Pepe

 

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True story: The other evening my husband and I were downstairs watching TV. We suddenly heard barking and realized our little dog, Meep, wasn't in the room. We searched around the house and finally found her up in my studio, barking at a wall. My husband saw that up on a shelf were several little dog and cat paintings that I had recently done, and Meep was barking at them. We laughed, but honestly I consider this the highest compliment!

Homeland

 

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My folks met at the University of Texas in Austin when they were students there. They married quickly and struck out north for adventure. They ended up in Montana for 10 years, southeast of Butte, where my sister and I were born. We moved (back) to Texas when I was 2, so I have no memories of Montana, but I have enjoyed exploring the area as an adult. This is a scene from around where I was born, up in the hills, overlooking the valley and the mountains on the other side. 

I didn't paint Texas nearly as much. And I'm not saying Montana is more beautiful ... aww heck, yes I am.

Trees Overlooking the River

 

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When I first got to Montana, I looked at a map and picked a road that went for a good stretch along a river, because I like to paint water. I plugged it into my GPS and headed out. Pretty quickly it turned into a dirt road and ran up along the top of a cliff overlooking the (Clark Fork) river. I didn't have many peeks of the river because there were too many trees. But then I decided the trees were just as pretty as the water. This is one of the first scenes I ever painted in gouache, but I've done it over a few times in order to get it right. This is probably my 4th try.

Wistful Kitty

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What is this kitty thinking about as it stares out the window? Mice? Birds? I shared a cat once in college with a roommate, and he would bring us grasshoppers and katydids. They would be mangled, but still alive, and left on our doorstep. My roommate and I would debate over whether or not we should put the poor things out of their misery, even though neither of us wanted to actually do it.

Hot Car

 

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Here's another one that I just couldn't figure out how to make interesting with oil paint - but gouache pulled it off. I've been having fun combing back through my old files, looking for possibilities like this. For example, this one is from a very old wander in Eugene, OR. It was probably summer since the sun is out. I have to admit, now that we're in Montana, I don't miss the rain!

Fishmonger

 

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I have a particular fondness for waterfowl, and I have no idea why. Actually, I think all birds are beautiful. We have a feeder in our backyard, and a pair of binoculars inside by the window so we can see them up close. Unfortunately we don't get many water birds here in Montana. 

Hey You!

 

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Here's another gouache fish. I think he's part of the underwater mob.

Dozing by the Window

 

sold. (3x5in. - GOUACHE on 24-ply illustration board - starts at $75)

My family had cats when I was a kid, but my new family is all allergic, so we have a dog instead. This cat reminds me of our old cat, Fritz, who was a sweetheart. We had 3 other cats: Fruitcake, Fax, and Faux Pas. Notice a theme?

Just Keep Swimming

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Painting these animals with gouache really helps me loosen up with color! I'm learning so much. I think it's a really good idea to try subjects with more than one medium. I've been hearing that from great artists for a long time. How did it take me this long to actually do it?!

Fish in the Sea

 

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I started painting and posting (almost) daily 14 years ago, and it has been wonderful for my career, in so many ways. Painting daily improved my skills quickly and ... a lot. Getting my work out there regularly boosted sales and prompted others to invite me to teach and write books. Etc. I recommend it to ANY aspiring artist!

But I've learned that the creative spirit (mine, anyway) is a delicate one, and must be handled with care. I am not a machine who can crank out endless ... well, anything. In order for me to remain sane and happy, I must follow what is in my heart, which is always evolving. Unfortunately this does not always coincide with making money. So art is a tough career choice if you want to be happy and rich!! Also, posting daily and being in the public eye - it can be tough to make changes, even little ones, because people will tell you what they think, and it does not often align with what's in the heart. And for sensitive people (like me), the pressure from that can be ... quite uncomfortable.

So I had to take a break. And while I wasn't posting, I was most definitely creating. I have played and experimented with many of the ideas that have popped into my head over the years. I call it "chasing butterflies," in that I have allowed myself to follow any idea, anywhere, until it ran out or I got bored, and then I chase a new butterfly. It has been a wonderful. And a roller-coaster. Most of it no one will ever see. But I got so much out of it!

What have I learned so far? In general, two things:

1. I need variety to keep me interested and challenged. I've always painted a variety of subjects, but going forward I want to avoid only painting things that I think will sell, and I want to experiment with all kinds of mediums and subjects. Even if it never goes anywhere.

2. The unknown is scary but exhilarating. I've always avoided the things that scare me, but lately I've been diving in head first and some amazing things have come from it - things I never could have done on purpose! I want to do lots more of that.

So, while I'll be posting again, whenever I think you might be interested in something, I will continue to chase those butterflies. Because that's what makes me happy. Thank you all for your support!

Leaning Tree at Salmon Lake

 

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From a recent explore with the hubs. He likes to fish and so my search for painting material happily coincided with his search for lakes to fish in.

Also here's a little 4x4 gouache. It's from a magical hike during a camping trip earlier this summer. We drove a long way down a dirt road that we definitely needed our jeep for. When it got to be too much we hiked and went up, up, up. Then suddenly the view opened up and the road wound on forever in this beautiful view. Then the clouds shaded everything but the middle part and I went - WOW! I'm pretty happy with how the painting of it went, so it's going in my personal collection.

Lunching on the River

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This is from a small town in Germany, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it. I went with a friend and she drove, so I don't even know which direction we went from my mother-in-law's house! I do remember that on the way back we got stuck in a tunnel for about an hour because there was an accident up ahead. So we sat there and showed each other pictures from our phones. What did we do before smart phones?! Anyway, it was a VERY complicated image, and I decided I needed to challenge of trying simplify it but still have it read like a sunny day in a beautiful town in Germany.

Tree Gangs

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This is one from a recent explore. I never know where I am going to find beautiful things so I just aim in a direction and drive. Here there are lots of signs along the road for "fishing access" and I often stop at these spots, just in case there's a good view of a river. At this one I found my scene looking away from the river - these gorgeous trees clumped just so, with the beautiful shadows they cast. Love it.

Arise Mountains

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The last one I posted was from just before sunset, and this one is from just after sunrise. Both are from the same area, near Toll Mountain here in Montana. One cool thing about gouache is that there are a bunch of different ways to apply it. You can add a whole bunch of water and use it almost like watercolor. Or you can put it on thick. Or you can layer it with a dry brush, like I did here for the foreground grass. I'm really enjoying experimenting with this new (for me) medium!

Evening Stroll at Toll Mountain

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This one is from our most recent camping adventure. Because we were outside most of the time, I was able to catch the light when it was really magical. So I've been telling myself I should get out and walk/drive around in the early/late hours here at home too. But have I done it yet? Nope.

Your Pale Pinkness

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I tried really hard to capture ALL the colors of this painting. It was impossible. My camera just wouldn't do it. Suffice it to say, the real thing is better.

There are tons of these little wild roses in Montana, but this one's actually from Eastern Oregon, from a trip my family took about 5 years ago. I had to play around with the background quite a bit, but I'm finding gouache pretty accommodating. It takes layers gracefully (more so than oil, IMHO).

Blodgett Creek is Clear

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This is another one from Blodgett Canyon. The calm parts of the creek were oh so clear. I need to go back soon to see if the torrential parts are any different now that it's later in the summer, and almost all the snow up high is melted.

Colorado Rocky River

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Here's one from Colorado, somewhere in the Rockies. The sun was shining strongly in the distance, but everything else was in shadow. I find this very difficult to paint, and even more difficult to photograph with any accuracy. I promise the painting is better than the photo.

Bitterroot Valley

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If you drive south of Missoula, on 12, you are basically in the Bitterroot Valley, with mountains on either side, and breathtaking views every other minute. It's especially spectacular when there is still snow on the mountains (it's mostly all melted now), but it's always gorgeous. When I'm on my own I stop often on the side of the road to snap pictures. This is from one of those stops.

Thunderstorm Approaching

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A couple of years ago my husband and I were remote camping in the Oregon Badlands. We were reading a bit in the afternoon, when clouds fairly quickly started filling up the sky. They were big clouds, and we took pictures of them because they were quite spectacular (this painting is from those pictures). We were feeling a little suspicious of these lovely clouds, when suddenly it started POURING down rain, and the wind blew SO HARD that we each grabbed a pole of our canopy, unwilling to let it blow away, as the horizontal rain soaked us and all our stuff. It lasted about 15 minutes, stopped as suddenly, and we spent the next few hours drying everything out. Below is a calm scene from that evening in the same spot.