Sketch Artist

4" x 6" Oil $50.00

I was walking through a park and came upon this

young woman sketching. Being an artist gives me

LOTS of affinity for others who do the same thing.

Except for sitting on the hard ground.

Burst of Summer

5" x 7" Oil $100.

I took a small vase with a little water and went

to the farm fields where I can cut as many of these

brilliant flowers as I can pay for! Nothing like

zinnias for the full blast pigment colors you can

use to paint them!

Summer Idyll by the Potomac

5" x 7" Oil SOLD

Mid-summer along the canal that

skirts the Potomac River is a place of

peace and quiet. It is one of those

amazing places set aside right where

a big city is that is a sanctuary for its

residents. I have spent many days

and years walking this path.

My small paintings are all in various

stages, but here is the first completed

one since I have been absent from

this site!

I have many small pieces ready to paint now.
I not only have the commission going, but was
away from the studio and so took along the small
gesso boards and have over a dozen ready to work
on now that I can get my hands on my paints!
Stay tuned!

Photo Of My Studio Mascot

I give you this to enjoy while I am working on the
commission that will take me away from my
daily work for a while. This lady kitty of mine
is laying on the desk in my studio under the lamp
"sunning" herself in its warmth. She is also laying
on my jacket with one of her toys dangling from
the lamp in the background. She's got it made.
She's always in the studio when I am working or
teaching. I know she is gathering up art tips for
her fabulous future as an artist with very long
whiskers. I love her.

Porch By The Woods

5" x 7" Oil $100.

I can easily imagine myself on the porch, and yet
to look up as I walk the lake path is quite pleasing
in itself. Queen Anne's Lace adds her lovely
embroidery to this early summer scene.

Mother's Gifts

4" x 6" Oil $100.

I've had this little Paddington fellow on my elegant

writing desk for years now. He peeks out of a

cubby hole (how appropriate a name for his place)

and charms me with his sweetness. When I was

well into my adult life, my Mother gave him to

me. As I looked for things of consequence to me

that I would want to paint, there he was. Of course

I had to give him some things to play with....

Shell #4 and Setup

4" x 6" Oil $100.
Here you have the painting AND the set up
of how I work on my small pieces. You can see
that I have put my painting on a larger piece of
matboard. I learned that from Joyce Washor and
her wonderful book, Big Art, Small Canvas.
However, I must admit that I still put my fingers
in the wet paint!

Shell #3

4" x 6" Oil Sold
I started working on this piece
in the studio and then took it as
a demonstration piece to an art
show. Someone at the show knew
the formal name of this beauty and
said that they used to be extremely
plentiful on Florida beaches.

I am taking a break from posting work just
now because I am working on an art show
and a large commission. It shouldn't take too
long to re-emerge and post new work. I am
having a wonderful time doing all of this!

Photographic Inspiration for "Poetry in Crystal"

I painted "Poetry in Crystal" from life, but here

is a photograph I took of that beautiful stopper

as it sat on my kitchen counter with the sun

coming directly in on it.

Monterey Mission Sunshine

5" x 7" Oil SOLD

I was in this place on a day with air and sun of

the most perfect kind. The shadows were deep

and the reflected light rich and glowing. The best

part was being in this beautiful spirit-filled place

with two people very dear to me. I trust that the

peace and perfection I felt that day comes out of

the painting to you!

Poetry In Crystal

4" x 6" Oil $100.

This elegant stopper is a lovely remnant from

my parent's things. The decanter is nowhere

to be found. But the prism rainbows through

the crystal and the light effects were enticing

to attempt. This makes a good case for not

throwing bits of things away, not if they are

this beautiful.

Kitty's Breakfast

5" x 7" Oil SOLD
This little fluff-ball lived a long time ago. My
Dad took the photo which may have been in
existence long before I showed up. The light
and the intimacy of this scene is what made
me want to paint it.

Marbles #1

4" x 6" Oil SOLD
Having painted marbles on previous
occasions, I decided to do more of
them in this small format. I am always
amazed at how paint can turn into glass!

Shell #2

4" x 6" Oil $100.
I seem to recall wrapping up this
marvelous ruffled-edge shell in a napkin
after a wonderful seafood meal. Small as
it is, it has everything going for it in
regard to tones or values.

Pear

4" x 6" oil $100
Ah yes, I too have now painted
a pear. Is it not one of the
most coveted fruits for artists
to paint? The one with the
delicious curves and colors?
The one that reminds us of
violins, cellos and certain women?

Silver Light

4"x 6" Oil $100

My friend gave me this tiny elegant candle

holder for my birthday one year. After painting

the holder, I decided to light the candle and see

how well I could get the effect of a flame and the

brilliance of silver.

Scent Of My Mother

4" x 6" Oil $100.

While there is no perfume in this bottle now,

I can still catch just a bit of it's scent from the

stopper, a reminder of my dear Mom. Painting

something so delicate and in such pale colors

was an interesting challenge. I think the design

for this bottle is a work of art in itself, especially

the elegant fan top.

The Rusty Key

4" x 6" Oil $100.

In these last three paintings I

appear to be in a turquoise frame

of mind! I do love the color and

it looks especially good with this

old key that was in a box from my

parent's home. What does it open?

Shell #1

4" x 6" Oil Sold

My Mother had an extensive and beautiful shell collection of which this is one. I wanted it to emerge from the somewhat mysterious background and present its lovely shape and patterns. You can expect to see more shells!

Funbun

5" x 7" Oil $150.

First, why the name Funbun you may ask? Well

I had a dear friend whose family played a game

of hiding a well-loved stuffed rabbit in the

suitcase of whoever in that family was about to

go traveling. They'd end up in some foreign place

with this beat-up bunny for company.

Now of course this is not THAT rabbit. It is a little

Chinese fellow with that incredible turquoise glaze.

It actually has a broken ear that I glued on after it

had been sitting in a cabinet of my parents waiting

in vain for repair. I almost painted the messy glue

job I did, but then I decided to restore him to his

former glory via my paintbrush.

Sorry he didn't make it to this blog yesterday,

just in time for Easter!

Rocky Gorge

5" x 7" Oil $200

My mother was wonderful at

painting rocks. Her medium was

watercolor and I have the pleasure

of seeing her work on my walls even

though she is no longer in this life.

I enjoyed working all the angles

and planes and then getting all the

different ways that the water looked.

I have a tiny, tiny little fan brush and

it was just the thing for the place in

the center of this piece where water

spills over the rocks.

At The Window

5" x 7" Oil SOLD

At the ocean's edge I was having

lunch with friends. There were huge

picture windows and the light was

especially striking. I was taken by

this young girl, so grown up, eating

with her family. In this painting, I

got to use my newly purchased

iridescent white oil paint for the

beautiful opalescent window light.

Total Concentration

5" x 7" Oil $200.

Well, you can see where I have traveled from this

and the previous few paintings - San Francisco.

What an experience to be in a park in Chinatown

where the older generation gathers daily to play

various board games. There were lots of games

going on of both men and women. I love the

total concentration for what they are doing and

none for touristas! I found that degree of focus

very admirable. I also was truly envious of the

very evident community spirit that was palpable

in the entire area. Maybe this is partly to do with

city life. I have seen this in New York City where

people will show up in parks and play chess together.

It is, as Martha would say, a good thing.

Out There

4" x 6" Oil $100.

Haven't we all done this? Stood at the ocean's

edge loosing all sense of our small bodies and

then soared off into the great space out over

vast waters? Ah, that is the truth...we are

able to soar freely anywhere. Let that be

understood and enjoyed as desired!

Can't Wait To Get There

5" x 7" Oil Sold

OK, so who doesn't want to go down this path

to the beach with them? To just walk a little

further and see the wide expanse of the Pacific

sparkling before you?

Pacific Ocean Gleaming

5" x 7" Oil Sold

I have had the special opportunity only a few

times in my life to see the Pacific Ocean. I grew

up on the Atlantic side of the country and am

very familiar with its look and its light. But the

western waters that border this great country

have a most special gleaming light that sort of

edges everything and I feel that in this little

painting, I captured what I wanted to convey.

The Blue Balloon

4" x 6" Oil $100.

This child was at a street fair and

I grabbed the shot of her before

she moved on. I loved the adult

hat that nearly covered her entire

little head! When I was starting

this painting, she somehow became

reminiscent of a child in a Parisian

park when impressionism was in

full bloom.