Mutt 2

Here's a second separate version of the seagull from below. It will also be at the Maranda Pleasant Gallery Artbox Show on December 5th here in Austin. 12 x 12 x 2 oil on cradled wood panel.

Mutt

I've painted this seagull before. This is Mutt, of Mutt and Jeff (the pelican in Port Aransas, TX). The first painting had them together but here is the little guy alone, enjoying the freedom and peace of a sunny day on the beach. I think he just had lunch too. 12 x 12 x 2, oil on cradled wood panel. $100, available at Maranda Pleasant Gallery on December 5th.

While Polishing Table Leg, Had Sudden Umbilical Flashback

I have always felt compelled and atracted to furniture and architecture featuring this spiral shape. I believe it is Moorish in origin. I have an antique sofa and a dining room table with these turned legs and I have always wondered what makes me feel drawn to it. One day I was absentmindedly polishing one of the table legs when I had a very sudden, visceral Road-to-Emmaus type flash hit me that I was in the womb, holding on to and feeling the ropeyness of my mother's umbilical cord. I had never, ever before made that connection before. It was weird, to say the least, and kind of cool. No, I have never taken drugs and I wasn't high on paint fumes either :) 12 x 12 oil on gallery-wrap canvas.

Shiner

I wanted this to be super loose to convey the movement of my friend KK's dog Shiner having fun with his tennis ball. I had it even looser than this but, you know how that goes! This is really small for me but I may do a 12x12 oil of it for the Maranda Pleasant show in Austin on December 5th. 5x5 acrylic on canvas. Private Collection.

Portrait of Kelli Bland

November 2, 2009 -- When I'm not sure what to paint sometimes I'll take out an old AFG sketch and try to flesh it out some. Having to try and recall what the model looked like is tricky so as always, it's not an exact likeness. For example I don't recall she really had patchwork hair. 16 x 20 oil on board.

Gimme Some Cow Candy

We visited our friends' family farm this weekend and I got to photograph cows being fed. One came up to me and got her face right up under my camera so I snapped her picture. She thought I had cow candy, then turned around afterward to see all the other cows with bowls full of it. Well, I didn't trick her on purpose. Her eyes were so big as she tried not to get her horns caught, lifting her chin up. So cute. 16 x 20 x 1.5 oil on gallery wrap canvas.

Umbrella Girls, WIP New Detail

The complete painting (previous version) is several posts below but here is a new detail as of last night. I'm having trouble getting a good photo. My next task is to alter the fearful facial expression -- I think both my girls were enjoying the rainy night and the cool wind sweeping past them. Remember, this is Texas... we love our rain, when we get it! 20 x 16 oil/canvas, NFS.

Portrait of Honoria Starbuck - WIP

I have a big collection of my earlier paintings done in acrylic at Austin Figurative Gallery. I intend to rework and finish out as many of them as I can, as most of them are pretty much sketches (often done in 15 minutes or less). This portrait started that way; one night at AFG the model didn't show up so we all took turns sitting. This is the Austin artist Honoria Starbuck. I might turn the background into an indoor or abstract setting and her blouse is just mostly blocked in. From the bottom up are: the original sketch (I like the fresh colors and spontaneity of it) and then yesterday's oil version, and at the top, today's version with a face close-up. 20 x 24 oil on canvas.

The Cagey Bird Gets The Worm

I saw this story and photo online about intelligence in birds. Some researchers found that birds can be innovative in seeking solutions when it comes to getting food. Birds were presented with a tube with some water and a worm floating inside. Several birds, including this one, figured out that they could drop rocks in the tube repeatedly to get the worm to float higher to the surface. And they had to choose rocks of a shape and size that wouldn't get stuck halfway down. The whole exercise showed that these birds used some not-too-shabby cogitation. I like to think that we give wildlife way too little credit as far as their mental capacities -- maybe they even have souls? Any smart thing they do, we say "Oh, it's instinct." ...... But, who knows? 16 x 20 oil on Ampersand board.

Grapefruit

Today I wanted to try a new painting place in my house since my studio is feeling uninspiring to me. The light in one bathroom is really bright with big white counter space. I kind of liked it :) So I just did this little setup of three grapefruit (which sat at such a nice height on the bathroom shelf). It's a mostly white bathroom and I have a feeling I may end up painting my studio all white and working on the lighting. I need as few visual distractions as possible when I'm awaiting "the Muse." The main thing is that I'm just trying to get in the swing again so this was what the doctor ordered... a little warm-up, back to oil painting today. Busy weekend ahead and then Monday I'll see about working on my umbrella girls portrait. The next day, Madeline (little umbrella girl) comes home from 7 weeks in Paris! woohoo! I cannot wait! 8 x 10 oil Private Collection.

Addie In Her New Home

I was so happy and proud to get this photo of my portrait of Addie in its new home. It is now installed in the Johns household of Dallas, Texas (where I grew up and where most of my family still lives). The canvas is almost 2 inches deep with edges painted a lacquered brownish red but that doesn't show in this photo. Anyway I think it blends very nicely with the setting, and it inspires me to do all the animal portraits I can. I love the idea of making more people happy with permanent memories of their beloved pets. So, that's a goal -- more practice in that direction. I think I'll see if I can find a photo of our yellow tabby cat Henry we had when the girls were little... he was like a dog, and that's a high compliment from me.

Time Out

It has been over a year since I painted in acrylic so I thought I'd see how that felt again. Wasn't thrilled with how fast it kept drying and I missed the smooth stroke of an oily paintbrush. The good thing was that the colors stayed separated. Might try it again in oil for comparison but I already sent this one in to Karin Jurick. 11 x 12 inches on canvas. Private Collection. (afterthought -- do any of you ever paint an entire painting again over a completed acrylic one?)

Pennsylvania Landscape

As I was nearing the end of painting this tonight I started hearing Kenny Rogers singing "...You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away..." ... Not a good sign considering I know I should have walked away sooner. I waited until about 6 PM tonight to start this after a busy last several weeks. I thought I should at least go ahead and face the challenge and if I missed the deadline, oh well. It was those silos that were putting me off... I kept getting tired of seeing them and then I wasn't sure what the focal point should be. So I decided just to paint it for the experience of trying to capture the patterns receding into the distance. I think I learned a good bit and it got me thinking about things I'll need to know when I paint landscapes with a distant horizon. It will take lots of practice -- sure is harder than I thought it would be! Oh well, it was painted in a rush -- that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. 12 x 12 x 1, oil on gallery wrap canvas

Umbrella Girls - WIP

This portrait is a work in progress (detail at top). These are our daughters about 19 years ago. I have been looking at Dana Cooper's and Paula Villanova's beautiful portraits. They are both amazing, inspiring painters. 16 x 20 oil on canvas, NFS.

Our Woodshed

This is my first attempt in a long time to do a landscape. 24 x 20 oil on stretched canvas.

Claustrophobia

This was a 3 hour attempt for Karin Jurick's current challenge. I have other projects waiting so I'm sending it in and moving on! 20 x 16, oil on canvas.

Addie, Done!

I'm calling this girl done! 30 x 24 x 1.5, oil on gallery wrap canvas, NFS.

Addie Commission WIP

Yes, I'm still working on Addie; This is day 2's effort on Big Addie -- 30 x 24 x 1.5.

Diana's Companion

This is my Karin Jurick entry for this time. 11" x 8", graphite on paper. The original sculpture was done in 1724 by Jean-Louis Lemoyne.

Last Tweak

This study is finished, next the big canvas...

Addie Study Tweaked

I decided the driveway looked like an extension of Addie's head so I turned it into grass and did some value/hue tweaking today. I'll probably leave this alone now and move on to the final canvas which is now going to be 30 x 24.

Painted Study of Addie

Here's my first study, 10 x 8 oil on canvas paper.

Sketch of Addie

An old friend since elementary school in Dallas has commissioned me to paint her dog Addie. This sketch is based on the photo she gave me.

Tequila!

I love the look of a Patron bottle (and the way the tequila makes margaritas taste). yyyyyyummmmmm 10 x 8 oil on canvas panel.

Beach Girl

My husband is a big fan of paintings of pretty girls so he loves this one. 10 x 8 oil on canvas.

20 Minutes I'm SO Glad I Spent!

If you are a creative person who has *ever* experienced even one moment of anxiety over pursuing your artistic endeavor, I hope you will watch this 20 minute talk by Elizabeth Gilbert. It may be some of the best 20 minutes I've ever experienced -- exTREMEly helpful to me and I hope it will be for you also.

http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

"How Can I Thank You?"

March 3, 2009

For Karin Jurick's challenge... 16 x 12 oil on canvas board.

Horses Playing

February 27, 2009

For the purposes here, this is done.

Horses Playing - Still in Progress

February 19, 2o09

I'm just posting this to get credit for my many hours of work on it today.

Horses Playing - Work in Progress

February 18, 2009

I started these horses today. 16 x 16, oil on ampersand board.

Horses Playing

February 12, 2009

I'm going to paint some horses that a friend of mine considers family. This is a preliminary sketch from a photo of two young males, Squall and Pickle, who like to play.

Casey

February 9, 2009

This is my friend Amy's dog Casey. 11 x 13 oil on panel.

Lava Lamp Moon

February 3, 2009
My daughter has asked me to paint the moon for her. So here it is, a 24 x 24 canvas. She found a neat space-view photo showing the terrain and cloud cover and the various 'potholes.' I abstracted a lot of it -- had a lot of fun.

Painted Lady's Cry for Help

January 30, 2009

I painted this for Karin Jurick's site. Underneath this woman's face is a real tower with rectangular windows -- but it morphed into this painted lady, wanting out. Long story. :)

It Started With These Drawings

January 30, 2009 - Preliminary sketches for the San Francisco Victorian house which ended up as the Painted Lady's Cry For Help.

Rio Again

January 24, 2009

This is our golden retriever Rio again (who died several years ago) . I always love to revisit his cheerful ever-present smile.

Zach

January 23, 2009

My nephew Zach who plays in the band Black Joe Lewis. I deleted all the other photos and entries to save space, but thank you all for your comments, I truly appreciated hearing them! 48" x 36", oil on canvas, NFS.

Photos of my Portrait Process

January 8, 2008
My final version is shown above. It is oil on gallery-wrap canvas, 9" x 12"
Below was the second day's progress --

First day of painting her, below. I was just trying to block in the forms of course, and it was a challenging angle for me to get right.

Below you will find my photo inspiration for the above process...

Portrait

January 7, 2009
This final painting sure went through a lot of morphing :)

Preliminary Drawing of Unknown Artist

December 30, 2008
Here is the drawing I did today for Karin Jurick's end of year challenge. I will be painting this artist. I am having the best time seeing all the paintings showing up one by one at Karin's site.

Work Boots

December 11, 2008

I tried today to branch out a little bit colorwise and use some warmer tones. This is a little tighter than I meant to do actually. I considered working on it again tomorrow to see if I could loosen it up but decided nope, it stands as is and I'd probably just muddy up the colors. I thought I was going to do a study in great leather colors but my hands had other ideas. I do love the colors of polished tanned leather. (poor cows! I'm still vegan by the way, knock on wood!) This one is 20" x 16", oil on canvas.

Siddhartha Thinking Only Pure Thoughts

December 2, 2008

Whew, I just got this Buddha done under the wire for Karin's challenge this week, deadline is tomorrow night and we've had 2 weeks to do it. Of course I just started it this morning. Our daughters have been home for Thanksgiving and it has been hard to focus on painting. I chose to focus on this face because I always enjoy doing faces and I have very little floral experience. Besides, how could I compete with Vern Schwarz' hydrangeas? Impossible. So here is Siddhartha, trying to keep his mind on only the purest of thinks. Of course "he" looks like a woman but unless I'm mistaken, Buddha is a dude. 20" x 14", oil on canvas...enjoy.

My Buddy

November 20, 2008

This 10"x 8" oil on canvas is our golden retriever Rio, our longtime companion who is no longer with us. I hope to get a lot of practice painting dogs. I was looking at Maggie Mayer's dog paintings of Banana Puddin, Champ and Francis and I got the fever just from looking at those. She does a fantastic job of capturing a dog's spirit. This one of Rio was going to be for sale but my daughters want to keep it. However if you would like a similar painting done from a photo, feel free to contact me about a commissioned piece.

Girl With Death-Ray Vision

November 15, 2008

I had some loose fun with this one. In Karin's photo the girl had shadows in front of her face that made it look like she was putting out death rays as she walked along. I played with the colors and shapes, trying to add more interest and loosen up the boxy structure of the lines I had to work with. Every once in a while I like to go more abstract, and this was one of those times. 8" x 10", oil on canvas. http://www.differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/

Streetwalkers

November 11, 2008

This is my first attempt at using pastel. The couple at the left, I perceived to be young and in love, with two older ladies watching them, reminiscing. The guy to the right has things to do and places to go and has no interest in the show, he's just waiting for the light to change. So this was my interpretation of the scene. It started out as just a drawing to nail down my composition ideas, then I decided to try some pastels I have, "just trying out colors." Before I knew it I had too much work invested and made it my final submission because the deadline was fast approaching! http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/ 8" x 10 1/2", pastel on paper.

Cowtime at Karin's

October 23, 2o08

Just this weekend as we were driving along I was looking at cows and wishing we could stop to take pictures of them so I could paint one. So naturally I was VERY happy to see Karin Jurick chose a cow for us to paint this week. I've been trying for the last couple of years not to eat beef (and have mostly stuck to that) or pork because eventually I hope to become vegan. I've tried it, it's very hard, so I'm easing in that direction. (Update 12/4/08 -- I've been vegan for a week now!) Anyway, I love cows and their sleepy look. 13.75" x 11", oil on canvas. Sold

Scary Times on Wall Street

October 18, 2008

I just couldn't take this week's DSFDF challenge seriously. I kept waiting for inspiration and finally decided this was the best I could do. I can't spend too much effort on the subject of people throwing their money away, and all the crooked dealing that goes on with stocks. But I didn't want to break my streak of doing all of Karin's challenges so far. So here 'tis, Haaaappyyyy Haaalllowweeeen...10" x 8" oil on canvas, (sold).

Dolphin Escort Service

October 13, 2008

My husband has told me for years that he has seen dolphins playing in the waves ahead of freighters arriving at Port Aransas, TX. I thought it was just one of his tall tales. Well this summer I saw it for myself, a group of them jumping the waves ahead of a ship and having a great time. He says researchers can't find any reason they do it except for entertainment. If that isn't all the more reason to love dolphins I don't know what is! 16" x 20" oil on canvas.

Mutt 'n Jeff

October 11, 2008

We were out walking on a pier in Port Aransas in August and pelicans were strolling along everywhere. This one had a little sidekick that stayed right with him/her. I can hardly think of anything more adorable than these two kinds of birds, but to get a shot of them together was more than I could have asked for. They have such sweet faces and remind me of feeling carefree. 24" x 24", oil on gallery-wrapped canvas.

The Clueless Bride

October 7, 2008

This was my second try on this painting of what was supposed to be "The Bean" in Chicago. The first one ended up being the Flying Spaghetti Monster instead. So I tried to keep it a bean today, but it became a big eyeball. My paintings just won't behave themselves! I'm starting to realize that my Twilight Zone streak just wants to voice itself so I try to oblige it now and then. 16" x 20" oil on canvas.