Carrie's Family

12x9 oil on panel - sold

This is a commissioned piece for a very dear "old" friend. The kiddos are her niece and nephew and I hope I am not spoiling any surprises by sharing this here now. Carrie came to visit me at our Chocolate and Chiaroscuro event. I hadn't seen her in quite a long time. We reminisced about "coming a long way, baby" since our first meeting in Austin as volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. 

I used to have an annual party and forced all our friends (think construction types) to put on suits and nice dresses to come to my little apartment for a Christmas Ball. We had no other reason to dress up so I made my own fancy dress party! Ah, good times. 

Incidentally, I met my husband on the construction site. I saw him walking with a heavy box of nails on his shoulder... he had a good swagger (that we still laugh at today!) He came to my Christmas party that year... cleaned up very nicely. We were engaged the next Christmas and married in April ('00). Ah, even better times.

Carrie sent me this photo to work from. It was a neat composition - right up my alley. ha ha! 

Swan Lake Rehearsal

12x16 oil on paper

Another sketch from the ballet. Can't get a good photo because the paper is white wants to curve and the paint is reflective (dries with a nice gloss!)

Ballet Studio Sketch

 

12x10 oil on paper (paper size 16x12)

PURCHASE

Discovered a new paper from Arches specifically made for oil painting.

It's different from some of the others I've tried. It definitely allows for heavier paint and isn't very absorbent. I painted this last night and it is still wet and the brush strokes are quite visible. 

I saw that v....vaughan shared her painting recently which was done on the same material. I'll let her figure out how to mount and frame! 

There is no oil bleed through - the paint remains on the surface beautifully. It is smooth and I love a smooth surface to work on.

(I took this and posted from the iphone. I will update it with a better image soon)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

European Sculpture Court

24x18 oil on cradled panel

Ask DK Gallery about this painting

How about a little break from the big city to visit the cool and quiet interior of the Met? This view played into two of my favorites - the museum and an overhead view. This is a beautiful space at the Met. All that glass with natural light pouring in and a view to the greenery of Central park. I got there at the right time on this day!

With the Wyndhams

14x14 oil on linen

Been in a museum mood lately. It seems a good subject to paint a little larger. I keep hearing I should paint bigger but I worry that my subjects are rather intimate sorts of settings that won't lend themselves to large works. Who wants a giant chef in a busy kitchen on their wall? But I am scaling up to give several of my galleries more options. I do think I have a contemporary feel at least, and want to push that more so I can maybe hang these larger pieces on cradled panels and not frame them.

In this piece, I painted over a bad start that I had scraped and I used some palette knife just to add a little texture and move color around the background especially. I used my fingers some too.

I sometimes wonder if its cheating to use famous pieces of art in my own art. If people like the artist featured, for example, John Singer Sargent, then they have to like my painting. But, what I most like is to paint people admiring the masters, and doing what I love to do myself.

Skimming Along

10x10 oil on panel
$500 + s/h
contact me

A slightly larger beach scene that I created for a commission. These were all done with reference photos I had. Frequently, I will pull parts of photos together to build a composition. The boys were from different scenes and the boat another. If you work from photos you need to be able to reference them, not copy them. So even the most unpromising looking image can spark an idea or offer me something. I will frequently do pencil sketches first to lay out an idea and then look for reference material. I have thousands of digital  photos and I have them sorted by subject in folders. Its all backed up on Mozy.com. My husband couldn't believe it when he saw that I have something like 27GB of photos.

Beach Play

8x8 oil on panel
$225 + s/h

Another painted sketch for a large commission. One which didn't ever get painted unfortunately. Maybe someone out there in blogland would like to see one of these on a large scale? I'd love to paint a huge beach scene like this!

These were based on photos I took on Emerald Isle in NC. Its a lovely island community near Swansboro and Tidewater Gallery. It was very residential too which was quite special I thought. I hope to visit again.

Sunset Stroll

8x8 oil on panel
$225 + s/h

Last year I did some painted sketches for a possible commission. The idea was to capture a family, with young boys specifically, on the beach. I have several of these available still so thought I'd share them here.

Saucier

11x14 oil on linen
Ask Gardner Colby Galleries about this painting

Click on this one to see it larger. I could have gone on and covered more canvas and added more details but I decided to stop. I loved it at this point - loose, fresh and gestural. This is more of what I want to do and I just have to be bold enough to do it. Hopefully, the gallery and their patrons will approve!

Maestro

12x9 oil on panel  

Ask Gardner Colby Galleries about this painting

"Slice of Life" opens March 14th. The theme couldn't be more right for me. Its what I like to paint best - those moments in life that seem less than extraordinary, but are what the stuff of life is made of. Life here is finally taking a turn for the better. My husband is going back to work soon. My parents are making plans to move to the Austin area finally. Spring is in the air and I feel my heart lifting as these weighty matters come to resolution. Not to get too personal, but I feel very blessed that these last months have made our family stronger and closer when the difficulties could have produced very different results. I'm really proud of my husband. And my daughter.


My work is now turning to kitchen and domestic scenes. Its all relative. :-) 

Yesterday I met my lovely friend V....Vaughan and we painted while we visited in a very welcoming and cozy coffee shop in northwest Austin - Joel's. Its also the home of Austin Truffle Company and nothing will get you through a crazy time like excellent mocha truffles (and friendship.) I did the two studies above from photos while we enjoyed our hot chocolate, tea and truffles. Will be working them into larger works soon.

Oyster Bar

 12x9 oil on panel each

I think I had names in mind for these but have forgotten them. Hopefully I will come up with something clever. For now, they are two more views of the Oyster Bar. I've sent these images to Castle Gallery and all three paintings are spoken for. That is a wonderful feeling. I guess I got it right!

Anything But Pedestrian

10x20 oil on canvas panel
sold


A walk down Congress Avenue in Austin. Its generally not a mundane tour of the city. :-)

_____________

Consider a fine art print for a holiday gift this year - 

16x12" giclee on fine art paper - signed limited edition of 20

$80 incl. shipping
16 still available

Morning Stroll

12x12 oil on cradled panel

Available at Gardner Colby Gallery.

Spring Fling

6x6 oil on panel
sold

A couple of kids swimming in the luxuriously cold waters of Barton Springs Pool in Austin. I love the green water - its so clear and reflective. And such a relief on hot days!

Birds Eye

8x8 cradled panels each
sold

This set is probably arriving at Edward Montgomery Gallery in Carmel today, but is already spoken for we believe. I'll post otherwise if they are still available.

I'm in Jackson hole right now and this is likely the last Internet service I will have. It will be good to be "unplugged" for a bit.
This incredible landscape is just stunning! I want to move here. I don't think any words or pictures can do it justice. I'm walking around town continually staring upward at the mountains and tripping all over. Does anyone get used to this scenery?

Today we will get to visit a few local galleries and then head to Yellowstone.

Promenade

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

Don't forget to look at ETSY or my dailypainters.com or dailypaintworks.com galleries for available smaller paintings - works on paper, 6x6 panels, pastels, and some mid-sized works. Between the small online works and my galleries, there are plenty of nice paintings that need homes! I've been surprised that I've been getting interest in some older works lately. Some of you are looking deep! :-) 

Portrait Society

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

I've been working on some commissions lately which I can share with you soon. For now, we'll keep looking at the new works available at Tidewater until the end of my show July 14th.

Taking the Plunge

10x12 oil on panel

Available at Tidewater Gallery

Ah.. Barton Springs Pool... a truly special place for all Austinites. Year round, this spring fed pool is 68 degrees. Even on the hottest days, all I can do is get my feet in and splash some water on the rest of me. Its a great spot for people watching though and soaking up Austin's relaxed, friendly atmosphere. This is no small swimmin' hole either - its more than 18 feet deep at one end and I don't know how long. This couple is taking the plunge in more than one way!

Here is a great video someone put together of people plunging in - Enjoy!

Peony Tea Room

14x11 oil on panel

Available at Castle Gallery for the Living Color show, opening May 11.

This little tea house has been the source of much inspiration for me. I need to get back to Fort Wayne for another visit! The restaurant is in a beautiful historic home not far from Castle Gallery and they serve a lovely traditional English tea.

Discussing Tonight's Menu

20x16 oil on linen

Ask Studio 47 about this painting.