"Opening the Gift" (sold)

8"x6"

Oil on Board

This was just a joy to do. Not much more to say than that!

"Opening Night, TBDLoft"

20"x16"

Oil on 3/4" Cradled Board

click here to ask about purchase information

This painting ended up being a surprise to me. Not long after I got it roughed in, I saw that I had a choice as to whether or not to keep the simplicity of the shapes or to work it up into a piece with alot more modeling of form and information in it. I had to stop and sleep on it--to decide to let it be simplified was like choosing a new road to go down and I had to think about whether I really wanted to do that. I have spent alot of time enjoying trying to get alot of that modeling in, trying to get things "right" in the past year's paintings. I've had in my mind certain criteria of what it would mean for me to be a good painter and this didn't necessarily fit! To let this painting be different was a challenge not just to my abilities, but to my ego. I remember reading somewhere--must've been someone else's blog--that in doing the daily painting, a person travels through many styles. Part of me wants to keep growing and changing and another part of me would love to just find a place to land. . .However, this was really invigorating and I think I'm going to try to follow whatever is trying to take form here.

"The Pink Backpack #2" (sold)

8"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $10 domestic s/h

It was a good experience ot visit this again and try to work more with the composition and to figure out what to do with the color shapes to make up the background. This one feels like it has a better sense of depth and the colors feel a bit cleaner. I decided to leave out the flyer-covered telephone pole on the right this time--I really like it as an element, but it just seemed to distract from the main figure.

"The Pink Backpack"

8"x6"

Oil on Canvas on Board

$100 plus $10 domestic s/h

Feels good to be back painting! I have a feeling this is one of those subjects I'm going to have to paint until I see the painting I'm wanting!

"Pray-er"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

click here to ask me about purchase information

Just back today from spending most of last week at a retreat at Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey here in Oregon. I expected to paint during alot of my free time, but soon realized that wasn't what I was being drawn to do. It was a silent retreat, so many things that I would ordinarily not give alot of attention to gained alot of significance. After the retreat I spent a day in Portland and visited Lawrence Gallery where I encountered the work by Mark Bailey. He had a series of faces--among other paintings--hanging there that I just became entranced with. So today it occurred to me to let some of those faces that I watched in silence this past week to come to me and to paint them now. This is a memory of one of the monks. Mark's brushwork really caught my interest and I am trying to allow the looseness I felt in his--always that same thing about not trying to put in all the information! I think that working from memory impressions might be a good practice for this.

"Transfixed"

10"x8"

Oil on Board

$250 US +$10 domestic s/h

Friday night was "Art Walk" and this painting is from a place called the TBDLoft. It's a great new space here filled with young creative people and their work! I had a ball doing this painting! It is so hard to not want to go in and finish everything, hard to leave the details undone, but I like it!

I am going on retreat tomorrow and won't be posting for a week. Ya'all have a good one!

"On the Shady Side" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Board

I don't know if I have ever painted the same subject 5 times in a row! (I did the past three posts and also a watercolor besides this one). I'm not sure that this is "the painting I wanted to paint" yet, but I do feel like some things came together in this attempt. There is a pleasant balance of values and of the colors for me--at least in the original--the blues in this photo are a little too blue. Also, the composition isn't overwhelmed by the dark shape on the far right as it is in yesterday's post. I often paint fairly thinly and really enjoyed putting on some "juicy" paint!

Downtown Maupin #3 (sold)

8"x8"

Oil on Board

This subject is turning into quite a study! It's been interesting, though. Today I tried to really work on seeing the value shapes and the overall design of the subject. I also used neo-megilp as a medium to see what that was like. I don't know what the painting is I hope to do with this subject, but I'd like to follow this path a bit and see what happens. I feel like I'm in school!

"Downtown Maupin" again!

10"x8"

Oil on Board

I decided to try this again and it is still not the painting I want to be making. I'm not really sure WHAT I'm going for with this subject. I think I'll know it if it happens!

Actually, I did get a bit more of the feel of the light/dark design and that is hopeful. I think I need to try this yet again and see just what it is I am trying to do here!

"Downtown Maupin"

6"x8"

Oil on Board

This is of a little town in eastern Oregon which is a well-known place for river rats to put into the Deschutes River. It was so quiet and I felt so conspicuous as I was going around taking pictures! I liked the tension between the light and dark shapes. While I was painting it, every once in awhile I'd be seeing this great abstract composition happening and I hoped to keep that flavor, too. I'd like to do this again and explore those aspects more, exaggerate them. I find it quite a challenge to not put in too much information! My intention is to spend alot of time this summer (in spite of the gas prices!) going around rural Oregon and painting what, to me, feels "rural". Visiting Maupin is a start!

"Let 'er Buck!"

12"x12"

Oil on Board

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There's nothing like a photo to make something pop out that needs to be dealt with--I thought this was finished, but maybe not! However, it is time to make a post for the day and this is it. It's good to work on something larger, but also a challenge. It seems like it should just be a matter of using proportionately larger brushes--but I think there's got to be more to it than that! I look at this and am torn between "cleaning up" some edges and trying to keep it loose. . .we'll see what happens!

This framed painting is available through Tumalo Art Company.

"Hood River Orchards"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

contact River Bend Fine Art Gallery for purchase information

It was a stormy day but interesting to see the patterns the rows of trees made in all the orchards--and the blossoms were really lovely!

"Cattlewomen" (sold)

6"x8"

Oil on Board

Oh! It feels so good to do a little painting again! This painting is of some women I saw last week on my way from Bend to Hood River, herding cattle with their dogs to a different pasture. It brings back so many memories of my childhood!

"Blue Heron"

24"x18"

oil on canvas

NFS

This is the other commission I've been working on and I think it's finished. We'll see how it looks tomorrow! It seems like after working on something for quite awhile I get to a point where I can't "see" it anymore! It was good to try using a painting knife a little. I would love to get more textrue, but find that it's a slow process to get me there!

Little Pansy Sketch

3.5"x4.5"

Pen, Watercolor on Paper

for purchase info, email me here

Again, today was a day to work on some commissioned paintings so I only had time to do this little sketch of the pansies that are STILL sitting in my studio! We woke up to snow this morning and I'm kind of nervous about subjecting them to that! I am missing doing my little oils. . .