Merry Christmas to All!

Santa's Delivery

9x12, oil on panel

sold

Thanks for looking and, as ever, for your never-failing love and support of my art. Hope your holidays are filled with peace and laughter.

Santa Baby

Santa Baby

9x12, oil on panel, unframed

nfs

Another blue-eyed Santa...  I resisted over-futzing and really love that he is loose and "sketchy." Again and again, I tell myself, "step away from the painting."  It's hard to stop when you're having fun!  

Mr. Right and I are so happy to have all our elves home and things are happily busy in our workshop. Hope you're enjoying the holidaze and, as always, thanks for looking.

Gratitude & the Blue-Eyed Santas

Papa Noel

8x8, oil on panel

SOLD

With gratitude, this morning I'm thinking about loyal collectors. It's all about shared passion and friendship and encouragement. It's about the catch-up chats and cups of coffee I'm enjoying as I deliver paintings that have sold locally. It's about connections.  It's soooo NOT about the money.

I'm affectionately thinking of these as the "blue-eyed Santas" as I find I leave that Tiffany-blue ground color peeking through the "whites" more often than not. I've gotten a number of questions about process and supplies and I plan to put together a post about that soon.  Have a great remember-what-you're-grateful-for day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Father Christmas

6x8, oil on panel

SOLD

I'm humbled by the response to the Santa portraits and filled with gratitude.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Kris Kringle

Kris Kringle

9x12, oil on panel, unframed

SOLD

I recently received beautiful frames from Randy Higbee.  The Santas look so great in the dark frames. 

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like....

Jolly Ole’ Elf

11x14, oil on panel

SOLD

It has been my tradition for some years to create Christmas art – click here and here for just a couple.  I love it and am always sorry I don’t start earlier.  It’s a stretch to keep up the Christmas energy and excitement much past January 1^st.  Well, this year I did it!  How delightfully easy it was to catch the holiday spirit in October!

I saw a Christmas clock last week. It read something like: 42 days, 7 hours, 20 minutes, and 15 seconds. (Jaw drop.) I'm going back to painting... Thanks for looking! 

Meet Maggie!

Maggie

16x20, paper on gallery wrapped canvas

sold

Painting Paper with Paper: Gifts, Wrapped

Zig Zag, Too

12x24, paper on canvas

Can't get enough of this gray and white chevron paper.  I enjoyed painting Zig Zag so much I decided to give it another go, but this time in torn paper. (Click on the orange link to see the oil version.) Used some of those inky painty papers too!  Love the oil version and the paper version hanging together. (Click on the next orange link to see the hand painted papers.) Email me if you're interested and thanks for looking!

(double click any photo for bigger view)

Happy Halloween! And a peek at what's on the easel...

Don't you find it irritating to be confronted with Christmas before Thanksgiving?  Or at least until well after Halloween?  I know I do.... It's an assault on my senses.  I like Halloween and I really love Thanksgiving. I want to move slowly and appreciate each one!
However, this year I've realized a long held dream of painting Santa portraits during the fall months. I actually started in time!  I'm having such fun and in my studio, it's beginning to look a lot like... well... we'll talk about that later.  So, let this be a sneak peek. More to come - all sizes.  Meanwhile, Happy Halloween!

One Thing Leads to Another

(click on images for larger views!)
Sometimes, when I need to loosen up or shake a mood or search for my muse, I make nutty collages. Always have. Inspired by the art of the day or a friend's favorite quote, I just grab whatever flotsam and jetsam are at hand and go for it.  Lately, it's been file folders.

It started over the summer as I was cleaning out files, getting ready for the school year.  I swiped a stack of 1/3-cut, standard manila file folders from Mr. Right and organized like mad.  At some point during my ship-shaping, folder met paint. And gesso. And stencils. And Adirondack sprays. And juicy inks. And Sharpies. And gel pens.

That was a dozen+ file folders ago. Sigh. Heaven.

I've been thinking about painting interiors again and this happened.

I've been adding quotes I sometimes think about I would want to remember while sitting in meetings.  Will I really take these folders to business meetings?  Probably not. 

I've also put a coat of sealer on them so they're tougher than your average bird.  

A quote on the inside too, a favorite of one of my twisted sisters.

Zig-Zag: Gifts, Wrapped in Chevron

Zig-Zag

oil on panel, 12x12, $240

I love our culture's current fascination with the time-honored chevron pattern.  Mustaches are hard to understand but give me a good chevron obsession and I totally get it!  (Also curley-que ribbon, which never really goes out of style.)  While painting this gift, I dreamed about a pair of slipper chairs upholstered in a chevron fabric... gray would be lovely.  Or a beautiful chevron patterned brick floor.  I like this little present a lot.  Thanks for looking!

Paper Painting Whimsy

Today is "paper painting" day in the studio.  It's amazing how quickly my stockpile runs out when I'm tearing and pasting for collages.  I'm certain every artist has their own process.  Paper painting for me is a little how I imagine some abstract art to be created. No finished product in mind -  making decisions based on color and form and value, mixed with a big batch of serendipity.  Lots of "what ifs" and inky-painty fingers and funny tools like carved corks and cardboard rolls.  Yes, I'm that person who snatches paper towels with interesting quilting patterns and Starbucks cup cozies from unsuspecting friends. No such thing as a bad choice. Love it, love it, love it.

Dontcha Love Teachers?

Many Thanks

oil on panel, 8x10, $140

Teachers are some of my favorite people.  I've had the privilege to work in schools for the past 15 or so years - a non-teacher amongst teachers - and I can attest that they have a unique blend of God-given talents and personally developed skills.  Mixed with cah-razy amounts of energy and courage. 

Speaking of, I took Julie Ford Oliver's Daily Paintworks ArtByte Tutorial on Fracturing a while ago.  Neat.  Then recently, on a trip to Houston, I visited Texas Art Supply and found the handiest little "fracturer."  Made by Princeton, it's called a Wedge.  Highly recommended.  Thanks for looking.

Gifts, Wrapped - Art Reflecting Life

Just for Laughs

oil on panel, 11x14, $250
double-click all images for larger views!

What is it with this sudden pop-culture-fascination surrounding the lowly mustache? I've heard 2013 is the Year of the 'Stache.  Don't you see them everywhere - from tiny tattoos to pacifiers to sunglasses to... well.... wrapping paper?  They make us smile and they sure were fun to paint!

Mustache? Moustache? Turns out both spellings are correct, the first being decidedly more American.

Surprise - A Pretty Package

Surprise!

oil on panel, 9x12
SOLD

I saw this wrapping paper at a friend's house... probably 2 years ago... and loved it. She's that kind of friend you can say, "Oh, I love that. Can I have some?" And home I went with a generous piece.  One great thing about painting paper (rather than the reverse - when you use paper to paint collages or other mixed media pieces) is that when the painting is finished, you still have the paper!  :)  Take care and thanks as always.

Gifts, Wrapped - A New Favorite

Congratulations!

16x20, oil on canvas, $525

This one is just happy, happy. Thanks for looking!

Gifts, Wrapped

Dottie

9x12, oil on panel, $180

SOLD

Good that I bought a whole roll of this darling dotted paper as I've used it before in collages and mixed media pieces.  Thanks so much for looking.

Painting Paper

Celebrate!

12x12, oil on panel, $240

I LOVE this paper.  Do I say that every time??  Next in the Gift, Wrapped series. Thanks to all for the warm responses!