The Pond

 “I want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change.” -Tim Cook

"The Pond"

8"x10" on canvas board

Acrylic

Please visit my online gallery.

The Water’s Edge

"The Water's Edge"

10"x8" on canvas board

Acrylic

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Do Not Tame the Wild Within You

"Do not tame the wild within you;

embrace your passions; 

be a savage to your dreams; seize the day;

embrace the restless warrior in you;

this is your life; find your inner strength;

you're free to choose."

-dch 

This canvas has had several lives. In 2017 when #metoo was in the news I'd painted a young woman, owning both her fear and bravery. I'd used gesso and charcoal and you can still see some of her in the background. A couple of weeks ago I decided to paint over this piece and began using the canvas as a palette for a commissioned piece I'm working on. As I used more and more colors it became more and more powerful. I could feel the life force of the woman in the background coming through and I knew it was time to have this canvas become its own piece. 

"Do Not Tame the Wild Within You"

Image description: an abstract painting with oranges, browns, whites, and golds. The gold paint shimmers and some of the white has black spots of different sizes and shapes painted on it. There are drips of India ink flowing down the canvas and squiggles/dots created with ink around some of the shapes created by the paint in the background. The India ink also shimmers.

Mixed Media - acrylic, charcoal, ink, India ink

11"x14" on Canvas

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog. 

Letting Things Go Allows Us to Bloom

I have been thinking a lot lately about how few things I really need and have been doing a rather huge purge...the kitchen, closet, etc. My heart has been particularly filled by giving away my older works of art that had never found their perfect home...and now they have. (Love my neighborhood Buy Nothing group!!)

"Letting Things Go Allows Us to Bloom"

Mixed Media

16"x12" on Canvas Paper

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

Find the Life you Want

 "Start over, my darling. Be brave enough to find the life you want and courageous enough to chase it.

Then start over and love yourself the way you were always meant to."

-Madalyn Beck

My Process: I crumpled the paper, as often happens to our hearts, and slowly added layer after layer finding new pathways. While it will never be restored as before, uncrumpled, it has found its way to beauty and a new life.

I've been working on a commissioned piece and my pieces always have companion pieces that I work on during drying time. This one is particularly connected to the commissioned piece. I'll share it at some point soon.

"Find the Life you Want"

Mixed Media

20"x14" on Watercolor Paper

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog

Falling Down is Sometimes Part of the Process

 Falling down is sometimes part of the process.

Image description: pink and white flowers in a glass vase with some of the flowers having fell or are falling.

Mixed Media

Original available for $75

12" x 9" on canvas

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.)

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

Even When Broken

Even when broken we appear to bloom...briefly. But at what point do the broken begin to wilt? At what point when the broken are so wilted themselves will they stop being asked to care for those even more broken and wilted? At what point will those fully rooted and rich in resources embrace us and the burden they've created? We will und up in the ground with our roots returned to us or forgotten and entirely covered with the soil that was meant to be our nourishment.

Mixed Media

Original available for $75.

12"x9" on canvas

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.)

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

All Flowers Keep their Light

"Deep in their roots,

all flowers keep their light."

-Theodore Roethke

"All Flowers Keep their Light"

Mixed Media

Original available for $75.

12.5"x14" on wood

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.)

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

Burst of Color

"Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet."

-Paul Klee

I had so much fun creating this...it's entirely finger painted. 

Original available here for $75.

15"x13"x.5" on found wood leftover from a friend's woodworking project.

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.) 

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.

Embracing Minimalism

I'm craving minimalism these days. So, so much so. I've cleared out about half of my clothing, have not purchased any new clothing this past school year (except for 3 pieces with my art on them because I like to see what my products look like before other people purchase them...this, my youngest says, totally means I blew it on my no purchase plan...), have only been using found unused dog poop bags (I blog about that here), and have been making my own shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and lotion since March.

So when I came upon the work of Melissa Dinwiddie as a part of a course I'm taking, her work drew me right in with its minimalist aesthetic. Feeling inspired, I created this three panel piece using hand-me-down canvas panels. To me they radiate joy and simplicity, and right now they're gracing my grandmother's beloved piano. Clearly my sweet cat, Ruby, finds them soothing. I concur.

"Embracing Minimalism"

Ruby loves art.

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 a prints of these pieces.

  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.

For the Love of Frida

I'm on a deliciously fun adventure with cartooning and happily Frida popped into my head. This is my fourth, and decidedly most whimsical, painting of Frida. It's most definitely not my last painting of her. She's holding her beloved paintbrushes.

"For the Love of Frida"

Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop. 

Let me know if you're interested in a print of this piece.

And I'm considering putting her on t-shirts...let me know if you're interested.

mock up

 

  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.

Be the change...

I'm filled with gratitude today as I had the pleasure and privilege to be with two beautiful friends who experienced 9-11 in a very close and personal way. I began my day with one of of them and later shared in a celebration with the other...both spoke of that day fifteen years ago. These women each bring peace to our world by living Gandhi's words, "Be the change you wish to see in this world."

As I painted these flowers and was reminded of the magnitude of this date, these twin flowers came to represent the events of that morning and the possibilities that are left for the rest of us to guide.

We can all "Be the change..."

"Be the change..."

Most of my paintings are for sale and 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.
 This painting is part of a year-long online art class (instructor Tamara LaPorte).

Emerging from the Old Masters

Making a mess and then drawing over it...this may be my new favorite thing!

"Emerging from the Old Masters"

Click here to view my gallery 

Most of my paintings are for sale and 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.

This painting is part of a year-long online art class (instructor Pauline Agnew).

Mandala

OK, confession. I didn't follow the directions on this one. It was supposed to be much more precise. Measured even. Or at a minimum, using a template. I've found, however, that when I'm trying to be really precise with my painting I get a bugger of a headache. So I went all freehand and I was so happy throughout...and I like it!

This painting is part of a year-long online art class (instructor for this piece, Faith Evans-Sills).

 Click here to view my gallery 

Most of my paintings are for sale and 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.

"She is Stardust" Part 6

Our little cat, Tommy, has taken to hanging out in our basket of cloth napkins when he naps...which is a lot. I saw that Michael's had baskets on sale so I dashed over and bought a couple of them figuring that our big cat, Pug, would want one, too. I purchased two rectangular baskets that were bigger than our napkin basket, and I set them on the table with a soft towel in each and waited.

Pug was the first to check them out and soon he was snoozing. Tommy, on the other hand, thought I'd brought in something made of pure evil and he'd have absolutely nothing to do with it.

We kept putting Tommy in a basket and scratching and petting him just like he likes, but as soon as we stopped he'd waste no time getting outa the basket.

I even tried lining the new basket with napkins thinking that would work. But, no.

So now our napkins live in a big basket and we've officially given Tommy the smaller, formerly napkin holding, basket.


I finished working on this painting. I was so close to being finished last night, I just ran out of time. Here it is.

"She is Stardust"

Click here to view my gallery 

Most of my paintings are for sale and 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.

With his Back to the Window - Part 4

I'm a lightweight...in so, so many ways. Case in point, tonight. The little guy, Dave, and I went to Schlotzky's for dinner. Each of them had cokes with their meal and then afterward they each had an ooey, gooey cinnamon roll. I looked at the roll with a longing rooted way in my past. Before I knew what had happened I'd taken a pinch of the little guy's roll and popped it in my mouth. It was a swirl of cinnamon sugar deliciousness. Then I took a small bit of Dave's. And then I took a ride on the sugar rush express.

Mmmmmm...it was worth every second.


I finished this painting. I loved being introduced to Max Beckmann's life story and his work. I enjoyed creating this piece with my own vibe inspired by his painting.

"With his Back to the Window"

I did a yellow wash over much of the painting.

I worked on the details of his face.
I struggled a lot with his right eyebrow, his nose,
and his mouth. Teeth are hard!

I added some reddish tinting here and there.
And before the final stage, I reworked his right eye,
his ear, and his hairline. I decided I liked the
unfinished look of his arms and hands. It
worked for me to leave them less finished
as it made his face pop as the most important
part of the painting.

Click here to view my gallery.

Most of my paintings are for sale and 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.

Affected

I just finished this one tonight. I've been working on it for a few days, making change after change after change. It's inspired by a selfie blended with an abstract painting in Photoshop. While I don't think it looks very much like me, I'm super pleased that I've painted something that, once again, utterly and completely looks human. Baby steps and small victories. And, bonus, she reminds me of a cross between Pris in Bladerunner and Leeloo in The Fifth Element.

I'm a happy girl.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

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