Afternoon at the MET

15"x24"

Oil on Panel

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I am so in love with the space and light at the atrium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC! Painting it was such a treat as it kept bringing me back to that space and what it felt like to be there. Working from photographs of an interior like that has so many challenges, the least of which are getting correct proportions and perspectives. I need a trip back to the MET to do lots of sketching to prepare for the next painting I do of it!

"Anna at Jackson's Corner"

10"x8"

Oil on Panel

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I was out looking for inspiration for paintings and stopped in at a great little restaurant here in Bend, Jackson's Corner.  Yes, their food is good, they have kombucha on tap and lots of other great things to offer, BUT what I like best is that the space is full of natural light!  Anna allowed me to sketch and photograph her while she was studying for a test.  Thank you, Anna!

"Just Passing By"

12"x18"

Oil on Panel

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Like the previous painting, I did this one this spring.  The scene is at the MET in the sculpture garden.  I loved the light there!  Wow!  And I was struck by all the people walking by with their eyes on nearly anything but the wonderful artwork around them.  We humans are interesting creatures!!  It seems like so often we read about things in lieu of experiencing them!

"Sorting Pears, Lage Packing Shed" (sold)

Oil on Panel

8"x24"

Another painting in our "An Uncommon Beauty" series.  It depicts a group of women as they inspect the pears coming in for packing.  I was struck by the brilliant green of the pears and the intensely bright light shining over them contrasted with the browns and greys of the surroundings.  You can see more of my paintings for this series by clicking on the page in the upper right corner of this blog.

ANNOUNCING A NEW PAGE "An Uncommon Beauty--Paintings of Life and Land East of the Cascades"

Visit this new page in my blog (see upper right) to see the paintings I am creating for this project on rural life and for a description of the project!  New work will be added as the paintings are finished. Feel free to comment!

"Thinning Pear Trees, Lage Farms", 16"x12", oil on panel

"Two Pies of 3500!" (sold)

9"x12"

Oil on Panel

This is another painting for an upcoming show depicting the land and people in different parts of rural Oregon and northern California.  The subject here is the "Pie-Lady" at Apple Valley Store in the Hood River Valley as she makes some apple/berry pies.  She said that she probably made 3500 pies in 2010!  Wow!  The store is wonderful!  They sell jellies, jams and other condiments they produce along with amazing pear dumplings and a big variety of pies from locally grown fruit. 

"Summer Evening on a Manhattan Street Corner" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Panel

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Somewhere in Manhattan, NY, between 49th and 48th streets!  Wish I could remember just where it was!  What I DO remember, though, is that it was a beautifully magical evening with the sunset, the sounds, the people and all the sights that are so different from my norm.

"Lost in Thought" NYC Library

6"x6"

Oil on Panel

$150 plus $15 domestic s/h

click here to ask to purchase this painting through Paypal

Between traveling for the Rural Reflections project and doing illustration work, I've had very little time to just paint for me.  I gave myself the gift of doing just that a couple of days ago and this is the result.  In June I visited the public library in NYC and absolutely loved the light and the reflections and watching the people.  I was drawn to the far-away expression of the younggirl on the left.  There are so many paintings I want to do from that trip and it feels great to have gotten my feet wet!

"Sorting Horseradish"

24"x36"

Oil on canvas

Contact me for purchase information

Another new painting for the series on "Rural Life Reflections"--actually I've been working on this on and off for the past couple of months!  This scene is of a group of people sorting and trimming horseradish plants that have just been harvested off Dave and Jackie Krizo's farm outside Tule Lake, CA.  Jackie's story is amazing.  She and her husband, Dave, are farming land homesteaded by their parents after WWII.  Jackie maintains a website www.klamathbasincrisis.org where you can learn more about the water issues.

"Lunching With Friends at Le Pain Quotidian" (sold)

10"x8"

Oil on Panel

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted the watercolor study for this!!  Busy times, lots of traveling, teaching and illustration work!  Too, after three and a half years, it has been time for a break from attempting to paint or draw for the blog on a nearly daily basis (and feeling guilty when I can't get to it).   I hope to get back to posting on a more regular basis soon!

One of the trips I took earlier this summer was to the east coast.  This painting is from the restaurant Le Pain Quotidian in New Canaan, CT.  I have so many paintings I want to do from that trip, which also included NYC!!  I can't wait to get to them!

"Coffee and News at the Riverside Market"

14x18"

Oil on Panel

Available--Please contact me for purchase information

What a great subject the Riverside Market is!  It's old, a bit funky, has personality, chairs and tables that don't match and all that wonderful natural light streaming in!  I imagine this isn't the last painting I will be doing from there.  However, it IS one of the last I'll be putting up on the Daily Painters Gallery for awhile.  Though I will keep posting on my blog, as of the 13th, I am taking a hiatus from the DPG to keep sane this summer while I am doing illustration work, teaching and doing some traveling.  I will be painting but without the pressure of feeling like I need to be doing "daily paintings".  Anyone who has been watching my blog has probably observed that I've been having a hard time getting something posted everyday anyway!  Now I just don't have to feel the guilt!  (-:

So, subscribe to follow my blog if you'd like to keep up with my new work this summer!  I will be going to the east coast soon and am looking forward to getting inspired in NYC, then to Vancouver BC where I always come away with lots of subjects I want to paint!

"Dinner at Sunset"

8"x10"

Oil on Panel

$250 plus $10 domestic s/h

click here to ask to purchase this painting through Paypal

These ladies were having an early dinner on one of our sunny spring evenings recently.  I was drawn by the light and the interaction between the two women--the one is so attentive.  I wish I knew what they were talking about!

"At the Riverside Market" final version

16"x20"

Oil on Panel

Framed:  $1350

Contact me for photo of framed painting and/or to purchase

It's been brought to my attention that I didn't post a photo of this painting after I finished it--thank you Stephanie!  I love this painting and, even more, I love the experience of doing it!  Spending time at the Riverside Market, sketching, taking photos and speaking with the people who work there and hang out there has been an absolute delight.  It's made me realize that creating art about subjects I get some sort of involvement with is so much more satisfiying than what I've been experiencing for awhile.  I know that there will always be the paintings I do of people I don't know, but I am promising myself that I am going to take more time to create connections with my subjects before I put them into paint!

So, along those lines. . .

another artist, Janice Druian, and myself are beginning a joint project documenting changes going on in three different agricultural areas here in Oregon and northern California.  We are interviewing people who live in these areas and doing paintings of them and the land they live in.  The paintings will first be shown next April at the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River, Oregon.  Stay tuned as this project develops!!

"The Belly Dancers' Break" #2 (sold)

8"x8"

Oil on Board

Here's the second version of the painting I posted earlier this week (scroll down a bit to see it.)   I like the first, but felt it got a little fussy with the brushstrokes and I wanted to try it again and see if I could be more direct.  This one feels much better to me!  I can't believe how hard it is to keep loose when there's a larger format.  I DO use larger brushes, but I think that part of it, too, is that I need to keep a feeling of urgency.  It's not that I want to just rush through a painting.  It's that I think it would be good to take an approach that feels like I'm on location and this scene is going to disappear any minute and I want to get the basics down NOW.  No time to noodle!