Did You Lock the Car?

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

Here's another little people scene. I think I'm in love with reflected light. In general. On fruit, on people, on anything. It's so subtle, but so satisfying in paint.

Missoula Market Walk

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

Missoula has a series of markets downtown on Saturdays during the summer. You can make a morning of it - walking from one end of downtown to the other, hitting all the markets. I did this a few weeks ago, with a friend, and my camera. This is a scene from said trip.

Out for a Stroll

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

It takes me about 3 to 4 times as long to complete a painting with people in it than it does for other subjects. People are tough. Even though I suggest them, I have to get every mark in the right place. I mean, not that it's perfect, by any means, but we know what people look like, and we can tell at a glance if something is off. So I have to do a lot of careful considering while I paint. It only looks loose.

Water Bottles

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

This is another one from Southport, NC. Mom fully knows the importance of everyone drinking enough water.

Which Way, Honey?

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

This was just outside the visitors center in Southport, NC. I just loved the poses and the colorful clothes, and how they were lit. It's almost like they were posing just for me! I did make up the flowers on the bush behind them, but it goes, right? : )

From Another Era

Click Here to Bid - 6x8in. - oil on panel

Here's another one from my wander around Hamilton (MT), a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air. Every once in a while my husband suggests we get an old car, but I don't want to have one. I just want to paint them. But I am very grateful to those who get them and park them in places I can access. : )

Dappled Red

Click Here to Bid - 6x8in. - oil on panel

A few weeks ago my husband and I drove down to Hamilton, MT, a small town about an hour south of us. We wandered around enjoying the lovely weather and I snapped a few photos when I felt inspired. We got into a conversation with a lady who had lived there all her life and was quite proud of her "work truck." Unfortunately hers was not in great light, but this one was.

Premium Parking

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

I couldn't believe my luck when I ran across this scene recently on a neighborhood wander. I had a lot of title ideas, but finally had to just pick one. I wanted it to be something like - woops, I think I left the door open again - but that was too long.

Stealth Parking

 

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

Here's another little scene from around Missoula. I think I need a pink and turquoise garage.

Missoula Morning

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

On my walk around local neighborhoods recently, this was the view every time I looked east down a wide street. I believe these are called the Sapphire Mountains, and they have distinctive horizontal lines that are left over from the different levels of Lake Missoula, which was a thing near the end of the last ice age. I was out in the morning, and the clouds were just peeking over like this, which I always think is so cool.

Where We Sat Last Night

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel

During my recent EBB (several weeks where nothing went right in my studio) I ventured outside for new inspiration. I have been hesitant to take photos in Missoula, and I think it's because I have quite a few friends here, and I feel more self-conscious because of it. Well, I put that feeling aside and wandered around a few nearby neighborhoods with my camera (luckily everyone was at work). This was the first scene that really inspired me. And it took me 2 tries before I was happy with the painting. But I am. And that's always incredibly exciting after an EBB!

The Busker's Dog

 

Click Here to Buy for $400 - 10x10in. - oil on panel

This is a slightly larger piece I did recently of a scene I came across last year in Freiburg, Germany. There were quite a few small, awkward things happening in the reference photos, and I used my ipad and an art app to try out alternatives before and while I was painting. For example, the guy on the left was standing right at the edge of the ground shadow, so I moved him forward a little, which involved changing the shadow on his shoes, among other things. I thought the painting would be about the buskers, but when my husband saw it he said it was about the dog. Which, in hindsight, is perfectly obvious.

Florence Spotlight

 

Click Here to Buy for $300 - 6x12in. - oil on panel (click image to enlarge)

This was painted from my favorite reference photo from my last trip to Florence, Italy. I admit I stood there and waited for people to pass through the shaft of light until I got the perfect shot. But I was also waiting to paint it! Why? No idea. So here it is. I kind of completely love it.

It's Getting Warm

 

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

This is another scene from Florence, Italy. These two were walking through a main square, and I just happened to catch her taking off her red rain jacket with the sun shining through bits of the other side.

Someone Look it Up

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel - starts at $100

It was gray and/or raining for a lot of the time I was last in Florence (so much that my flight home was delayed because of flooding!). I tend to prefer sunny scenes, but ended up getting a lot of more subtle references that I never would have gotten otherwise. And I just love the reflections of their shoes on the wet sidewalk.

Purse Shopping

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel - starts at $100

No, we can never have enough bags. And in Florence there are about a million stores the specialize in them. So it's quite impossible to come back from there not having bought at least one. I speak from experience.

Window Shopping

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - Oil on panel - starts at $100

This is another little city-scene from Florence, Italy. I was there teaching a workshop this past spring and am finally feeling motivated to tackle some paintings. I knew it would happen eventually. I try not to push it anymore. There's a time for everything.

Group Twelve

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil on panel - starts at $100

When you are in the center of Florence (Italy), there are often several tour groups touring around you, at all times. This makes for lovely clumps of people to photograph. My thanks to group twelve for posing so nicely.

Out in Flannel

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "Out in Flannel"

Let me just start with - flannel is hard to paint. I've tried before and failed miserably, but I thought this actually turned out. This is another one from Freiburg, Germany. A lovely town we've been to many times.

Also, I've added new prints to my prints page. : )

A Strolling Kind of Day

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - oil - "A Strolling Kind of Day"

While we were in Germany in May, my husband and I took a day trip to Zurich. Some friends of ours took us around town, including to this lovely little market under the trees. Many thanks to Annemarie who was very patient with me while I took pictures!

NEW PRINTS AVAILABLE

I have added a few new options to my prints page. But you can request ANY painting (ok, almost any) to be made into a print. Just find a painting in my gallery, click on it, and you will see a 

"request a fine art reproduction" in the popup.

Apparently we had a bug in the ordering process that we have now fixed, so if you tried and had trouble, please try again. And if you still run into trouble, please let me know - it really helps! Thanks so much.