River of Stones: March 24, 2012

"River of Stones" is an 11"x14" watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

"Monster 2": August 21, 2010

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

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.

Oasis (complete): March 10-11, 2010

"Oasis" is finished. This is a 20"x30" acrylic painting.

Oasis (in progress): March 7-8, 2010

More leaves are done; and there are more to be painted.

Oasis (in progress): March 6, 2010

The darker leaves have been put in.

Oasis (in progress): March 4, 2010

The rocks are done and the darker leaves have been put in.

Oasis (in progress): March 1-2, 2010

Most of the rocks have been put in.

Oasis (in progress): February 28, 2010

The blue underpainting has been totally covered with leaf and rock shapes. A couple of the rocks have been shaped and shaded in the upper left corner.

Oasis (in progress): February 25, 2010

"Oasis" is being painted in acrylic instead of oil. A layer of paint is being put down to cover the crazy blue of the background and to establish the shapes of the leaves and rocks.

Oasis (in progress) & Perseverance (again): February 24, 2010

"Perseverance" really is done this time. I have been looking at it for awhile and just was not completely satisfied with how dark it was. I wanted the leaves to pop more than they were so I brightened them up and also worked on the flowers which are now 100 percent better.
My next painting is "Oasis", another rock and plant painting, the same size as "Perseverance", 20"x30", and also in oil. I started with an acrylic under painting just to cover up all the white. Unlike "Perseverance", I drew in the plant shapes at the beginning. I'm hoping this will make things move along more smoothly.

Perseverance (more complete): February 12, 2010

"Perseverance" is really done now! With painting, you never know when it's completely finished. Some minor changes were made after my biggest critic, my husband, gave his recommendations. Once I altered the lower dry stems (roots) and darkened one of the rocks, he said, "That's it. Don't change anything else."

Perseverance (complete): February 10-11, 2010

"Perseverance" is finished! This is a 20"x30" oil painting on stretched canvas. It's amazing that plants can take root in the most unlikely places such as this rock wall. That's why I call this "Perseverance". It persevered and has grown into a healthy plant.

Perseverance (in progress); February 8, 2010

The negative space between the leaves has been put in.

Perseverance (in progress): February 6, 2010

All the green leaves have been put into the painting.

Perseverance (in progress): February 2, 2010

More greenery has been added.

Perseverance (in progress): February 1, 2010

The lichen was put in yesterday and some of the plant was painted in during the oil painting class. At the beginning of the class, the instructor, Mike Mickelson, our local high school art teacher, does a critique of our artwork. There are 11-12 artists taking the class. It's very inspiring to see the skill level of the artists and interesting to see what subject matters they choose to paint. After Mr. Mickelson imparts some of his wealth of artistic knowledge, we paint for the remainder of the time.

Perseverance (in progress) and Sentinel: January 30, 2010

I did some minor changes to "Sentinel", mostly to the raven as well as some highlights on the tree. The main shapes of the rocks in "Perseverance" are done. The next step is to add lichen to the rocks.

Perseverance (in progress): January 25, 2010

More rocks have been added. Isn't this exciting?! It's like watching rocks grow! You need 'perseverance' to watch the progress of rocks being painted.

Perseverance (in progress): January 23, 2010

The background rocks have been partially painted in. I'm working from left to right to keep my hands out of the wet paint.