Bye Bye Painting!

I’m currently working on my next body of work for a gallery show in Anacortes, Washington; one of my favorite little coastal towns in the ever-beautiful Pacific Northwest. I’ll be showing at the Scott Milo gallery and I really enjoy showing at such a warm and welcoming place. Kathy, the curator, always selects nice pieces (oh, I hear a horn tooting) and does a wonderful job of displaying the paintings alongside some gorgeous sculptures and jewelry.

The topic that came to mind while working on this new body (no not mine, though it could use some work) is how tough it is to give up on a painting once I’ve committed to it but can’t get all the way in to it. Yes, this just happened. While I think commitment is a great thing, and has served me well in lots of ways, I’m learning to let go of some of it. Finally. So, I am tossing more paintings lately. Well, okay, not completely tossing them but stopping them in their tracks and using them for something else later.

Here’s my analogy for this; I liken this to a bad relationship that consumes lots of time and energy but you know it’s just not working. I could just keep putting more and more paint on the canvas and try to cover up all the ugly stuff I don’t like but if I did that several things would happen:

A. I wouldn’t be happy while I was doing it.
B. I would be wishing I was working on something else.
C. I’d be grumpy because deep down I would know I was wasting my time and creativity.
D. I would be working on this which means I wouldn’t be working on my potential masterpiece.

I’m off to work on something I love. I'll be back...

Tuxedo Maine Coon Oil Painting

"One Good Scratch"
8 x 10
Oil on Panel
SOLD (thank you :)

I often ask myself what it is that seems so endearing about every single move Biscuit makes. In this painting I have captured one of the activities she probably performs at least twenty times throughout the day; that yummy little scratch right behind her left ear. But, look how graceful she looks when she's doing it! Even when she is scratching, her inside beauty radiates through to the outside.

In this oil painting on panel, I combined fine-detail brush work and highly textured palette knife work to create an exciting piece of textural art. Once completed and dried, I hand-brushed 8 coats of crystal-clear varnish, patiently waiting (not my strong suit) for each one to dry before applying the next. Parts of the painting look like shattered glass because of the richness of the varnish. In other parts of the painting, the texture of the panel is apparent. The overall painting has a very "deep" feel to it because of the varnish. I used what I think is the best varnish available - it's Gamblin and it is as clear as it can possibly be. Yum.

Original oil painting, gold cat

Master of the Harbor, Oil

11x14

SOLD thank you :)

partial funds to Pasado's Safe Haven

Ropes are slung along the docks and boats creak against the weathered boards. Sailors come and go and some stop to bid good-day. But this cat’s heart is as strong as the sea and he sits steadfastly waiting for his master to return. He will; he always does. No one doubts that there is only one love for this Master of the Harbor.

Original pastel painting, gold ginger tabby

Reflecting Gold, dry pastel

8x10

Sold $280

partial funds to Sarvey Wildlife Care Center

Everywhere I look, I see Gravy. Everywhere Gravy looks, he sees me smiling back at him with my heart.

Gallery Show

I can't believe how time is flying past and how long it's been since I have posted. I am just finishing details for my gallery show that opens this Friday at Scott Milo in Anacortes, Washington. I really had fun Celebrating Summer for this show! We continue to have gorgeous weather on Whidbey Island so I am completely in the mood, still, even though I am framing which isn't really my favorite part of the process.

Stop by if you get a chance. Here are the details of the show.

June 5th, 6-9 Artists' Reception (I'll be there from 6-8)

Show runs June 5th - 30th.

Hope to see you there!

Pastel Study, Seascape

Water Me - a study, dry pastel
18 x 15
Sold partial funds to Pasado's Safe Haven
As part of my upcoming gallery show, I am doing some color studies and experimental pieces to figure out which ideas I want to pursue further. I will be offering a few of these on eBay. This study is from a beach along the Oregon coast which has always been one of my favorite spots to gather some inspiration.

This is some smashing fun water! I mixed up the media a little and used a small amount of acrylic in this, mostly for the rocks. Oh, and as usual, I probably used most of the colors in my pastel box for the water :). This is usually what goes on under the water before I start putting final coats on it. You can see all the activity starting to build. In this case I liked it so much at this stage, I put it in a frame and called it Macaroni. Just kidding, I called it
Water Me.

Original pastel painting, Golden tabby cat

The Beckoning Cat, dry pastel

5 x 7

Sold $256

partial funds to Animal Dreams
I have used this pose of Gravy in a previous painting and just love it so much I decided to use it a little differently this time because I felt it so fitting for this piece.

My niece first introduced me to Neko by gifting me with this little porcelain version (that I used as the model for the painting) after one of her trips abroad.

The story is about a cat in Japan (Maneki Neko) who beckoned several samurai to follow it into a temple, near Tokyo, by raising its left paw. There the samurai took shelter from a storm and then spread the word of the shrine and the cat who found them shelter from the storm and brought them luck. Since then the cat with the raised paw has been a symbol for good luck and wealth.

My story is about (our) Gravy who, like Neko, brought nothing but good fortune to those he met. When we found him, he raised his paw and placed it directly and very intently on my husband's leg and there and then he entered our hearts forever. He always brought us a wealth of love so I guess that paw thing works!

Tuxedo cat,original pastel painting

Love bug

5 X 7

Sold $205
partial funds to Animal Dreams

Another "caught by the sun" moment with Biscuit. I was actually trying to work on a landscape painting when she pulled this little number on me! Look at that face ~ just begging to be painting. So, this is how we spent our afternoon together. Sweet, huh?

Pastel 100 Competition, Wee Three

I’m happy to share some great news with you. One of my pieces, “Wee Three,” was selected as a finalist in the Wildlife/Animal portion of the Pastel 100 Competition and appears in the April issue of the Pastel Journal. My thanks to the Pastel Journal for including my work alongside some great art! I have to admit, it is really humbling to have my piece be one of only nineteen (in the animal category) selected in an international competition.

You can see a closer view of the painting on my website, by clicking here.

ORIGINAL Pastel Painting, Tuxedo Cat

A reason for the sun

8x14

Sold

partial funds to Animal Dreams

Biscuit never ceases to be inspiration for me at the easel. It is more than her external beauty. It is much more than what you see with her long flowing mane and those beautiful sun-catching eyes of hers. It is really much more than that. She has the sweetest, kindest, most generous little personality I have ever encountered in an animal.

Tuxedo Cat Vintage Rose Pastel Painting

Always B, dry pastel

5 x 7 framed

sold

partial funds to Animal Dreams

Time and distance have little meaning when it comes to matters of the heart. I do know our hearts beat softer when we see a loved one. No matter where I hang my heart, no matter the space or time, Biscuit will hold her own special little key that will always, ALWAYS, get her back where she belongs; next to me.

Ram Pastel Painting

Rings of Honor, dry pastel
11x14
partial funds to Pasado's Safe Haven

Seriously? I almost named this "Wooly Bugger" but it just didn't seem an honorable enough name for this fellow. I met him at one of my favorite hangouts - a local nursery in Skagit Valley. My goal was to show him in a very traditional pose (side profile) and to keep the background fairly simple since there is so much going on with his wooly coat and rings of honor. He's so serious, isn't he? I just feel like telling him the joke about the ewe, the duck and the rooster.

Oil Painting, Peony

Sweet Heart of a Peony, Oil
11 x 14

sold

partial funds to Pasado's Safe Haven

More of my Spring fever series. This is about how close I got to this peony every day as it bloomed. I would wake, have my coffee, get my slippers on and go check on my "Lacey" peonies. Can you smell this one? Oh, wait, that's oil paint! It's probably not even dry yet :).

Pastel Seascape Whidbey Island

Wave Seekers, dry pastel

11 x 14

sold

partial funds for Sarvey Wildlife Care Center

Sunny days, ocean breezes, the lapping of water and just waiting for those two pieces of driftwood to make it out to the waves....Now THAT is a perfect island day in my book!

This piece is done on a panel I prepared myself using pastel ground, gesso, marble dust and Quinacridone Gold acrylic paint. I used broad brushstrokes, leaving a nice thick, layered and textured surface for the pastel to dance upon when sweeping across the tops of the "waves" created by the texture. I am really happy with how this came together, from beginning to end it just seemed to want to "be."

Big Joy, dry pastel
8 x 10
sold
partial funds to Pasado's Safe Haven

This is a Bernese Mountain dog I met while visiting one of our local islands, Lopez (one of the Washington San Juan Islands). He was patiently waiting outside a cafe while his people sipped on their espressos and ate bagels. He didn't seem to mind much since the sun was nice and toasty. I'm pretty sure the next order of the day was a nice long nap!