"Vern"

Do I look like I have eaten too many “Mice Krispies” for breakfast?  Well, maybe I have.  Still, I am the best receptionist the animal shelter has ever had.  I am so disarming… I put everyone at ease.  Just be yourself.  That’s my motto. 

8 x 10, oil painting, framed, $300.
All proceeds go to the Animal Protection League in Anderson, IN 

"Harley"

I had three very different portrait commissions in December:

*a pet alpaca

*John Wayne

*and “Harley”! 

Meet "Harley”…what a dude!  I can picture him in a "do-rag" with flames, and a “let’s hit the road” attitude!  Can’t You?  What a little cutie.  His owners, Phil & Sally, great friends of ours, tell me that this little guy is a rascal and loves to get into mischief.  

"The Orange Sugar Bowl"

“The Orange Sugar Bowl” is a painting that won 2^nd place in an annual juried art show in Hamilton County in November called “Community Creates.”  I love orange.  I know it is very trendy these days.  The geranium was my last flower of the season.  I cut back my geraniums and brought them the house and now they are blooming again.   The painting is 16 ½ x 11 and was painted especially for an antique style goldish frame which is 3 inches wide.  All paintings are available with or without frames. 

“Espresso Yourself” Ahhh…java!  I love it!  In April I am scheduled to do an art show at our local coffee shop.  Already I am building an inventory of paintings about “my drug of choice."  I set up this still life outside in the sun.  I love the natural lighting of the sun, although I do have a fantastic “light box” (patterned after Carol Marine’s design) that my husband built for me.  I use it inside my studio when the weather doesn’t permit me to paint outside.

I once took a workshop from a fantastic painter, Qiang-Huang, and he said, “the subject matter of every painting is the same…it is LIGHT”

Oranges Concentrate

Happy December!  It feels like months since I have made an entry in my blog.  Here is a painting that won an “honorable mention” in the annual juried art show in Madison country.  It seems that I have been too busy to post it.  I also have several others I am ready to post…so stay tuned.  This is an 8 x 10 oil and contains the sweetest little antique crock I found at a thrift store in Chicago.  It is framed in a black plein aire JFM frame with a silver lip.  Please contact me by email for prices.

I vowed to pace myself this December so that I can enjoy the richness of this month.

Thank you for taking time to look at my art.  I see it as my “voice” in this world. 

"My Favorite Neighbor," Part II

I was thrilled to learn that my painting, “My Favorite Neighbor”, won

“Best of Show” in the South Madison Visual Art Show. Now I am wondering if I should just stick to painting my furry friends..:o)  The painting lives next door and I can visit the real thing when I need a dog fix, which is often!

Speaking of dogs, I am so touched by an account of Van Gogh I read recently in the book,  Van Gogh, a Self-Portrait.  This paragraph was contained in a  letter written by one of his friends:

   “One Saturday afternoon we went out for a walk: suddenly Vincent saw an emaciated, miserable, deserted street dog, a poor hungry beggar of a dog.  He searched his purse and in it found a ‘dubbeltje’ (twopence)---it was all the money he had, for it was the last days of the month.  Then he bought two rolls for a penny to give to the dog, and stood looking at the animal full of complacency as it devoured the bread in a few swallows.  Going back to his companions, Van Gogh said, “What do you think this animal told me just now?   That he would like to have another couple of rolls like that,” and following his impulse, he bought two more rolls and gave them to the yearning dog.  Now he didn’t even have the money to buy a pack of tobacco, the only luxury he permitted himself.” p.39 

Vincent Van Gogh’s sensitivity makes him one of my heroes.  

Blue Ribbon Winner!

Just so you know…“Adopt Fred” just won 1^st Place in the Annual juried show held at The Anderson Center for the Arts. The show is sponsored by the Art Association of Madison County.  Make your check payable to the Animal Protection League of Anderson, Indiana.  (And, hey…you might want to purchase one of the other cat paintings before the prices increase… :O)

The proceeds from the sale of these paintings will be used to feed and house some of the many orphaned/abandoned animals in our county.

Here's Fred up close. 

Click here and you can read more about Fred.