Final Native American Indian child in the series of ten

11"x14" oil on canvas- this is the final Native American Indian child: Clear Eyes. He is a Wampanoag India, one of the first tribes to encounter the Europeans when they settles in the North America. The Wampanoag still reside in Massachusetts on tribal lands where they have lived for more than 10,000 years.

Norman Mailer Painting

One of the great writers of our time who lived life to the fullest, Norman Mailer was at different periods in his life an anti-war protester, a womanizer, an editor, and producer who really believed in marriage because he tried it six times!

Paiute Indian Woman

A gentleman form Idaho sent me an email asking if I had ever painted an older gray haired Indian woman. He was interested because his grandmother was a Paiute Indian and he recalled her sitting under a tree when he was a child. I hadn't painted any older Indian women so I decided to correct that. I have painted men, old men, lots of children, and middle-aged American Indians, but no old woman. This is my version of an elderly Paiute woman painted life size, and I even included the tree.

American Pie

This is a 16" x 20" oil painting I painted form life. The inspiration was the apples of of course. Northwest Ohio has tons of apples available in the fall. I actually do make excellent apple pies but in this case I just made applesauce after i finished the painting.

Painting Old Toys

This is the second in a series of four paintings I plan to do which incorporate old fashioned toys. I think it's especially important to be aware of what our children play with today, considering all the recent toys that have been recalled because they contain lead. Sometimes the safest toys are the oldest and the most basic; they require a child to use her imagination and provide security in a world that is increasingly reliant on technology. I don't know about you, but my children quickly tire of toys that require batteries but certain stuffed animals and some building blocks are used over and over again.

Maria- Pima Indian Girl, 9 in the series of 10

This is my personal favorite in my Native-American Indian children series. She is adorable. I don't know if I can top this one but I'll certainly try as I plan to begin the tenth and final painting today. If I paint a male I will have five boys and five girls, all representing different Indian tribes. Maria has been sold but I should have prints available in my eBay store by early December, so it will be possible to own the entire series.

Close to finishing

I am pretty happy with this- I may need to make the child's cheeks a bit chubbier. I am working from a photo that has some strange shadows in it so it is hard to see the actual form.

16x20 Oil on canvas Commission

This is a portrait commission I am doing of Gaby and her father, Margo. I am about 3/4 of the way done. I have to smooth out Margo's face- he appears too old-- and put some more paint layers on the canvas, plus work on the clothing a lot. Gaby will be wearing a beautiful pink dress.

Zippy Helen

This is Helen, who modeled for our open portrait group last week. She was a wonderful model. Not a bit shy about telling me what was wrong with my painting. Couldn't I just paint the glasses off? She didn't really care for the glare and the thick paint I used for the reflection. Helen and her white boa were a lot of fun!

Dorian- before

This was Dorian before his makeover.

The Imagine Center in Jacksonville, Illinois

I have been invited to exhibit paintings as their Artist of the Month in mid-November. They are having an opening reception for me at a local restaurant- don't know the name- don't have the menu-- but it does sound like fun. I will be taking 14 of my paintings and prints for the show. I painted these tow specifically for the show. They are actually models form my Saturday mornign group whom I "recycled". One was Bob the Golfer and the other was Dorian the magician. They are now Captains in their respective armies. This was fun. Bob now has a comb-over and sideburns.

I just realized I had 200 posts!

Wow, that means I have painted at least 200 paintings since I began this blog. Probably more because I don't always post every painting. Some posts contain two paintings. I started the blog about two years ago so that is an average of about two paintings per week. Amazing.... even more amazing is that I have sold most of them. I really appreciate my clients. I would not be able to store 200 paintings- I need to sell them and I do appreciate you wanting them enough to buy them. Especially the people who have purchased multiple paintings... there are two I can think of who have purchased more than 20 original works. BIG thank you!
This is a painting did in the painting class I have each week. Thanks to Mark who brought in the darling metal rocking horse. It really "makes" the painting. I am calling it Childhood Memories. It's up on eBay as of last night.