Veiled Beauty

I got inspired to paint this from a photograph I saw of a little girl in a costume with a veil over her head. So headed to the store, bought a piece of "toile", and snapped some quick photos of my daughter and the toile. Got some pretty interesting shots. I recently entered this one into the OPA National. Fingers crossed!

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!

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.

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.

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.

Morning Tea

Here's a small portrait I just finished from our photo shoot at the Banks House. It's another smallish portrait at 11x14. I like working small -- each stroke counts more!

Vintage

This was the first time I ever tried to paint wallpaper! It's fun to tackle new challenges that I used to think would be too hard. This is actually the original wallpaper from the historic 100-year-old Banks House in Hernando, MS where I occasionally teach oil painting classes.

Shaded

Here's a small 9"x12" I painted -- another in the "hat-shading-the-eyes" series. I'm sure I'll get this out of my system eventually! It was fun to paint a small portrait this time. Thanks for viewing!

Taylor

I just finished this portrait of my niece, Taylor, from a photo I took of her during our family reunion this past June. I painted her older sister last year in almost the same pose--wearing a hat which shaded her face from the direct sunlight. Such beautiful girls and fun to paint!

Creek Bend

This is another landscape I painted last month in Roger Dale Brown's studio workshop. I learned so much from Roger! I need to get outside paint more so I can practice what I learned.

White House

I took a studio landscape 3-day workshop with Roger Dale Brown last month and started this painting in class. After I got home, I messed around with it a little bit trying to get a good sense of light hitting the area surrounding the house. (The color in this photo is a little more saturated than the actual painting.) I learned so much from Roger! He's a really great artist and teacher (and a really nice guy too!). This was my 2nd workshop with him, the 1st being approx. 6 years ago. I really love painting landscapes, but usually end up gravitating back to painting people!