News from My Studio - An Unveiling; New Projects

What a busy summer it has been! While away in Europe, my portrait of USAF Colonel Charles Fisher was unveiled; he was kind enough to send me a couple of pictures from the event, so here they are:

Above: the portrait is unveiled

Below: the change of command

Wish I could have been there, but Cl. Fisher was very kind and told me that the portrait received excellent feedback!

After finishing several other summer commissions, and standing up in one of my best friend's weddings, I had some time after wedding to take full advantage of some leftover flowers and do a fun, girly painting called "Summertime Stilettos." Now, for those of you who know me, I'm not very tall, but I'm married to a man who is 6' 4". The shoes I proudly sported at my friend's wedding were not very practical, but very fun, and helpful for someone vertically challenged like myself... I liked the shoes so much that I made them part of the painting. My purple bridesmaid dress made up the background. I love the color harmonies in this one, and was especially excited about the myriad of colors to be found in the flowers, particularly the light pink roses. The natural window light really brought out some gorgeous warms and cools.

"Summertime Stilettos" - 16" x 12" - oil on linen

Below: detail of roses 

Finally, as time allows but once in a while, there are literally dozens of projects just waiting for me to start (or complete) from my trip to Europe (I brought back enough material to keep me busy for at least another year!). One such project was a larger studio painting I wanted to do based on my plein air study of a gorgeous mountain sunset, which I painted on our hotel balcony in Beatenburg, Switzerland. Here is the 1/2-hour long study, followed by the studio painting:

And just for kicks, I'll show you both of them next to each other. It's funny how, in the plein air sketch, I "condensed" the mountain scene before me to fit the little 8x8 canvas. With such a grandiose scene, it's difficult to simplify. One just wants to take it all in, yet enjoy the moment. The sun had set before I knew it...

More new projects on the way. In the mean time, I hope to continue some discussion on the idea of "good art vs. bad art." Stay tuned. :-)

Autumn Joys

I've been consumed with painting projects lately (and consequently, everything else is kind of falling apart...phone calls, emails, cleaning, etc., will all have to wait!). My attempts to finish nearly a dozen paintings in less than two weeks, so far, have been successful. I still have until Friday. All these paintings are in preparation for the only art festival I'm participating in this fall, Huffhines Art Trails. I'm giving you a sneak peak today...

I actually started "Autumn Joys" a year ago, when my parents drove down from Wisconsin to visit, some time around the end of October. My mother, who is known for sharing the bounties of her incredible vegetable garden every summer, of course brought a giant gift basket filled with goodies that she had preserved. She is most famous for her pickles, so she brought those, as well as some blackberry jam from berries picked fresh from the back woods, and homemade salsa, from tomatoes she had grown in her garden. I decided to commemorate her efforts in a painting, which includes the pickles and salsa, and even the basket that she brought them in. This painting, to me, represents so much of the joy in sharing God's blessings with others - something my mother excels in. :-)

"Autumn Joys" - 12" x 16" - oil on linen - Available

Soon I will be posting ALL my new paintings on my website. My website itself is in the process of getting a makeover, so keep checking back for updates!

New painting inspired by "A Painting a Day"

Check out "A Painting a Day," a website devoted to artists who turn out at least one new painting every day. Sometimes it's hard to keep creative energy flowing, and I believe that painting something, every day, is a good way to do this.

So this morning I set out a trio of plums (having never painted plums before - it was about time!), and here was the result:

"Plum Line" - 6"x8" - oil on linen glued to board

I'm hoping to turn out many, many more of these fun little images in the near future.