Ever Vigilant

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

Another cat. I especially had fun playing with the colors in the background. It was just a mid gray in the reference photo, but I find it far more interesting to make it out of grays that lean a little bit towards several different colors. Sometimes anyway. : )

Mr. Green Eyes

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

In my experience it's much harder to paint an animal in this kind of soft light rather than direct. Most of the time anyway. I guess I should just say - this was really hard to paint!

Tomato Slice Journey

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

Recently I took a bunch of photos of tomato slices with the intention of doing some larger paintings. I did this one from life to make sure I knew what information my camera wasn't capturing.

Living on the Edge

Click Here to Bid - 6x12in. - starts at $100 - click image to enlarge

Here's another landscape from Utah, from the same area as this recent one. We were overlooking the Canyonlands, near Moab. One day we drove down into the canyon, on a tiny, dirt road that had recently been damaged by flooding, barely clinging to the side of a cliff. It was pretty terrifying, but our Jeep handled it just fine.

Companion Roses

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

I think this is the first time I've painted roses from a reference photo I didn't take myself. The lighting was soft, as opposed to the sun-shiny roses I often paint, which was challenging. I found myself channeling Richard Schmid, though you probably can't tell.

A Hike to the Edge

 

"A Hike to the Edge" - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100 - click here to bid

Although I didn't paint on our recent trip to Utah, I took a bunch of photos. I've tried to paint from a few of them, with mixed results. Here are two that worked out, though they are very similar. We were camped on public land at the edge of  Canyonlands National Park. Near our site was a great view of the Green River, but I never got a great photo of it. On this day we hiked to a different vantage point and walked along the cliff for a while. Here's the other view.

"Another Hike to the Edge" - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100 - click here to bid

My Shaft of Light

 

Click Here to Bid - 5x7in. - oil - starts at $100

This one is my personal favorite of late. And I'll leave you with this - yes I am heading off on another trip. Yes, I just came back from one. 😂 Happy fall everyone! (I'll be home Nov 5th.)

Pinkiness

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

If these roses were royalty each would be addressed as "Your Pinkiness."

I made a little video of this one. You can see it here or on youtube. It's better with sound. : )

Disappointed

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x8in. - oil - starts at $100

This dog really wanted to go for a walk, but his owners went to work instead. : (

Morning Dew

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

This was a fun change of pace for me - painting little details like water droplets.

Reversible Rose

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

I thought the petals of this rose were so interesting - yellow on the inside and red on the outside. It reminds me of a reversible shirt I used to own that I could fold up the sleeves on to see both colors.

Hang On

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

I had to change a lot about this scene to make it worthy of painting. The background especially was just super boring. So I got out my trusty ipad and tried a bunch of options until I landed on this one. The trick is finding something that is interesting without distracting from the center of interest. Tricky, but I like how it turned out.

The Golden Carpet

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

I had a few tomato stragglers when I got back from camping, and this is the last of them. Next I'm on to other subjects.

The Green Square

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

We're back! And we had such a lovely trip. Utah is a gorgeous place and so fun to explore, especially in October when it isn't super hot. We're so lucky that we are self employed and can do this.

Below is probably my best photo of a site. Not that it was "official" - we mostly boondocked or dispersed camped on public land. This was early in the trip, on top of Cedar Mountain. We were camped next to a gorgeous ravine, and as the sun was setting a storm blew right by us. We just sat in our chairs and enjoyed the show. My phone captured all the colors except for the pinks and purples.

Someone will ask if I painted on this trip. The answer is - I brought all my gear just in case I was inspired. And while we saw many beautiful, I mean GORGEOUS things, I never felt the urge to get out my gear. Mostly this trip was meant to get away and refill the well. That happened. So I'm satisfied.

Homecoming Dance

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

It turns out I'll be leaving tomorrow for our camping adventure. We will be gone up to three weeks. The latest I will be able to ship is Oct 20th. Once again, many apologies for any inconvenience!

Double Date

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

In a few days I'll be heading off on a potentially longish camping adventure. The dates are open-ended, so I'm not sure exactly when I'll be back, but I won't be able to ship during that time. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes.

Love Triangle

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

You may be noticing a theme with my last few paintings. Not just tomatoes, but tomatoes with love lives. Seems appropriate.

Tomato Chaperones

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

Here's something I have relearned lately: Don't follow a rule just because someone told you it was a rule and you think you should follow it. Follow a rule if/when doing so is going to help your painting.

My Single Tomato Friend

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

And now for another simple one. Not simple to paint, mind you - just a simple composition. And this tomato is single (see title), as in looking for a companion - not like I have just a single (as in one) tomato friend. That would be silly.

Observing

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil - starts at $100

This combination of colors makes me especially happy. : )