May 28th, "Baa Baa"

And this is another adorable black sheep from Dee and Adam's flock-  I really REALLY love that eye!  Like a goat's eye, there appears to be some intelligence in there...

6x6 acrylic on board, $68 click HERE to purchase~

May 27th, "That Knowing Look"

This sheep knows where it is going~

6x6 acrylic on board, $68, click HERE for purchase!

May 25th, "Chicken #3"

Not sure what number chicken this is... but I think it is the 3rd I've painted~

One of the ones Maxie was cuddling yesterday~  that boy!  First he finds a frog and has to play with that til it is dry and dusty and I had to rescue it from his attention and affection and release it beneath some dewey bushes (where I hope it recovered, but I am not too sure), and THEN he had to go back into the chicken coop to cuddle the chickens, who were astonishingly patient and not laying yet anyway so Aunt Dee wasn't worried at all about Max's chasing them about and scooping them up.  And really, for the most part they were calm when he was holding them~  "I just love them all so much!" he said to me as I finally managed to convince him to leave them to their scratching and pecking.

6x6 acrylic on board, $68 click HERE to purchase~

May 24, Teddy the Ram!

We met some new sheep today!  Teddy is 3 months old and will be the new Head Ram of Dee and Adam's sheep herd!
He is super soft and cuddly, and super sweet!  And I LOVE that gleam in his eye~  what a little conner!

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

May 23, Ooops.... and photos from Last Night at Crossings in Zumbrota!

So, I painted this sweet faced critter for my cousin's daughter's graduation (my second cousin, then?) today, thinking for sure this was an important animal in their household because I remembered seeing it on Facebook, and CLEARLY I was not paying enough attention because this is the dog they were fostering, NOT one of the two family member dogs... how's that for a mess up?
Dang.
So now I need to surreptitiously stalk them on Facebook until I find a good pic of one of the two dogs that DO live with them!  Sorry, Lindsay!!!

6x6 acrylic on panel.... maybe for sale?  Let me know if you want it?

And my Otters hanging in Zumbrota!  

More of them!

And me!  Duane bought me (found?) some star-spangly stockings, so that's what I have on...

May 21, Tapir Butt

Thank you all for the great comments on the last painting-  people still present difficulties for me, and I really want to get better at them!  So I'll have to have a 30 People in 30 Days Challenge this summer, maybe... maybe in October...  because I have the 30 Dogs in 30 Days in July...
Oh and an Art Opening at Crossings in Zumbrota, MN tomorrow night!  Come on out if you can!  It will be a hoot!  And do send me your dogs already!  And DO sign up for my June Painting Lessons too!  Now that I am telling you what to do, tell me if this Tapir Butt reminds you of Winnie the Pooh...
I was taking a photo of it and that occurred suddenly... I'll see if I can find the illustration.

16x20 acrylic on canvas, $640 click HERE to purchase!  FREE SHIPPING!!!

May 19th, New Haircut

So I was goofing around and decided to paint something I love, and this is what happened.  This is Max right after a haircut by Elizabeth, our lovely and talented next door neighbor!  Though something is a bit wrong with his face, somehow... I just finished it and maybe it will look better tomorrow....
Maybe it isn't done yet...

yeah, I don't think it's quite done yet...

hmmm... maybe the nose?

16x20 acrylic on canvas

May 18th, Otter Face

Working out a few more otters, since I now have a DATE for the OPENING at the Great Lakes Aquarium in September!  Come up and see my show, Saturday September 19th from 5 to 7!  You get in free to see my show and can have a discount for the rest of the aquarium!  I am SO FLIPPING EXCITED about this! Can you tell?!?!
I also need to post a few photos from Grand Marais that Josie sent me!  It was such a great time, even though I did mostly paint dogs, which is fine~

10x10 acrylic on hardboard, $200, click HERE to purchase~

May 17th, Blue Trimmed Mug

Hmm, meant to be doing this every day, liking the way a mug feels like the person was just there, that inference of humanity somehow...
Happy Last Day of Art A Whirl!  Hope you've all gotten a chance to go buzzing around Northeast Minneapolis if you're in town!  Quite a few crazy sights to see!

6x6 acrylic on hardboard, $25 auction!  Click HERE to bid!

May 14th, Nervous in the Studio

Along with realizing that my dog paintings are about life and death, I also came to the understanding that I really love to paint hardwood floors.  I think it is the color and texture, and that sense of a foundation, a base, a place to stand...
This is Eva, visiting my studio nervously.  I had to bribe her with bits of chips and take the photos with my phone left-handed.  I love the fierce angle and the focus of her eyes so severely to the side!

30x40 acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas, $2400, click HERE to purchase~

May 12, "Focus"

I am still on a dog kick- it is fun how I go up to Grand Marais and think maybe I'll be doing something in particular and plan on it, and then I really go off in another direction!  Don't get me wrong, I did get three big otter paintings started and nearly finished though I hadn't realized I would be painting dogs!  And the dogs are still coming out-  I think it is the shininess, that gleam, the texture of the fur, and the contrast of the shadows-  they are about the limits of life, the bits and pieces of spirit we catch when we love the living things around us~

These guys will be around at Art A Whirl this weekend!  Come see them and me!  Northrup King, Studio #394!

10x10 acrylic on panel, $200 click HERE to purchase!

May 11, The Approach

And another otter-  these are from photos Duane took, I think, and I have been playing with composition by rotating the image until it feels more fluid and compelling.  This one is turned sideways, and I love the otter diving to touch the other-  I am realizing these are more about human relationships than animals.  Interesting what you can learn by talking to other people, ain't it?

30x30 acrylic on panel
This one is still in progress-  I'm working on the reflections to the right...

May 10, Happy Mother's Day! Another Art Colony Mug!

What a fantastic weekend at the Art Colony!!! Stay tuned-  I'll be posting more photos from up there- here's another mug~  yay!
And I am rescheduling the next Painting Lessons session to start June 6th, so if some of you were holding off because of the dates, stay tuned!  I should be posting the new schedule by tomorrow!

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

May 9th, Straining

It is only 10pm up here but it is dark and there is no moon and there are no northern lights either, but my boots are old and comfortable and from Portugal and over twenty years old and they know the way.  Dang-  how old ARE they?  1987 in Porto, if I remember correctly...
Anyway, there I go again-  I'll be walking home soon because somehow mom has more energy than me, but I've been up every morning and into the studio before 7, so this is late for me to be up~

And here is one of many versions of this incredible soul-  Straining...

15x10 acrylic on hardboard, $300 click HERE to purchase! 

 Or come see it at Art-A-Whirl next weekend!

May 8th, Art Colony Mug with Blue Ring Handle

I am painting otters on a pink ground-  it is tricky because I love painting on black and pulling the light out with the colors.  These are new-ish and I am not sure what I think of them.  Of course I am also painting a dog (or two, or six...) because I can't not paint them!
It is glorious to be up at the Art Colony this weekend!  I know EVERYONE in our class and it is like family!  Too fun-  big skies and superior water-
So here is a mug from the Art Colony kitchen... I needed a little break from painting giant paintings...

Wow-  a bit tricky taking a photo of this one!  It looks better in person, believe me!

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

And here's the otters so far-

And I still have room in my Painting Class starting NEXT Saturday Morning!  9:30 to noon for the next six saturdays (except for the 30th)!
Hmmm, including Memorial weekend... maybe I need to reschedule this one...
thoughts people?

May 6th, Surface Tension

Yes, I did actually attempt to paint another chicken but somehow the head doesn't seem to be connected to the body and I didn't want you to start your day looking at that...
So here is an otter painting, which is on its way to Crossings at Carnegie in Zumbrota for a show I have there in May and June which will be a smaller preview of the otters I am working on for the Great Lakes Aquarium Show!
I had a bit of a time with this otter's face, but I think it works now!

11x14 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, $300 click HERE to purchase!

May 4th, Hen Strut

In England, a girl's night out (or a bridal party, sometimes) is called a Hen Party...  maybe because of all the cackling that ensues.  And some friends in England were recently posting on Facebook about how they were most definitely NOT having a Hen Do-  it cracked me up over the weekend!
I am particularly happy about the reelected light on this lady's breast-  the concrete IS pink!  And the placement of her feet is so confident, I just love it!

6x6 acrylic on panel, $75 cluck HERE to purchase! (hee!)

May 3, SunnySide Up! HAPPY MAYDAY!

Yesterday was an adventurous day of Max and the crew rowing the Sun Flotilla across Powderhorn Lake for the rehearsal for the Mayday Pageant today, and on our way home we drove past my friends' Jeff and Sara's house and Jeff was out front with his brand new lawn mower (now a bit dusty) and I knew they had a new chicken coop and I had been wanting to see it so Max and I stopped and Jeff happily showed Max the whole set-up and Max fell in love with the chickens and I got a number of photos so I guess we'll be having a bit of a chicken fix!

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

Maxie and Lois Lane~  I love how they are both looking at the camera!  THIS may end as a painting as well~