Tag Archives: art

Grateful: Water Reflections #2

Water Reflections #2

A work-related trip to San Diego in the early 2000s netted early-morning photography of a historic sailing ship in San Diego harbor. I recall hiking the waterfront well before a morning conference in order to experience something eye-catching that would carry me through the day. The resulting pastel painting done well after I returned home was a detailed representation of the water reflections cast by … Continue reading

An Afternoon with Jennifer Diehl

Starting to add detail

We met Jennifer Diehl for the first time at the Lawrence Gallery in downtown Portland sometime in 2009, well before the economy forced the gallery into an unfortunate closure. We loved Lawrence for it’s selection of realist art, and Jennifer works in particular were compelling. My recollection of our conversation is that Jennifer comes from an artistic family who nurtured and supported her talent, allowing … Continue reading

Sunflower Wishes for the New Year

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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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Water Lily Inspirations

2012_waterLiliesGouacheStudy_02

Never knowing when and where inspiration will strike leaves me open to new ideas. Even though Mother Inspiration is a fickle muse, she is often generous, and appropriate thankfulness must be given. Which is why the waiting room of a local medical clinic with an unadorned expanse of gray-brown wall space called to me. It conjured colorful visions in my mind of Monetish water lily … Continue reading

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A Saturday for Painting

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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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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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