Diana For Karin

white & black charcoal pencil on gray Canson paper

This challenge from Karin Jurick's website Different Strokes From Different Folks, was to paint or draw from a photo of the statue "A Companion of Diana". I chose to use a gray colored paper which became the middle value for the drawing and white and black charcoal pencils for the highlights and dark areas. This allowed me to draw and do a value study in a different way.

Poppies Triptych

acrylic on 3, 18"x 36" canvases

I finished this triptych last week for a client. She was able to pick the subject and colors and quote. I always consider it a privilege to collaborate with a client and create something very personal for their home!

Inspiration From You- March 2009

Wilson
8"x 10" acrylic on masonite

Here is the "Inspiration From You" painting for March. I asked the person who submitted this photo to tell us the story about Wilson:

"I really wanted a Chihuahua. My husband kept saying how much responsibility a dog was. One weekend I found some Chihuahuas listed in the paper and asked if we could "just look". We met a breeder at a McDonalds. He had two male puppies in a crate, one short hair and one white long hair. I pulled out the short hair (I had never planned on a long hair) and the long hair jumped into my husband's hands....when I saw the puppy's little face and the look on my husband's face, I knew I had won....we got a dog that day.
We went straight to PetSmart for "supplies". We went from being dogless to being "those people". We were looking at dog clothes, dog toys, cooing at our puppy and holding him wrapped in a light blue fleece blanket.
The first name we picked was "Livingston", because that is my home town. Well, "Livingston" lasted about 6 hours; it was just too cumbersome to say. My husband said he had an idea but I probably would not like it, "Wilson". It was a perfect fit. We call Wilson "The Baby". Yes, we are "those people"!"

At The Beach

acrylic on masonite

Here is my latest entry to Karin Jurick's Different Strokes From Different Folks blog. It's April 1st, 39 degrees and raining here in Portland, OR so painting this beach scene certainly leaves me longing for sunnier, warmer, weather!

I am wondering what the "dad" is gazing at out over the water.....

I think the biggest questions this painting posed for me were deciding on what blues to use and what brush strokes for the water. Instead of worrying about what was "right" ( like I have so often done in the past, over working the painting and taking all of the fun out of it) I picked the colors, decided on the brush work and finished it and realized that if I didn't like the result, I can do it differently next time!
Much more fun!