Maine Buoy Painting

I loved all the bright colors on these wonderful old buoys. I found them on the side of a fishing shack on our trip to Maine. I knew this would be one of my first paintings. I plan on doing some larger and I have more photos to work from....more colors to play with!
Don't forget to have a look at my studio sale in my Ebay store. I will be listing a painting everyday at great opening bids. See the link at the bottom of this page.

Maine Lupines

'One Morning in Maine' 5x7 pastel

One morning in Maine on the way to our hike of the day we passed this wonderful field of lupines. I had my husband back the car up so I could get some photos. This would have been a fun place to set up and paint. Just down from the house were two blue adironack chairs...look for a painting of them soon!

Surfside Beach Nantucket Island

'Daisies at Surfside' 7x5 pastel

What could be better...one of my favorite flowers growing at the edge of the sea! Nantucket met and exceeded all of my expectations. I could easily stay in a little cottage and paint all summer on this beautiful island. Today I spent time organizing my studio...what a mess that can get. I will be having a summer studio sale to make room for my new work. Check out the link on the bottom of this page for my ebay store. I will be listing new paintings daily at low opening bids.

Cape Cod Sunset

'Dune Light' 9x12 pastel

We arrived at First Encounter Beach in Eastham about two hours before the sunset. We were in luck because it was low tide and there was much to photograph in the magic light. I loved how the dunes turned coral and pink and the grasses looked as if they were on fire. It was the perfect end to a wonderful trip.

Nantucket Island Beach Roses

'Nantucket Beach Roses' 7x5 pastel

This is a scene at Surfside Beach on Nantucket. The bluffs were covered with wonderfully fragrant beach roses and daisies. The water and sky were a brilliant shade of blue. I was in heaven. Our trip to Nantucket was made even more special because we were able to spend time with family we had never met....and they were wonderful! They were both born and raised on the island so we had a true insider's tour. I have discovered that our family can trace it's roots back to the first settlers of Nantucket. Is that why I am so drawn to the sea?

Exhibition News

I wanted to share the news that my painting of Angel was accepted into the Atlanta Fine Arts League's 2nd Annual National Exhibition.The opening reception will be on August 1st at the Roswel Visual Arts Center Gallery. I hope to see my Atlanta friends there.

Also if you will be in the area on July 12th, please come by the opening reception of 'Metro Montage VIII' at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art. I have a marsh painting that was accepted into this exhibition. The reception is from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

A New Dragonfly Painting Sold

'Dragonfly Delight' 7x5 pastel

I was excited to find dragonflies on our last full day in Cape Cod. They were all along the trail near the visitor center at the Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham. I was able to take several photos. I may have a new location very close to home for dragonfly photos....a friend has a pond in her backyard. I need to get over to her house to check it out!

The Osprey Nest

'The Osprey Nest' 5x7 pastel

My all time favorite bird is the osprey. I look for them wherever I go. I have even seen them here in Georgia at the lake. I saw many osprey in Maine and on Cape Cod. Their big nests just fascinate me!

Cat at Rest

'Sleepy' 5x7 pastel

I am home from a wonderful vacation and anxious to get unpacked so I can paint! The problem is trying to decide what to paint first! I have almost 3000 reference photos to choose from. Here is a cat I painted before I went on vacation.

Another Seagull

Here is another seagull painting from last year. This one is 5x7. I haven't seen any Laughing gulls up here in New England, just the big herring gulls...and they are huge!

Greetings from Cape Cod

We arrived at Hyannis in time for a walk down by the water near the JFK Memorial. This morning we take the ferry to Nantucket. I can't wait! The weather is beautiful and I hope it holds out! Here is a photo of the family.

Overcast Marsh

'Overcast Marsh' 8x10 pastel

Tomorrow we leave Maine and head to Cape Cod. I am excited to see the marshes there. I also found a lavender farm which is supposed to have early blooming lavender. The fields of Lupines here in Maine have been breathtaking. I can't wait to paint them!

Seagulls in Flight

While I am on vacation I thought I would share some paintings from last summer as well as photos from my trip. Today's painting was done from a photo I took on the beach. The gulls were circling me as I sat on the beach just shooting pictures. I got some great shots!

Greetings From Maine

I am having a wonderful time in Maine. The first thing we did was have a lobster dinner. Yes I will be painting this! I have taken hundreds of pictures...each scene is begging to be painted. I will post more later.

Honorable Mention for Tobi and the Marsh!

Before I head out for vacation I just wanted to report on tonight's opening reception. I am happy to say that both of my paintings took an honorable mention. The competetion was very high quality and I am very pleased to have my work recognized. My teacher Marsha Savage took a Merit award for her painting so I think we did well! All of my evening classmates were there (we missed you Jayne!) and it was a very nice evening!

Opening Reception Tonight!

'The Eyes Have It' 5x7 pastel

This week has gone by so fast! My suitcase is packed and at the door and I can't wait for vacation. We are headed up to New England...revisiting some of our favorite spots and seeing some new ones. I haven't been up that way since I have been painting so I am looking forward to taking a lot of photos. I am not bringing any pastels! It was a hard decision but I just won't have time. We are meeting with relatives in Cape Cod and Nantucket as well as doing a lot of hiking. I am bringing a sketchbook so I will concentrate my efforts on sketching this trip.

Tonight is the opening Reception of the Southeastern Pastel Society's show and I have my painting of Tobi my Siamese cat(not this one) and a marsh scene in the show. I can't wait to see the show! I will try to report back tonight.

Chicago Street Scenes

'American Girls go Shopping' 5x7 pastel

It is one of the things a mom and daughter has to do when visiting Chicago....stop in at the American Girl Doll store. My friend Cindy and I took our daughters and their dolls. We had a very fancy breakfast and a wonderful time. Good memories! I would like to do this painting in a larger size so I find these little studies useful for working out colors and composition.

Hope to see my Atlanta area friends at the Opening Reception of the SE Pastel Society show tomorrow night at 7 pm at the Olglethorpe University Museum of Art!

Lavender in the Sun

Here is one more lavender painting....this one is a close-up view. I had so much fun with these that I hated to clean up my pastels! I am off to class tonight. We are still working on street scenes so we'll see what I come up with tonight. Just a reminder to those of you in the Atlanta area. This Thursday evening at 7:00 is the opening reception of the Southeastern Pastel Society's International Exhibition. It is at Oglethorpe University Museum of Art. I have two paintings in the show and I am looking forward to seeing everyone's work

More Lavender Fields

'Purple Fields' 5x7 pastel

While I had my purple pastels out I painted another little lavender field. I do love purple! I haven't put the pastels away yet so there may be some more lavender coming up!

Blue Hydrangeas

'Hydrangea Surprise' 11x14 pastel

I was sitting in the hot tub this morning looking out at my backyard when I spotted a bush covered in blue hydrangeas! I was so suprised because this bush hasn't had flowers in years! So I cut enough for a vase and painted them! I painted these from life which is always a good thing but I took several photos to paint on a cold winter day!

Purple Haze Lavender Farm

'Purple Haze' 16x20 pastel

I have been wanting to finish this painting for weeks but I never had enough time. I usually only have time to fit in smaller paintings into my schedule. But today was quiet and I am already packed for vacation so I stayed home to paint today. This is from a photo I took at the Purple Haze Lavender Farm in Sequim, Washington. I'd love to go and paint there!

Cat at the Window

'Out the Window' 8x10 pastel

Here is the second ginger cat I painted while I had my pastels out. I used the same color palette which was fun. I actually went on to paint a third! I have a lot to do this weekend to get ready for vacation. Hopefully I will get done so I will have some painting time!

A Sweet Ginger Cat Sold

'Sweet Ginger' 10x8 pastel

I had a request for a pale orange cat with soft colors. I couldn't resist the pose of this sweet kitty. I actually have a couple of other orange cats I now want to paint while I have these color pastels out on the tray.

Wicked in Chicago! Sold

'A Night at the Theater' 7x5 pastel

Last night at class we continued working on street scenes and I chose this view of the 'Wicked' billboard in Chicago. That was a fantastic show. I know all the words of all the songs and it was wonderful to see the show live.

Mermaid Whimsy

'A Mermaid from Nantucket' 7x5 pastel

We are headed up to New England next week so I am getting in the mood. What does a mermaid have to do with New England? Well, we are visiting Nantucket Island where my dad's family is from. My grandfather was born and raised on Nantucket. In fact we can trace our roots back to the original settlers of the island back in the late 1600's. My grandfather used to tell my dad stories about the mermaids of Nantucket who would chase him down the beach....so here is my Nantucket mermaid. I am excitied about visiting Nantucket...I haven't been there since I was a child! I had fun painting this and adding touches of pearlescent pastels.

Apple Practice

I was just having fun with apples. I did these with a student a couple of weeks ago. We were practicing the different ways to apply pastels. It's a fun exercise and a good reminder of how versitile pastels are.