes away.

I scrambled...got set up and then....tried to keep up... with the ever changing colors!  Right when I thought..."This is amazing!  I'm sticking with these colors and slamming it in" then the sun would inch a little further down.....and the pinks started glowing in front of me!  I switched gears...mixed the color I saw and just frosted it on over top....haha. I didn't want it to smear in and make mud.  Sometimes a girl needs a pallet knife to lay it on thick :)

I'm happy with this one.  I'm happy with this whole painting trip!  I have met the kindest people here....so giving and friendly....most feel like old friends that I've gotten back in touch with.

What a nice surprise!  And...I feel my artwork is about to change a bit.

Feels like a pivotal moment for my paintings......I've learned some things that I really needed 

from an artist here on the island, Darrell Anderson.  

(pick on his name...it will lead you to his blog and more information on him and his beautiful artwork)

I thought the plan was to come here and be alone with my thoughts...and just quietly paint.

But.... not the case.  I now know I came here to meet new friends... and feed my mind/ heart with new information for my paintings.  I love when life pulls me where I'm supposed to go.  I don't like making ALL the decisions.  Just point me in the right direction and surprise me!

Thank you for looking ....and reading, lol.

Sunrise

Sunrise

not too sure about size....somewhere around 8" x 14"

This is my very first Sunrise painting!  I can't believe I got up at 5:30......am.

That's what I affectionately call..."the middle of the night".

I sat and drank my cup of coffee and slowly woke up.  I got my set up and paints together and by 7:30am....looking at the horizon and smearing paint.  What a wonderful way to start my day!

Maybe I'll become a morning person?  As long as I don't have to make conversation before 10am, 

I could see it happening.

Thank you for looking! 

Who.........Me?

"Who......Me?"

10" x 20" oil

Do you ever feel like this?  Like you have a spot light on you and a big arrow pointing at you?

Put on the spot in some kind of way?  I do sometimes, I guess that's why I painted this.

It's kinda fun to play with my thoughts.....put them into form and then paint it.

Cathartic.  

Thank you for looking :)

Cherries....

11"x 14"  oil

I love this little thermos.  I found it at a thrift store recently.....it has my favorite colors.....l love cherry branches....I collect thermoses, it practically jumped into my arms when I walked by.  I love when this stuffs happens.....

Now I have a painting I'm excited about.  I just never know what's waiting around the corner for me, always nice surprises!

Now....what to name it?  I'll think on this one....hmmm.....

Thank you for looking!

Choices....

6" x 8" oil

I was out in my studio cleaning up yesterday, and I found this painting. The painting below.....in the post before today's, I was painting a sunset on my porch.  Well, after I was done and having a cup of coffee inside my warm kitchen......the last burst of the sunset was lighting the sky on fire.  I looked out the window and it had gotten crazy beautiful!

How could I stand there and drink coffee while a gift was being presented to me?  My set up was all still sitting there......I thought I might have about 5 minutes of that color,  so I got back out there and quickly captured my impression of what I saw.

It's always a choice.  Should I enjoy the beauty in a quiet way, just look, breath...soak it into my mind.

Or.....should I climb inside the beauty...feel it....express it the best I can?  

That's a tough choice.....but I love these little moments.  I had no idea I would be asked to make the choice when my guard was down and sipping my coffee!  and that's how life is....I love it.

That day I asked the universe......"show me how to paint it!"

I'll sit and soak it in peacefully another day :)

First post of the new year......

I set up my painting box on my deck railing....I'm still trying to get comfortable with moving my painting supplies around.  So here I am painting out side but only a few feet away from my studio.  I'll get there....I just can't seem to find a box that is lightweight, fits on a tripod and I can paint small or up to 16" x 20".  This is a great set up for larger paintings, but this Guerrilla painting box is big and heavy.

I want a set up I can travel with....like airports and fits in my luggage kind of traveling.

So, we'll see.  Anyways this was at about 3:00 to 4:00pm in Anchorage, Alaska.  You can see the sun is getting low and by the end of the painting...I'm catching the sun setting.  This time of year it happens fast.  I took pictures and called it quits...but at 4:15 to 4:30 the sky was on fire and the colors were out of this world.... next time.  Today I just stared, awestruck.  As my sister told me the other day....sunsets are God's paintings.  And today that thought came to mind.

Here's my finished painting.  I'm happy.  

I think I'm making some headway on these 

outdoor paintings!

Thank you for looking and reading. 

Lead by example......

"Head in the Clouds"

16" x 20" oil

Lead by example…..

I love who my dad was....exciting, adventurous, funny, loving and also just very down to earth and playful.  He was always chasing a dream and making fun things happen! I admire those qualities about him…I'd love to see more of that in the world.

I need to lead by example….be like him!  Go out and live the life of my dreams and let people watch me do it.

I want my boys to see everyone can do these wonderful things and everyone in their own way can live in their own adventure.  We don't have to watch from the sidelines and just admire others…we can go out and do it too!!!

Okay.....just thinking out loud,

thanks for checking in with me.

Go out there and live the life of your dreams people!!

Lets do this!!  

Alaska sunset

Alaskan Sunset

6" x 6"  oil

We had a beautiful, clear day here in Anchorage, Alaska.

 I knew I wanted to try painting the sunset today, but it was pretty cold..... -5.

This sunset was happening at about 3:45. 

  

So I set up in my yard....close to the house where I could zip inside and 

warm up by my wood stove.  This was quick, but fun.  I like painting outside, maybe next time it will be warmer.

Thank you for looking!  :)

The Beach.....

Tonight, in Anchorage Alaska, it's snowing.  It's so peaceful and beautiful....

..but....

I have the beach on my mind......I'll switch gears soon enough. 

I'm still enjoying the warm sunshine, crashing waves and ocean breeze in my head.

I had to try painting it.

Thank you for looking!

Blimp

"Blimp"

6" x 8"  oil

Sitting on the beach in California, I saw this big blimp cruising up and down the beach.

I knew I had to paint this!  Somehow blimps still make me think of the 1930's.

It would be great if this one was aluminum....but, the colors are beautiful too.

I'm home in Anchorage, Alaska....but warm & sunny California is still on my mind.

Thank you for looking! 

Las Laguna Gallery

My painting "Pretty in Pink" was juried into Las Laguna Gallery's "Women in Art" show.  These pictures are from last week's opening.

The show runs from November 7th until November 28th in Laguna Beach, California.

It's a great show with so many amazing artists....I felt very privileged to be a part of the show!

Check out Las Laguna Gallery....

and thank you for looking!

Fiona in Goggles

"Fiona in Goggles"

18" x 24"  oil on canvas

Apple in Cool Light

"Apple in Cool Light"

12" x 16"  oil on canvas