"Peonies"

8"x8" oil on canvas (in progress)

I've been distracted from painting this past week. I hope to paint more on my peonies this week. I again experimented by painting the background black. I like working on the dark background. I see my strokes differently. The family and I head out Friday evening for our two week annual summer east coast trip to the Adirondacks.

"Pink Peonies"

24"x36" oil on canvas (in progress)

Happy summer!! The kids are keeping me busy. I have been working on a large painting for my mother. I did start this a while back but became overwhelmed by it's size. Then about a month ago I found peonies at Trader Joes. These don't grow in Southern California so as you can imagine they were on the pricey side. It's a good thing that they are one of my favorite flowers. The sacrifices one makes for the sake of art. I've truely enjoyed painting these from life. I did take a lot of reference photos, which I'm now using. I'm not sure about the back ground color. I'm also working on two 8"x8" single peony paintings. I've been taking photos as I work and will hopefully post them tomorrow.

"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.

"These Boots Were Made For..."

8"x10" oil on panel (in progress)

These boots are an unusual item to paint but seeing them for the first time they screamed "paint me"! These wonderful boots are 40 plus years old and they look as though their owner is still wearing them. There is a great story behind these boots that I'll post when I'm finished with this painting. I like how I've kept it loose so far.

"All Wrapped Up"

8"x6" oil on canvas panel

This is just a small study that I enjoyed doing. The pear had a lovely glow that reflected onto the fabric. I hope you enjoy it!

New Desk

30Dx71Lx31H "One of a Kind" - Mission Table from Santa Barbara Mission

I found this table in a small shop in San Juan Capistrano. I don't know for sure if it actually came out of the Santa Barbara Mission, but I do know I LOVE it. It was the perfect fit between my bookcases. The top has two boards, the front board slides off completely to expose a storage area. I plan on putting under the counter lighting on the top portion of the bookcases to give it a gallery affect. It's been fun reorganizing my studio, but it's time to get back to painting.

Call of the Wild - Adirondack Mural

(work in progress)

I'm back working on my son's mural. I realize he's not getting any younger and before I know it he'll have out grown this theme. The view is mimicing an open tent and a menagerie of animals are peeking in. I forget how hard it is to blend acrylic paint. It dries so fast. I'm definately an oil painter just for that reason. I still have a ways to go on this. I'll keep you posted if anything drastically changes with it. It seems like I paint and paint and nothing changes. I am having lots of fun!

"The Colors of a Summer Night"

20"x16" oil on canvas (in progress)

I finally worked on this yesterday late in the day. I'm liking how it's coming together. I'm not sure why but I haven't felt like painting. I first blamed it on a cold I had now I'm not sure what my problem is. I moved my painting station last night and that seemed to help. I moved it again this morning back to my studio so I'll see what happens today.

"The Colors of a Summer Night"

36"x18" oil on canvas - Diptych (in progress)

As much as I wanted to jump back into painting after vacation, I unfortunately caught a bad cold. The art fog is just starting to lift. I'm posting some paintings that I started a little while back. Again, the subject is 4th Lake, Adirondacks, New York. Our wonderful summer home! This is a planned painting for my dining room. My husband suggested I do a smaller piece to give to my mother-in-law. Which I was happy to do. I have a ways to go with these but will post my progress, this will be a first for me. I usually just show finished works.

20"x16" oil on canvas (in progress)

"After The Storm"

16x12" oil on canvas

detail

This is from last summer's annual trip to the Adirondacks. My husband and I enjoy kyaking together, it's very peaceful, and the kids can't find you. I not only enjoyed painting the clouds but I loved painting the water, too. I especially like how it came out around the boat area. The toughest was painting my husband's head. The actual size was roughly 1" so to get his likeness and stay loose was hard.

"Hugs and a Kiss"

14x11" oil on canvas

The family and I spent a long weekend in Santa Barbara for the first time in 2006. It's a beautiful area and we had great time! The beach that we were in walking distance to was full of rocks, first time for us to see this. I took lots of pictures and encountered many wonderufl weathered rocks. I incorporated several pictures for this painting. A fun study.

"Clouds I"

16x12" oil on canvas

Here's another cloud study that I have been working on. I need to move on and I thought by posting it that it would make it a done deal! Maybe, I always like to tweak it some after seeing it posted. All feed back is welcome, thanks.

"Happy BIrthday"

My son, Matthew, painted this at school. We're lucky to have a great art program at his school called "Meet the Masters". They learn about an artist then paint in the same style. I thought this came out great! Matthew turns 10 today-my baby is double didgets, yikes!

"And The Cow Jumped Over The Clouds"

6x8" oil on canvas panel

I captured this shot during a summer storm on 4th Lake, Old Forge, NY (the Adirondacks). It's funny how we all see things differently. My daughter was the one who saw the cow, I on the other hand had a different interpretation. Hers was so much more obvious. I'm still tweeking it here and there. I think I need to add a little pink or yellow to the clouds to add some warmth. Yes? I haven't painted many clouds but LOVE them so I've been working on a few studies. I'll post more soon.

"Growing Up Together"

6x8" oil on canvas panel

I went a little tighter with this study. I loved how the green tops went in different directions and casting fun shadows on the tops of these tomatoes. I think I'm done with fruit for a while.

"3 In A Row"

8x10" oil on panel. Here's yet another study, of pears this time. I've been trying to keep these small works loose. I like the bold color.

Cones from Giant Sequoia

These pine cones were given to me from my best friend. She owns an antique shop in Massachusetts and came across these and thought she'd send them back to California. The tag that came with them is dated July 29, 1931. I'm sure it is illegal to take these now a days. It was fun to paint the cones, they have an interesting texture to them.

Lime

Here's another fun study I recently finished.

"Avocado-in half"

I love avocados! Since living in California I've truely grown to appreciate these little beauties. So, it's only fitting that I paint one, in half. It was a fun, loose, colorful study.

"Sam and Kipper"

This is a painting of my niece, Samantha and her beloved cat. I painted this in 2006. Kipper, unfortunately, was hit by a car. I gave this painting to my sister and her family for Christmas that year.

"The Embrace"

I painted this, about 5 years ago, when I lived in Danville, California. This is Point Lobos. I took portrait and landscape classes when I lived there. This was my first landscape painting. I think it would be fun to re-paint it and to see how I've grown as a painter. I chose the title because the rock formation looked like two people embracing.

Roxie (revisited)

I wasn't totally happy after seeing this painting of Roxie after I posted it. So, I've been tweaking it here and there with small detail changes like: brightening her eyes, fixing her fur, taking off a shadow near her snout. I'm liking it now and can finally put it down.

Gardenia's (frameless)

Here is another shot of this painting I had just finished and posted, only without the frame. I received a comment from Joanne suggesting that maybe I should post my paintings without frames, as they take away from the painting. Thanks Joanne, it makes sense. I'm still new at all this so love to get feedback.

Gardenia's

I just finished another 6x8 oil on canvas panel. I'm considering this one for my daughter's school auction or I might paint something larger for it. I did, however, had difficulty capturing the highlights on the wood. It's working better but I think I need to practice reflections.

Bird of Paradise

This is another 6"x8" tropical painting that I'm working on. This and the Hybiscus will be given to my son's two teachers at the end of the school year. He has two teachers this year that job share. I started this a while ago, then stopped because I wasn't sure about it. I went back to it last night and it came to me easily. Funny how that works sometimes.

Pears and Hybiscus (updated)

I haven't posted in a while, but I have been painting. I've been trying to finish a few paintings that I've started. I'm very good about starting paintings but to finish them...now that's a New Year's resolution to self. This is another give away painting. I still need to sign it. I'm liking how it looks. I might add darker shadows on the pears themselves. This painting goes to a great friend of mine.

After seeing this painting on my blog I didn't think it looked finished. I'm liking this much better. I still need to work on the leaves a bit more until I'm finally satisfied.