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!

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.

Steph

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

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!

Peaceful

Here is another portrait I started as a demo in my portrait class and liked it so much I decided to finish it. I have been able to produce many pieces from a photo session with my daughter we did about 5 years ago. She was in a really good posing mood and the light was so nice. Thanks for viewing my art!

Straw Hat

On the cloudy, cold, and windy winter day we have here today, I decided to post this painting from a photo I took of my niece last summer to remind me of what warm sunshine feels like! I was drawn to the way the sunlight shining through the holes in her straw hat hit her face. It was FUN to paint! I also liked the look on her face. I left the bottom portion unfinished to add to the carefree, summertime feeling. I just entered this in the Oil Painters of America's National Show. Hope it makes it in!

Pleasing Light

I begain this portrait as a demo in one of my portrait classes. After working on it for only 20 minutes or so, I knew I was going to have to finish it later at home and I did. I tried to work quickly and I like the unfinished quality near the bottom of the painting. This painting is currently at Lotton Gallery in Chicago.