English Roses

English Roses

8x6, oil on linen board

During October I took an online course from the ever talented Dennis Perin. Dennis is so very talented at capturing the light in oil and is an excellent instructor (check it out at www.theperrinmethod.com).  

One thing I really enjoy is to paint a piece in oil and then soft pastel or vice versa.  Above is my oil piece and below you'll find my soft pastel piece. Do you have a favorite?  I'm just not sure which one I like over the other. That's the funny thing about being the artist...it's tough to be objective. Also, we're typically super critical of our work. After three and a half years of painting, I'm getting better at quieting down that critical voice in my head and just letting things be. That said, I'm still very much in pursuit of my masterpiece.  Will it ever materialize?

English Roses

8x6, soft pastel

Fresh Bloom

Fresh Bloom

8x6, soft pastel

A lighter view of a poinsettia bloom than the previous "Holiday Reds". This one reminds me of springtime for some reason...I think it's the variety of greens.  The paper I'm using for both poinsettia paintings is Pastel Premier.  It's not the paper I typically use and I'm not sure how I feel about it...it doesn't alway want to grab onto the pastel which then requires stronger mark making...so, I went with it and just shot for a little more punch to my strokes.  I'm tempted to try this one again on a different paper.

Holiday Reds

Holiday Reds

8x6, soft pastel

Our local plein air group usually paints throughout the winter months at Edward's Greenhouse in  Boise. The temperature is just right for painting and we typically have a plethora of subjects to paint...especially during the holidays when the poinsettias are in bloom.

Road Trip To McCall

Road Trip To McCall

6x6, oil on board

This is a piece I did last spring that sold before I got a chance to blog about it.  It's a very familiar scene to those living in the Boise area who often trek into the foothills and beyond to Cascade or McCall for a little camping, fishing and/or boating.  Often, the ride is during the early morning hours when sunlight is just peaking over the tops of the mountain peaks.  Always a beautiful site.

Watching Over Her

Watching Over Her

12x12, soft pastel

Every autumn there is a heritage festival in Odessa, Washington call Deutschesfest.  In addition to great food and music there are a number of events planned for children and adults.  My favorite are the children's chalk drawing contest (no surprise there) and the tricycle races.  This painting was based on a photo I took ten years ago of my granddaughter and a classmate at the starting line as they take out down Main Street.  The funny part of this piece is how her classmate Pilot is "Watching Over Her"...seeming to be more concerned for her, than winning the race.  We now realize that every photo we have of these two is the same...side by side throughout the years.  So it's no surprise that they are now high school sweethearts.  And yes, he's still "Watching Over Her".

Violet and Einstein

The past couple months have been crazy busy for me.  I've been involved with five local shows starting with The City of Meridian's Initial Point Gallery, then on to Meadow Lake Village in Meridian, Zions Bank in Boise, Finer Frames Gallery in Eagle and wrapping up for the month of June at Meraki Greek Street Food Restaurant in downtown Boise.  While most of these shows were well worth the effort...alas, each one takes a lot of preparation and takes away from my painting time.  The few pieces I did complete over the past two months aren't necessarily worthy of sharing...with the exception of these two.  

Violet is a goldendoodle who is the mama of our new pup Bennington.  Bennington is old enough to come home this coming week...so life is about to get VERY interesting around here (I've been consuming massive You Tube videos on how to train a pup).  I love Violet...she is an amazing mama to her pups.

Violet

6x6, soft pastel

The second finished piece is Einstein.   He had a nice long life and passed away recently.  I'm sure his family misses him terribly.  This piece is for our neighbors who are Einstein's grand pup-parents. 

Einstein

10x8, soft pastel

Hope you enjoy! 

Spring Canopy

Spring Canopy

6x8, oil on linen

A little plein air painting in our neighborhood.  This time of year the flowering trees provide an explosion of color and a gorgeous canopy to walk under as we stroll the pathways that run throughout our neighborhood.  I couldn't resist!