11/29/11 View From Pont Neuf

This small painting was part of an early Virtual Paint-out. I still like the soft colors and sky reflected in the water. I imagine it is very cold in Paris right now but the charm and allure still remain!

Thank you for taking time to look at my blog.

Tonal Portrait of baby

I was commissioned this summer to paint a portrait of this little girl. I wasn't very excited about it because they wanted it in the blue tonal style that I did a couple of years ago. I figured that one was just a fluke that it turned out so well and I wasn't sure I could successfully duplicate it. Two days ago I just dove right in and started it and I was able to finish it yesterday. This type of portrait is difficult because you have to concentrate so hard on your values. This work really pushed my abilities and I'm glad I did it because it gave me more confidence.

Thanks for checking out my work. Have a wonderful day.

Triptych of cows

This is a tiny triptych of some English cows on a canal. It is only 4 inches tall and 12 inches wide. I doubt I'll ever do another one so small again because there are so few details and it was tedious work.

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On the easel right now!

I had three tiny canvases so I decided a while ago that I would put them together to make a tryptich! This is challenging to paint so small and get in any details! Oh well, it may not be ready for the Open Studio Tour but that is what I'm aiming for as a deadline.

Thank you for looking at my work.

Carolina Marshes

I am finally finished and pleased with this painting. I had some things to fix after our critique in the studio. A couple friends went to a Rusty Jones workshop and had some tips to help me as well as some very good advice. Thanks girls and Mark for all the love and patience. As we say in the studio,"It takes a village."

Thanks for taking the time to check out my work.

Still on the easel but almost finished!

I know this is taking forever but it is taking me forever to get it JUST the way I want it!! I think it will be a winner when I do complete it.

On my easel

Just began blocking in Nancy McNally's face yesterday and I am pleased with the results. Hopefully I can give this painting to Mike, her husband and my nephew, for his birthday. Right now I was told it is very "Mary Cassatt." (I like that) Will work more today on her hand, lips and eyes.

11/19/11 The Colonel for Gracie Leudecke

This is "The Colonel," and she, yes SHE, belongs to a little girl at the school where I sub. She has begged me for 8 weeks to paint one of her chickens and I had a really good day at the studio and finished the whole thing. Gracie told me that she told the Colonel that I was going to paint her and the Colonel was very excited! They have several with unusual names : Chicken Nugget, Dark Meat and Honey!!

This is my first hen and it was a lot of fun. I used a combination of palette knife and brush with lots of thick paint! It will take forever to dry - that is ok because by then Gracie might have forgotten about it OR she will be mad because she thinks I FORGOT! I 'm telling her mom , a teacher at school, about it and I'll bring it to her when it is dry.

Thanks for hanging in there with me through this job. I am on a real painting tear now so there should be lots to see soon.

Summer of 2011 - dyptich

I am so excited!! I painted the base coat for the first part of this painting a couple days ago but came in today and finished it and TOTALLY finished the second panel!! This is a totally different palette for me but it is definitely HOT and DRY!!! It just all came out of my head!!

Thank you for looking at my blog on this scalding August day!!

On the easel

I love this image of a blustery Hilo surf. The water is just the right color and the rock cliffs are taking shape nicely.

We have decided to move our spots in the studio. I have opted to move to the back corner where it is cooler and give up my position I shared with Sharon on the side wall. Some artists are painting larger paintings and need more room. I might have multiple works going on but I just put mine on the ledge and rotate them. This way I am out of the hustle and bustle and am a little more focused.

Thanks for taking time to look at my blog. Stay cool.

A Destin Morning

This image just called to me. Not only do I like it and need to have some "beach time," it was fun to paint! I love the umbrellas!

Thanks for taking time to check out my blog on this sizzling summer day. Stay cool, whatever you do!

07/06/11 Slow Go

Not much to show so far on this new picture. I am working on a picture of a friend's child in a fountain in the Bronx this summer. It won't be an identifiable picture but I really liked the design it made. This is two days worth of work. I will only be able to work in the A.M. because it gets too hot at the studio. Dr. Fredrick - the best hand surgeon ever- has told me not to get hot and sweaty! Hard orders to follow in a sweltering Texas summer but if there is a way to get around it, I will! Early morning dog walks and early painting will have to suffice for now until I have surgical bandages removed on 13th. Can't wait!!

Thanks so much for checking in on my work. Stay cool!!

06/15/11 Slow and steady

I added more leaves but it still isn't right. I need to put a haze on the mountains and do something to the trunks of the trees.

Thank you for looking at my blog on this warm summer night.

06/09/11 Slow progress

I actually did this on Sunday or Monday but my days have been cram - packed with seven year old birthdays and eight year old skaters and lunch and dinner and books and .................. everything but my painting!

It is slowly evolving into the painting I want it to be. Thank you for looking at my blog.

05/24/11 still on the easel

Just had time to add a few details on the underbelly and enjoy some company before the severe weather alert came up on my iphone app. Decided it would be better to go home. I still have a long way to go but probably won't get to paint again until Monday.

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05/21/11 On the easel

I haven't been able to paint for a few weeks now because I've been subbing and will be subbing all next week. It is a necessary evil!

This picture is from a friend who went on an anniversary trip with her husband up and down the canals in England. She happily surrendered (just a loan) some of her pictures for me to paint. This is just the under painting and the beginning of the cows.

Can't wait until I can spend weeks at a time painting again. I sure do miss it but running out of money in the summer months is harder on me than missing a few days of painting.

Thanks for taking the time to stop in to check out my blog.

05/07/11 For a change!

Last Monday five of us attended our first life drawing class at The Creative Arts Center in East Dallas. We had quick gesture poses that were 1-2 minutes to draw the gesture and then we took a break and began a 20 minute session. This is the result of the second 20 min. session and my friends were shocked that I was a much looser drawer than painter! I have been pushed to paint in this fashion and I'm going to give it a try. I love to draw with charcoal and hadn't realized how much I missed it.

Thank you for looking at my blog and have patience with me - obviously I'm an unfinished product!

05/03/11 The winding road

Finished my small palette knife painting yesterday and now it has to dry for a while. It is very wet with thick layers of paint. I like the way the road leads your eye into the painting and the fence-line follows the road.

This image was taken in Warrenton, Texas at the edge of "Mark's Field," as we call it. I go to southern Texas twice a year for an antique festival and always manage to grab my camera to find a variety of photos each year. This image was taken in October of this year.

Thank you for looking at my blog on this beautiful Spring day.