God's Country

12 x 12  Sold

And yet another one that is in the show.  Every spring there are so many fields of yellows and golds.

View From St. Emilion

10 x 8

Here is another painting that will be in the show.  I have wanted to paint this ever since I was in St. Emilion and took a photo several years ago.  It would have been a wonderful place to spend at least a week with paints and easel.  But unfortunately we were just there for the day.

Roadside Cactus

8 x 8   Sold

Blogging has not been my passion for quite a while, but I have been painting away instead.  I am trying to get ready for our local art club's show which is being held this weekend.  This is one of the pieces that will be in the show.  I have struggled with painting cactus for quite a while, but I am pretty pleased with this.  Not sure if I should have put in more detail.  It is hard to know when to quit!

Grazing Away

8 x 10

There are so many black Angus around here.  I just love the way they look in the fields and grasses.

Quiet Creek

12 x 12

This was a beautiful spot I came across while walking a path in the Tetons.  I waited quietly to see if any wildlife would appear, but no luck.  It would have been a lovely place to spend the day.  But I had to move on.

Flashy Feathers

12 x 12

This fellow was just too pretty not to paint.

Path In The Tetons

14 x 11

I do apologize for not posting to this blog in so many months.  But just because I haven't been posting does not mean I haven't been painting.  I have!!  Lately I have been  painting from photos and sketches I made from a family trip a year ago to The Tetons and Yellowstone.  There is a wealth of material there, for sure.  We rented a house near Victor, Idaho that backed up to a national forest.  This path was just steps away from the house and we took many walks and hikes in the area.

Trail of Color

           9 x 9          Sold

 This was not actually meant to be a true representational painting!!  Rather, it just evolved in my studio one day and I really liked it.  Those could be bluebonnets in the foreground - or not!  I am more concerned with the colors and their combinations.  And I think these work pretty well.

The Light on the Path

                 8 x 10          Sold

The sunlight breaking through the forest made some beautiful patterns on the foot path.  This was up in the Tetons last summer when I was on vacation with my family.  Such a beautiful place!!  I put this in an art show and it sold immediately.  I plan to paint a bigger version of this soon.  The colors look washed out in this image, but in reality they are not.

Hill Country Hideaway

9 x 9        Sold

I pass this little place every day and am always inspired to paint it again and again.   It looked especially "paintable"  this spring when all the yellow wildflowers were in bloom and leading a path up to it.  I have never been able to tell if someone lives there or if it is just a weekend getaway.   Someday maybe I will gather up enough courage to just knock on the door and find out.

Spring Tapestry

  20 x 24        Sold

When we have a good year for wildflowers the countryside is a true mosaic of beautiful colors.  It keeps changing as new flowers bloom and others fade out.  The Indian paints were especially plentiful the year before last.  You could find acres of orange as well as yellows mixed in.

Field of Indian Paints

9 x 9        Sold

Well, I am back!!  It isn't that I haven't been painting this past year, it is just that life got too busy and complicated for keeping up the blog.  And in the meantime, I nearly forgot how to do it.

I painted this from a photograph and memory. because this past spring the Indian paints were pretty scarce, as were the bluebonnets in our area. There just wasn't enough rain at the right time for the seeds to germinate.

"Italy" in the South of France

10 x 8

At my sister's home there is a porch off the master bedroom that they call "Italy."  The idea is from the book Angela's Ashes where the family moves from the bottom

floor, "Ireland" when it rains, to the drier second floor, "Italy."  This Italy is on the ground floor, but is just a nice  cozy retreat from the rest of the house that is usually filled with family and friends. 

Hay Bales

12 x 12   Sold

Hay bales are just such an interesting and fun subject to paint and there have been plenty of them around here this summer.  I keep getting drawn to them.  The big round bales seem to be the most prevalent, although some of the smaller rectangular bales are around, too.

Curiosity

10 x 10

When I stopped to take pictures all of these cows were back by the trees.  But when they saw me, they all started coming toward me.  I guess they thought I was bringing them something to eat.

Somewhere On The Path

6" x 6"

I cannot remember just where I took the picture that inspired this painting.  I am not even sure  that I ever followed this path to see where it led.  But I loved all the different greens.  They are always a challenge to mix and paint.   But it is a good exercise in mixing colors.

View From Chateauneuf en Burgogne

8 x 10

It was a misty on and off day as we drove up through this gorgeous area of Burgundy.  The bright yellow shape is the rape seed that was blooming all over at this time of the year (spring).  It was so bright it was nearly fluorescent and blinding in some places.  Just stunning!!

Hay Bales of Fall

12 x 16 

I think that hay bales are just so interesting and I love to paint them.  There are usually many of them visible in different settings.  I especially loved the colors in this early fall scene.

French Village in Burgundy

                                             12 x 12

Several years ago we were in Burgundy in the spring when the rapeseed was blooming.  There were brilliant fields of yellow everywhere and it was absolutely stunning and nearly blinding at times.  The French have a name for rapeseed which I don't remember right now.

Spring

8 x 10

I was asked to donate a painting for a charity event silent auction this week, and this is the one I chose because it is so appropriate for this time.  The peach trees are beginning to bloom  and we are sooooo hopeful of a good peach crop.  The prospects are looking very good right now.  We just have to pray that there is not a late freeze.