Hickory: December 20-21, 2010

"Hickory" is a 2.5"x3.5" acrylic painting on watercolor paper.

Diamond Head (finished): October 21, 2010

"Diamond Head Lighthouse, Oahu, HI" is an acrylic 8"x10" painting on stretched canvas.

Diamond Head (in progress): October 19, 2010

The lighthouse has been put in.

Diamond Head Lighthouse (in progress): October 11-12, 2010

This is an 8"x10" acrylic painting in progress.

Chief Mountain: October 5, 2010

"Chief Mountain, Glacier NP", has been altered to lighten the mood. I eliminated the distant looming clouds, increased the highlights on the mountain, and warmed up the nearby hills.

Chief Mountain (finished): October 1, 2010

"Chief Mountain, Glacier NP" is complete pending the client's approval. This is an 8"x10" acrylic painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Chief Mountain (in progress): September 29-30, 2010

"Chief Mountain, Glacier NP" is an 8"x10" acrylic painting in progress. This is my first painting using Golden OPEN acrylic paints and I'm really enjoying them. OPEN acrylics stay wet longer giving a longer "open" working time. This allows for better blending much like oil paints, but they don't take quite so long for the finished painting to cure. Normal acrylics dry almost too fast in this arid Montana climate. With the OPEN acrylics I can really slow down and enjoy the process.

Painting Something Else: September 2010

This was my most recent painting project. It took a few weeks and required a little help from my parents and my son, who can be seen in one of the photos. I painted the exterior of my house - two coats of latex. My husband and I have added on to our house, including my future studio. The interior photos are the unfinished studio.

Roo redo: September 1, 2010

The backgrounds for "Roo 1" and "Roo 3" have been redone.

Roo 3: August 30, 2010

"Roo 3" is 2.5"x3.5" acrylic on watercolor paper.

Roo 1 & Roo 2: August 26-27, 2010

"Roo 1" and "Roo 2" are two of a set of three miniature paintings. These are each 2.5"x3.5", acrylic on watercolor paper.

"Monster 2": August 21, 2010

"Monster 2" is another illustration, 9"x12", in acrylic.

"Peculiar" & "Monster 1": August 20, 2010

"Peculiar" is finished, as is "Monster 1", both illustrations in acrylic on 9"x12" watercolor paper.

"Peculiar" (in progress): August 19, 2010

Whew! It has been quite a summer! I spent quite a bit of time preparing for my art show at River's Mist Gallery which was in July. Then I did a gallery talk, my first one ever, on the 16th of July. I've been so busy with other summer and family activities that I haven't had much time to paint, but I'm getting back into it. This is the first of a few illustrations that I am doing for someone. It is called, "Peculiar", 9"x12", painted in acrylic. It is still in progress.

400th Post: July 10, 2010

This is my 400th posting on my blog! My first blog entry was on April 20, 2007, with a painting of a pineapple. My goal was to paint and record a painting a day. After a good year of painting almost every day, I had quite a collection of small paintings. I highly recommend any artist, quilter, writer, singer, etc., to do a small piece of their work every day because I saw a definite improvement in my painting skills.

My blog now shows larger works and projects that I am working on. I have neglected my blog for the past month in preparation for a big art show, my first in a real gallery. I've shown one or two pieces in galleries before but not my whole body of work. My work has mostly been shown in coffee shops and restaurants which are great venues for art. In preparation for my art show, "Flora & Fauna: Wild & Not so Wild", at the River's Mist Gallery of Fine Art in Stevensville, MT, I ordered supplies, matted and framed my paintings and prints, sent out mailings, and other sundry tasks. This photo shows the piles of small framed paintings and prints.

While preparing for the show, I received a commissioned job. The words are from the client's own plaque. She wanted one made for her son with a caricature of his dog. This was painted over a beat up print of folk art. I repainted the frame. You can faintly see the old print beneath the layer of gesso.








The day of the artist's reception, I found out that my painting, "Dane", was accepted into the Montana Watercolor Society's national juried show Watermedia 2010. The show will be held at the Bigfork Art & Culture Museum in Bigfork, MT, from October 1-31, 2010.




July 6-7, 2010, the soccer mural was painted on the kicking wall at the High School soccer field. I designed the mural in May and drew it onto the 8'x24' wall. Some of the soccer players, their dads, and a couple of soccer moms (including me) used exterior house paint to fill in the image.

American White Pelicans: June 15, 2010

"American White Pelicans" was originally painted in March 2007. I have changed the reflections and added some depth in pelicans. The reflections were too white and the pelicans were too flat and white without much shape and interest. ("Before" is below; "After" is above.)

Chloe: June 8, 2010

"Chloe" is a 2.5"x3.5" acrylic ACEO on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Fluff: June 7, 2010

"Fluff" is a 2.5"x3.5" acrylic ACEO on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Dixie: June 4, 2010

"Dixie" is a 2.5"x3.5" acrylic ACEO on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Bighorn (complete): June 2, 2010

After filling in the horns, "Bighorn" is finished. This is approximately 9"x10", painted in gouache on watercolor paper.

Bighorn (in progress): May 27, 2010

This is coming along. The jaw was adjusted and the neck was darkened. I also began working on the horns.

Bighorn (in progress): May 26, 2010

It's taking some practice to get used to painting with gouache. I've overworked the jaw so I'll have to try to remove some of the paint in that area and go back in with fresh paint.

Bighorn (in progress): May 25, 2010

This bighorn ram is being painted with gouache, a medium similar to watercolor but heavier and more opaque. This is my first try at gouache. I'm also painting this on a torn piece of watercolor paper. A strip of the paper had been ripped off for some previous project and I thought the remaining piece would suit this painting. The torn edge kind of resembles the outline of the Bitterroot Mountains, home to this bighorn sheep.

Mural and Painting Addition: May 21, 2010

This is a design for a soccer mural. The mural wall is used by kids to practice their kicks.

I painted this saw last November for a client who was giving it as a gift to her son-in-law. He was happy with the saw but felt that it was missing his packing companion who has passed on. I added his border collie who liked to lead the pack team whenever they were in the wilderness.

Comfort (complete): May 19, 2010

"Comfort" is an 11"x14" acrylic painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Comfort (in progress): May 18, 2010

The top part of the mama cat's face has been painted in.

Comfort (in progress) and art show: May 6-8, 2010

"Comfort" is coming along. It's taking some time since I had an art show to prepare for this week. The Bitterroot Artists Showcase is taking place at River's Mist Gallery in Stevensville, MT, this month. The artist's reception was held during the First Friday event May 7th. Sally Johnson, a wonderful watercolor artist, and I did painting demonstrations during the reception. It's a fabulous show with quite a variety of art mediums: sculpture, pottery, art quilts, clocks, painted gourds, fused glass, painted porcelain, photography, hand-painted silk scarves, and ,of course, paintings.

Comfort (in progress): May 4, 2010

The body of one cat has been painted in.

Comfort (in progress): May 3, 2010

This is the beginning of a new 11"x14" painting.

June (complete): April 29, 2010

"June" is finished. This is an 11"x14" acrylic painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

June (in progress): April 28, 2010

"June" is almost done. She just has one ear left.

June (in progress): April 27, 2010

June's collar and part of her face have been painted in.