Snowman - A Belly Full Of Cookies

 Snowman - A Belly Full Of Cookies

10x8, soft pastel

The January 30 day challenge is winding down. But, I couldn’t resist one last snowman. By now, our epic snowfall for January (22 inches I believe) has melted and soon we’ll be anticipating spring!  Yay!

Snowman - Chubby Little Cookie Jar

 Snowman Chubby Little Cookie Jar

10x8, soft pastel

This little cookie jar is my favorite snowman. He’s quite old and the paint is full of fine cracks…but he’s still precious.  He’ll stays out on the counter all winter long until the snow stops flying. 

Poinsettia - Perfectly Peachy

Poinsettia - Perfectly Peachy

10x8, soft pastel

This is my final poinsettia for this season and one of my favorite color varieties. She’s so dramatic! I painted this one 99% on location in Edwards Greenhouse (our favorite plein air location during the winter months). When I finished all the other artists were long gone. I guess I was truly “in the zone”. This particular pot of poinsettias was massive and the unique color just drew me in.  I hope you like it too…it will be sold unframed, but it sure looks great in a gold frame. 

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Seabrook - A Drawing

Seabrook

10x8, graphite

With painting in pastels and occasionally in oils, I have little time for sketching...but this little guy was a commission I had promised...so voile!  It's done.   A feisty little guy.

Benny

Benny

10x8, soft pastel

A first try at our mini-goldendoodle Benny.  You can see his personality in his eyes...spunky and full of life.  He's now 8 months old and 34 lbs.  This isn't necessarily the best version of him...so I'm sure I'll try again sometime in the future...he only sat still for 2-3 minutes at a time so it's a fairly loose painting as a result.

Kay's Bird

Kay's Bird

10x8, soft pastel

A little tribute to my mother-in-law who left us far too soon.  I have fond memories of her picking out this little ceramic bird. She displayed three of them in her kitchen window for many years...a great reminder to me of the time we spent together.  The sunflowers certainly take center stage in this painting with the drama of the late evening sun highlighting their petals...but the tiny bird is there as my muse.  A sweet reminder of a wonderful lady.

Daybreak Dining

Daybreak Dining

10x8, soft pastel

This little vignette is from my mini-retreat to Cascade.  While there I found an interesting You Tube art video on Pierre Bonnard. Mr. Bonnard was a French painter and a founding member of the Post-Impressionsits group of avant-garde painters Les Nabis. His scenes were often colorful intimate scenes of interiors where empty spaces played a big part in his composition and the items appear to be randomly paced, yet work together.  

Jar of Peonies

Jar of Peonies

10x8, oil on panel

I'm so glad spring is here! My peonies are going like gangbusters.  Even though they haven't bloomed yet, they're going to be abundant this year.  As soon as they appear, I'm sure I'll be setting up more still lifes to capture their brilliance.  This little still life is in anticipation of that moment.  Another stab at oil painting.

I'm finding that I love painting with either oils or soft pastels...the challenge (for me) is in deciding which one to choose when planning a painting.  With oils...I have to wait for the painting to dry...then, varnish. The big payoff with oils is that I can put them directly into an open frame...whereas, pastels require glass.  When I do paint with pastels, I've been trying to frame them with non-glare glass.  This makes a big difference in presentation...especially for art shows but drives up the cost of framing.  With oils, I'm still learning the finesse of applying varnish.  Ah, the challenges of each medium!   Still......I'm having a blast!

Riffles

Riffles

10x8, oil on board

I actually painted this on Jan. 21st during a workshop conducted by Mark Davis of Boise.  Thanks for the reference photo Mark! The workshop was at Edward's Greenhouse which was a great environment for a mid-winter workshop.  We focused on painting water.  And, because I am new to oils, I thought I'd better get "my feet wet" with oils so to speak.

My husband (who is a fly fisherman) says these types of waters are called 'riffles"...thus, the title.  It was great to get out and about after so much snow!   Hope you enjoy it!


WIP:  This little guy below is quickly becoming one of my favorites.  I know, I say that all the time for the paintings I like...but really, this one has been absolutely painting itself!

My Pal Jack

My Pal Jack

10x8, soft pastel

This is Jack...a good buddy of Scooter and Tubby's.  They met briefly in Florida when we were rv'ing one winter...they all became fast friends in the dog park...a popular place to hang out for dogs and humans alike!  Jack has a very special "mom and dad too"! 

Corrugated Kitty

Corrugated Kitty

10x8, soft pastel

It was time to try painting a cat.  I've been saving a couple cat photos just for this occasion.  While I don't have a cat (because I'm allergic to them)...if I could,  I think this guy would do.  Those golden eyes of his are beautiful!