Category Archives: painting

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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Sketching in Paris, and at Home

2012_paris_notreDameSeineRiv_02

J’aime Paris! Our trip to Paris was everything I could have imagined, and more. We saw ART. We saw more ART. And then we saw even more ART. In between we steeped ourselves in thousands of years of history–something that doesn’t exist in our brand-spanking new country–relatively speaking. The immensity of French Catholic traditions embraced every step I took, from the votive candles gently flickering … 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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Lupines

Lupines at the Port of Kalama by Marie

Allan loves the lupines and we both love walking at the Port of Kalama. The trails stretch for more than a mile right alongside the Columbia River, and today was the most beautiful day we’ve had this year. I admire urban sketchers and plein air painters; wishing I could be spontaneous enough to draw and paint outside like many of the artists I admire. Alas, … 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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Je Suis Toute (I Am Whole)

Je suis Toute

She is calm and whole in a green and peaceful place. Our lives are an assimilation of family, culture, beliefs and experiences, leading us to believe in what we are. Discovering one’s self can be easier for some, than for others. For me, the process seems more like eliminating what I am not, in order to understand what I am. What a person is, is … Continue reading

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Tulip Magnolia for the Twitter Art Exhibit

Tulip Magnolia, 4.5 x 6, watecolor

I’ve entered another Twitter fundraising art exhibit! In November 2010 I entered my first Twitter Art Exhibit, a collaborative fund-raising effort to help a library in Moss, Norway. All I had to do was submit a postcard sized painting and share it on Twitter. Sales of paintings contributed by artists all over the world raised enough money to purchase 220 new children’s books for the … Continue reading

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Sunset Reflections

2012_samsSunset

New beginnings, sudden endings, adaptation, flexibility, moving on to something different, better, maybe, not sure, but what else can a person do? This moment of sunset has been captured. What it means is deeper, transparent yet hidden, buried yet obvious. If this seems confusing, I’ll suffice to say that this painting has a lot of meaning to me. It represents a time in my life … Continue reading

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Making a personal connection with paint!

Loosening Up

People make all sorts of personal connections; with their family, pets, cars, computers, even shoes. I decided to make a personal connection with the one thing that fills my waking thoughts every day, 365 days a year. Paint. It’s a beautiful substance, capable of such incredibly diverse potential. The color combinations are limitless, and the dilemma of mixing just the right color, shade or tint … Continue reading

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A Holiday Sunflower Wish

2011_holidaySunflower2011

Happy Holidays To You and Yours! Wishing you a joyous holiday season, wonderful times with family and friends, good food, nice wine, joy and peace in the New Year, and abundant painting inspirations! 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 … Continue reading

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Making a Painting Together

paintingAtEcola_IMG_0672

“Painting together is all about trust. Trust that the other person will make what you’ve done better, not mess it up.” View from Ecola State Park by Allan Marie 12 x 16, oil on canvas done en plein air at Ecola State Park on December 17, 2011 I’ve heard of a few partner painters: mother and daughter, even a husband and wife. Allan and I … Continue reading

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Painting in Maui

Yellow Hibiscus ~ Marie

Maui ~ the Garden Isle Our days were filled with tropical hues, the kiss of sunshine and warm winds. Scents of gardenia, ginger and tuberose filled the air and brilliant blue skies matched the Pacific far below. Waves crashed upon the beach and birds babbled with abandon at the tourists, as if to say, haha, we get to stay here and you don’t! It was … Continue reading

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Primary Wind Commission ~ Part 4: Complete

Delivering Blue Wind to UPS for shipment to the customer

Ahhh, sitting with my glass of wine and contemplating the completion of a commissioned series of wind energy paintings that will bring a smile to people I have never met. We are all connected together through energy, because who doesn’t use electricity? I live in a state in which my utility rates have just increased 18%. 18% percent! The reason, according to my local utility, … Continue reading

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Five Wind Commission: Tonal Wind

Cool Brown Wind

Customers like to buy paintings they can see, that’s why it’s sometimes hard to decide on a commission. The artwork hasn’t been done yet, so they have to act on faith that it will turn out they way they want. I feel lucky because recently a customer liked several of my paintings so much they asked me paint them again–only larger. They could already see … Continue reading

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