Category Archives: oil

Sunflowers for the Salal Festival

Underpainting on classical sunflower still life

What’s in a Sunflower? The bright, blooming sunflower heads are symbolic of the sun itself which represents warmth, happiness and all things positive. The offspring of my garden are changeable creatures, much like my paintings, morphing from still life to landscape to portrait. But sunflowers have taken hold of my heart since we moved into our Kalama hilltop house. The first year they bloomed like … Continue reading

Sunflower Wishes for the New Year

2012_holidaySunflower

Wishing you wonderful times with family and friends and joy and peace in the New Year! Thank you to all of my commission clients for the privilege of creating a one-of-a-kind painting for you. Thank you to all of my customers who have supported my artwork by purchasing one of my paintings. Thank you to all of my family, friends and co-workers who continue to … Continue reading

Commissioned Portrait of Lucy

Lucy #2 (with sunflowers)

As I get older I cherish my friends more and more. Especially those who have traversed the years with me. They are irreplaceable parts of my life, so very dear and precious to me. So when the husband of my long-time high school friend Diane asked if I could paint her favorite cat for a Christmas present, I unequivocally said ‘yes’, even though I’m not … Continue reading

Sunflowers in a Blue Vase for the Twitter Art Exhibit

My artwork for the 2013 Twitter Art Exhibit

Through art we can change the world! I’m proud and honored to participate, once again, in a Twitter Art Exhibit designed to benefit a non-profit organization dedicated to making the world a better place. While the first two exhibits I joined were held in Moss, Norway, this one is right here in the United States, at The Exhale Unlimited Gallery in Los Angeles. The non-profit … Continue reading

Cool Gray Wind

Cool Gray Wind

Cool Gray Wind 24 x 36, oil on canvas, commissioned It’s hard to believe, but what started out one year ago as a series of color explorations of a wind turbine in a stormy, wind-filled sky, has finally been completed in a commissioned painting. Last October, a customer found my work on the Internet, and inquired about commissioning a painting of a wind turbine. He … Continue reading

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A Saturday for Painting

IMG_1657

Saturdays in August deserve a painting–at least here in the Pacific Northwest. Although I call myself a city girl–never having felt truly at home living out in the country–I do think nature is something everyone should get to experience–often. This is the second Allan/Marie painting, in that we both worked on it. Plein air painting is really hard, in spite of what artists might tell … Continue reading

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Saturday Roses

2012_pinkRosesBlueVase

A perfect painting Saturday ensued today, enough so that I could actually finish what I started–these pink roses in a blue vase. The deer let them live another day just so I could paint them. The sunflowers I recently freed from their weedy prison. Every once in a while I have to paint directly, whether inspired by artists like Bobbie Burgers and Jennifer Diehl, or … Continue reading

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Je suis Toute (I am Whole), and French, at Last

Je suis Toute

The French language is a beautiful thing to learn, speak and hear. I spoke it fluently as a child (I’m told) and struggled through two years of French classes in high school. My teacher, Miss Golden, was a flamboyant, scarf-wearing, perfumed and bleached-blonde dynamo who scribbled verb conjugations on the blackboard at lightening speed. Alors, the fact my Dad couldn’t afford my share of a summer … Continue reading

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Remembering Maui

Yellow Hibiscus

Have you ever wanted to go back to a time when you were younger, thinner, warmer, or maybe in a prettier place? That’s what being in Maui is like, especially the part about being younger. Warmth and light are things that make me feel younger, maybe because the weight of clothing subtracted, takes away the years. Our trip to Maui last November was a reward … Continue reading

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