Simpatico

Simpatico  16x20"  oil on linen

I find the balance of Nature is so reassuring.  I guess, the sense that everything has purpose and coexists in such wonderful harmony.  The elements of nature in this painting illustrate how beautiful that "wonderful harmony" can be....

Quiet in the Foothills

Quiet in the Foothills   16x18  oil on linen

The day I took this photo Tom and I were hiking in the foothills in Colorado.  It had been raining for days and the weather was just starting to let up.  It felt very peaceful there in the wilderness, as if everything had hunkered down for the rain to end.

Oriental Lilies

Oriental Lilies     17x30"  oil on linen

The beautiful oriental lilies are such a delightful flower.  They are delicate appearing but quite hardy and will last a long time as a cut flower.  That makes them especially useful in a larger still life painting.  As an added bonus they smell spectacular and fill the room with their  wonderful perfume, (strong enough to even mask the odor of mineral spirits!)

Softly Spectacular

Softly Spectacular   12x24  oil on linen

The days have been gray here in Michigan.  The snow was pretty but then it all melted.  It snowed again but, not so much, not so pretty.  Painting flowers helps me through the gray.

Two days to Thanksgiving.....wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, full of family, friends and good reason to be thankful....I know I am blessed and so very fortunate.

Go ahead..eat too much and give a little love to everyone you see.

Dancing Mum's

Dancing Mum's   16x20  oil on linen

My technique is a cross between realism and abstraction.  Sometimes it is more like a battle than a creation.  Or perhaps the battle is necessary to bring about the creation? 

 I like enough abstraction to lend interest and a bit of mystery to a painting, but I still want enough realism to describe my subject.  Some paintings seem to just paint themselves and others are just that battle between too much description..... too little description..back and forth.  I paint it, I wipe it out.  I add detail, I take the detail away.  I want you, the viewer, to "feel" the painting, not simply see it.  It must be charged with energy and alive with texture and color. 

This painting was like WWIII for me!  It started out pretty traditional and I hated it!!  Yep..hated.  So I wiped out objects, erased detail and started abstracting.  Now, I am very happy with the energy and the textures.  

Do you feel the energy when you look at it?  I hope so

Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings  18x24  oil on linen

These are such beautiful birds.  They are so smooth and sleek it is hard to see that they have feathers.  I found it very challenging to get them right.  Their colors are difficult and while I wanted them to have that smoothness that makes them so special I also needed to represent the feathers or they wouldn't look like birds!  It was fun...I still need some practice with bird painting but I'm not unhappy with the way this one turned out.

Thank you for viewing my art!

White Pitcher with Yellow Roses

White Pitcher with Yellow Roses     16x20  oil on linen

This painting is headed for Eisele Gallery next week.  I needed to make a couple of compositional adjustments but now I feel it is ready to go back in it's frame.  If you are near Cincinnati check out the Gallery!

Fall is upon us and in Michigan that usually means very little sunshine.  Never the less, I do love the cool fall days and the sense of preparing for the winter.  It makes me think of hot chocolate and fires in the fireplace.  Time to haul out the sweaters and snuggle under some blankets.  In place of sunshine I like to paint bright colorful flowers! 

Fall's Chorus Line

Fall's Chorus Line    oil on linen 16x30

Hello Everyone and welcome to Fall!

The year has gone by so quickly, fall is almost over and I'm just acknowledging that it is here!  It has been a busy time.  I am thrilled to announce a new gallery is now representing my work.  Eisele Gallery is a lovely gallery in Cincinnati and the owners Douglas and Terry Rye Eisele are super people! Check out their Gallery, you won't be disappointed. 

http://www.eiselefineart.com

Autumn Sunshine

Autumn Sunshine  18x24  oil on linen

Workshops, business stuff, and working on completing some unfinished work has kept me busy the last several weeks.  Today I just did a new piece and it felt so good!  

These mums are the most beautiful mums.  They may not be as stunning as some but they are so hardy, they smell great, they multiply easily, and this time of year with all the cloudy days they truly do feel like sunshine!

So here's wishing you a "little sunshine" in your day!

Copper and Brass Pot

Copper and Brass Pot  12x16 oil on linen

I had the privilege to take a 3 day workshop with Elizabeth Robbins a couple of weekends ago.  I have had so much "business" work to do that I haven't had time to post about it.  So finally today I am sharing some things about the workshop and about the paintings I did!

"Copper and Brass Pot" was the set up I chose on the first afternoon of the workshop.  Elizabeth had done a beautiful demo in the morning and then gave us free rein to paint what we wanted.  

The focus on this study was getting strong values.  Although Elizabeth and I have quite different approaches to painting the still life it is always fun and informative to watch someone with Elizabeth's experience explain how she addresses a canvas.  While I did find that some things about our styles and/or preferred materials are very different, I also found that many things were pretty similar.  To me a strong instructor is able to illustrate their technique without hindering each individual from applying it to their own style.  Elizabeth does that so well.  I was surprised (not having worked with her before this) to discover that she is also very versatile in her own techniques and was able and willing to demonstrate more than one approach to a painting!

In the 3 day workshop I mostly completed 3 paintings.  I say mostly because I feel all 3 still needed some adjustments but, I was pretty satisfied with what I accomplished in a workshop setting.  I will try to post the other paintings as they get tweaked and are ready for "unveiling" lol..