Sea of Green

 

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

One more balsamroot painting, even though they are completely done now IRL. We had a very wet spring and all the grass and other plants are extra lush and tall. I love the abundance! Makes for some lovely walks.

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. : )

Open Door

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

In the past when I've driven north of Missoula, up towards Flathead Lake, I've passed some old cars beside the road that looked interesting. Well recently I went back to find them, and eventually discovered Wrecker Kellys. I don't know what motivates this kind of place to leave all these old cars sitting around, except maybe advertising(?) but I sure am grateful. These were the cars right up by the road - someday maybe I'll get brave enough to go in and ask if I can take pictures of the rest. It was a little too early on this day.

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.

Petals Waving

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

One thing that I think is really cool about these Balsamroot flowers (wild here in Montana) - every plant has a unique theme. The petals are big and fat on some, and skinny on others. The middle part is a little bald in the middle (like these), but then full on others. Sometimes there are notches in the ends of the petals, and sometimes not.

Another thing I've always liked, about flowers in general, is the odd petal that sticks out in an unusual direction. Like they're waving hello. These two have one each. Hello.

Nestled Between

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

This is another wild Balsamroot that grows in my area (Missoula). I especially like the leaves on this plant, which provide a lovely backdrop. For every painting I have to edit the leaves a bit because they are never arranged perfectly. I usually try some things on my ipad first - painting over the reference - before I start painting IRL. It's a pretty handy tool.

Quiet Yellow

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

I am just home from teaching a workshop in Apex, North Carolina. I had a really wonderful group of students. They listened, asked great questions, and make big leaps. I miss them already. Here they are ->

After the workshop I went to the beach for a couple of days with a friend. I brought my camera just in case I felt inspired, and wow, was I! The people on the beach were just ... well, they were just begging to be painted. The bodies of every type, the water, the reflections - so cool. I took a million photos, completely forgetting to reapply sunscreen. But the sunburn was totally worth all the material I got!

I have some paintings left from before that I will post for now. This one is another Balsamroot flower - wild here in Montana.

Delicate Buds

 

Click Here to Bid - 5x7in. - oil on panel

Here are a few more thimbleberry flowers, just peeking out from the foliage. I adore the light on this one. Very minimal. As soon as these start blooming next month, you can bet I'll be out taking more photos!

I'll be heading off soon to teach a workshop in North Carolina. Unfortunately this means I won't be able to ship paintings or prints until after I get home - June 4th. If you need something fast, please let me know and I'll get my husband to ship it. Otherwise, I apologize for the inconvenience!

Backlit Yellow

 

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

Here's another Balsamroot, a wildflower that is just finishing up around here (Missoula).

I've been inspired lately by Christina Weaver's floral paintings. I think she mostly sets up outside and paints them from life, which is braver than me. But I really admire her style. She's got some great drawings too. Check her out on Instagram.

Thimbleberry Flower

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

I've always thought of these as wild roses, but the internet tells me it's a Thimbleberry flower. They aren't blooming yet this year, but I've gotten a lot of pictures in the past. I've seen them on hikes in the Bitterroot Valley, south of Missoula, and I hope to get more pictures soon. They are positively adorable.

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.

Balsamroot

 

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

For the past 6 years, since we've lived in Montana, I've seen these yellow flowers around and never gotten my act together to go and photograph them before they're done. Until this year! They're called Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), and are abundant if you know where to look. I passed some on the highway and stopped, but they were on such a steep hill I was afraid I would fall. I finally found some very accessible ones about 20 minutes away on a trail called "Sound of Music" (how fitting!).

Red Means Stop

 

Click Here to Buy (8x8in. - OIL - $250)

Hubs and I went for a walk around town with our cameras the other day during the "magic hour," ie. when the golden light happens. This was my favorite paintable scene. But my favorite photo, was a bit more ... odd. We were cutting through an alley when I found it. Who knows - I might try to paint it someday, but for now I'll just share the photo. : )

Reflected Green

Click Here to Bid (4x4in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

This is a little gouache painting from one of the creeks around here that I visited in the summer. Apparently these are very popular for fly fishing, although I've never tried it myself. I'm so looking forward to things turning green again like this (as I look out my window at snow falling).

Watering Hole

 

Click Here to Bid (5x3in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

This is a scene I've painted before, but last time, there were horses. Plus the last one was in oil, and this is gouache. One great thing about gouache is that I can go back and work on it as many times as I want/need. Oil, on the other hand, gets a little finicky. Subsequent darks dry chalky, and if you go back too soon, the under layers are tacky. Plus you always have to keep in mind the fat over lean thing. With gouache all you have to worry about is overworking in general.

Good Morning Majesty

 

Click Here to Bid (6x3in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

Along with most of the rest of the country, Montana was hit by an arctic blast recently. The temps hovered right around zero, and the snow just accumulated. And so I have been extra motivated to browse back through my photos from the summer and pick out scenes to paint from warmer weather. This is from the Butte area - about 140 miles SE of us. We were so very grateful to have been able to go out and camp then, while still socially distanced. And we're looking forward to doing it again, as soon as the weather allows.

Homeland

 

Click Here to Bid (3x5in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

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

 

Click Here to Bid (3x5in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

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.

The Scenic Route

 

Click Here to Bid (3x6in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

This is from a day drive I took last year. I headed East from Missoula and then south on a "scenic route" towards Phillipsburg. This little dirt road was an off-shoot from the main road. At the start of the road were signs that warned this road went through private property and that one shouldn't stop or get out. I wondered if stopping to take pictures was permitted, but there wasn't a good spot to turn around, so I kept going. 

It turned out to be a gorgeous area, so at one point I did stop to take a few pictures. I heard a sound so I turned around and suddenly there was a swarm of 4-wheelers coming up behind me, fast. So I hopped back in my car and kept driving. I thought for sure I was in trouble, but after a few miles I found a spot to pull over so I could turn around, and all the 4-wheelers passed me with friendly waves. Whew.

Rise Above

 

Click Here to Bid (5x3in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

Here's a little gouache landscape from a hike I took in the summer along Blodgett Creek. I have a few of these little landscapes left that have been sitting around my studio. Today I pulled them out and they inspired me to do some new ones. So you'll see those soon.