Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Venus 7

This is the 7th in my Venus series. I started this one thinking I'd do a little abstract piece, but lovely Venus told me, "Nope." Did you know that Venus digs plaid?

"Venus 7"
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My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
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Monday, August 28, 2017

Canyon Wren

Wrens...they remind us that "it is not the material items we gain, but the quality of relationships made along the way that enrich our lives." Home is, indeed, where the heart is.
source

Wise creatures for sure.

"Canyon Wren"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
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Sunday, August 27, 2017

...and sometimes we are not called to dance in the rain.

"...and sometimes we are not called to dance in the rain."



All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
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Saturday, August 26, 2017

Where the Mountains Meet the Sky

The rain and wind have been playing in the background as I've painted and filled myself with warm beverages all morning. I've been working on a piece requested by a friend and am nearly finished. I'm letting it rest and seeing if it tells me it needs more. Between layers I've been creating more tiny paintings. I've been loving creating abstracts and these little canvases will serve as concept and color studies for future large paintings.

This little piece reminds me of our recent trip to the PNW, a time filled with love, friendship, beauty, and hikes to where the mountains met the sky.

"Where the Mountains Meet the Sky"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Venus 6

I didn't intend to, but I seem to be taking about a two week break from creating art. I've spent about five minutes doing a bit of sketch work, but that's it. I've learned over the past 7 years that my mind/body/spirit lets me know when to take a little time off. But I can feel the urge to paint tickling at the back of my mind and I'm so happy that a rainy weekend is coming up. I find storms particularly inspiring.

In the meantime, I've got a few more small paintings I did during and after our trip to the PNW. Here's another in my Venus series. As a 5' tall woman who gave birth to two big babies (8 lb 2 oz and 9 lb 2 oz) I have a particular love for and appreciation of childbearing hips.

"Venus 6"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
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Sunday, August 20, 2017

Follow the Bouncing Ball

Monday marks the start of my 14th year of teaching. I've been super lucky to work with 3, 4, and 5 year old children who happen to have disabilities and who also consistently show me that they have the most amazing super powers. When I finished this painting it reminded me of a ball bouncing...and then I thought of my classroom filled with my students which at times reminds me of a whole room full of bouncing balls. Let the fun begin!

"Follow the Bouncing Ball"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
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Saturday, August 19, 2017

Recalibrating

I've had some interesting things in my life lately that, well, most definitely weren't on my list of expected events. I've found myself recalibrating just as my GPS would recalculate were I to suddenly go off route, adjusting by making a new path. One tiny interesting thing happened today involving the painting below. I'd had it on top of the shoe rack in our bedroom for a couple of weeks, always intending to get to the "hanging up" part. This morning it fell forward (not for the first time) and toppled to the floor. I committed right then and there that I'd wire it and hang it on the bedroom wall by the end of the day. Well I just picked it up, took it to the table to start the wiring process, and I noticed a tear in the canvas. Not much of a tear...just an inch or so...but a tear none-the-less. It bothered me at first. A LOT. And just a few seconds later it didn't. Not even a little bit. Painting route recalibrated.

P.S. Let me know if you'd like to have this slightly ripped painting...cheap. Really, the tear just adds character!

"Recalibrating"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
Please click the links below to share my blog.
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Sunday, August 13, 2017

Adding some Whimsy to the Hood

I've been busy with a super fun "little" project. It all started with a fence, a rather dilapidated fence, a fence that we were so hoping would be replaced with a cool new fence by the developer who was building the huge house you can see in the background of the first photo. Well...that didn't happen. So David, our boys, and I tore down the old one and put up a new one.

Our old dilapidated fence.

The guys working on our new fence.

Well, that new fence was screaming "I'm not just a fence, I'm a canvas!!!!" And, not to crush a fence's dreams, we decided to make that happen.

My mock-up of the fence mural.

David and I painted the fence white.

I was so excited I had to snap a shot in the first hour or so of painting.

End of Day 1

A squirrel above me was eating nuts and dropping partial nuts and spit on me. Ew!

End of Day 2

Here I am signing it at the end of day 3.

30' of Flowers

Panoramic video...not sure if this will work on the blog.
If you're in Austin, stop by!

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
Please click the links below to share my blog.
I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Venus 5

"To me, beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin.
It's about knowing and accepting who you are."
-Ellen Degeneres

This is the fifth piece in my Venus series celebrating the 
beauty of women...in all her forms. 

"Venus 5"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
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Monday, August 7, 2017

Tree of Life 1

I was inspired by someone very dear to me to create a Tree of Life piece. This tiny piece is the first in what I hope will be a series. I'm adding a "1" to the title to further ensure that there will be more to come.

I am loving creating tiny pieces alongside the larger pieces I'm doing. I can't say enough about how amazing it is as an artist to complete a piece. While I am totally a process person, blissfully enjoying the journey of creating, coming to completion is icing on a delicious cake. Completion means I get to send the piece onto its next home AND I get to start another piece. Such fun!

"Tree of Life 1"

All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
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Sunday, August 6, 2017

Make a Splash

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone
across the waters to create many ripples."
-Mother Teresa

Let's all make a splash and create some awesome ripples.

"Make a Splash"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
Please click the links below to share my blog.
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Saturday, August 5, 2017

Skepticism

Looking at this painting has me wondering. There are some rather uninformed, in my opinion, humans who are skeptical of global warming and humans' part in what I consider to be a scientifically backed fact. I wondered if the earth is just as skeptical of those particular humans. "Are they for real?!?!" I figure this is the look the earth would be giving them.

"Skepticism"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
Please click the links below to share my blog.
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Thursday, August 3, 2017

Sometimes Love is Messy

Sometimes love is messy. 
That's part of its charm, right?

I adore using small canvases as my pallets when I paint. They get all lumpy, bumpy, fabulous and then I paint something on top of all that "mess". With this canvas the word "love" was there for quite a while. I'd used my pallet to make sure my India ink was flowing from my brush and had written with it. So when I decided to turn the pallet into a painting, the word "love" and all that "messiness" spoke to me.

"Sometimes Love is Messy"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
Please click the links below to share my blog.
I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Venus 4

This is the fourth in my Venus series. 
Here's to appreciating our curves...on all sides.

"Venus 4"
All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
Please click the links below to share my blog.
I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Take Pleasure in the Adventure

This is another closed eyes sketch. I imagine the little reddish oval going on an adventure. I wonder which road she will take.

"Take Pleasure in the Adventure"

And if you know me, you know I LOVE upcycling things. Recently I was given two lovely candles that came in this tin and this jar. After using the candles I decided it would be fun to clean them out and paint the lids so they could go forward in life as whimsical little keep-sake containers. I've given them to two friends to take them for "usability test drives" and give me feedback.



All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.
Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop
Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.
  I welcome commissions.
Please click the links below to share my blog.
I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment.