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.

June (in progress): April 26, 2010

This is an 11"x14" acrylic painting in progress. The background and body are done. I like to start with the eyes because they contain the animal's personality which means their accurate portrayal is very important.

River Park Storage Murals: April 10-11, 2010

These six murals were painted yesterday and today by Sally, Lauren, Gerry, Arlo, Betty and me. These murals were designed by local high school students. Each image showcases Bitterroot Valley themes: a cow, an elk, bitterroot flowers, an osprey with a fish, a teepee, and the St. Mary's Mission. A few of the murals include our beautiful mountains. The murals will be displayed on the exterior walls of River Park Storage in Stevensville, Montana. Soon, you will be able to see them as you drive by along the Stevensville Cut-Off Road.

Missouri (complete): April 9, 2010

After putting in the hat, finishing the gun and laying in tall grasses, "Missouri" is complete. This is a 20"x30" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Missouri (in progress): April 7-8, 2010

The yuccas have been darkened and the figure's shirt and pants have been finished.

Missouri (in progress): April 6, 2010

The foreground was changed to more accurately portray the vegetation.

Missouri (in progress): April 5, 2010

The foreground has been put in and the figure has been added.

Missouri (in progress): April 2, 2010

Rocks and trees have been put in.

Missouri (in progress): April 1, 2010

The center section of the landscape is complete.

Missouri (in progress): March 31, 2010

This river and more of the hills have been put in.

Missouri (in progress): March 29, 2010

This is the beginning of "Missouri", a 20"x30" acrylic painting. The under painting was put in using shades of violet and the distant hills have been laid in.

Dane: March 26, 2010

"Dane" is complete. This is an 11"x14" watercolor painting on 140lb. watercolor paper.

Dane (in progress): March 24, 2010

"Dane" is still in progress, using mostly purples, blues and reds for the dog.

Dane (in progress): March 20-21, 2010

"Dane" is an 11"x14" watercolor in progress.

Reflections (finished): March 17-18, 2010

"Reflections" is complete. This is an 11"x14" watercolor painting on 140 lb.

"Reflections" (in progress): March 15, 2010

This is the beginning of "Reflections", a 11"x14" watercolor.

Pierce: March 13, 2010

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

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.

Sentinel (complete): January 29, 2010

The name has been changed for this painting from "Reverie" to "Sentinel". This is an 8"x10" oil painting on stretched canvas.

Reverie (in progress): January 25, 2010

This was started during an adult education intermediate oil painting class. It is 8"x10" and of course not finished. The raven will not be hovering in the air once this is finished.

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.

Perseverance (in progress): January 21, 2010

This is the beginning of a 20"x30" oil painting.

Pelican Panorama (finished): January 5, 2010

"Pelican Panorama" is complete. This was painted using acrylic on 12"x24" stretched canvas.