"Earthrowl's Blue Pond"

10"x8"

Oil on Canvas

$140 plus $10 domestic s/h

click here to ask to purchas this painting through Paypal

This is an older painting I did a few years ago that was inspired by the first time I saw artwork by Kathleen Earthrowl.  Her work was so different from mine, much looser and more abstracted and I loved it--still do!  I just had to try something in that vein.  Though I haven't tried this approach since, I always really have liked ths little painting.  Could be I'm ready to let it go now that I am feeling a change in the way I am working with my own art--not that I'm envisioning going this direction, but who knows what might happen!

"Cosmos and Poppies" (sold)

6"x6"

OIl on Board

Like yesterday's painting, this is of flowers growing in a local community garden--and it, too, was a joy to paint! After what feels like laboring over the figurative paintings lately, these little painting knife oils are a welcome change. I love the juicy paint you can put on with a knife, and the looseness that you have no choice about! I am looking forward to seeing how I can incorporate this with my figurative work.

"Cathedral Rock--Technicolor Landscape" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $10 domestic s/h

click here to ask to purchase this painting through Paypal

Well, first of all, I am NOT in Sedona--darn, I think, but it's probably hotter there than it is here and it's nearly 100 today! I wanted to work with something I could get done in less time than usual and came across pics I took from a visit there. It's a hot painting, but it's just how I remember it! The amazingly intense colors of the sky, the rocks and the turquoise tone to the plants growing in the rock. The water is Oak Creek and a great relief on a hot day!

"Nikki" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $10 domestic s/h

Another painting of my sister-in-law's horse, Nikki. Actually, this one looks much more like her to me than the first one I did. I'm glad about that, but mostly I was hoping to get the feel of the horse, the place and the time of day. At any rate, I thoroughly enjoyed doing this!

"Old Malone Elevator"

6"x8"

Oil on Board

(framed painting currently available through Tumalo Art Company)

This past weekend, I took a little trip to where I grew up (Merrill, OR) to visit and get some inspiration for painting--little did I expect so much snow and such cold! One of the benefits of that, though, is the crystal blue sky that absolutely sparkles. The Klamath Basin is an agricultural area and quite beautiful. I have always been drawn to the grain elevators standing starkly against the sky. This area is also on the flight path of many birds and I was thrilled to see bald eagles and flocks of snow geese and swans. What a treat!

"Walk Around the Rock"

12"x12"

Oil on Board

Or should it be "rock around the walk"?! This painting is a small version of a commission I will be working on. I had a great time with it. I found something different (for me) with the use of the brushstrokes and a different medium. It let me look at layering color more and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do with this approach!

For purchase information, please click here to email me.

"Sudden Storm"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

contact River Bend Fine Art Gallery for purchaseinformation

It felt great to paint something looser and with more of a feeling of freedom after spending so much time on my previous painting! Maybe it's partly to do with the location of the scene pictured here. It's over in south-eastern Oregon near Malheur Wildlife Refuge and Steens Mountain. I spent some time there soaking up the feeling of the wide open spaces and enjoying the continuous drama of changing clouds.

"Lone Pine Road"

12"x12"

Oil on Canvas

I'm trying to take what I like with the small paintings and see if I can carry it over into larger ones. I've got to say that it seems to be alot harder to do than it seems that it ought to be! For one thing, it's hard for me to go at something for the second time with a fresh eye and not just wanting to copy what I did before. And, too, I see that you can't make "happy accidents" happen! It's interesting to me that this painting has more the feel of the neutral/bland landscape that is characteristic of this area, but I prefer the color in the previous version--I like the reds in it.

Click here to ask me about purchase information.

"The Old Flesher Farm"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

Again, I wanted to work with more paint and looseness. I noticed yesterday how doing this makes me put a different focus on the painting. If I am being tighter with my strokes, I find myself paying attention to the objects themselves primarily and the whole is secondary. When I am using broader strokes, the opposite happens. It's like the tighter the painting, the more specific everything is and the looser the painting is, the more "general"--if that makes sense! I find it very hard to give up the urge to "correct" something in order to make it look more realistic. It's almost like a need to prove that I can achieve realism! Stopping short of that more realistic portrayal (as I try to let the painting be more about the brushstrokes, composition and color than it is about the specifics presented) is, for me, a good exercise in letting go, allowing a little slack in the reins. . .Having said all that, the subject is a precious one for me: it is down the road a half mile from the farm I grew up on which is still about my favorite place ever.

Click here to bid on ebay or here to ask me about purchase information.

"Storm From the North"

7"x7"

Oil on Cradled Masonite

$110 includes domestic s/h

This is another painting from my day out in the country last weekend. The sun was glistening off the stubble as the dark clouds were moving in. I am teaching on Wednesday mornings for a while so I actually painted this yesterday knowing I wouldn't be able to get to the studio today. It was one of those afternoons where nothing was going right and by the time I got to this painting I was in no mood to worry much about what came out! I just decided to use as thick a paint as I could get and try not to use little brushes much. In the years past, I have always painted quite thin--blending and blending so you'd never see a stroke and there would never be any texture on the surface. I've secretly wanted to see some juicy paint for awhile, I think!

Click here to bid on ebay or here to ask about purchase information.

These are shots from the class I am teaching. It's on using the color pencil. It's a great group of talented people. As you can see, they don't always have to work in the dark. . .

"Road Out of Lone Pine"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

This past weekend I took a day to drive around and find some inspiration for paintings. The colors here in the winter tend to go towards greys, golds and lots of neutrals so I wasn't really sure if I'd find anything I wanted to work with. What I did find was alot of beauty in the starkness of the landscape and the muted colors and a challenge to work with what is rather than what I think it ought to be. This little painting is just what the title says, a road coming out of (or going to) Lone Pine. However, I really never did find anything that looked like a town! Lots of ranches, though. The light area at the top edge of the road is smoke from burning that was being done.

Click here to bid on ebay or here to ask me about purchase information.

"Sun on Sage"

5 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Mixed Media Drawing, NFS (yet)

Between illustration deadlines and teaching, I see that I'm not going to be able to finish the painting I began this morning, so I decided I'd post this drawing instead. It is from the Steens Mountain area in southeast Oregon--high desert country, wild and open. I used graphite, pastel and color pencil in this piece.

A note to you who have commented: I have tried to reply to your comments, but my replies are mostly returned--I'm not sure how all this works yet! But I want to let you know that I really appreciate your taking the time to leave me a note! Thank you!

"Reflections of LIght" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Board

I wasn't able to paint today so decided to post this little painting I did this past Sunday at Smith Rock State Park here in central Oregon. The sun was going down quicker than expected! I learned something here, too. I had a hard time getting the light on the rocks bright enough and I think it was because I had put down a cobalt blue underpainting--any thoughts on that?

Smith Rock in October

Yesterday was a gorgeous fall day, nice and warm and I had TIME! I went to paint here at Smith Rock State Park--one of my very favorite places.

The painting is 8"x6", oil on board.