Pastor Chuck from Life

A 78 year old retired Pastor named Chuck was our model this morning at the Portrait Group. He's a farmer and he posed with a pitchfork and a straw hat. Unfortunately the pitchfork kept changing position as he grew tired so I painted it out. Nice prop but not needed as I was able to get the character of the gentleman down in about 90 minutes.

12" x 16" oil on linen

Duchess, a Siberian Blue Maltese Tabby Cat

11" x 14" oil on gallery wrap canvas

Siberian cats are beautiful, with long soft and silky fur similar to my cat Nikki's fur and big fluffy tails. Perhaps the most distinctive feature is their long whiskers.

Claire and Sebastion 11x14 oil on linen

This painting has been inspirational to me and given me an idea for a new series! Plus it has been so much fun. Here is my idea--the girls and the cats will all look alike. As I looked around fo something to add to what was becoming yet another dreary painting of an insipid young thing I saw a CAT! Subconsciously I chose a picture of a cat that resembled my BW portrait. The key to this may be deciding on the palette first and what color I want the light to be-- or I could use the same light key throughout for consistency ( Blue-violet / orange-yellow .) I have been thinking about doing another series for awhile now. So Claire and Sebastian may be the very first pair of many more. My next girl will be blonde or dark-haired and I'll find a kitty to match and arrange it in a complimentary composition. This composition was all about triangles. I did a demo for an on-line art group to show them how to compose using repetitive shapes and once you point out the triangles they are hard to miss- but it's a design that only an artist would really look for and identify. To remain consistent I will paint them all on premium linen board as I have this one. What a dream to paint on if you are looking to paint in detail.

The Tiffin River

Near my home in Ohio, this scenic river is named for Indians who once resided in Northwest Ohio. I had taken this photo many years ago and had always wanted to paint it. With temps dropping into the negatives digits these past few days I have had no urge to paint outside but I wanted to paint a landscape so I pulled this reference out and emphasized some color.

One More small painting 6" x 12"

This is another tiny landscape I gave as a Christmas gift.

A series of small 6" x 12" Landscapes

I painted these little landscapes from photos I took during the past year. All except one have sold on eBay or been given away as Christmas gifts. I really enjoy this panoramic size.

A Portrait of Grandma C

This is 11" x 14" oil on linen- a portrait of my husband's grandmother, who is 88 and the sweetest, most gentle soul you would ever want to meet. I plan to give it to my mother-in-law for her birthday.