Portrait Society of America Award!

I am overwhelmed with the news that this commissioned portrait I entered into the Portrait Society of America's Members Only Competition for 2015 received the 5th place award. I just love painting portraits and this award adds to my motivation to continue!
Thanks for looking!

Pomegranates and Pears

I've been in the still life mood lately. These little pieces were done last week. So fun to paint those pomegranate "arils". Plus we had them with dinner and they are pretty good!

Crab Apples

Here are a couple little 9x12s I recently finished using some crab apples I found. I discovered that since we Westerners read from left to right, it is a good idea to leave some empty space to the left in the composition to give your eye time to see the objects. Interesting!

"en plein air" part 2

Here is the second batch of little plein air paintings I've done in the past couple of weeks. Painted in Hernando and Southaven, MS and at the Memphis Botanic Gardens (Japanese gardens). Challenging, but fun!

"en Plein Air"

With the heat of summer now finally over, I've been having a great time going out and painting "en plein air" (in open air). It is such a fun experience! With the light changing so fast, it's necessary to finish a painting in less than 2 hours. The top piece was painted at Olive Branch City Park. The next 2 were at Central Park in Southaven, MS, and the bottom one just off the town square in Hernando, MS. I'll post a few more shortly that I also recently completed.

Two New Exhibit Acceptances!

More exciting news! "Morning Window" above was recently juried into the 2015 OPA Eastern Regional Exhibition and "Shaded" above into the 2015 OPA Salon Show! Coincidentally, I painted both of these from a photo shoot I did of my daughter on the same day at the same location last summer. The place had such great lighting -- it's all about the lighting!

2015 MGAL National Award

I was so fortunate to receive the Suntrust Bank Award for the above painting titled "Vintage" in the 2015 MGAL National Juried Exhibition! The reception Saturday night was well-attended and an enjoyable evening at the WKNO Studios' gallery where I got to visit with so many local artists & friends!

Bright

I know this seems like a strange title for a painting with so much dark in it, but I named it for the brightness of her white shirt. (The photo didn't capture the brightness of it unfortunately.) This was very fun to paint! I tried to make the white shirt interesting since it is the painting's focus. I wanted the face, hair, and background to become one large dark mass. I think it came out pretty good.

Laid Back

I recently joined a group of artists who hire a model weekly to pose while we paint. It's been a while since I painted the model from life and it is such a great experience! I did this one a few weeks ago and I have another one from last week that is currently drying.

Strawberries and Silver

Here's a little 8x10 I did a few weeks ago when the local strawberries were in season. Painting the light blue highlights that surround the seeds was a new challenge for me, but fun!

Yellow Iris

A few weeks ago when they were freshly cut from my garden, I painted these yellow iris. I was really drawn to the way they all flopped to one side. They are such a complicated flower, but simple at the same time. The day after I painted these, the buds had opened up into blooms already! And the blooms only looked good for one more day before quickly fading. Glad I was able to finish them in one sitting.

OPA Award of Excellence

I am so honored to have had my painting, Looking Back, awarded the Figurative Award of Excellence at the Oil Painters of America’s 24th Annual National Exhibition!

This year’s show runs until May 25, 2015 at Cutter & Cutter’s Brilliance in Color Gallery in St. Augustine, FL. The entire show can be viewed here http://www.cutterandcutter.com/events/opa/index.html 

Jen in Strong Light

I photographed my niece, Jennifer, last summer as the sun was shining directly on her. I thought it would make a nice painting. I painted it on a gessoed panel instead of my usual canvas panel and it was a challenge to get the paint to do what I wanted it to! I also tried a new technique of messing it up a bit with a tissue before I finished it -- fun exercise!

High Noon

Still fascinated with shadow, strong light and the shadows they produce! The shadows from the sunglasses were fun to paint.

Sweet Sound

Wanted to get the sense of the light shapes emerging out of the shadows again. Still working it out in my mind! I also liked the triangular composition of this pose. Thanks for viewing!

Cool Shadows, Warm Light

2015 has got me going in a bit of a new direction with my portraits. It's still so fun to capture the light & shadow patterns on a face, but I'm trying to be a bit more creative with it.

Oil Painters of America!

Got word yesterday that "Looking Back" was juried into the Oil Painters of America's 24th Annual National Juried Exhibition! I am very fortunate to be included in this show! It will take place at Cutter & Cutter's Brilliance in Color Gallery in St. Augustine, FL from May 1 - 25, 2015.

Steph

This is a portrait I finished last week of my beautiful niece, Stephanie. Think I'll send it to her as a surprise!

Looking Back

Wow -- it's 2015 already. I have been a little lazy with my postings. I completed a portrait commission and began a couple others so I am posting this painting which I finished a month or so ago. It was so fun to paint the different colors in her face, especially in the shadow of her bangs. The detail in the blouse was tough, but I think it will get overworked if I keep messing with it. I entered this one, along with "Vintage", into the OPA's National Show. I'll find out in a couple of weeks if it was accepted.