Dec 27 I OTTER paint more...

We've been a bit nuts around here- and now it isn't any different. You know how you think things will slow down at some point and you can catch up with stuff, clean those drawers out, sort that closet, go through those old photos...? 

Yeah. That's gonna happen~

Technically I'm on winter break, but it isn't feeling a lot like a break.

One kinda okay thing is that my big Otter Show at the Convergence Gallery in Bloomington had been postponed to January 2022. Whew!  I'd meant to spend my break painting otters, bigger ones and more of them, for this event. And I've not had as much time as I'd expected.

SO here is a smaller 6x12 painting- I'm pretty happy with it!  And you can buy it now, if you like!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$165

click here!

 

Dec 15, Yup! Another Pup!

 So I'm a little tired today, because there was a storm happening last night, with a tornado watch until 11, so we sat up playing games and reading and finally went to bed just after 11. Wednesday is device-free day in our house, though that doesn't always stick all the way through. We did all play a game of Chinese checkers, which really needs to be renamed, and is also a pretty darn fun game of strategy and planning and has no killing or shooting or blood involved! Just marbles migrating across a board.

I've got a few commissions left that I am finishing up through the next few days, and I've also got a couple classes that I just scheduled, one for next Wed, 10-12:30, though maybe I'm too late announcing this one because no one has signed up yet- which is fine!  I can let it go!

We are also have a Studio Sale this weekend at the Ivy, in Studio #210! You'll want to come around the side of the building to the door next to the garage door facing the Greenway and the RR tracks on 27th Street! We're open from noon to 5!

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold

Dec 9, Another Commission!

 How lucky am I to be painting these amazing creatures for the people who love them?! Thank you everyone who has asked me to be a part of your gifts this season!

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold

Dec 6, A Commission!

Hmmm, it is tricky to post commissions right now-  I'm thinking I'm not blowing a surprise here!  I'm not sure my blog is that widely followed... or my Facebook page either!  I do love the eyes and eyebrows on Manni here!

Oh, and I also have to sadly announce that we are cancelling our Dec 11th Corrigan Eclectic Art Market due to a family health issue~

Pass that word around!  And I can possibly squeeze in one or two more commissions!  Or you can gift a gift certificate and I can get it done AFTER Christmas!  Wahoooo!

8x8 acrylic on wood

Manni!

 

Dec 3, Otter Dinner

 I couldn't think of a clever title for this one-  let me know if you come up with a better one!  We had a great time at the Minnesota Zoo the day before Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving eve?) with our little tribe of 12 year olds, and I love the otters, sea and river versions!  It's the water reflections I love the most...

This one will be with me tomorrow at Art At Ramsey!  Come see it and me!!! 1700 Summit Ave from 10-5!

16x8 acrylic on wood

$256

click here to buy!

Nov 30, First Snow Fall

 Wow!  It's been a busy weekend! I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving weekend!  It was restful and creative and full of 12 year old boys at our house!  I'm painting some wonderful commissions and getting ready for my three final events of the season- I'm sending a pile of work to the Bloomington Art Center for their Gifts in the Gallery event, Dec 7-21!  And this Saturday I'll be at Art At Ramsey in St Paul from 10 to 5 with a pile of other fine artists, and we'll have our last event of the year at Corrigan Eclectic in Rosemount on Dec 11th from 11 to 4!

Here's a deer painting I've not posted yet!

12x6 acrylic on wood

$165

click here to buy!

Nov 26, A Commission!

 Lucky me! Getting to paint these critters!  Thank YOU all for sending them to me!

You can still get in line for commissions, and I can possibly get them done by Christmas, though my deadline for guaranteeing that has passed, though I do have a Rush fee, if you really REALLY must have it!

I can also create a personalized gift certificate for you, if you want to gift a commission to a special someone~

Let me know what I can do for you!  Happy Holidays!

6x6 acrylic on wood

Spoken For!

Nov 23, NOT a Commission! "Otter Thoughts"

 Sometimes I'm able to paint for myself! I'm not always painting for other people- though really, I do realize how incredibly fortunate I am to be the person who LOVES to paint other people's pets!  It is something I'd wanted to do badly as a teenager, and I did do it badly! ha ha- no, I probably wasn't that bad, but as a teen, you do look at the minutiae and not the big picture so I was using pen and ink and drawing every last hair on those beasties, I tell you. I even went and sketched at the New Zoo, when it opened in 1979, drawing those sweet little Asian otters in the Tropics, getting all the hair but not a lot of the anatomy correct...

This is the river otter at the MN Zoo- no longer called the New Zoo, but I still think of it that way.  I'm hoping we get a chance to get over there this week!  I need to do some more larger otters, for my show at the Convergence Gallery in January!

12x6 acrylic on panel

$165 

click here for purchase info

Nov 17, Another Commission!

Oh, and there's a few spots left in my One-Day Painting Classes!  Sign up and bring a friend!  Limited to 8 people, and please be vaccinated and masked!  Wahoo! 

This is a sweet little kitty commission!  I've still got space for a few more!  But you gotta get em to me SOON!

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold!

Nov 12, Charlie Girl, A Commission!

 We had Night On The Town down in Rosemount last night, and I sat at Corrigan Eclectic with my mom and my sister and some members of the Rosemount Area Art Council (RAAC) for a kinda open house thing amongst the local businesses. But not having done this before, we didn't realize it was more of a bar hop, with wine and beer and "20% off!" signs at the businesses- and we were also one of the only places that required masks, which was a bit awkward... unfortunately.  

We did get a few lovely people through, and I was able to talk to a number of them about the "Deer Friends" exhibit, and it was sweet to see so many people out and about!

And I'm hoping to get a few more pet portraits from this anyway...

This is Charlie Girl!  Did I mention I love black dogs?

I think she's heading to family in Ireland...

sold!

Nov 10, "At Lake Hiawatha"

So I'm a member of "Outdoor Painters of Minnesota" or OPM and every so often I like to put a piece in one of our shows, and so we have a show at Frameworks Gallery in Highland in St Paul right now and I just dropped this piece off last night.

I got to sit (well, stand really) at Lake Hiawatha this Sunday morning to paint this- and it is really a lot harder to paint outside somewhere than you might think.  First, OUTDOORS is BIG. Really big. So big that you might have a hard time deciding what it is that you want to paint. And once you think you've decided, your brain might work against you and decide it doesn't want to stick to THAT spot, but keeps moving your eye over until you realize you are painting something that wasn't in your original plan...

Anyway, it was fun, and I think it worked out alright, and its got a nice shiny gold frame on it so that's something!

At Lake Hiawatha

20x16 framed

$700

You can buy this at Frameworks or click here and I can ship it to you after the show comes down!

my setup at the lake~ can you tell?

Me and the painting!  Do I match?

Nov 5th, A kitten commission!

And here's another one!

I'm sad but kinda glad I'm not doing HOMEvember this year- I love having a daily challenge to paint something, and homes is a really fun topic. But this winter, with Corrigan Eclectic and our Art Markets and the "Deer Friends" Opening tomorrow, I'm a bit overwhelmed!

So send me your commissions!  I'm glad to do those!

8x8 acrylic on wood

and sold!

Aren't those eyes amazing?

 

Nov 4, And another commission!

 So, yes!  It's that time of year, and yes, I am happy to paint your pet for you!  Or your house, or somewhere you vacationed and had a great time! 

I love doing these! Just send me an email and some photos!  Here's my price list for you- it will be updated in January!

"Cinco"

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold

Nov 3, Deer Friends is this SATURDAY! 11-4!

 I hope you can make it on Saturday to come see our show and shop at our Art Market! I've really been excited about these deer and Gina's photos- they look so good together, and I didn't take any photos of the gallery when I was down there yesterday- poop-

Anyway, come on out! Here's a link to it for you~ 11-4 on Saturday at Corrigan Eclectic, 3065 145th St W in Rosemount!

AND I'm posting a few small One-Day Paint Your Pet/House Workshops at the Ivy~ you're among the first to know, so sign up now! They are great gifts for the Holidays and you can take a friend! More info here~

This sweet little pumpkin will be at Corrigan Eclectic for the "Deer Friends" show!

12x6 acrylic on wood

$150

click here!

Nov 2, A Commission!

It's Election Day! I voted this morning-  at my polling place, the local high school, there usually isn't too much of a line, and I've heard that in Minneapolis its been a record year of people voting early!  Well, we'll see what happens!

And this is a commission!  I'm having so much fun with these!  There's still time for you to get yours done!

6x9 acrylic on wood

$185

sold!

 

October 25, Backlit Doe

 I'm amazed at how busy I am, though yes, I do realize why. I'm doing too much again. But it's all so fun!  How do you stop? And it's getting to be the holiday season as well, which means lots MORE stuff going on!

Speaking of which, we will be having an Art Opening on November 6th at Corrigan Eclectic (3065 145th Street West in Rosemount MN 55068) from 11 to 4pm for the fantastic and much anticipated collaborative show we've titled "Deer Friends"!  The photos and title are by amazing photographer Gina Easley and the paintings are all by me, using Gina's photos as references.  I'm super excited about this show and have been painting these deer since 2019 and have been wanting a show of them for at least as long. But COVID and restrictions have made it difficult until now!  So if you are free and not far from us, please consider this a personal invitation!  We'd love to have you!  And this painting will be there~ though you can buy it now and I'll mark it sold but I'd still like to have it in the show~

16x12 acrylic on canvas

$385

click here!

October 20, Camp Road

 So this is a bit overlit in the photo, but this was my landscape demo last Saturday and you never can quite tell what it looks like until you get home later and look at it. So I really wasn't sure I liked it, until I looked at it today. And then I liked it!  but I don't think the photo is good... 

But anyway!  I still like it!

20x10 acrylic on linen

$400

click here!

Good lord, it's already the 19th! Ack! A commission!

 Yup! Getting lots of stuff done, including my sales taxes for the 3rd Quarter of the year! I think people often don't realize how much behind the scenes work there is for an artist who is actually trying to make enough money for it to count as a business and not just a hobby... there's a lot of paper work!  And yes, technology can make it easier, but it also always just requires time sitting and crunching numbers.

So thank you everyone who helps me keep this as a business and not just a hobby!

Here's a commission I'm working on- I'm nearly done, and I LOVE this one!

20x10 acrylic on wood

sold

October 15th, It's FRIDAY!

This time of year feels harder, in a lot of ways... I'm tired. I need naps. In the summer it wouldn't bug me at all to be up past 9:30 at night, but now, I need to be in bed if not on the way. I'm sure it's the cooler weather and the waning light, and looking into that big, black tunnel of unknowns coming at us through the winter. How hard must it have been in the past, when your life depended on one another, and the harvest, and stocking up for the winter and all that. No time for frivolity, not a lot of time to sit still, until that was all there was to do-

Hmmm. So then, in the winter, you recharge and play violin, and draw, and sew clothes for one another, and maybe paint...

Yup!  take a nap and then paint-   and I do think laughing helps a TON. Maybe I should become a comedian. 

So I have a lovely big show coming up in January at the Convergence Gallery through Artistry, and we're starting to collect images for it. These are a couple otters that may show up there!  I need to get to the zoo and take some more photos!

9x12 acrylic on wood

$275

click here!

6x12

$144

click here to buy!

October 13, Lighten Up!

I had an absolutely delightful Live Painting Demo at the White Bear Center for the Arts last night!  It's been a terribly long week after a long weekend, and I was a bit concerned about the rush hour drive and heading home in the dark, but I was thankfully not at all worried about the painting part of the demo!  And it was a total hoot!

I think I've realized a while ago, that if I know I'm good at something then I should just push that a bit and relax into it- like I know I love to paint so I can feel pretty comfortable standing up in front of people doing it. I also know I like to talk to people and have them talk to me while I'm painting, so if I can meet them ahead of time and make us all more comfortable, it will be even better. And so I got there early and was able to meet Rhana (I think- actually, I think that's wrong-  I wish I'd written her name down!  I remember best when I write it out- I know there was an R and some As....) who was setting me up with an iPad to show on the big screen behind me so the viewers could see exactly what I was doing- and that made me feel more relaxed because there was someone helping, and then people started coming in and they had name tags on because they had to register (I LOVE name tags!!!!!) and so I was able to introduce myself and call on them by name, which was just FUN!  And so we were waiting a minute at 6 for everyone to show up and I pulled out my silly tiny joke book that I got at St Mark's Scholastic Book Sale back in 1997 or something like that and told dad jokes til we were all laughing,  and then I went ahead and started.

I had wanted to paint a 16x20 but the iPad would't show that big a piece, and I wasn't sure I could get through one in an hour, so I went with this one of one of Gina's deer that I had already painted once smaller (in a 6x12 that sold FAST after posting!) and that helped- dang, and everyone was just so delightfully chatty, especially the twins, Noelle and Nanette (I think) and when I invited them to scoooch up closer to see better, they were all happy to! The only thing that could have made it any better would have been a glass or two on wine...

Anyway, this is an awfully long post- Here's the painting and I'll continue tomorrow!

8x16 acrylic on wood

$260

click here!

October 11, A Commission!

 It is the season for those commissions, people!  If you're hoping to have a special painting done for your special someones, get your info to me ASAP!  I'm working on a few now, but can squeeze in a few more!

And THANK YOU everyone who came out this Saturday for our October Corrigan Eclectic Art Market!  It was SO sweet!  Having all the bay doors open and people drop by all day was just so lovely~

Our next one is Saturday November 6th, and that one is ALSO an ART OPENING in the front gallery!  I'll be showing my best and newest Deer paintings as well as some of the amazing PHOTOS that inspired them by my friend Gina Easley, who is an artist photographer! So it's a DUO SHOW!

More info about that soon!

Meanwhile, enjoy this house~

6x9 acrylic on wood

sold

October 6, A commission

 So we are happy to invite you to come visit us at Corrigan Eclectic this Saturday, between 11 and 4pm where we will be set up with our art and many other artists' work for your holiday shopping pleasures!

And it is because I've been working on this that I've been neglecting this blog!  I am so sorry!

I spent last Saturday morning sitting at Breck for the Blessing of the Animals and our Homecoming celebration, and as usual (except for last year!), I sat and painted people's pets and stuffies for about an hour, with my delightful and talented colleague, Carol Grams and one of our incredibly skilled Upper School students, Amira!

These are some of my images- I'll post more tomorrow!  I had WAY more stuffed animals than real ones, and I also had a long line so really, these are 10 minute sketches, outside, with acrylic on black paper and not a lot of time!

Great as an exercise!

September 30, Her Presence

 It's still busy around here, and we've got the October 9th Corrigan Eclectic Art Market coming up!  It's 11 to 4 on Saturday the 9th, and we've been planning this one and there are many fantastic and unusual artists coming~

 And TOMORROW is OCTOBER!!!!

Holy fall whizzing by!

I do have more paintings to post- it's just finding the time to post them!  Crazy ain't it!

12x6 acrylic on wood

$150

click here to purchase!

September 27, Pepper Power!

I had my lovely Paint Love class at my studio on Saturday, and I wanted to bring something fun to paint so I stopped at the Farmer's Market on my way and picked up some sweet baby pumpkins and peppers~ that was seriously fun!  Explaining to the vendors that I am an artist and looking for subject material made a difference- it was fun to hold a pepper and inspect it for beautiful angles...

So this is my pepper~

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75 and it's YOURS!

click here!

 

September 20, Sometimes You Meet Someone...

 We had a great and full weekend, and today was a very busy day at school, and now I'm getting ready to go to bed and I finished up a couple paintings.  This is one I started yesterday at Anita's house, sitting in our green tent's shade, chatting with the many sweet neighbors who came by. It was just so uplifting, actually. Duane sold a bunch of his birds and his last wooden fish, and Max even sold some of his Hydro-Dipped paintings!

So this is the front of the deer I posted last~ I'm loving these photos! And I was having a hard time thinking of a title, until I just thought of being in the woods... and "Sometimes You Meet Someone..."

12x6 acrylic on wood

$150

click here!

September 17, Misty Morning Walker

When Gina shared this photo with me, I couldn't wait to try to paint it-  and thankfully, she took several versions that I also can't wait to paint! The elegance of this profile and that curve of the nose/muzzle... and somehow the intelligent look in the eye just say so much about what I think this being's personality must be!

I am so fortunate to be able to find these incredibly inspiring images. And to have Gina be so generous and share them with me.  As an artist, I know sometimes people feel stuck because they don't know what to paint, but dang!  There are so many incredible things out there!  Go look!  See what sparks life for you!

12x6 acrylic on wood

$150 plus shipping

click here!

 

September 16, Bright Eyes

This is one I painted a bit ago, but I'm having fun looking back through my deer paintings. A lot of them haven't really been shown because of COVID and show cancellations~

I still like this one!

12x6 acrylic on wood

$150

click here!

 

September 15, Mama's Magic Ear

 Gina takes amazing photos of the critters that visit her yard in Oregon, and I've been painting her deer photos for a couple years, since before COVID, and we've talked about having a show together so we are finally doing it, and we're going to do a show at Corrigan Eclectic for our November 6th Art Market of selected paintings of mine based on photos of hers!

I'm so glad we're finally doing this!  Her instagram is https://www.instagram.com/ginaeasleyphoto/ so check her out!

This is mama, one of the more persistent/consistent visitors to her yard~

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150 plus shipping

click here~

September 12, The Nose Leads-in progress...

 Okay, I thought I was done, but I'm not liking the way the foreground horse's ears interfere with the middle horse and I have to do something about that...

Hope you had a good weekend!  I'm loving the weather lately here- cool, not smokey...

20x16 acrylic on wood

September 10th, Timothy Shortbread and the Poles

 You may realize any now, if you read this blog, that I love Grand Marais and would love to live up there someday. I do have friends up there, and one of them is Kristofer Bowman who owns Upstate Mn, the most original little store I have ever experienced. When you are up there, you have to stop in and say hi and then Kristofer will be YOUR friend too!

We've bought so many awesome things there- tiny wooden bowls, a massive pair of sharp handmade shears that Duane uses all the time, and some of my favorite jewelry.  I just bought a new necklace from him, made by Lakestone, I think, using actual Lake Superior stones and I love it~I'll show you sometime!

Anyway, Kristofer lives out in the wilderness a bit, and has this friend who comes by often, and he posts photos of his friend on Instagram, and I've asked permission to paint this friend and Kristofer said yes, so this is Timothy Shortbread!

20x16 acrylic on canvas

$700

click here for purchase info!

September 7, Follow the Leader

It's the way the light slid between them, across the field and the dust, and the angles of their bodies. That's what I love. That's what draws me to paint these guys... or girls...  I'm not actually sure.

But I do know that I love them!

20x16 acrylic on canvas

$700

click here for purchase info~

September 6, The Gathering

Unfortunately this isn't the best photo of this painting, and now it's hanging at Lanesboro Arts and I can't retake the photo from here!

I just loved being able to visit these horses every morning. When I was in high school, my older brother worked part time at the Diamond T Ranch in Eagan, where we could trail ride on the horses. We loved doing that, despite being fairly shy kids. And it was so worth it. I felt like another being when we'd clomp along the trails through the woods, in a line behind the guide, nothing really exciting except the fact that we were RIDING on HORSES. That was plenty of excitement for us!

20x16 acrylic on canvas

$700

at Lanesboro Arts til October!

September 2, Morning Gestures

 When we were up at Camp Mishawaka I was thrilled to realize there would be horses!  And they were our very close neighbors, so that Bunny and I could walk over to see them every morning. I took photos of them and this is one of the paintings that resulted.  It is hanging in Lanesboro Arts at the moment, so you can go take a look at it there!

I loved the direct gaze of the central horse, and the leaning away of the body of the other. And all that morning light and haze...

I really love this one!

20x16 acrylic on canvas

$700

available, but not until after Oct 17th

August 30, Fergal the Comforter!

Can you tell how much fun this one was to paint? I love that sweetly scooped face, that nose with the white smudge and those eyelashes...

And Fergal is all wrapped up in his blanket~ loved painting that too!

And I had to post Sarah's comment here!

Fergal's portrait is SUBLIME. Love the colors and his 'bankie'. It's nearly his 1 year birthday, which he shares with his Person, Sam, who will be 34. This painting is a gift to Sam, who this time last year was critically ill (though not covid) and intubated for 28 days. We are all still healing, but Fergal has made the journey easier. ESA dogs are the best medicine!

6x12 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

 

August 29, Mango the Bulldog!

This was a super fun face to paint!  Look at all that expression!!!  This is Mango Bowie, and he is owned by Toni, who has this to say about him~

"Mango is a charming, fastidious, two-year-old- 65 pound English Bulldog who was the first pup born to my daughter's bully, Mynt-E.    He has the physique of a body builder and speed of a gazelle,  and yet the napping ability of an English nobleman.  Mango is a perfect gentleman indoors enjoying fine cuisine ( preferably human), family activities and snuggling. He is a living stuffie with tons of personality who particularly loves riding shotgun in “ his” pickup."

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold~

 

August 28, Sophie!

 I love this one- with the backlighting and the high horizon line and the wide mouthed smile, and just all of it!  This is my friend Kris' friend's dog, and we're doing a trade for the painting. If you are ever wanting one of my paintings and you aren't sure you can afford the whole price, you can always check in with me for a trade. I've traded art for flying lessons and babysitting and dishes and gift cards and wine, and you never know what you might have or be able to offer!

And if you are in the area tonight, we are in Lanesboro for the Artist Reception for "My Wild and Precious Life" at Lanesboro Arts!  I am SOOO excited!

Wahoo!

8x8 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

August 27, Minnie!

 Minnie's owner, Cheryl, had a difficult time selecting a photo for this project, and I had a hard time picking one. We ended up agreeing that this one is a great, straight-on full face portrait, and that this represents Minnie best.

Minnie has that wonderful brindled coat, with the greys and whites in stripes and wonderful patterns, and she also has those amazing ears! Well, and those eyes are pretty great too~

Okay, she's just fun to look at!

12x12 acrylic on wood

sold

August 26, Myra!

 And this was another fun one to paint, lucky me! Such lovely bone structure, and such sweet eyes!

And this is what Joanne wrote about her~

 Myra Pit-bull is a rescue pit Bull mix  She is 1 1/2 years old. She loves to dig holes and wrestle with her brother Bentley Hound Dog. 

8x8 acrylic on wood

Sold!

 

August 25, Dweezil

 And this is Dweezil!

I've only got 5 more dogs to paint for this project, and I'm really cutting it close some days!  Whew!  I like to usually paint these in the morning, and in July that seems to work, but it is August and I'm an art teacher and we have workshops and meetings all this week and the kids come next week!  AAAACK!!!

My art room is SO not ready!

8x8 acrylic on wood

$224

click here!

August 24, Milou

 Hmm, so I should not post the video and photos along with the paintings, or something... because that didn't seem to work!

This is Milou. He lives in Costa Rica. He was found on the border of Panama, covered in fleas and matted fur and still able to dance on his hind legs, and my sister rescued him and brought him back to Costa Rica where she and her fiancé take turns dressing him up and loving him!

6x6 acrylic on wood

I think I need to get this to my sister...

August 23, Marley!

 So this is Marley, and she lives at Camp Mishawaka, and she is Bunny's best friend. We loved having her around because she could wear Bunny out. You had to be careful when they got going, though... I know too many people who've gotten knocked over by a playing pair of pups!

And I had to include a few more shots of the two of them!

8x8 acrylic on wood~

August 22, Illy

And that is ""Illy" like Silly but without the S" as Judy explains. Illy is no longer with us, and I admit I felt honored to paint this version of a lovely dog on a dock. 

Judy says this about her Illy~

" : An adventurous, playful, curious soul who loved long walks, bounding through deep snow, and watching water from docks and shorelines. Strong and willful yet demure and respectful. She loved treats, frozen blueberries at breakfast, two bites of whatever I was eating that was “puppy-approved”, and having her teeth brushed every night. We experienced many life changes over the course of our years together. She opened my heart with unconditional love and is with me always."

8x16 acrylic on wood

sold