Sunflower No. 2

Sunflower No. 1

It would seem that almost all artist have to try their hand at sunflowers at some point. Well, as it is smack dab in the middle of summer and I am surrounded by sunflowers, I was bitten by the bug. This is on a 6x6x1.5 canvas and wraps completely around the right side. I had so much fun doing it. I have decided to do a series of sunflowers. They are very intriguing since there is such a wide variety. Stay tuned for what may show up next......

Sunflower No.1

The Dog Walker

Well my little puppy is finally finished and I feel pleased with the results. My true challenge was the background as i knew it would be. My goal with this painting was to try and loosen my style a little. I think I was able to accomplish it to a degree.

The Dog Walker

It seems as though I haven't had too much time to paint lately but this is what is up and coming. This is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy that was ours for a short time before we found out we had to move from Missouri to Utah. Her name was Misty and I was so sad when I found out that the place we were moving to was not "pet friendly". We did however find her a very friendly loving home.
My challenge with is painting, as with a lot of my work is the fore ground and the background. the neutral tones in rock path has a very similar color range as the background with the dry Autumn leaves. Bringing out the correct color notes and shapes I find very difficult. Well, we shall see how it progresses.

Misty - rough draft

It's August already and I need to get painting. This is what is on the canvas today. She use to be our puppy back in Missouri before we found out we had to move to a place that is not "pet friendly" to my discust. We found a loving home for her however. Misty is a burebred Pembrook Corgy with her cute short little legs, no tail and huge ears.

The Baseball

It's late but I just have to make this entry. Today was a very special day. A VERY special day. I sold my first painting and this Baseball made me proud. Now I have broken the spell and I am on my way to make my millions. Nah, this was purchased by a girl to give to her boyfriend for his birthday. He is a baseball enthusiast. How cool is that? By the way it is 8x8x1 wrapped canvas.

The Early Days

I decided I would start by sharing a couple of my "getting started" paintings. This one was painted at the mercy of my boyfriend who willing pamper his crazy girlfriend. We dragged all my gear over the rocks and quite some distance down the beach to where I had discovered this remarkable piece of driftwood. I don't recall now how many days it took of "lugging" to "the spot" but he was very will to do it for me. Whatever it took for success.

This next painting was done from a photograph. I could not believe I had the courage to take this one on. Especially since I knew the family very well. Looking back on it now I am amazed that it turned out so well because this is just what this man looked like. I believe the coloring was distorted because it was taken with a Polaroid camera.

......and this one too was painted on the same beach as the first painting, however, it is a live tree and still stands steady at Red Beach in the North Island of NZ today. My husband and I had the oportunity to visit this tree on our honeymoon 7 years ago. It was fun for him......he said he recognized the roots.

Mango Madness

This painting presented an interesting challenge to me that I hadn't anticipated ahead of time. I had previously had experience in creating a 3D affect with one color but it was a very different challenge for me to do this involving several different colors at the same time. I had some much frustration I even abandoned the canvas and started a second one only to find myself in about the exact same place. So I continued to keep working through one of them until I was quite pleased with the results. I then finished the other and had 2 of them.