Fallen

Fallen

9"x12" oil on board

Someone suggested the alternative title "A Frond Farewell" for this one, which I also rather like!  This painting was done at Oscar Sherer State Park, just south of Sarasota, where I met up with The Light Chasers plein air group this past Thursday. Though the creek below was in shade all that morning, the sunlight filtering thought the canopy of trees cast dappled light on the rocks, continuously changing their appearance. Always up for a good challenge, I chose this spot for the reflections, the shadows, the movement of the water and rocks beneath it's surface. ..yeah, leave it to me to keep it simple!  

From Plein Air Study to Studio Painting

Caspersen Beach

18"x24" oil on canvas

I put Mary Erickson's recent demo into practice this week, taking a small plein air study and using it as reference for a larger studio painting. I started out with a tonal underpainting of red iron oxide and liquin, building it up from there (and stepping back often!) The challenge, of course, is in keeping the larger one fresh and loose. I've a feeling this will be a continuous challenge for me this year!

Nokomis Jetty

Nokomis Jetty

5"x7" oil on board

Would it have been nice if the gusty winds weren't threatening to blow over my easel yesterday morning? Sure. But then again, I kinda loved the challenge of depicting the dramatic waves it produced! 

WPSE Juried Show Pieces

I am excited and honored to announce that the following two paintings of mine have been juried into the 2104 Women Painters Of the Southeast Members' Show to be held next month at The Magnolia Gallery in Greensboro, GA! 

To see the show online click on the following link:

http://www.onlinejuriedshows.com/ClosedShowThumbs.aspx?OJSID=179

Caspersen Beach

8"x10" oil on board

Swimming Hole

11"x14" oil on board

On the Rocks

On the Rocks

8"x10" oil on canvas

Here I am standing alongside the piece I submitted to the Sarasota Paint Out this past weekend titled "On the Rocks," painted last Wednesday at Caspersen Beach in Venice. Even on a grey and dreary day, there's something so beautiful about the rocks that line that shore!

Sarasota Sands

Sarasota Sands SOLD

11"x14" oil on canvas

Sarasota Sands... a work in progress

Last week I participated in the 3rd annual Sarasota Paint Out, a 3 day event in which 70 artists painted all around Sarasota County, culminating in a juried show at the end. Unfortunately, we only had 1 sunny day out of the 3 and the other 2 were overcast, cold and rainy. Obviously, this one was painted on that day!

Anna Maria Island Chalk Festival

Mermaid in Chalk

10'x10' chalk pastel on pavement

Yes, once again I've been slacking a bit on the blog... apologies to my handful of loyal followers! Anyway, just to catch you up, I have been keeping busy since the start of the new year traveling to St. Louis to paint a mural, doing a weekend chalk festival on Anna Maria Island, snow skiing out west with my family and participating in the 3rd annual Sarasota Paint Out. 

Here is the street painting I did for the chalk festival 2 weekends ago, inspired by a painting by Russian artist Victor Nizovtsev. This kind of artwork is really a performance art as much as anything.  Sure, it's captured in a photograph, hopefully before the rain washes it away or it ends up on the tire treads of passing cars!  But the real fun is for the observing public who get to witness it come to life before their very eyes, ask questions, interact with the artist, and maybe even get inspired to get creative themselves!