"The Colors of a Summer Night"

20"x16" oil on canvas (in progress)

This is nearing completion. I need to work on the water a bit more. I still have to finish the dyptech I started of this as well.

"These Boots Were Made For...Flying"

10"x8" oil on canvas panel

I believe I have finally finished these boots. I might tweak them a little bit, but for the most part they are done!!

Now for the rest of the story...

My greatest friend and neighbor, who happens to be an awesome teacher, has an Uncle Bill. Yes, William H. Dana, a test pilot who flew in the early 1960's in the hypersonic X-15 research aircraft and flew the rocket-powered vehicle 16 times, reaching a top speed of 3,897 mph and a peak altitude of 307,000 feet (nearly 59 miles high), which means he obtained his astronaut wings in these boots!! He was the pilot on the final (199th) flight of the 10-year program...yes, he broke the sound barrier!!! He's actually in the Smithsonian. My friend's mother and father knew many of these guys (including Neil Armstrong) and had them over on the weekends, casually. How fun is that!!

Great boots, but what a wonderful legacy!

"These Boots Were Made For..."

10"x8" oil on canvas panel (in progress)

The top photo is a reshoot of the boots in my new photo taking area. The photo came out much better. I'm still working on them, they're fun to paint. Hopefully the next time I post them they'll be done and can give the scoop behind these boots and what they were made for.

"Marley"

8"x6" oil on panel

Marley is finished! This was a fun painting to do. I want to experiment more with black toned canvas. I'm a very slow painter so this was a quick painting for me. I also found the perfect spot (finally) to take great pictures!! You notice that Marley isn't blue like the previous post. My husband and I put under cabinet lighting in our bookshelves to give them a gallery affect. I don't like to use flash because of the reflection so, I thought I'd try here with all the light and to my surprise it worked.

"Marley"

8"x6" oil on panel (in progress)

I decided to paint my neighbor's dog on a pre-painted black board since he is a black dog. I've seen another artists' blog that always starts on a black background and thought I'd give it a try. Wow! I was pleasantly surprised by how quick this little painting came together. I like how I stayed loose with the brushwork. Unfortunately, the photo came out blueish. I have just a few retouches to do.