Sunday, December 28, 2008

Monday Morning - Painting of a Bulldog

When I was taking the photo of this guy the title for the painting just seemed appropriate. Wild week-end and facing a new work week...I showed my friend Nancy Medina
and she thought the title was appropriate too. Thank goodness for my art friends and their support.

"Monday Morning"
5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board
Available on Ebay

Dexter - A Mixed Breed

Sleepless night produces paintings... : )
But it is hard to take decent photo in the early morning's slanted rays. So I am excusing myself for the photo which is a little rough. Dexter was a foster dog my sister-in-law took care of for a while.
"Dexter"
5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board
SOLD

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Cat Eyes


I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I was out of the country for a little while and was a little busy to post for the rest of the time. I really liked painting "Sally - the cat" that I'm trying another - more of a close-up, facial painting of a tabby. The new year will soon be here - what are your resolutions? Do you do resolutions? I say I do and then I forget. I just read how it is good to write down your goals - so my first resolution is to sit down and write down how I vision 2009 to be. I know that one of them is to paint more!
"Cat Eyes"
5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board
It will be available on Ebay.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Sally - Painting of a Cat


My friend's cat, Sally.
5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board
nfs

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Angel Dreaming

A client who had bought one of my previous angel asked that I try one of an angel sleeping. She says that even angels grow weary sometimes. I kept hearing the song (it's an oldie) by Bread, singing "sleep, silent angel, go to sleep....all I need is the air that I breathe and to love you"

So for all the silent angels:

"Angel Dreaming"
6 x 8 inches, Oil on board, Palette knife work
$35.00 + s/h

Monday, December 8, 2008

Angels Everywhere

My friend Sharon Hughes who is a Century 21 Realtor gave me an idea about painting an angel holding a home. Angels do protect homes - so here are my house angels - I painted two of them.


"House Angel"
8 x 6 inches, Oil on Board, Palette knife


"House Angel 2"

8 x 6 inches, Oil on Board, Palette knife


$35.00 + s/h

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Grapevine Main Street Art Gallery

Recently I joined the Grapevine Main Street Gallery in Grapevine, Texas. Yesterday the artists in residence set up our easels outside and painted. The weather was perfect! 60 degrees, lots of sunshine and no wind! Here are a few photos of the artists at work:

Rosemary

Rosemary and Me

Kristi, Ruth, Cheri and Judith





Thursday, December 4, 2008

Quietly

Sometimes the colors just feel right. This one felt right. And although there appears to be a lot of color - it just seemed "quiet"

"Quietly"
14 x 14 x 3/4 inches, Oil on Stretched Canvas
Palette knife.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Burrasca


I love painting dunes and saltgrasses on beaches. As I was setting up to paint the sky I liked the interaction of the light and darks which made me think of a squall line or a storm far off but making it's way. Burrasca is Italian for storm.
"Burrasca"
20 x 24 x 3/4" inches, Oil on Canvas, Palette knife.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Christmas Gift


Have you gotten your Christmas Shopping done? I stayed home on the so-called Black Friday. I tend to procrastinate...Well I painted a christmas gift. Red and Green.
"Christmas Gift"
5 x 5 inches, Oil on board

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Angels Everywhere

This is another "Michael". Creating artwork as a career is a very solitary business. Many of you checking out my blog probably know what I mean. I am so fortunate to have a circle of artist friends who live near enough to get together for painting, for coffee, for a glass of wine, for brainstorming.

Nancy was my angel last week, when I was asked to paint these little man-angels I realized that I was out of the 6x8 Raymar boards I used for all my angel paintings. Although I went online immediately and ordered more boards, it'd be over a week before I'd get them. Thankfully Nancy had several and I was able to get started on these paintings right away.

"Michael"
6 x 8 inches, Oil on Board, Palette knife

Friday, November 28, 2008

Michael the Angel


I was asked if I'd paint a male angel. I had fun trying to think of how to paint a male angel - bare chested with billowy pants? Legs? Michael, the angel portrayed by John Travolta wore a trench coat. I wanted to keep the style of the other angels I painted so this is my male angel; I painted two - they are both named Michael for the movie angel:
"Michael 2"
8 x 6 inches, oil on board, palette knife

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Blue Trees and as of yet untitled

I finished this painting last week and having not come up with a good "catchy" title. Any suggestions? I might just call it what it is "Blue Trees". I look at the painting and the feeling I had when I painted it. It is not a lonely piece, though it has a lot of blues and dark colors. Since it is Monday today "Monday Morning"

It is a larger painting - 24 x 24 x 1.75 inches - oil, palette knife on stretched gallery wrapped canvas.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Fascination - A painting of tulips

So much to write about. I've taken a couple of pottery classes with Kim Norris but I haven't any photos to post. I'm covered with clay when I am finished and my pieces are lopsided... But Kim has started me with the wheel - when she touches the clay it's magic, when I touch it...ha!


Tomorrow I'll be at Grapevine Mainstreet Art Gallery during their Christmas Market. If the weather is permits? I've joined the artists at Grapevine Mainstreet Art Gallery - and have some of my paintings exhibited there. If you are ever in Grapevine, Texas the address is 121 Main Street. Stop by!

I painted the above last week when my painting friend, Nancy Medina, and I painted at Cafe de Soleil. I enjoy painting with her because we are on the same page and can bounce ideas off of each other.
"Fascination"
14 x 14 x 1.5 inches
Palette knife on Gallery wrapped canvas

Saturday, November 15, 2008

We Did It







We did it! We braved the cold and set up our easels to paint outdoors!!
Though the temperatures were in the mid to high 40's and the winds were out of the North, the sun was out and made for a pleasant morning.
Here is Nancy at her easel. She painted a beautiful Texas landscape with bluebonnets.
Painting outside the studio is always a challenge - packing the paints and easel and all the other "stuff". And wouldn't you know it I forgot to pack my paintbrush holder!! I didn't have any brushes nor palette knives to paint with! Fortunately Nancy had brushes to spare and let me borrow her palette knife and brush! It's great having a painting buddy!
And this is me with my big aloe looking plant. : )
It was fun nonetheless.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Saturday Painting



On Saturday, November 15, Nancy Medina and I are going to be at Cafe de Soleil in the Southlake Town Center painting outside.


We'll probably set up around 1030 in the morning and paint for a couple of hours.


If you're in the area - stop by and say "hello".


Cafe de Soleil
1244 Prospect St.
Southlake, TX 76092


And if you can't stop by, at least pray we don't get rain or wind...Nancy says she can paint in the cold...we'll see : )


Monday, November 10, 2008

Distance

A customer who'd bought a 7x5 inch painting from me in the past asked if I had another small painting of "Distance" which was on my website to add to her small art collection. So I painted the smaller version. The reason I named it Distance was because although the couple sits together it just appeared that they were miles apart in thoughts and perhaps desires. They aren't even touching. So I'm not going to change the title of the smaller painting and am calling this one
"Distance II"
5 x 7 inches, Oil on Board
Palette knife.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Lost and Found


Finding something lost is such a keen feeling. A misplaced key, a friend from the past, a pair of glasses, the favorite pair of jeans we tossed into the corner of the closet when we could no longer fit into it, a secret beach where we used to hang out when we were teens, a phone number scribbled on a notepad...
What interesting joy have you had when you "found" something you thought you'd "lost"?
"Lost and Found"
12 x 12 x 3/4 inches, Oil on Canvas
Palette Knife

Friday, November 7, 2008

Sweet Rememberances - Vase of Sunflowers

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked.
~Author Unknown
Nancy, my art friend blogged about me. I was trying to think of a good friend quote in response. I think this one is a perfect one. (She thinks I'm a funny friend - dunno if it's "funny - ha ha" or "funny - peculiar")
I think I must have still been thinking of Van Gogh when I painted this vase of flowers. I almost named it "Vincent's Flowers" but decided on:
"Sweet Rememberances"
Oil on Canvas, 14 x 11 x 3/4 inches
Palette Knife


Thursday, November 6, 2008

Quiet Dance - A Painting of More Irises


I liked painting the smaller paintings of Irises so much that I had to do a larger version of it again with the palette knife. The irises seemed to be dancing in a gentle twilight breeze. I also found the title of this painting from a title of a song I heard on Hiroshi Yamaoka's Soundclick page.
"Quiet Dance"
20 x 20 x 3/4", Oil on Stretched Canvas,
Palette knife

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Escape - A Painting of Irises


Have you ever felt like running away? Where would you go? I love painting because it allows me to "escape"...I painted another Van Gogh-esque Iris painting. Perhaps he wanted to get away from it all...that is why I named this one:
"Escape"
Oil on stretched canvas, 10 x 8 inches x 3/4" depth
Palette knife painting.

Irises at Twilight

Painted this during our "kinda weekly painting night". It's good to get together with friends to catch up on what everyone's been up to, drink a little wine, nibble on crackers, get inspired, ask each other to critique and make suggestions and get a little paint on the canvas.

Our local museum, The Kimball in Fort Worth is wrapping up their exhibit of the Impressionists. Van Gogh is my favorite impressionist artist, so with that inspiration in mind -

8 x 10" on stretched canvas
Palette Knife

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

A Glass of Wine with Friends


My painting buddy and friend, Barbara wanted me to paint her a couple more paintings of wine glasses. The scene is from the Los Pinos Winery we went to last fall in East Texas. We actually had three white wine but I've changed one glass to red for this painting.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Someone to Watch Over Me

"Heaven's Tears"
8 x 6 inches, Oil on Board, Palette Knife
$35.00 + $6.00 s/h
My friend's father passed away on Friday after battling with cancer. The angels I have been painting are probably influenced by love and death, life, living and love.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Hark! An Angel Sings

"An Angel Sings"
Oil on Board, Palette Knife, 8 x 6 inches
$35.00 + $6.00 s/h
"Hark"
Oil on Board, Palette Knife, 8 x 6 inches
$35.00 + $6.00 s/h
I do believe there are angels who watch over us. With Christmas coming - I thought angels might be a good subject matter.




Sunday, October 19, 2008

Homestead - House with Red Roof

I painted this little house at about the same time I painted the green roof house below but could not come up with names. It's a house with a reddish roof and then my mind draws a blank, I could get no further. I was tempted to name it "house" and maybe I might use that as a title in the future. But for today I will call this little one:
"Homestead"
6 x 6 inches, On Raymar Board
Palette knife painting
It will soon be available on Ebay.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Angels Everywhere

I did a couple of angel paintings last night and my friend Barbara helped me name the top one.

"Teardrops From Heaven"
8 x 6 inches, Oil on Raymar Board
Click here to bid.
"An Angel Listens"
8 x 6 inches, Oil on Raymar Board

If you'd like to hear some very pretty guitar playing - it's angelic, click on the widget on my sidebar that reads Swing Street Cafe. I love listening to it when I paint.

And please be an angel and feed the dogs and cats on my sidebar widget - it's fun.


Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Simplicity - Painting of a House with Green Roof



I don't know if I've titled this painting "Simplicity" because of the limited palette, muted colors or the feeling I get looking at a small green roofed house. Or maybe it's because I've been reading a blog lately called "On Simplicity".


"Simplicity"

6 x 6 inches, Oil on Board

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Christmas Comes Early

I have been painting more poinsettias. These are all small paintings done with the palette knife - full of texture. I think they'd be great as little Christmas Gifts. I'll be posting them on Ebay.

Click here to Bid.


"Joyeux"
5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board

"Joyeux Noel"

7 x 5 inches, Oil on Board

"Noel"

5 x 7 inches, Oil on Board

"Merry, Merry"
6 x 6 inches, Oil on Board

Monday, October 13, 2008

Dancing With My Heart

I think this is a title of a song; I'm not too sure, but I like the sound of it. I'm calling this painting "Dancing With My Heart"
20 x 16 x 1-3/4", Oil on Stretched Canvas
Palette Knife painting.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Key West Lighthouse

I've been following Linda Blondheim's blog lately. If you are reading this and are an artist I highly recommend her site. She gives wonderful advice on the business, marketing and techniques of ART. She's a Florida artist so my mind was going back to when I used to live in Key West and did this little painting of the Key West Lighthouse.

"Key West Lighthouse"
7 x 5 inches
One of Linda's topic is about artists helping artists. I have many artist friends whom I admire and really appreciate when I can ask them questions about anything, everything and they talk to me. : ) yeah!
So, please let me tell you about Melissa and her pug Emmitt. She is an artist and and entrepreneur. I really admire her. I've bought some soap and wrapping paper from her and shipping was lickety split!! Even tho' my "daughters" are pointers and not pugs - I love the pug products. She also does do other breeds. Check out her site in time for Christmas!! Great gifts for all animal friends. This is a little ornament she has on Etsy

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Tuscan Blue Door


While visiting Italy I took photos of so many doors, doorways, arches. I love the colorful doors in stone walls with plants flanking the sides.
"Tuscan Blue Door"
5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Christmas Flowers - Poinsettias

I like painting Poinsettias. But taking photos of these are an ordeal. I just couldn't seem to get the glare off no matter where I placed them. The glare seems to catch every palette knife stroke. So, it's a little hard to tell exactly but the I toned the surface with black for these paintings which made the reds really "pop".

The top one is called "Christmas Red" 5 x 7 inches, Oil on Board.
Available on Ebay. $30.00 + $6.00 s/h. Click here to bid.


This one is "Merry", 5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board.
Available on Ebay. $28.00 + $6.00 s/h. Click here to Bid.

A festive way to brighten your Christmas...

Monday, October 6, 2008

Artist Friends, Camaraderie, and Lunch







This is a photo of my artist friends (from left, Kim Norris, Nancy Medina and Fil Booth) and Kim's babies. Kim's hosted our little group at her beautiful home. Her home and garden is like a fairy land! I've got to ask Kim if she'll let Nancy and I set up our easels in her back yard and let us paint...Kim showed us around her gallery and studio. She's going to have an Open Studio on October 18/19. If you are in Keller, Texas I recommend it! (see the photo below)


We always have such a wonderful time talking about art, art business, gardening, and our pets. I was inspired and encouraged after lunch that I hurried home and painted two small poinsettia paintings. Will post them tomorrow.






Thursday, October 2, 2008

Good Morning!

A nice cup of coffee with the palette knife - did I drink too much coffee when painting this one? Can you remember the best coffee you've ever had? My first cups of coffee were when I was in grade school, my grandmother used to put instant coffee into warm milk with lots of sugar...
I tone the goessoed board with black first. Yes, black. The black really makes the blue POP!

"Good Morning"
5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Wild Flower - Echinacea - Wild About You


Sometimes a painting just doesn't work. Last year I took a workshop with Vicki McMurry and she said if she didn't like a painting she'd sometimes sand it and work over it until she felt it was right. Much to our horror she took a painting and sanded it right it front of us!! Well, no fear - this one wasn't working so that's what I did with this one. Originally it had been a painting I'd done with a brush. The background was dark and it was also a 5 x7 inches. It just didn't feel right. I cut it down to 5 x 5 inches and then sanded it. Then re-painted the purple coneflower with a palette knife. This time it feels a lot better.
"Wild About You"
5 x 5 inches, Oil on Raymar Board