Desert Jewels

Click on the title to view painting within the online blog/ Gearing up for my summer workshop in Sweden and catching up on commissions but I wanted to share this painting I did while in Arizona. The cactus there are captivating with all their varied textures, shapes and colors and especially at the close of day when the light is yummiest. Hard to resist wanting to touch them as we do with typical garden blooms, but a safe distance is best in this case! Happy Summer and I hope to connect again soon.

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Miniature Mendocino

Click on the Title to see image within blog/ I've been developing a new habit of creating small value studies or sketches before I do large paintings. I liked this composition so much that I decided to add color and post it today. It's super small, only 5 inches high and 3/5 wide, but the dominance of the dark watertower and the cluster of buildings placed just below make it pretty strong even so. I look forward to creating the large painting one day soon, but in the meantime here is a sneak peek. 

Check out a class I've added just after my Mendocino Art Center workshop and consider coming on over to the coast for one or both!

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Desert Snippet

Click on Title to view image within online blog/ Long time you no hear from me eh? I remember posting last time that I've been dealing with some health issues and a few people have shouted back at me. I am happy to report that things are calming down and I'm feeling much better and sure appreciate everyone's concern. 

I attended the Plein Air Painting Convention in Tucson April 15-19 and had an amazing time watching other professionals paint up a storm. It was exhilarating, inspiring and exhausting all at the same time and now that I'm home I'm quite anxious to practice some of the things I learned. One day, my friend Robin and I sat in her teeny tiny car and did small watercolor studies while avoiding the heat outside. This is my wee offering and I look forward to staying in closer touch as the weeks and months of this year progress. Thanks so much for tuning in.

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Backlit Beauties

It has been far too long since I have posted to this blog and I'm terribly sorry about neglecting you! I have been dealing with some health issues that have left me quite fatigued but continue to push through to find solutions and am definitely making headway. I have realized that my days of ultra-multi-tasking may be completely over and it feels nice to move at a slower pace. Getting fewer things done is a bit hard to get used to, but my heart and mind aren't so crammed with anxiety and endless lists. I'm working on exploring some new techniques with my paintings and hope to post about some of that very soon.

In the meantime, I found out this week that this watercolor won Best Overall Watercolor in the recent Plein Air Salon competition for Feb/March and will now compete for the cash prizes that will be announced at next month's Plein Air Convention in Tucson. I had already signed up for the event, so it will be fun to see what that gathering is all about and I'll let you know if this piece garners any additional awards. Not long ago, I took a week off to paint for fun, without any particular end result or gallery in mind and this painting was created during that time, measuring 22x15. Happy Spring and much love to all.

Filtered Sunlight

Click on the title to view image within my blog/ Always carry my camera on jaunts around Mendocino and seem to discover new angles or inspirational lighting conditions. On this particular day, the sun was breaking through the clouds and spotlighting this sweet house on Ukiah Street, so I was thrilled to capture that moment for a later painting date. I really do think that it gives me that same feeling I had the day it caught my attention and hope you also catch a glimpse.

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Jubilant January

Click on Title to view image within blog/ Last weekend was a barrel of fun because my buddy Leslie came to visit and we were able to paint together a few times. The weather was changeable but we managed to enjoy this dramatic scene at Todd's Point at the mouth of the Noyo River and actually sat in the car due to high winds. The sun was setting behind us and casting these yummy colors onto the billowing clouds and who isn't drawn to a scene like this that serves to broaden the borders of your heart?

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Greek Salad for One

Click on Title to view image within blog/ It's true, I haven't posted to my blog since last year! Alright, it's only been a few weeks, but my goal has been to shout out at least once a week and I'm falling short. We traveled to Los Angeles to be with our kids and everything went haywire with the regular goings on but now we are back in the saddle, here at the studio and the computer. 

I'd like to continue sharing my paintings from the Greece trip since I created a treasure trove of small pieces and this one is the yummiest for sure. It is the daily diet for me each and every time I travel to the islands and it was torture to see it sitting there the entire time 3 of us made paintings.

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