yes I've been painting lots of things- otters, cats, dogs and DONKEYS. Did I mention that I went to visit my friend Nancy at her ranch in Hastings, and got to take a ton of photos of these incredible creatures? So be prepared... there will be a few more of these!
I love the length of their faces and that tufty, rough, grey fur, and those long soft looking ears...
Oh and those EYELASHES!!!!
So sweet~
There's still time if you were hoping to have a pet painted for yourself or a friend! Get on my list asap though!
This is a sweet kitty for a friend~ the photo wasn't well lit, but I think I managed to get some life in there!
And there's still a couple spots left in this coming Saturday's Paint Your Pet class! 1:30-4!
This was a demo, maybe last week I think? For my painting class~ we were doing 10 minute paintings and talking about using limited brush strokes and I think that's what this was- Its a sweet little merimac teacup, a sage green with a creamy inside and the shape sometimes defies what your brain is telling you...
I have a couple more Paint Your Pet classes this November, and then maybe a couple in December but we'll see about that, so there is ONE this Sunday the 23rd, and one a week from this Saturday just after Thanksgiving on the 29th- you can sign up here! Right now, I am REALLY needing the meditative sweep of my paint brush to pull me into the present and stop worrying (at least for a minute) about everything...
Come paint with me!
It really is like yoga for your brain...
I just wanted to put this here so you'd be sure to see it!
PAINT YOUR PET One-Day Class Opportunities in NOVEMBER 2025!
"Come Have A Cup With Me!" This was a demo painting from my last painting class, and it was a push to my students to paint a simple still life BIG! Stacking the cups does make it a little more complicated, and I am pretty happy with how it turned out!
That white cup just glows and the brown middle mug is velvety dark, and the shadow worked out well too!
Sorry, I haven't had the kind of time lately to get things done, and Max has a sore throat and a bit of a fever so I'm distracted, and he's also supposed to be doing tech for the Roosevelt School One Act plays this week! I'm trying to find a link- Here's the address- Roosevelt High School 4029 28th Ave S, Mpls 55406 and the plays are FREE! This is 3 One-Act plays, directed and performed by students, each about 30 minutes with intermissions between each, and we'll have home-made baked goods for sale ($1 each!!!) to raise money! Duane made a HUGE batch last night of pumpkin cookies and chocolate chips and snickerdoodles!!! ALL GLUTEN FREE!
And this is Max!
This one has more muted and neutral colors than I usually use, and it is a funny size too, 10 3/4 inches by 4 3/4 inches, so it's a little under $100 bucks and I'm putting a hanging system on the back so it can hang immediately, cuz framing it might be pricey...
I love the fluid motions and that open back paw- look at all the toes!!! Do we still call them Toe Beans on wild animals?
I gotta get down to the zoo! All these are from past photos and I was hoping for some new ones! And we don't have that many days left in October!!!
I don't know exactly why I need to spell BABIE this way, but for some reason, this otter painting requires it... if you know why, please let me know! This is a sea otter, not a river otter, and I love them just the same. They do lead very different lives from their river-dwelling cousins. I wonder how each would do in the other's environment? River otters don't have the fluffy-ness of a sea otter, and that's what gives them floatability (can't think of the proper word at the moment- it'll come to me later...) and insulates them against the cold and wet. I believe river otters are also waterproof, but I don't know that they have that extra floaty- layer....
SO interesting! And that's called SCIENCE, right? Biology! SO interesting~ I wanted to study animals as a kid, be a veterinarian and work with critters all the time, but I was thrown off by the math involved. I mean, I'm happy with my life as it currently is, but what would have happened if I'd been more encouraged towards math?
Hmm. I don't think I've ever wondered that before! This is a real stream-of-consciousness kind of post, isn't it...
This is one I painted a while ago, and I didn't have time today to paint one yet! I love getting those colors on the water, light reflections against dark, pops of unexpected color... so fun!
She's one of our sea otters at the Minnesota Zoo, out towards the Northern Trail. I have to get back out there again soon!
Happy Indigenous People's Day! I love listening to the Current because they are so good at playing such a wide variety of music and they are taking advantage of today to play lots of great native pieces!
This is an otter that I painted larger at one point, and so I did a tiny version so I can try to keep painting an Otter Every Day, or Every Otter Day for the month of Otter-Tober!
Getting those little claws in and the light on her face was super fun!
Oh and there's still a few spaces open in my next Paint Love Classes at my studio in the Ivy Building in South Minneapolis! We will meet Saturday mornings for 6 weeks, 9:30-noon starting October 25th! Come join us!
I like this one! I've been really trying to catch the feel of the otters in their environment, underwater, and the color of the water is different from some of my favorite older otter paintings, where it's mostly greens and turquoises...(like this one, and this one)- water looks more lavender-grey, and I want it to look as action-y as the older ones...
I do feel like I got her cheeks and whiskers and eyes this time! I had to gesso over her eyes once to get them a better shape~ I really like how she's looking at us! It's not quite a total side-eye, but enough that you get it!
Here's anOTTER otter for you! This one was a bit trickier because the photo is blurry and stuff isn't as clear. I'm still pretty happy with it- those eyes- all that play, swooping and sliding and zipping around underwater- greens and blues and purples...
Otters are amoong my fav subjects~ in case you hadn't noticed....
This is a favorite of mine, and any time I bring it along to an art fair or exhibit, people gravitate to it. I think it's because the otter is really looking at us, there's a sense of being seen by her, of the fact that she recognizes you are another living creature like her. I love that.
I also really love the water in this one.. the abstract quality, trying to let my control go over what I think water should look like, and letting it be as I see it. That's tough, actually. Anyone who's tried to paint a paper bag knows that!
This otter was so happy to see us when we showed up at the zoo! It was just a bit after 9am and we didn't have a lot of time and I wanted some otter pics, so we hustled to the Minnesota Trail and there she was, flirting and floating and diving and just really looking at us! When they are under water like this, their eyes are SO dark and luminous- can you see the little glow in there?
I'm having fun with this!
I have a few of these cute little triangle canvases so there will be a couple more otters painted this way because I like this format. This little guy just seems to be wanting to come up and say hi~ and to let you know he thinks you're pretty awesome!
SO it looks like if I don't paint every day, I can paint every OTTER day...
Hee!
I'm loving my search through my photo archives for good otter pics! These are pretty much all the river otters in the Minnesota Zoo~ playing in their tank so I get a great underwater view. I love the ones where there's some reflections from under the water, and also the ones where the otters break the surface tension and you get to see above AND below the surface, like this one!
Yes! I'm going to attempt an OTTER-Tober painting challenge! I will paint an otter a day (or every OTTER day maybe) for the month of October! Some of these will be auctions, some will be direct sales, and you are welcomed to comment and offer me some ideas of titles and puns with otter in them!
Thanks everyone!
So every year at my school we do the Blessing of the Animals, and I paint the pets after they are blessed, along with my talented colleagues and sometimes a talented and generous student or two! This weekend was realy great! I had gessoed my paper so it was a little easier to paint on, rather that the last year when I've just used good black paper, where the acrylic just soaks into the paper with no surface glide...
So I feel much better about this batch! Ten little paintings in a bit over an hour on a Saturday morning!
Here's the first 5!
Wow! I had such a great time at LOLA this weekend! Thank you everyone who came through our studio! I know it's a walk from the front door all the way to the back where we are, and I appreciate those of you who undertook that pilgrimage to come find us in my space! We will be having another event for the holidays on Dec 6 from 11 to 5 or later, so put that on your calendars, and we will have MORE guests in the hallway!
I always appreciate it when someone wants to take my work home to live with them~ and it is especially fun when it is a piece that I love as much as I do this one!
I added more to this one, because I didn't think having the purple background gave enough motion... still not sure.
And I think I need to practice varnishing too... I am not that great at it...
But I like this one much better with the green!
It's Sunday afternoon, I'm heading over to Diamond's Coffee Shoppe soon to take down the 30 Dogs in 30 Days show and meet anyone there who can come to pick their painting up! It's really humid and sticky today, and I'm so grateful I am NOT doing an art fair this weekend! We did go for a lovely walk this morning with our dear friend Jules across the St Anthony Stone Arch Bridge and she made us a gorgeous breakfast too, so we've already had a great start to our day. For some reason, I've had a mean sweet tooth the last week or so, and I think this happens every year with getting back to school because we are such a loving bunch of teachers and we have sweets in our lounge a lot... and sometimes I can't eat them because of gluten or lactose, but sometimes I can... and I've had a tough time deflecting that this past couple weeks.
Ack.
And this is a commission, for a colleage at Breck actually, of a lovely creature~ I hope you enjoy!
Sometimes I just need a little break.
Painting really does that for me. By trying to translate what I'm looking at into paint on a panel, I have to concentrate on really looking- seeing what is truly in front of me instead of what I expect to see. Painting greenery can be hard because we keep thinking we're seeing green, when there are actually a lot of other colors in there...
And I'm not sure I found them all in this one~ but I am happy with the road!
I still have space in this week's Thursday evening Paint Love class! Sign up here! And I'll be taking down the 30 Dogs Show at Diamond's on Sunday between 2-4 if you'd like to come by and see those~ and then my lovely friend Jean Leuthner is hanging a show of her newest paintings at Diamonds for the next month and a half or so!
I had such a fantastic time at the SLP art fair this weekend too! Thank you to everyone who came out to that- it was just great to meet so many people and see so many friends and to get to wrap up so many paintings to go home! I LOVE not having to pack up as much stuff when I go home! Despite the rain and the chill it was a blast. We were all cozy under the giant ROC cover!
And this is Charlie, a commission!
Hello all! I expect that you are as excited as I am about today's Art Fair at the St Louis Park ROC from 10-5! It should be a good one! I have my NEW mesh sides for my display and love how much more space I have to display my work! I also have some new art for you to see, brand new stuff- some so new I was just putting wire and varnish on last night~
This is one of the new paintings I have today for sale! I kinda LOVE it! The otter at the MN zoo was so interactive that day!
Isn't this one just great?! I had SO much fun painting it! I started working on it at Millstream Art Fair last weekend and it just made me smile, and so many people who saw it loved it as well. This is Jayda, who has a super sweet smile and I was lucky to get to paint her!
This is Noodle... I really enjoyed painting this one! Something about that eye, and the shading, the purples... all the stuff of a fun one!
And there's still a couple places for fun coming up this Thursday the 4th at the Ivy Building! You can come paint with me this fall and get your own brush and color groove moving! Sign up for my Paint Love Painting Class HERE!
We all could use a bit of color and joy, my friends~
Nearing the end of August already- it's still incredibly gorgeous weather in Minneapolis, and I was able to appreciate it from a Water Taxi on the Mississippi last night for my friend's birthday celebration~ she hoped to get waves from passersby, because she said every time she sees a Water Taxi SHE waves at THEM! So we called out to people on the shoreline and a beautiful number of people did wave back. It was really sweet~
And still, its a heavy day. The loss of two more children in a shooting. There are just too many thoughts... the one I keep thinking is still Be Kind. You do never know how much someone is hurting, and your attention may be all it takes. You really can't ever know the effect you have on someone else's life, but it seems most of us do try to make sure we are leaning towards the helping side, not the hurting side.
I have Wellstone's quote on my board this year, "We all do better when we all do better", and I'm talking my kids through it- I didn't think it was that hard to understand but we're having interesting conversations in the art room~
Speaking of interesting conversations, we have them a LOT in my Paint Love classes~ please come join us! Here's more info~
And this is a Christmas Commission, Franklin~
Sometimes things happen that make no sense.
Humans in pain hurt other humans.
Try to breathe, and try to be as kind as you can. And tell people you love them.
This is a kitten, a sweet kitten, for your heart today.
It has been absolutely transcendent in Minneapolis these last few days... beautiful weather, cool enough for long sleeves, and yet deliciously warm in the sun if you're feeling chilled. The air is clean, the clouds are white, the sky is blue... I've experienced these kinds of days before, but I think that back then I took them for granted, not having experienced the clogged and smuggy air of our Canadian wildfires. As I get older, I'm realizing more and more that there are many things we need to be more aware of, that every day is a gift.
Every sunset is unique.
And here is another little kitten! This one is a trade for another artist at the Art Fair at St Kate's- if you didn't know that I accept trades for all kinds of stuff, now you know! I've traded art for other art, for clothes, for gift cards, for babysitting, for dog walking, and even for private flying lessons!
It's also my first day at school with my kiddos! Here we GOOOO!!!!
Oh, and I still have space in my Paint Love Painting Lessons starting a week from this Thursday! Join us!
AND I will be at the Millstream Art Festival in St Joe, MN next Sunday! Come on up and see what's up! I went to St Ben's and this is the start of that school year as well- if you're an alum, come say hi!
This is an otter. I love otters. They swim and play and use their entire bodies to express themselves. That's a good plan for all of us, I think~
I do have to admit I don't think this is the best photo of this painting and I want to try taking another one... it really does matter how good the photo is, but it is also really hard to take good photos of actual art. It is best to see it in person! This one especially, since it is 2 feet by 2 feet, which is larger than life, and those eyes are really well done if I do say so myself!
Oh and come see us at Carpenter Nature Center's Art Fair August 23, 2025! 10-5!
Yes, I paint commissions all year round, my friends! I love it. It keeps me painting. I admit I'm a bit of a people pleaser and I tend to do those things I promised other people I'd do first, before I do the things I've been wanting to do myself. So having commissions means I PAINT. That's the important thing. I need to get my brushes moving in the paint, and then the ideas come and the challenges and the desire to translate my vision into color, and having something to paint for YOU really helps me get to that point. So never hesitate to ask me to paint something for you! It truly helps ME too!
This is the glorious Ksiusha. Those eyes are just intense, and that mane, the fluff... yes!
This is from a photo I took on the south side of Lake Hiawatha, where artist Sean Connaughty regularly works to restore the native plants to create a more natural and healthy Lake Hiawatha- I volunteered on his crew a few times this summer to help with gardening tasks, something that's a little outside my comfort zone.
You should walk over there and check it out! He's usually there on Saturday mornings!
This is another one painted on a canvas prepped by my mentor and friend Liz Sivertson!
When we were up in Grand Marais in June for the Summer Solstice Pageant at North House Folk School., I was invited out to my friend Liz Sivertson's house because she was moving studios and had some materials to let go of. She gave me a lovely pile of boards and canvases and a sta-wet palette and some oils and acrylics, and that was so wonderful because I hadn't packed my own painting supplies for this trip! So i was able to sit at our picnic table and paint some stuff~
Because I hadn't packed my own paint supplies, I didn't have my usual black ground so I used the prepped canvases as Liz had left them~
Here's one of them!
My sister picked this little guy up during an early spring storm in the parking lot of the Whole Foods in Duluth. She let him warm up in her car for a bit, took a few photos and the let him go.
Yes, I had to paint him too.
I have finished up my dogs and am now wiring and signing and finishing them up, and I have a few other paintings to post here for you~
This one is one I did in the Perl De Lak park sitting with Kelli in the 90 plus degree heat in Switzerland in early July~ the trees were so wonderfully spiky and tall, and the light coming through them caught me. This woud be a plein air one, and I haven't had the chance to look at it since I painted it, and I kinda like it!
I also have several art events coming up soon, with the Carpenter Nature Center Art Fair the first one on August 23 from 10-5! Duane and I will both be there- it's across the river in Hudson, just about 45 minutes from our house and should be a lovely weekend! Hope to see you soon!
And this is Daisy!
She's the last dog of this year's 30 Dogs in 30 Days project, and she's got just the sweetest face. There's something about that relaxed, open smile of a happy dog.
I am so grateful for you all for your support and sending me your photos and thoughts on your dogs, and I hope following along was as fun for you as it has been for me painting these pups every day. There is so much awfulness in this world, there always is but it feels thicker and meaner these days, so it helps me to remember there are always dogs that love us and are willing to be loved.
Like Daisy~
I'll be hanging all the dogs at Diamond's Coffee Shoppe this Friday and they'll be hanging there until Sunday September 14th when we have a Pick-Up Party from 2 to 4 and you can come by and see the pups and say hi and pick up a book or a postcard! You can also visit Diamonds (1618 Central Ave NE) any time during open hours, 7 to 4 daily, and see the pups too!
I LOVE this one! And I'm sorry it's so late but I kept playing with the background!
Molly Dog – Asking for Forgiveness Not Permission
Kids do the darnedest things. Like when they are in college, adopt a puppy, and then keep it a secret for a few months. And then one day, you are invited into their rental house to meet someone, and it turns out to be a dog (a pittie mix that we call a boxer) named after their aunt (who is still very much alive). That is how we met Molly, or Molly Dog to reduce confusion with my sister. He didn’t ask permission; he asked for forgiveness. She is my first (and currently only) granddog. She holds our hearts hostage. I buy her Christmas pajamas and let her sleep in the middle when she spends the night. I love her. We all love her. We love the perfect bond she has with her Daddy, how she calms him, and how he cares for her every need. She loves to swim and needs to be reminded to put on her listening ears. She likes rocks and sticks and the toys that she destroys so quickly. She runs fast, but not as fast as she used to. That’s fine, we’re not running races in this house. She searches her food for the tasty pill pocket with her daily meds and will give you a look if it isn’t there. Now all the other dogs think they need to have their medicine when they eat. She rules our roost and never hesitates to “tell” our silly dogs that they are getting too rowdy. Everyone listens to Molly Dog, and everyone celebrates when she comes for her playdates. Who needs doggie daycare? She completely changed my opinion on her breed, and I will forever be in love and indebted to our Molly Dog. No forgiveness is needed, and permission is over-rated.
And this is the delightful Zeppelin! She has her own Instagram too~ she's such a star! She also knows my beloved Key Largo loves Monica and Frank- it's such a wonderful small world sometimes!
And she has the best smile ever no matter what angle it comes at!
Here's another incredible face. This is Picasso, and Amanda asked me to paint him because they just lost him recently~
Picasso came into our lives on Valentine’s Day in 2013, an adorable 10 lb bundle of energy who quickly grew into a 90 lb bundle of energy. He loved running along bike rides, running at the dog park, running into lakes and rivers, and running in circles around our yard. His very favorite thing was being with his people. If he couldn’t see us he was not happy. He loved us completely and we feel so lucky to have been his.
Wow! We just got home last night from Camp Mishawaka, where all three of us were working our little butts off for the past 4 weeks, and more intensely this past week... Max didn't sleep at all on Thursday night, so Duane and I shared driving duty home. It's pretty adorable to have a 16 year old fall asleep in the back seat, with a kitten and a pup on his lap...
SO I'm really slow today. Doing a huge pile of laundry, running errands, and I have yet to take the nap I wanted to take at noon... and I JUST finished painting Coco! What a cutie-patootie!
Here's what Coco's loving dog mom Natalie said about her~
Coco was a very good girl for all 17 years we were blessed with her ~
She stole our hearts as a tiny puppy - once we saw her there was no way she wasn’t coming home with us. She was the queen of our family her whole life and she knew it.
Here's another one I had to paint- I completely respect a dog with a full lengthy descriptive name. And here's what Brian said about him~
This is Russell T Coltrane, LLC (Limited Liability Canine).
This is Rocky, and here is Rocky's story!
Rocky
It was L-O-V-E at first sight. Rocky is a sweet, lovey 4 1/2-year-old boy who tucked himself into
Juliana Soltis’ side straight-away on a rainy, February morning at Greyt Love Retirement. He
made it clear that he was going home with her to be little brother to brindle greyhound Ceci.
Rocky quickly became known as the Velvet Ninja for his stealthy ways. Juliana Soltis is an
internationally acclaimed cellist and when a new cello came into her home; Rocky immediately
had to investigate and there may have been some licking…but Rocky admits to nothing!
People often ask if the hounds can recognize her playing when they hear her on a recording —
and the answer is yes! The hounds definitely know mama’s “voice,” so when a new cello came
home and was played for the first time, both hounds popped their heads out of their beds because
*this* was not their usual cello!
