10/18 Otterly Alert!

As we all are, sometimes, otterly alert to what's around us, what's happening, where we're afraid, where we find our joy... I hope you are finding some joy today, wherever you are! I took my mom to pick out new frames on Friday and it was a hoot!  We both picked out new ones and it was fun taking photos of mom trying on some unusual shapes and colors...  And now I find myself second-guessing my new pair, which I won't have for a couple weeks.  Am I going to still like them? Will I look like myself? Eeek!

6x6x6 acryolic on canvas

$66!

Click here to nab this one!

10/15 Water Babie

 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...

6x6x6 acrylic on canvas

$66

click here to nab this one!

10/14, Otter Dinner

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!

10x20 acrylic on wood

$400

click here to nab now!

 

10/13 Otterly Grooming

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!

6x12 acrylic on panel

$165

click here to nab this fresh new piece!

10/9 Otter SIde-eye

 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!

   16x8 acrylic on canvas

$256

click here to purchase!

10/8 Otter Glance

 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....

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

click here to purchase~

10/6 Water Lover

 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!

18x24 acrylic on panel

$865

click here for purchase info!

10/5 AnOTTER OTTER! "Otter Observer"

 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!

8x8 acrylic on wood

$175

click here to purchase!

10/4/25 Otterly Available!

 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!

6x6x6 acrylic on canvas

$66

click here for purchase into!

Otter-Tober Number 2! "Just A Whisker Shy"

 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!

8x10 acrylic on canvas

$174

click here for purchase info!

OTTER-Tober!

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!

Otter Wonder!

6x6 acrylic on canvas panel

$75

click here for purchase!

 

September 30, Some Weekend Paintings...

 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!

September 24, Sold!

 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!

8x10 acrylic on panel 

sold!

September 16, Curious Suspension .2

 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!

24x24 acrylic on cradled panel

$1150

will be at the White Bear Art Center for the MAA show this weekend!

September 14, Chanel

 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!

8x8 acrylic on wood

spoken for~

September 12, A Peaceful Summer View

 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!

16x8 acrylic on canvas

$256

click here for purchase info!

9/9 Charlie, a commission~

 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!

6x6 acrylic on wood

sold

September 6, SLP Art FAIR!

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!

"Greeting" 6x6 on canvas board

$75

better call me if you want it!

612-720-6675

September 4, Another Commission!

 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!

12x9 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

September 3, Another Commission

Yes, I do spend a lot of time painting commissions!  And I love it! Because it keeps me painting- and with every one I do I learn something more about this... passion?  Activity? lifestyle? habbit? What IS this that I'm doing anyway? I love to paint! And I love to learn more about what I'm doing- and I know that the more I do it, the better I get. At least, when I pay attention to what I'm doing and stretch myself a bit and try hard things, that's when I get better. I could just paint the same stuff over and over (and yes, maybe that is what I'm doing with pets and all, but every one is different!) but I do hope that I am pushing myself to take some risks and challenges.

That's how we grow, after all~

THIS was a super fun pup to paint! You can probably tell...

Bennie!
8x8 acrylic on panel

sold