Summer Travel

Our trip in June has given me some great photo images to use in new paintings. I've wanted to paint windmills for a long time.  Inspiration comes often from admiring the masters and looking at these amazing machines in paintings that are very old. Painting landscapes has been difficult for me so this was a chance to learn some new things.  These are large paintings but I tried to not paint in more detail than was really needed.  What a wonderful way to spend time in the studio.

But, of course, I can't get into summer without doing some images from the garden. Not to mention the zebras with so many stripes that it made my eyes tired.

The paintings of Santorini are so much fun to look at.  That BLUE !!! 

Contact me through River Gallery in Independence to purchase any of these works.

Painting in Hawaii

Yellow Peony

Fragrant Peony

Tropical Buttercup

Hawaiian Wildlife

What a lovely place to paint!  The lanai where we stay becomes the studio.  This year I did a commission painting  for some friends as well as works from photos that were taken while there.  The chickens are free range and not at all tame.

The buttercup tree is a member of the Bombax family of trees.  It is the first one I have ever seen in Hawaii.  When there are flowers there are no leaves and when there are leaves on it there are no flowers.  It was about twelve feet tall and covered with huge yellow flowers and buds.  Amazing!!

These beautiful little dancers entertained people at a hotel near where we stay.  They take the dancing very seriously and concentrate completely on doing it just right. 

Welcome Spring!!

More Autumn Paintings

Autumn paintings

Catching Up

After a few days at the beach, I used my picture to try some paintings using acrylic paint.  This medium is really different from watercolor .  I found it to be more forgiving because the affect is caused by layering the paint on until the desired result happens.  The subject matter was fun with all of the people and dogs on the beach.

Horses

Early Morning Commute

About a year ago one of my watercolor students brought a calendar to class that she thought might interest me.  Her sister is a photographer and lives on a working ranch in Eastern Oregon. These first two paintings were inspired by her photos.  Early Morning Commute was a beautiful painting with the early morning light that she captured.  Her husband is on the horse and starting out on his usual day of work. The painting sold last summer at the Oregon State Fair.

When we go to Hawaii we often go to Parker Ranch which is up on the mountain.  Hawaii has a long history of cattle ranching and hosts a rodeo each year.  We have never been over there for the rodeo but I would love to do that sometime.

This was my first horse painting.  The photo was given to me by the lady at Salem Saturday market who sells me flowers each week.  Her horse had just given birth to this beautiful little filly and she was showing everyone who came to her booth the pictures.  I had just returned from a painting animals workshop with Pat Weaver.  It was perfect timing and inspiration.

Horses and riders are such great subject matter for paintings.  This one was a combination of photos that I took and used together so that the horse has an expression of loyalty.

Other Places

Cotswold Cottage

Rue Cler Fluers

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Poujauran

Dinan

Arlington Row

All of these paintings were done from pictures that we've taken over the last ten years or so.  The albums full of images have given me hours of remembering and enjoyment.  My motivation for taking the pictures has partly been that some day I would paint these places.  Finally the skill has begun to catch up to the desire.  Arlington Row was started about five years ago but not finished until recently.  The town of Bibury is in England and these houses are much newer than the ones at the bottom of the hill which have been lived in since about 1200a.d.  The  history of these places is stunning and the Cotswolds area is a photographers dream come true. The gardens are beautiful and allow for a lot of artistic license in my paintings.

France has always been a favorite destination of mine and Paris pastry, flowers and architecture makes for some fun paintings.  The paintings take me a long time to do.  I took a picture of my progress about every two hours of painting time and found that twenty hours is about average for a completed work.  But what a great way to spend it!!

Sorry that the first image is sideways. My blogging skills still need some work.

Painting Animals

The Competition

Team Work

Elephant Walk

Big Boy

Best Friend

When people ask me what I like to paint, I usually say whatever appeals to me on any given day.  That is especially true when it comes to painting animals.  The roosters are fun because of the colors,  the tiger appeals because it is endangered and so magnificent that there are no words.  The team of horses reminded me of the team that my dad owned and loved.  They were brown but this painting seemed best in a black and white color scheme like an old black and white photo.  Elephant Walk was done with acrylic paint as the outline and then watercolor on the shadows.  And, of course, the Best Friend.  My Tuesday morning watercolor class painted this dog and when we put the paintings up in a row, all of them were wonderful.  The dog had many expressions and all of the painters had success!  What a fabulous medium to work in.