"Mary and Her Cat" (sold)

16"x16"

Oil on Panel

Once again, a painting for the project:  AN UNCOMMON BEAUTY--Paintings of Life and Land East of the Cascades.

 This is Mary, a woman from the Willamette Valley (Oregon) who, over 60 years ago, fell in love with a cowboy from eastern Oregon, left her more urban lifestyle and spent the rest of her life farming, ranching and raising her children in a place that could accurately be called "out in the middle of nowhere"!  Here, she is sharing stories of her life with us. She is still more active on her ranch than most nearly-90 year olds are at anything!

"Beverly" Commission/sold

20"x16"

oil on canvas

sold

I finished this portrait for a gentleman yesterday.  It is his late wife.  Painting it has been a thoughtful experience!  First of all, I am definitely not used to painting nearly life-size faces, smiling at that!  Obviously, he brought me photos to work from and she was smiling in all of them.  A lovely lady!  I may ask for more reference material for her hair--he really likes it as it is, though, so maybe not!  It was kind of an awesome experience to watch the painting come to life and see that it looks just like her!

"Mo"

18"x11"

graphite on bristol board

sold

Let me introduce you to my good friend, Mo! She is going to model for a figure drawing class I am teaching next month and she was kind enough to sit for me today. I am inspired by watching the documentary about Alice Neel (I think I mentioned that awhile back). Her portraits show the spirit of the sitter, truly amazing. There really is a magical quality about portraiture. I worked about 40 minutes on this drawing, but for much of it I was thinking that I just wasn't going to get a likeness. And then it happens--suddenly something comes together and the person shows themselves on the paper. Truly a gift. Not an "Alice Neel", but I can keep on working!

"Woman With a Broom"

12"x12"

Oil on Board
$425 includes domestic s/h
click here to ask about purchasing this painting through Paypal

Since I posted this yesterday, I have replaced the original photo of the painting for a better one, though I still can't seem to get rid of the extreme contrast between the black of her shirt and the blue reflections in the window. Not sure what to do about that! Time for the professionals!

Whenever I do a painting that is quite a bit different from the norm for me, I have to sit with it awhile. This is one of those. I ended up using the palette knife much more than I expected to which helped me keep things loose. I like that about it. At one point I thought I would leave out the reflections on the window (I photographed her from the outside), then decided I wanted them to be a part of the painting. I'm curious to know how you think it reads. I thought about calling the painting "Caught" and I may yet! I caught her looking at me as she caught me looking at her!

"To Buy or Not to Buy!"

image size: 7.25"x7.25"

graphite on bristol board

$175 includes s/h

click here to ask to purchase this drawing through Paypal

I'm still taken with this image and enjoyed focusing on the woman and chair. It's been a challenge to finish anything for my blog the past few days. The show I'm in opened Friday night. It went very well. It is so encouraging and affirming--something we all need, I'm sure! Anyway, I've just had to slow down a little and take it easy. . .time to regroup and think about where I'm headed with my work.

"Golden Moment" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

$100 plus $10 s/h

click here to ask about purchasing this painting through Paypal

"At the Byways Cafe Counter"

16"x20"

Oil on Gessoboard

sold

The top painting is today's daily painting. I have painted this scene like three times with a different color scheme--in reds--and I've always wanted to try something different and decided to try the yellows. I actually like it much better! I will likely use this as a study for a larger painting. I used alot of my new favorite yellow "Alizaron Yellow" by Williamsburg paints.

The second painting is the finished version of the one that's been chronicled the past week or so. Good to be done! I'm pretty pleased!

"Crossing Cambie"

8"x6"

Oil on board

$125 includes s/h

click here to ask to purchase this painting through Paypal

One afternoon on our trip up to Vancouver BC earlier this month, my husband and I sat in a coffee shop on the corner of Cambie and Broadway just watching people. It was a bright and warm day, so lots of people were out. It was so fun to just keep the camera clicking away. Living in Bend is great, but it's not a city! I really enjoy the diversity when we visit them.

This painting and also the past couple I've posted are done with a limited palette: ultramarine blue, alizaron crimson, alizaron yellow and white. I love that yellow!! It does amazing things compared to what I have used before. It's made by Williamsburg Paints and I purchased it through Jerry's Artarama. It's been a great exercise to be using so few colors. Often while painting with a larger palette, I am not sure if the colors are working together and it seems that using so few produces an automatic harmony.

"Carol" #36 in series of 50 faces (sold)

6"x6"

Graphite on Bristol Board

The more I looked at the painting I began of Carol yesterday, the less I wanted to tackle it again today! I had such a difficult time with the pose--just very hard not to have her look so stiff. I may start from scratch. Anyway, I decided to do a drawing of her from one of the photos I took--this shows her personality and spirit much more!

"Mallory and Winston"

5"x7"

Oil on Gessoboard

NFS

This little painting is of my niece, Mallory, who is going to be having a baby anytime now! The Westie is Winston who loved looking out that upstairs window. I was intrigued with the light and curious to see what would happen with a really dark subject amid all the light values. I like the painting, but I can feel that something is brewing inside. There's a part of me that wants to feel a little more like I'm playing here rather than trying to "get it right"!

"Ingrid, Concentrating" #33 in a series of 50 faces

image: 6"x6"

graphite on bristol board

$50 plus $10 domestic s/h

click here to ask about purchasing this drawing

Ingrid is in one of the drawing classes I'm teaching right now and graciously allowed me to keep clicking away until I had a photo somewhat in focus that I could work from! She's been in alot of classes I've taught and it's been neat to see her grow--plus her presence is always a plus.

It is time to stop doing everything else so I can concentrate on finishing up the remainder of the drawings for the bible illustration job I've been working on since October. I have 19 more drawings to do and need to ship them on February 9th! So, I am going to stop posting here until they are off to the publisher! See you in a week and a half!

"Sarah" #21 in a series of 50 faces

image: 6'x6"

graphite on bristol board

NFS

This drawing is of Sarah, my "step-daughter"--hard to know what to call her and her sister Laura as they aren't my birth daughters, but much much closer than friends!!

She's a wife, a mother of two little ones (there will be three in May!), a talented designer and just a lovely person!

I think the beautiful things about both Sarah and Laura show in their faces--their intelligence, sensitivity, openness to life and growth. I'm so fortunate to have them in my life!

"Denise" #15 of 50 faces

image 6"x6"

graphite on bristol board

NFS

Meet my friend, Denise. She is amazing--teaches Spanish, Russian and German, travels extensively and writes articles and books about it, is a poet, writes essays on spirituality, a mom and a grandma, goes on pilgrimages where she walks miles and miles to Santiago de Compostela. There's more but besides all that, she is a humble and loving person with whom I am grateful to share friendship. Happy New Year, Denise, and all of you who read this!