Dec 31, "Black Wolf Searching"

Don't really know what he's looking for, but I imagine it may be for some scraps that his mates left lying about.  It is slightly above zero today, and also when I took this photo the other day, and those wolves seem to really relish the cold~  they were flinging themselves about yesterday, Duane reports, and were tight up, nose to the glass windows, licking away the frozen condensation.
Let's take a little lesson about living in the present from this pack.  Play with what's around you, enjoy your immediate companions, and pounce when you see something that looks juicy sticking out of the snow!  You never know who buried that bone ahead of you!
Happy New Year!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase- $75

Dec 30, "Study in Grey"

This really IS a study in grey!  It took a while to figure out where the fur tones go darker and lighter and what to do with the background to keep the wolf standing out from the background.
As the last day of December, 2014, I want to thank you all for the attention and support, and tell you that this has been an incredible year and I am intently looking forward to a great 2015!  There are some great things coming up that I am thrilled about, including my Otters Underwater Exhibition at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth in September, and teaching at the Grand Marais Art Colony in August, and going to NEW YORK in March, among other things!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click to BID HERE!  Auction starts at $25!

Dec 29, "Black Wolf Portrait"

I do love painting black animals, with that glow in their fur...  this one has definite areas of deep blues and a lot of greys.
I often wonder what the wolves are thinking as they pace and move.  I appreciate zoos very much for their work with animals and the research and conservation projects they continually engage in, and yet theres still that childhood longing to see all the animals released.
Though knowing as many humans as I do, I think we all have our boundaries we appreciate that make us feel safe...

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75~

Dec 28, "One Coyote Howling"

This is from a photo at the Mn Zoo of the coyotes who were all busily howling away because the white wolf one over from them was howling, and I guess they figured they had to agree with her or something...
I just love the iconic Western idea this whole image suggests, and there's something vulnerable about it too, of the idea of howling or singing, eyes shut, mouth open to shape the sound coming out~
Yup~

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to buy at $75~

Dang! I've been on VACATION!

Hope all your coughs and colds were held within reason on this day of being with and thinking about the ones you love!  We were lucky enough to have a good chunk of our family gathered today (miss you Beaner!) for the food and laughter (I still have my mini-joke book, ready anytime the conversation lulls... What is green and has 8 wheels?  Grass!  I lied about the wheels...) and those few familiar quirks unique to my pack of people alone~

I've been resting and relaxing and administering penicillin to Maxie and hanging with  family and just generally being still, which sometimes drives me CRAZY!!!  I donated my wonderful silver Mirrored Mazda to Courage Center yesterday, it feels like the right thing to do... but still some sadness there of saying goodbye to a big chunk of my life.  I found the handwritten notes for our wedding ceremony at the Art Shanty Project on Medicine Lake, Groundhog's Day 2008! (If you want to see actual photos, let me know and I'll hook you up!)

I am at one of those points in my life where I feel between things, not sure quite what's going to happen next but it feels like I need to be ready...

Oh and the NEXT SESSION of PAINTING LESSONS is starting SOON!  Click HERE for more info!

Thank you for all your support and love and participation!  This IS a Wonderful World!

Kathy & Larry's Backyard, 6x6 acrylic on panel,  click here to bid starting at $25!

Dec 23rd, "Parkway Shadows"

This photo was taken last week around Lake of the Isles, when there was still snow on the ground here in Minneapolis...  this has been a strange December!  And I know this piece looks a lot like another parkway painting too-  I think it is the shadows and stripes I like so much!
Hope you are enjoying your holiday time, and thinking good thoughts and having good cheer!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase, $65~

Dec 18, "WInter Wolf"

Well, maybe I'm done with goats for a little bit...  if you wnat one you'd best be looking through my dailypaintworks gallery to nab one!  seems I'm wanting to paint a few wolves now...  it's a hankering I've been feeling for a while~  the urge to paint wolves and also that desire to paint landscapes!  Especially yesterday when the SUN came out in the morning and lit up all the snow!  I snapped a pile of pics without looking while I was driving and haven't had time to look through them yet-  that will happen next week, once I get a new car.  Sadly, the Mirrored Mazda has been slowly deteriorating, and required an injection of over $1100 in the past month, and I can't afford that kind of unreliability at this point in my life... especially considering the stuttering and "CHECK ENGINE" light flashing at me last night as I crossed the Marshall Ave bridge during a dark rush hour... gosh I HATE that feeling of a vehicle about to blow up and no where to pull over...ACK!
Anyway, new car, new year, new paintings!  Yippeeee!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75~

Dec 17, "Fuzzy Head"

My sister Beaner, the one who babysat at the goat farm, gave me this link to the Oxfam website in case you'd like to make a present to someone who is hard to get presents for, and you can buy a goat for a poor family in Africa in their name!  Or a chicken, or a duck, or a cow...
And you can send them a painting from me as part of it too!  If you DO buy an Oxfam goat (or any other critter!), send me an e-mail and I'll give you 50% off one of MY goats!

Yay!

6x6 acrylic on panel, available HERE for $65!

Dec 16, "White Goat Profile"

So I am working away madly on commissions to get them finished before Christmas and really want to squeeze in the time for my daily painting!  And somehow they keep being goats, which is really not what I intended!  Isn't that just strange?  Maybe it is that eye that looks like it knows something...

6x6 acrylic on panel, this one will be a surprise amount of $50! Click here to purchase!

Dec 14th, "Krusty Old Goat"

There is something about that facial expression-  and those prehensile lips!  My sister spent time in South Sudan and there were a lot of goats around, both for meat and milk and she loved them and took lots of photos... and my other sister had a friend who had a goat farm some years ago and my sister watched the farm for her friend one time and we all went down to see the goats.  It's kind of funny that they both have goat experience, and now I'm painting them~  and my younger sister sent me this great article today~ "How Can You Tell if Your Goat is Happy?"~  maybe you'll learn something!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to bid, starting at $35!

Dec 13, "Honey Antoinette"

Okay!  I think it's okay to post this one...  I guess I shoulda asked, but I kinda don't think my blog has the popularity to blow this surprise so what the heck!  Here is the final finished completed and delivered "Honey Antoinette"!
I gotta say it was a surprise to me how much fun the fabric and frills were to complete, and in the referenced image Antoinette has a flower in her hand, and we thought a bone would be more appropriate~
It does make me giggle...

16x20 acrylic on canvas, commission

Dec 12, "Kissy Face"

Hmmm, I wasn't sure about painting this one, but I just couldn't resist it!  I mean, LOOK at that FACE!  I wasn't sure I could get it to read correctly, but dang!  That FACE!!!!  Ha!  It still makes me smile to look at it!
Hope you enjoy it!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75!

December 12, A Thrift Store Find...

Hi kids!
Yes, it has finally happened to me.  A piece of my art was found in a thrift store.  Not sure quite how to feel about this... I mean, I label all my work now with my phone number and e-mail and website, so if you want to get rid of it you can certainly just get in touch with me, right?  But at the same time, it is a curious phenomenon.  When you think of how much stuff gets dropped off at random places and at random times and who randomly comes by to buy them, it just all boggles my mind~

Here is the story-  yesterday I accompanied the sixth graders from my school to our service site, an Arc Value Village off 62 (it's a part of the school philosophy that I love, that the students learn that service is a part of life), and I was off with my pack of kids, hanging clothes up and sorting and my friend and fellow teacher Michelle went off with her pack of kids and came back to me with a HUGE grin and said "there's a piece of your ART over there on the WALL!"
And she told me she passed it and recognized it immediately as mine and looked on the back and there was my name!  So I proceeded to saunter over and nab the piece, recognizing it immediately as a piece I had donated to a local fundraiser (where I know it garnered at least a hundred bucks) and so must have wandered off somewhere to someone who needed to let it go to make some space.  At any rate, the thrift shop appreciated its value and had it priced near $50 bucks rather than $12~
So I think what comes up is that thought of what happens to your work when you sell it~ do people love it?  Do they hang it up on their wall and like looking at it?  Do they give them away to people who like them but don't value them?  Does this all really matter?
And I think all this leads to,
WHAT HAPPENS TO MY WORK WHEN I DIE?
Which, really, I don't think a lot about.  Max can have a fire sale and give it all away for all I'll care!

SO what I've decided with this new/old found donation is that I'll offer it for auction and donate the money to the Humane Society!

click here to bid!

Dec 10, "Tortoise In Blue"

Yes, another tortoise.  You do know that tortoises are dry reptiles, and would drown if you tossed them in a pond, right?  They live in dry conditions, in burrows, and do need water for drinking but do not go swimming... our tortoise is quite active and pretty friendly, and I had turtles and tortoises and geckos at my old school all the time.  They are fun and feather/fur-less and eat mostly vegetarian...

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to purchase at $75!

Dec 9, "Plato Sticks His Neck Out"

Busy around here!  Got the tree up yesterday and had to do the slight rearrangement of the living room, but Plato the tortoise's tank was NOT moved.  That piece of furniture is relatively permanent.  And watching him clump around the room is a meditation in itself, reminding me to TRY to SLOW DOWN at this time of year!
Hope you are having a great season too!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75!

Dec 7, "Frolicking Kid"

Seeing as I am at the Seward Winter Frolic, it felt appropriate to paint a Frolicking goat!  This little kid just couldn't contain its springiness anymore and was leaping about the farmyard with its goaty colleagues-  and I have to once again admit my love for the hindquarters of various mammals... with the possible exception of most humans...

The little under-tail bit was fun to paint too~

It's something to do with that thigh to calf bend-  I just LOVE it!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to bid!~

Dec 6, "Hopeful Kid"

Pretty timely for the season, right?  I had an old boyfriend who would always quote "Hope Springs Eternal" from Shakespeare or something...  this kid embodies that to me!  And he reminds me of my 5 year old as he looks up from yet another catalogue, marker clutched in hand as he excitedly circles all the items he wants for Christmas, and he tells me he's circling the octopus necklace in the PBS catalogue for me~  aint' that sweet?!
DON'T forget to come to the Ivy Building TODAY from 10 to 5 and remind me that you saw the 20% off in my blog!!  Here, the password will be RUTABAGA!!!  Come to the Seward Winter Frolic anyway to see all the artists!  My studio-mates have some awesome work and Duane's already sold two wire sculptures and a fish and we aren't even open yet!  We are in #210, to the right on the second floor AFTER the ramp through the double grey doors!  Call me if you get lost!  612-720-6675!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75!

Dec 5, "Bearded Grin"

Another fun one!  this cheeky fella was at the Mn zoo this past summer, sticking his head through convenient gaps in the fence for yummy food pellets offered by various munchkins and children~  I just love those expressions!  Though I have to admit there is something simian about this one's smile...  and I had a helluva time getting that 3/4 profile thing, because the farther back eye is only just a glint~  and those NOSTRILS are to DIE for!!!!

And I also have to say, I have gotten a lovely response from people who want to take advantage of my 20% off offer, so sure!  if there's a favorite you want, you can certainly let me know and if it DOESN'T sell by Friday afternoon, I will hold it for you to pick up on Saturday!  Yahoo!
And DO come see me this weekend if you can!  Duane has a PILE of work he's hanging up, and my studio-mates have some awesome stuff too (that I might have to fight you over!) and there are TONS of other artists in the building and all over Seward this weekend!!!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase for $75!

Dec 2, "Billy Goat Gruff"

Now, see, you can't always control what happens to a piece as you paint it.  For example, in this one, I would have thought the goat had a much more pleasant expression  but after reaching a point I thought felt finished, I realized he did appear rather gruff after all...

6x6 Acrylic on panel, available NOW for $75!  Click HERE to purchase!
Really this is more of a bull than a goat....

Dec 1, "Calm as a Goat"

And maybe it really is the gaze of any animal that draws me to want to paint it, but dang!  These goats just intrigue me!
oh and I wanted to offer a discount to you, my faithful followers of my blog!  Come to my Studio during the Seward Winter Frolic this weekend and I"ll give you 20% off anything you want to buy (except the Scrappy Dog Bags, sorry!) and if you are out of state and unable to come to my sale but there's something you want on my Dailypaintworks site, then either send me an e-mail or call me on Saturday and if it is available I'll give you the 20% discount PLUS free shipping!  Wahoo!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to buy at $75!

Nov 30, "Mona Goat"

I just couldn't not name this one after the Mona Lisa, because there is something about that glint in her eye, and that little tiny grin...
SO I am dropping off a pile of stuff at the Bloomington Art Center this week for their Holiday Sale!  Come see me there at the Opening Reception next Tuesday Dec 9 from 6 to 8!  Ah but BEFORE then come see me this weekend at my new studio in the Ivy Building for the Seward Winter Frolic!  Sat from 10 to 5, Sun from noon to 5, Studio #210, 2637 27th Ave S!  Mpls 55406!
Wahoo!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75!

Nov 28, "Polar Bear Dives"

Wow this one was harder than it looks... and when I asked my seven year old neighbor what she thought of it, she thought it was a sock...
This is the Como Zoo Polar Bear, diving repeatedly in a loop in a meditative kind of state.  I wanted to get the sense of movement and that sleek, close-eyed expression,  but wow!  This was difficult!
Does it work?

Hmmm... not gonna post it for sale yet...

Today, "Wonkity"

Okay, it's late- I managed to make a painting and you have no idea how many times I had to correct myself,,,
Ack!
Much better tomorrow- maube a tudne,sh...  sne,,tns ks wna skt cja;smf ,s .a .love kat!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to bid!

Nov 25, "Octo-Time"

This is the little octopus from the Mn Zoo again- I like how huge he looks in this!  There was a giant red octopus when we were out at the Seattle Aquarium last, and I loved watching that one move too-  I'll have to look for those photos...
I love the sinuous movements and the curvy roundness and that one clear golden eye-  slit so similar to a goats... isn't that curious?

6x6 acrylic on panel, this is another AUCTION!!!! 

Click here to bid!

Nov 24, "A Knowing Eye"

Found this photo with the floppy eared goat at the Minnesota Zoo!  Yay!  I love those ears-  and that eye-  man.  Honestly, I can't tell you how happy I am when I get to paint.  Really people. If you WANT to do this and love it, you HAVE to do it everyday!  Make the time for it, squeeze it in there!  Even just sketching and drawing are all a part of exercising that creative muscle!
I've been getting work from people for our Small Art Holiday Show at Diamond's which I will hang this weekend, and I am loving what I am seeing!  These are all from people who've taken my painting class (most of them had a chunk of talent before I had anything to do with them!) and who've continued to work!  I am SO impressed!  You gotta come see Rosemary's CHICKENS!!!!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75!

Nov 23, "The Rose Chair"

Hmmm, maybe that highlight in his eye is a little big...  this is our pensive and intelligent Gus, posed prettily in the chair that was reupholstered by Duane and his dad some years ago.  Still a lovely and well used piece of our furniture, by both humans and beasts.
I do like the shadows and the combo of purples and tawny yellows in our Gus...
This one is an AUCTION!!!

6x8 acrylic on panel, click here to bid, starting at $25!

Nov 22, "Octopus Green"

Well, yes, it is an octopus.  I do have a few more shots I'd like to try painting.  It's a bit more than you realize, compositionally, trying to arrange those darn limbs with some accuracy and color.  And the COLOR is what makes me want to paint them!  There's that translucent quality to their skin, those strange cells they have that allows them to immediately camouflage themselves like the sand or coral or whatever they happen to be near....
I do still have those photos of the glorious cuttlefish (PLUS a video!  LOVE them!) that I need to paint... and there are STILL goats... and of course DOGS...
AGH!!!  I need more TIME!!!!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75~

Nov 21, "Pressing the Advantage"

Man!  I've been a bit busy for the past couple days, and only painted a bit yesterday and am looking forward to bingeing this evening!  I knew it would be a crazy week, but still...
And this is a goat from the Mn Zoo, there's another lovely pile of them to paint!  I loved how he was skootched up tight to the fence, trying to stick his little head through to get some of the little biscuits the kids were giving out... and it was also fun to add the little pops of bright blue in the corners of his eyes and just at the flip of his nostril... those little bits of bling really add emphasis!  And it's almost instinctual somehow...  when I shut off my brain and just paint it is amazing what happens!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75!

Nov 17, "Goat Lips"

I still seem to have this goat-painting lust going on...  I am sure it will wind down soon-  bear with me!
And the title for this one came from the fact that this face has more pronounced lips than any one I've painted yet...
And there's just such a whimsical look in those eyes!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase at $75~

Nov 16, "Thinking Goat"

It has been a lovely day, a Sunday with a very friendly brunch!  Yay!  And here is a goat, I believe from the farm at the Minnesota Zoo.  Last summer we took Max out there to see the critters and there was a mob of children in the goat pen and this one was surrounded-  such friendly beasts too!  And all scampering up and down their wooden platforms- one goat perched on top of a large stone in the enclosure and a small girl carefully gathered it into her arms to put it safely back on the ground, at which the young goat immediately returned to its perch, at which the girl wanted to remove it again... how we want to insist on our versions of the world despite all evidence!

6x6 acrylic on panel- Click HERE to purchase at $75!

Nov 14, "Eye to Eye"

Yup! Same goat again... slightly different posture- and I gotta say, I am so off on my dates right now! I almost put Nov 23rd-  what is going on?  Sometimes I wish for the simplicity of life as a goat... what would that be like?  Scratching yourself against a doorpost, climbing up the fence meant to keep you in, butting heads with your friends and enemies... ahhh~  what a life!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to purchase at $75!

Nov 13, "Sheepish"

Sorry I missed yesterday!  My car overheated again on the way to work, had to call a tow, then ran off to our Service Site with my sixth graders, taught my upper school paint class (did the one-color-per-stroke lesson- drove them NUTS but they did well!), finished City Perspective Drawing with my other 6th graders and Duane picked me up, we nabbed Maxie, then ran down to Burnsville to the hospital where dad is now waiting to have knee surgery after having hip surgery on monday....

ANYWAY... I got a bit busy and distracted yesterday-  so here is a SHEEP!  She is from Dee and Adam's farm up in Twin Oaks, and there's plenty more sheep where she came from!  It is interesting how the shape of her nose and the goat's facial structure are so similar.  I really am enjoying these, and my neighbors came over last night and picked out a goat for their collection so if you are thinking of buying one, you may want to jump on that!
I don't know if it will be sheep or goat tomorrow!  OOOOO the suspense!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to buy at $75!

November 11, "Goat Grin"

Yup,  just can't get enough of that face!  I don't think I have any more photos of this particular goat, though, so you may have to wait for some more paintings of tortoises...  I did have some difficulty with the background of these goats, because they were a traveling petting zoo out in the back parking lot and the tarmac is a grey close in value to the goat's coat... I do like this peachy warm color now because I think it accents the eye and that lip!

We have had some snow here in Minnesota...  just what we love.  At least, if you are five and active and like to fling yourself about in the snow banks, we are in heaven!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to purchase!  $75

Nov 10, "On The Edge"

I was asked a while ago to paint a turtle in trade for a gorgeous silk scarf, and finally got around to it. This is our family pet, Plato the Greek Tortoise, who is not yet hibernating.  Not sure if he will-  he's a pretty fun guy who likes to clamber around the living room, bumping into the furniture and pushing aside the shoe collection., gathering a scum of dust bunnies along the rim of his shell.
Because of the light and the fact I was painting with a different shade of yellow, I feel that the browns on this one really pop!  It was darn fun to paint!

6x6 acrylic on panel, SOLD

Nov 9, "Goat Ears"

I painted this one the other day but didn't get a chance to do anything about it til now!  I just can't get over that expression~  somehow those eyes know something about me that I don't even know myself!
Mischief recognizes mischief, most likely~
And I just got some lovely new T-shirts in and want to do a give-away, so if you are already receiving this in your e-mail you are automatically entered, and if you haven't subscribed to my blog, you just need to click on the SUBSCRIBE button on the side column!

Yay!
And I'll be at Art Attack at the Northrup King building again today!  waiting for Mom to pick me up!  We are in studios next to one another!  I'm #394 and she's #39-something... ack- don't tell her I can't remember!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to bid at $35 or BUY at $75!

Nov 6, "Goat Eyes"

Hmmm, yup.  I am just loving this goat!  Not sure about this painting tho-  I want to do it a bit bigger...  I think the proportions are off somewhere...  maybe the forehead is too wide?  The eyes are too low?  Or is it all working to give the viewer a lovely sense of the power of GOAT EYES?

6x6 acrylic on panel, Click HERE to bid in the auction, starting at $25!    

Nov 5, "The Goat Got It"

Same goat, different view~  not as much fun as yesterday's goat, I am afraid, a bit more of a challenge to get that eye to read as an eye.  I am loving playing with that black fur though!  You'll have noticed that I haven't painted my new dog Teddy very much, she isn't black.  I meant to get another black dog so I could paint black fur, and I also no longer have a black cat.  Sure didn't plan that out very well, did I?  Hmm.  Where do I go to find black animals to paint?  Maybe the Human Society...?
Or more goats?

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to buy! $75

Nov 4, "Get the Goat Out!"

Yes, I voted today!  Not gonna tell ya who I voted for but if you know me you probably have a pretty good idea, since I'm for clean air and water and education and the arts and all...
And I am SO happy with this little goat, I wanna do a bigger one!  It is so true that you take a bunch of photos for that one that turns out~  the angle of her head, and that little gleam in her eye, and those long soft ears all work together so well~  and the combination of darks and lights in her coat with that little patch of white on top of her head made this just a pleasure to paint!
Can you tell I love painting animals?  Especially nice ones that come right up to me and look into my camera!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to purchase at $75!

Nov 3, The Neighbor's Tree Yesterday Morning

Seriously I forgot about Daylight Savings and was walking the dogs yesterday morning and was heading home and saw this tree with the early morning sun just lighting it up and had to take a couple photos of it and as I was taking them the house owner, in pajamas, stuck his head out to get his paper and I was a bit embarrassed and was trying to explain that I was taking pictures of his tree because it was so beautiful in the morning and I went on a bit, and I really don't think he cared at all and was just listening politely because I couldn't shut up, so I finally said "Thanks!" and kept walking~

SO here it is!  Can you see that morning sun?

And I have managed to hang ALL the paintings I brought over to Claudia's Studio for Art Attack!  It is this weekend, starting Thursday at the Northrup King Building!  We're in Studio #394!  Up to the third floor then head to your right!  And there ARE elevators!!!

I'll be there for SURE Sat Night from 4-8 and all day Sunday, noon to 5!  Intermittently in between!

Call me if you are wanting to see me!

6x6 acrylic on panel, available on my Dailypaintworks site for bid here, starting at $35!

November 2, "Theo Wirth September"

Yes, I know- it IS now November, but this one was a fun one to paint!  Those trees and the sky, so compelling!

8x10 acrylic on panel, available for purchase HERE at $160~

November 1, "Otter Pose"

Yes, this was so fun to paint!  Really, it IS the space around the otter that defines it~  the water as the negative space around the otter explains what the otter IS~  both shapes are working together to create the dynamic of the whole~  so much FUN!
And that the water can be almost an abstract painting in itself~
Dang!
Can you tell I am enjoying myself?

6x6 acrylic on panel, Click here to buy $75!~

October 31, "The Tractor"

Yes, I actually meant to post this yesterday...  I didn't intend there to be anything creepy about this... I liked the light and the shadows under the big tires.  And I liked the highlights here and there and thought it would be fun to paint.
Happy Halloween!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to bid starting at $35, or HERE to BUY at $75!

October 29, "The Silver Birch"

There was one tree that made me gasp as we trundled along on the haywagon.  I couldn't believe how huge it was, or how white.  It was somehow surprising to see it there, above the cornstalks, as if it were meant to be somewhere more glorious, more elegant.  But what could be better than the royal deep hues of the naked trees behind and the brilliant blue of the sky?

Yes, I rather enjoyed painting this one.  There'll be more, if I have anything to do with it!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to purchase!

Oct 28, "Max and Duane at the Minnesota River Valley"

So, I am not sure this one is finished yet, and I have some issues with it.  I started it on Saturday during my Painting Lessons as a transfer of a photo to an 8x10 panel.  What I like about it is that I feel I learned more about my mistranslations when drawing from a photo, as my instinct was to make the light areas much larger than they actually were, and the dark areas smaller.  Isn't that weird?  But at the same time it makes sense to me...  because light does expand and dark diminishes.  And I do think using the transfer helped me get Max's face sorta... though I still am not happy with that~  it feels rather pointillisitc as well.~
Hmmm....  people-  such a problem...

8x10 acrylic on panel, NFS

October 27, "Pawprint On Glass"

What a busy weekend!  NOW I have all sorts of photos of the in-laws-in-laws family farm including an incredible silver birch tree that was glowing silver in the afternoon sun...  dang!  SO much to paint, so little time!
At any rate, here is a small piece from the otter photos we took on Saturday at the MN Zoo! They were just dancing and playing and bouncing off the glass in front of us!  I do feel these may lead me into some form of abstraction as well...  I really loved the sharp shape of that paw pressed briefly against the glass wall-  it seems such a human gesture- some attempt at communication...

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to bid starting at $35 or to buy at $75!

October 26, "I'm Waiting..."

So we went to the Minnesota Zoo yesterday, after my incredibly delightful Painting Lessons class (SUCH a great day!  Talking about Mondrian's trees, and Tom Thomson and the Canadian Seven and how they all paint trees!) which was so much more fun because two of my studio-mates came in to work as well as we all listened to the 80's station on Pandora!
At the zoo, the otters were all playing and dancing and being oh so entertaining!  So for SURE there will be otter paintings this week!
This one is a small study of a dog~  a pretty darn sweet dog~

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to bid starting at $35, or BUY NOW for $75!

October 25th, "Minnehaha Creek, July 2014"

SO this morning in my Painting Lessons class, we used blue transfer paper to transfer an image to our panels, with the idea that this would help in figuring out value without having to worry so much about the other bits, with the understanding that this is a basic skill and you WILL of course also work on actual drawing skills.  It was really informative to me how much fun it was, and also how kinda crazy because I wasn't seeing myself put the lines down until the very end, and I am realizing I make a lot of decisions about where the lines go in relation to one another while I am sketching the initial image.
Anyway, this was an absolute delight to paint!
Hope it still looks good...

6x6 acrylic on panel, Click here to purchase~  $75

October 24, "Spy Pop Otter"!

Yay!
I've been wanting to do this one for a while, and got to it this morning and now I want to do a bigger one!  This is 8x10 and I'd like to do a really big, like 24x36 at least... the colors are so marvelous and I didn't want to futz with the whiskers as much as I would on a bigger piece, and the water movement and the rim of water against the glass, and just that quizzical whiskery face with those beady little eyes... MAN!!!!
I LOVE it!!!
No auction on this one!  Just for SALE!

8x10 acrylic on panel, Click HERE to purchase- $160!

Oct 21,"Lanesboro Pup"

This was an odd one to paint, with the pup's head tipped sideways like this... and I wasn't sure whether I should crop out my hand or not...  kinda like it now!  The whites were fun, the reflected light a bit of a challenge~ and I had to touch him to get him to calm down!  You know that kind of a dog, don't you!

6x6 acrylic on panel!  Click here to bid for $35, or you can buy NOW for $75!

October 19th, Odette!

I had the chance to meet Odette's owners today when they came to pick up their painting!  They were up from Montioc WI, which made this super fun! And what a beautiful weekend for it!

Yay! What a face!