December 17 - Calico Cat

Today is my husband's 65th birthday, so we had an enjoyable evening out at a nice fish restaurant. I came back to the studio at 7:30 (we eat early) and tried to figure out what to paint. Of course, there was the cat--named "Pesto" because she is such a delightful pest, asking for attention every moment she is awake. This painting has kind of a Mona Lisa smile, if that is possible. I look at her eyes, and see a touch of worry, interest, and focus. When I look at her mouth, I see a slight smile, that appears and disappears, fleeting. Original oil on canvas, gallery wrapped, 6 x 4 inches.
Available on ebay HERE.

December 16 - Windmill Morning Fog

I woke up this morning and headed to the studio to turn on the Capresso 1300 automatic coffee machine, and looked out the window behind it and saw our windmill encased in morning fog. What a view. This daily painting business has enhanced my sight--in that I am always thinking as I look at things, trying to be as receptive as I can to the visions that cross my path. I've seen this windmill, which I love, every day for over six years, yet now I SEE it. I carried today's painting in my head until 9 pm, what with my husband's birthday tomorrow, and all the Christmas rush of mailing out things through the post office. But at 9 pm, my brushes hit the acrylics and this 5 x 7 gallery wrap canvas, and this painting appeared. I'm really happy with it, because I was seeking to get that soft, soft mist of the morning light. I think I nailed it.
Available on ebay HERE.

December 15 - Lunch Break #2

What to paint? It is 8 pm, and nothing is coming off the brushes. I look around at Christmas ornaments, I have a moment where I think I'll paint the edge of the little table-top tree we have.... no, doesn't "feel" right. OK, I sigh. Back to the resource files. What do I have that has been sitting on a back burner? Of course... horses. I pick up a 6 x 6 inch canvas and begin.
It is now 9:30 and I'm finished.

"Lunch Break #2" This is a quick color study for a possible larger painting of horses that were tied up on a trail ride up in the desert canyons near Palm Springs. Lunch time, and the riders are off eating, while the horses wait, enjoying the rest after the hours on the trail. No place to go if they did get loose. Original oil, 6 x 6 inches on gallery-wrap canvas. Yes, the right hand horse is painted around the edge! On ebay HERE.

December 14 - Tangerine

After the big painting I did yesterday, I knew I'd have to do something juicy, and nice, yet certainly not as big. So I looked around--saw the full moon, and said, "Not tonight, dear". Instead I was standing there, peeling these tangerines I get from the store in a mini crate of about a dozen of them, and wow. I love these things. I must have eaten about eight of them. So, naturally, it is time to PAINT one. It was that or a candy cane. Couldn't get that to set up as a still life in a way that "looked right". That's on hold for another day.
This original oil is on ebay until December 21, HERE.

December 13 - Junk Man

I had to pull out all the stops today, and paint something spectacular, because of the Robert Genn newsletter going to thousands of artists' email in boxes. So this 24 x 30 oil came off the brushes, and it is from material I had taken 'way back in the 80s. There used to be a really interesting swap meet near my home, where I'd go and buy, and occasionally sell my excess chickens and farm stuff. Bought a lot of rabbit cages back then. Now the dirt is under a new Home Depot. Not nearly as much fun to shop, and no haggling over prices! I just loved how he sat, king over all he saw, and his objects paying homage to him there. Yes, only one day to paint it. When it's right, it's right. I waited for eighteen years before I was ready, and good enough to do it justice. Available directly from me for $875.

December 12 - Snapshot

"Snapshot" From ancestors to my current love, it is all encompassed in this original oil, 5 x 7 inches. The photograph in sepia tone is from my grandmother's things. She was my father's mother and an amazing woman for her time. Raiased on a Missouri farm, she left home to visit her brother in Colorado, and that's where she met my grandfather. She received a Brownie camera in 1903 and never stopped photographing. I have hundreds of her photographs. And the color picture is from a recent Christmas, sitting next to my beloved husband, my greatest supporter and best friend. Finishing up the composition, this filbert brush is my favorite tool. Available on ebay HERE.

December 11 - "Thanks, But I'll Wait"

Another in the series of shelter pets coming out in my oil paintings. This is such a necessary part of who I am as an artist. It's agonizing to paint a dog that won't look at you, because you don't matter, YOU are not the person this dog is aching to see--the one he loves--and the one who turned him in, never to return.
this painting is not for sale, because I am planning to show it at the Art Show at the Dog Show in Kansas City next year, and certainly will feature it as a month in the calendar that I'm planning to raise money for animal shelters everywhere. Here's a closeup of his face.