New Painting!

I took the past few days off to work on a new personal piece and the result is this cheetah painting. I had so much fun painting this piece and I love how the reds and yellows compliment each other so well. This piece is 24" x 24" acrylic on stretched canvas.

White Stag

This painting was actually finished about a month ago but it was on the easel and out the door heading to Wisconsin so fast that I almost forgot about it! The initial idea was to paint a white stag, technically it didn't turn out white but I think it did turn out with a great feel. A lucky guy is getting this painting as a gift from his girl this Christmas. She's sure that he'll love it and I'm always tickled to hear that! The painting is 12" x 24" acrylics and collage on gallery edged canvas.

New Work

Well it's been a while since I've posted here, I wish that I was better about it. BUT, I do have a just finished piece to show so that's a plus. Most people who follow my work know that I'm an avid animal lover and primarily my paintings are of wildlife, dogs and cats. But I also love people and am working on how to best paint them in my style. I've only painted a couple of people this way and this past weekend I got inspired to paint my favorite character from the Game of Thrones series. This is Tyrion, 12" x 12" acrylics on illustration board. There are several people who I plan on painting like Georgia O'keefe (my first huge artistic influence), Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey, Native Americans (my ancestors), and I'm sure many others. Lots of wonderful and colorful ideas to come!

Art Party!

Well we did it! The Art Auction and Pet Adoption event was a lot of fun and all of the paintings sold! In case you haven't been following the story, last year I decided that I was going to paint a portrait of 12 dogs and cats from our local animal shelter, HELP the Animals, Inc. Then we'd have an event to auction off the artwork and donate the proceeds to the shelter. I had planned to do one or two paintings a month starting last January so that I wouldn't be too rushed by the time the auction came around, that plan so didn't happen. I got busy with other projects and before I knew it, July was here and only 1 painting was done! So with the help of my partner Julie doing extra things around the house and running errands, also having understanding and very patient art collectors agreeing to wait for their own pieces to be painted (a special thank you goes to Don, Mariah, Anita, Tracy and my Aunt Anne), I had the time to paint the portraits. Blank canvases quickly began springing to life with bold and vibrant colors, then taking form were my amazing subjects. Duke, Pete, Willy, Ace, Cameo, Finnigan, Tobias, Rusty, Pumkin, Emma, Lucy Lu and Kelsea each now have a 16" x 20" portrait of their beautiful, furry faces on collectors walls. Making special appearances and up for adoption were a few of HELP the Animals dogs including Tobias and Rusty! Unfortunately no dogs were adopted but they did have a fun night out getting their pictures taken so that's a bonus! All in all we raised $1400.00 for the shelter. As this event gets bigger and more people know about it I'm sure the amount raised each year will only grow. At least I hope so otherwise we'll have to take the auction online where I know more money will be raised for this great cause.

 The people who work and volunteer at the shelter are truly amazing people. So many give of their time and the work is hard and seemingly never ending. I have a lot of respect for those who work with animals, because without these big-hearted people the animals who rely on them wouldn't have a chance.

I talked to a lot of people at the show who were there to either see what the show was all about, to bid on the paintings or to ask about personal commissions. A couple of people who did win the bids on two paintings were actually art teachers. I found that to be incredibly cool! One is a teacher here in Richmond and the other is a teacher in nearby Centerville. They each had specific reasons for buying a painting. The Richmond teacher (whose name I didn't get) wanted the painting of Willy because her class had actually sponsored his adoption fee. So knowing that all those kids chipped in enough money to help Willy, will now be able to see his painting every day in their classroom is heartwarming. The other teacher in Centerville, (her name is Joy), well she bought the painting of Rusty. She's currently teaching her kids color theory and she's going to use my painting to help show them how it works. How awesome is that?! So here's a picture of me with Rusty and the painting and also me with Tobias and his painting. Plus the people who helped to make it all happen. Oh, and that's the beautiful Adele with the pink ruffles!

Running on Empty

One week to go. At this time next Friday I'll either be stressing out trying to finish a painting or I'll be calmly going over my list of things to do for Saturday's event. Right now, I'm burnt out. I actually don't think it's just because I've been on overdrive for so long. I think it's because of so much drama that tends to be in life. Not even my drama necessarily but people who are close to me that seem to be in constant turmoil. Why we allow this in our lives is beyond me. I'm not immune to it, sometimes I'll get wrapped up in something too. But as I approach my 40th spin around the sun I find that I'm longing for something, for a feeling that I can see images of but don't quite know how to explain. I want to just let go and be, to discover who I am, like I haven't done before. To stop constantly trying to "get there" and to finally allow myself to arrive. So for the rest of this year I'm finishing projects so that next year can be started fresh. With new goals and a more relaxed view of this precious life. And just because I love them so, here's a pic of my friends Benny and Nala, (Nala is the bench :-).

"The moment in between what you once were, and who you are now becoming , is where the dance of life really takes place." - Barbara De Angelis

10 Days, 3 Paintings

It's getting down to crunch time for the upcoming art auction. I'm feeling excited and nervous, that's the way great things go right?! Today I'm putting the last strokes on a rush birthday present for a client's husband. It's turning out really cute. Then on to painting number 10! Here are a few more paintings that will be available.

Art Auction and Pet Adoption Event

It's been a while since my last post but things have been hopping in the studio. For the last couple of months most of my time has been devoted to painting 12 - 16" x 20" portraits of dogs and cats who have been taken in by our local animal shelter, HELP the Animals. I've finished 9 of the paintings so far and have less than two weeks to do the last three. I'm starting to get a tad nervous! Partly because a customer needed a rush birthday present and I decided that I could fit it in too.... that's just how I roll. I'm sure it'll all get done, the parts that I'm most concerned about have to do with the actual auction. I'm donating 100% of the proceeds to the shelter and I truly hope that it'll be enough to make a difference. But I have concerns. Will enough people show up? Will they bid on the paintings? Will they bid reasonable amounts for the paintings? Is this whole thing even worth all the time that everyone is putting in? So many what if's, but I have to trust the Universe and just get back to the easel. We'll know on September 7th, until then we'll just keep working on it. So if you are or are going to be in the area we'd love for you to stop by and say hello! The auction is on September 7th from 4-7pm at the Warmglow Candle Co. on I-70 in Centerville, Indiana. There will also be a few dogs up for adoption at the event! You may meet a paintings namesake if they haven't already been adopted by then. Here are a few of the paintings that will be up for auction. (Upper Left: Emma, Upper Right: Willie, Lower Left: Cameo, Lower Right: Pete)