The Crossroads

A landscape of the area near the Eugene Airport, interpreted from a photo. I'm longing to get outside to paint. Daffodils are starting to poke their heads out of the ground - a good sign that spring is nearly here.

Out Lorane Highway

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We often drive down Lorane Highway on our way to King Estate Winery. Usually, we aim the car in the direction of the winery and follow the familiar groove until we reach our destination. On each trip we vowed that someday we'd explore some of the roads that branch off the highway. This weekend, we finally did it. Instead of driving to the winery, we traveled down some of those rural roads. Finding this idyllic setting was our reward for veering off the beaten path.

The Grove

This painting was an exercise in speed. I'm trying to paint more quickly and more loosely because I tend to be quite slow and plodding. It seems to take me forever to finish a painting and that creates lots of frustration when attempting to paint outside.  Since it soon will be plein air painting weather, it seems like now is a very good time to start practicing.

Willamette Valley Summer

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It's been foggy and damp in the Pacific Northwest for the past month, so the warmth of late summer brings happy memories. This scene is an area near Corvallis, looking south.

Lilija

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This is Lilija, totally focused on making short work of a ball of yarn. I love that look of intense concentration on her little face - naughty cat!

This painting took a fair amount of my concentration as well. I've never painted shredded yarn before! I used the regular palette of Ivory Black, Transparent Iron Red Oxide, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White. I also included a little Anthraquinone Red, Cad Red, and Cad Orange.

Mookie

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This is Mookie. He doesn't need words to convey his thoughts. Clearly, dinner is on his mind. I painted him beside an empty bowl, but in truth, his photo revealed both a bowl of food and fresh water as well...hmm, could Mookie be a bit of a con artist?

Mookie was fun to paint, but the perspective was a challenge. I had to keep reminding myself to paint what I see - not what I think I see. This painting was done using Ivory Black, Transparent Red Oxide, Yellow Ochre, Pthalo Blue, and Titanium White.

Boots

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Continuing on with Leslie Saeta's 30 day challenge. This is Boots, my great cat-nephew. He's a very elegant black and white tuxedo kitty.

Laptop

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I was knocked out of Leslie Saeta's 30-day challenge by a bout of the flu - nevertheless, I'm going to pick up where I left off and keep painting since it's all for fun and nobody cares.

This is "Laptop." Such a terrific name for a cat. I really like that this guy looks so relaxed, yet so alert. Only cats can do that!

Laptop was painted using the modified Zorn palette: Ivory Black, Transparent Iron Red Oxide, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White.

Warren

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Another painting for the 30 day Leslie Saeta challenge. This little guy is Warren, a Boston Terrier puppy and the granddog of a Facebook friend. Warren's black and white coloring presented a paint-mixing challenge for me and I feel like I learned a lot. It was a good exercise in using my modified Zorn palette.

Hapi

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When I decided to participate in Leslie Saeta's 30 day challenge, I asked my Facebook friends to send me pictures of their dogs and cats. Folks were kind enough to send me photos of some darling pets that I'm eager to paint. This little guy is "Hapi." I fell in love with his cute little face and had a great time painting him. I tried a more muted palette this time - sort of a modified Zorn palette using Ivory Black, Transparent Iron Oxide Red, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White. Terry Miura mentioned in his blog that he uses these colors as his core palette. I really have a difficult time controlling color and found this palette more to my liking. During the 30 day challenge I'll be practicing more with these colors.

Jedi Warrior

This is a quick portrait of my little Jedi Warrior. He's pretty handy at battling storm troopers with his light saber. He also happens to be a wizard! He attends Hogwarts School of Magic and fights off death eaters and dementors with his magical wand. Darth Vader and Voldamort don't stand a chance when he's around!

Best of all, he's my little kindergarten guy!

Third Grader

Happy New Year! This is my first painting of 2015. I've been away from my easel for several months, and boy, have I missed it. You know how you sometimes fall into a rut and can't seem to climb out - even when you don't want to be there? That's where I've been...stuck in a rut, wanting to paint, but fearful to pick up a paintbrush.

Luckily, it's a new year and a time for new beginnings. I've resolved to do more painting in 2015. I've also resolved to paint only the things I love, so my first painting is somebody I truly love...my little third grade guy.

For the month of January, I'm participating in Leslie Saeta's 30 Day Challenge  Every day for the month of January I'll be painting and posting things I love...so watch this space!

Again, I wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Strawberries with Cream

This has been a great year for berries! The fruit stands are filled with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries - sweet luxuries of summer in the Pacific Northwest.

Orange Slices with Strawberries

I was lucky enough to be able to take another Carol Marine workshop in early July. This was an "advanced" class (meaning that it was for folks who had taken one of her prior workshops), and we worked on using the color white, painting flowers, and painting glass. Carol is not only an excellent painter and instructor, she's also a sweetheart! The workshop was just great.

I'll be taking two more workshops this year - Qiang Huang at the end of August, and Scott Christensen in early October! I can hardly wait!

Sundance Farm

I'm back. It's been a busy summer, with gardening, a trip to the Portland zoo with my daughter and grandson, painting, and so on. Right now I'm getting ready for my first-ever 2nd Friday Springfield Artwalk that takes place in August. It's the first time I've shown my paintings so I'm more than just a little bit nervous. The frames have been ordered and should arrive soon (fingers crossed). Today I'll be varnishing and getting labels ready to go. Since the paintings will be hanging on latticework, I'll need to figure out how to do that - I'm thinking those little metal clips would work. Hopefully it won't be a total disaster.

This painting is another from my plein air outing with my good friend, Patti McNutt. We visited lavender farms during the Yamhill Lavender Festival, and we just had a ball. Patti is so much fun - painting with her is a treat!

Well, I've stalled long enough - I'm off to make another run to the art supply store...

Lavender Lake Farm

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What could be sweeter than painting in the middle of a lavender field?

Clearwater in June

Another sketch of Clearwater Park. I'm finding landscape values difficult to define.

Barque Cape Foulweather

The black ship in this painting is Cape Foulweather, a replica of a turn-of-the century three-masted ship known as a barque. Cape Foulweather is moored at the Siuslaw Marina, in Florence. She's a beautiful ship. I loved the juxtaposition of this sleek, romantic barque anchored next to the humble, hardworking fishing boat.

Old Town, Florence

Last week we went over to the Oregon coast to celebrate our anniversary, my husband's retirement, and my birthday. We took our two dogs with us and planned to stay for a couple of days. Unfortunately, the only sunny day was the day we arrived. The next day it poured down rain. With more rain in the forecast, we decided to come home early. No matter - we'll just wait for the sun and go again!

Painting on the Willamette Valley Center Bridge

What a glorious day! Did some plein air painting on the bike bridge over the Willamette (near Valley River Center) with a couple of friends. This is the good life.