Pine Tree.....Mini

Pine Tree.....Mini  2.5 x 3.5 pastel
Yes, it really is that small. Very fun to do, can be matted in a wide mat or sealed in a crystal clear bag and displayed on a small easel. Great gifts or if you only have a small space work great on a shelf.
If you want more information on supplies etc. you can check out . Needless to say I had  more trouble taking the photo than I did doing the painting. For more information on these small pastels, go to Karen Margulis blog and U-tube video. Thanks for all the info Karen

Sunnys in the Garden

Sunnys in the Garden   Oil on canvas   12X12
A few gloomy days and winter on the horizon, just had to get in a bright cheerful painting. I used some new brushes on this, different feel while painting. They are made by Rosemary's Brushes and are called Ivory Flats, very interesting and will use them many more times. I am used to Bristle brushes and this was fun to feel the difference in paint application.
No changes , no growth so am constantly trying new items I suggest you challenge yourself and your painting in some way each time you pick up a brush or pastel.

Sweet and Sour

Sweet and Sour 12 x 12 oil on linen panel   SOLD
This is another in my nest series, the name infers the hummingbird being sweet to build it's next in the sour lemon tree. In the actual painting the nest does not show up so clearly, more camoflaged
This was quite a challenge to sort through the massive amount of lemons in the photo but am happy with the finished painting design. Nature never ceases to amaze and delight me.

In the Morning When I Rise

In The Morning When I Rise  oil on panel 5 x 7
We live between two lakes and  each morning can see the sunrise on one. I also teach at a Retreat Center located on a lake and this is actually a composite of the pinkish glow in the morning sky, has an ethereal quality, small painting that seems to have a big impact on me. It is a place I would like to be, how about You?

Sunflower Burst

Sunflower Burst 14 x 11 oil on canvas
Several weeks ago I went to Farmers Market to get cucumbers and saw these gorgeous sunflowers, ordinarily sunflowers don't call to me to be painted, but these DID and I rushed home , forgot about the cucumbers and painted this to almost completion while the flowers were fresh, these are different colors than I usually use and a bit looser style but had a blast and as the title tells you the Sunflower Blast made my day.
Needless to say, some of us artists are easily entertained.

Circle of Life

Circle of Life  Oil on linen panel, 12 x 12 Sold
This is a Mallard Duck nest, created by the female whose colors blend in perfectly with the dried leaves and grasses. She was a very patient and good egg sitter in my neighbors flower bed. Nothing seemed to frazzle  her. A small tap on her wing and she stepped off long enough for me to snap two photos and then gracefully back and hunkered down over her clutch of 15 eggs.
I titled this Circle of Life because about two days before these were to hatch the nest was raided by a raccoon or skunk giving them food for themselves and young and denying the birth of the next generation of ducklings.
This is the third  in a nest series and I will say to capture the egg color was a challenge, the photo is not quite accurate but the best I could get, they are a bit more greenish.
This was an awesome experience to see and to paint, I feel blessed to have preserved this beauty in a painting.

Winter Nest

Winter Nest 7 x 5 oil on panel
The stillness of winter and snow seem desolate but the nest waits for Spring and hopefully with a bit of refurbishing a new bird family will fill it with eggs and new life.
This is a subtle, moody painting, for me, very thought provoking....what do you think?