On The Level -sold

oil 6x6 inches
click here to bid

One day my hubby was going to Home Depot. I asked him to buy me a level. "Find me a pretty one," I said. He did. It's a bluish silvery aluminum. Turns out the screwdriver and hammer are kinda pretty too.

Measure First -sold

oil 6x6 inches
click here to bid

Here's my submission to the current DPW Challenge; paint tools. Often these are the first tools used for many trades. My dad was a sign painter who was never seen without his tape measure on his belt and a pencil in his pocket. In fact, when he passed away more than twenty years ago we buried him that way.
Today marks the two year anniversary of my blog. I want to sincerely thank all of you who have taken the time to look, make a comment, purchase or show interest in my work. Your feedback means more to me than I can say. Lots more paintings to come!

Midway Colors

oil 12x9 inches
Click to Purchase
100% of sale to benefit Wounded Warrior Project
custom framing available

Here is the fourth and last painting for Wounded Warrior Project. Last November we took an amazing audio tour of the USS Midway docked in San Diego Harbor. (Five hours and every minute fascinating.) Out of all the photos I took, the reference for this painting had all of my favorite aspects: the massiveness of the ship itself, a reference to the Marine Corps, and Old Glory waving in the ocean breeze.

Flight Day Prep -sold

oil 9x12 inches
click here to bid
100% of sale to benefit Wounded Warrior Project
custom framing available

This aircraft is a favorite of mine. Admittedly, I know very little about planes, but the paintjob on this one is cool. And look- the engine is almost half the size of the whole plane. I bet it was really fast back in the day. I painted it once before, but it was inside the hangar. I felt lucky to see it out in the sun getting ready to fly.

Under The Wing

oil 8x10 inches
click here to bid

100% of sale to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project
custom framing available

Painted in my studio from photo references taken at The Planes of Fame Air Museum. All proceeds from the sale of this painting will go to The Wounded Warrior Project.

War Bird -sold

oil 6x8 inches
click here to bid
100% of sale to benefit The Wounded Warrior Project
custom framing available

I painted this field study out at the Planes Of Fame Air Museum last Saturday. They were having a special event, and so I was surrounded by veterans and war bird lovers, one of whom helped unjam my tripod with his pliers. Each time I go there I look at the planes and think about the brave and honorable men who flew in them, what they had to do, what they accomplished for our country and others, and whether they got home in one piece. We owe so much to our veterans and active duty military.

Next Tuesday marks the two year anniversary of my blog. To celebrate, I'm planning to honor our military by donating 100% of sales of my next few paintings to The Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit dedicated to meeting the needs of severely injured service men and women coming home since 9/11. To learn more, click here Wounded Warrior Project, or here for a BBB non-profit report.

Berries -sold

oil 6x6 inches
click here to bid

Not much to say about yet another fruit painting. It was a nice diversion from all the chocolate. Now I'm doing some work with a military theme. More about that next post.

Class Watercolor Finished

Here's my finished demonstration painting from my Monday night class. Also pictured is my student/friend, Margaret with her finished painting. You can see she's happy with how it turned out. She's wearing her sunglasses to temper her excitement. Not really. The 5500K studio lights are a bit much for her sometimes.
To finish it up we did some negative painting in the grasses, adding a few blades of grass on top, then painted the center of the flowers. To see the 4 posts showing the progression of this painting, go to labels below, click on watercolor and scroll down.

Chocolate Hearts -sold

oil 8x6 inches
click here to bid

My last chocolate painting for now. What a nicely designed box. The bits of gold and dark silver shining here and there made it even more interesting.

Peanut Butter Kisses -sold

oil 6x6 inches
click here for purchase information and magnifier

Maybe I shouldn't admit that this is one of my favorite late night snacks. Who needs Reeses? I guess I'm painting a chocoholic series. This painting is available at Vander Molen Fine Art, Arcadia, CA

Fudgy Charm Bar

oil 6x6 inches
click here to bid

This lump of gooey deliciousness came from Stater Brothers Market. The title is theirs. I thought it was kinda funny. The bakery girl packaged it up so carefully after I told her not to smash the whipped cream 'cause I'd be painting it. (What a weird customer.) Then it fell over on the trip home and again on top of the green beans in the fridge. Oh well.

Strawberry Kisses -sold

oil 6x6 inches
click here to bid

If there were a twelve step program for chocoholism I would not go willingly. Here we have chocolate dipped strawberries without the dipping. Just peel'n'eat. I enjoy these throughout our long strawberry season. Two kisses per strawberry. See this and the other entries on the new DPW Challenge by clicking here.
Happy Valentine's Day!

FD Retired

oil 10x10 inches FRAMED
Click to Purchase

From the Gold King Mine in Jerome, Arizona. All the old relics sit on the side of the mountain just like the rest of the town. I've always liked diagonals.

Little Bird-sold

oil on canvas panel 4x4 inches
click here to bid

A little white ceramic bird on a white surface, my second for the DPW challenge. Rather than use two complements as I did for the previous painting, I decided to use three primaries. Grays mixed with three primaries seem more lively. I like this one much better. To see the other submissions, click here.

White On White-sold

oil on canvas panel 6x8 inches

Night before last I left my photo references and attempted to take the DPW challenge; paint white objects on a white background. I started with Q-tips on a white surface, wiped it out and went to bed. Yesterday I painted this. Blaaahhhh. I saw a lot of orange thanks probably to my orange T-shirt. I used blue and orange to make the grays and swing them warm or cool, and yellow in the lights. I really missed having a colorful subject and pondered the act of painting something I'm not particularly excited about. Not being one to give up easily, I painted another one I'm a bit happier with which I'll post tomorrow.

Class Watercolor Stage 3

Update from January 28th post. We enhanced the shapes of the lily pads by painting the water spaces around them, careful not to outline. We wanted to maintain the large patches of lily pads otherwise all the repetitive shapes would be about the same size. We brought the water to the color and value desired with a second layer. The reflections of branches are added, lifting paint crosswise here and there to indicate water ripples. We removed the masking fluid on the lilies and bushes to reveal several values of green. Next class we'll finish the bushes with some negative painting, add centers to the flowers, make any needed adjustments and the painting will be finished. To see the previous posts in this series, go to "labels" below and click on "watercolor", then scroll down.

Jerome's Finest

oil on canvas panel 12x9 inches
click here to bid

Last spring while driving around Jerome, Arizona with my good friend Martha we spotted this old police car. Jerome is an old mountainside mining town near Sedona, Arizona...and a painter's paradise of junk. The focal point is that red light of course, but I do love the pink structure and the "Ben&Jerry's sky." My paintings are loosening up, which makes me really happy. A few years ago someone looked at my photo realistic watercolors and said, (and I quote), "Once you paint like that you can never loosen up." How irritating!

Breakfast At Flo's

oil on canvas panel 9x12 inches click for purchase information Flo's is an icon in Chino. Local dairymen, pilots, vets and regular folks know it's the place to go for biscuits and gravy. It's located just down the road at Chino Airport. There between cow pastures you can visit the Planes Of Fame Air Museum and see little private planes coming and going. Lately we're going every Sunday after church. It's busy, but worth the wait. As for the painting, I really did leave out a few things though you might not think so. Kept her face really simple so your eye goes right to that cook trying to keep up with the orders.

A Bit Rusty sold

oil on canvas panel 10x10 inches
click here to bid

I love bikes, and old ones are full of character. Wouldn't it be great if they could tell their stories? Found this one somewhere on the way to Yosemite at a roadside stop called Bravo Farms. That place is full of painting fodder and great tortilla soup too. I submitted it to the DPW "Wheels" challenge. See the others by clicking here.