One Benjamin

oil 8x6 inches
not for sale

It's tax season at our house which means hubby is working on other people's money seven days a week. Now weekends mean even more painting time for me. Yay! This one was painted for him at his request.

Not-So-Almighty -sold

oil 8x6 inches
private collection Hilton Head, South Carolina

I've been wanting to paint this for a long time. Hopefully for the viewer there is more here than just paint on canvas.

Holy Cow! -sold

oil 8x6 inches
click here to bid

I don't know what got into me. This one is weird. For a while now I've wanted to paint something hanging from a pushpin. Years ago Nick, one of my first graders, gave me this Christmas ornament because apparently I was always saying, "Holy Cow!" It's an awkward composition, but she looks like she's trying to fly off to the great pasture in the sky.

One Too Big

oil 6x6
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We're at the height of the strawberry season here. The fields around us are full of strawberries as big as your fist. Well, almost.

Orange "Filling Station"

sold
oil 8x10 inches

Yesterday Dana Cooper and I met up at the Orange circle to paint. This little eatery, "The Filling Station" was getting ready for the lunch crowd. As the crowd came we had to work around parked cars blocking our view. But no complaints here, the owner came out to see and bought my painting. We finished up then walked right into our subject for a delicious lunch.

Majestic Oak -sold

oil 10x8 inches
private collection Everett, Washington

A couple of Fridays ago I took off in my car and roamed around Claremont looking for a subject. I ended up at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens where I've walked and painted before. This tree must be really old because it's just enormous. I thought, "How do I convey the massiveness of this tree on a small canvas?" The trunk.

First Freesias -sold

oil 6x6 inches
click here to bid

Freesias are the flowers for me. I don't do anything, and they come up every year and bloom their hearts out. While I'm painting they give off a light lemony fragrance.

On The Level -sold

oil 6x6 inches
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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
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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.