30 Days of Dogs

In January 2019 I am making daily images using mixed media. All of the work is made using hand-painted papers, found papers, interesting bits from my recycle bin, magazines, and glue, I am using this month to play and explore different textures, while focusing on something near and dear to my heart: pet dogs. Really the 30 Days of Dogs project is a way to observe and cherish my elderly lab mix. Sukey is 13 years old and has slowed down considerably. She is still a vibrant member of our family, and we will count ourselves lucky to have another year together. Pets simply do not live long enough, especially considering how much space they occupy in our hearts. Working in collage for this series and using bits of ephemera for the images seemed appropriate. The work is neither precious nor archival. It can be loved and enjoyed for a time, and then it, too, will pass on. Thus, my lighthearted, playful artwork about dogs is also about love and mortality.

The dog collages are available for purchase in my Etsy shop. 

Painting a Day Project

In an effort to fight the winter blues--and it was a doozy of a winter this year--I challenged myself to make a watercolor sketch every day in the month of February and more or less managed to pull it off. I created an album of the whole month on Flickr.

Around the House Series

This month I've been working on a series of small watercolor paintings from my stay-cation. Each of these studies from around the house are about 3" x 5" and are giving me good practice with my long-neglected watercolor set. Incidentally, it is a Daler-Rowney Georgian Water Colour Box with 12 half pans and pocket brush. I have had this box forever--it was love at first sight.

Inspiration from the garden

This month we moved into a house that once had fabulous gardens, but they have been neglected for several years. As my husband and I labor to bring the yard back into order, the flowers are a constant source of inspiration to me. I find myself wanting to paint the flowers for the first time ever. And the vintage frames I had at the back of the closet are suddenly just right.



Peony Buds.
Acrylic and china marker on paper canvas, 5" x 3.5", 2009.




Salvia.
Acrylic and china marker on canvas panel, 10" x 8", 2009.




Garden Weeds.
Acrylic and china marker on Gessobord, 7" x 5", 2009.




Azaleas and Azalea Buds.
Each is acrylic and china marker on hardboard, 6" x 6", 2009.

More in the new year series

Dig In.
Acrylic and china marker on canvas, 12" x 9", 2009.




Solomon Strikes Again.
Acrylic and china marker on canvas, 6" x 12", 2009.

New year new work

How Many Licks.
Acrylic and china marker on canvas, 12" x 6", 2009.




Good to the Last Bite.
Acrylic and china marker on canvas, 6" x 12", 2009.




Missed a Spot.
Acrylic and china marker on canvas, 6" x 12", 2009.
SOLD



I Remember.
Acrylic and china marker on canvas, 12" x 6", 2009.

Gallery of sold paintings 2008

End School Zone, acrylic and china marker on canvas panel, 11" x 14", 2008 - wedding gift to the Loves.



I made a series of tiny "punk fish" paintings and mounted them on 5" x 7" greeting cards for easy framing. They were pretty popular...I should probably make some more! Each painting is acrylic and china marker on paper canvas, signed in Sharpie marker.

Working in a series

I find that working out an idea in a series of paintings is a good way to explore variations on a single theme. Robb and I took tons of photographs of sea stars on vacation last summer on Orcas Island in Washington.







I fell in love sea stars and starfish because they sprawl around like rude houseguests. They would definitely put their feet on your coffee table and belch after way too much to drink.







I slowed down painting sea stars about the same time I started attending the weekly life drawing sessions at the Rehoboth Art League in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The Tuesday night Sketch Group meets in the Chambers Studio from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The cost is $5 per session, and you need not register in advance.



These guys in particular look like the "running man" and the "lawn sprinkler" might be their best dance moves.

Working in a series

The organizers of the annual Fiddler's Convention in Berlin, Maryland, asked local artists to submit design proposals for their marketing materials. In response I created a series of paintings that combined bluegrass musicians with vintage quilt patterns because the theme for the 2006 convention was to be "Fiddlers, Folks & Freedom."



I limited the color palette to give the group of paintings a unified feel: red, ochre, and blue. Also, these colors hint at a patriotic red, white, and blue.





In this fourth painting I incorporated the architectural shape of a historic building in the Town of Berlin into the background. I thought this would be a better fit with what the organizers were looking for. The event coordinators did not choose to use local artwork in 2006 and instead opted for a combination of photographs and logos. However, they did use local artwork by Patrick Henry in 2007 and Jim Adcock in 2008.

Working in a series

My husband's parents wanted me to create a painting to commemorate their first trip to Ireland. I looked through their mountain of vacation photos and was quite taken by the Cliffs of Moher. I, myself, have not been to Ireland, so I only had their photographs and descriptions to inform my paintings. I created this series of paintings to explore several different variations on the scene.





We selected this third painting as their Christmas gift this year because it prominently features a lonely watchtower.





I worked on all five paintings at the same time, so the color palettes are very unified. This was my first time experimenting with outlining in ultramarine blue--I thought that black would be too harsh for these scenes. If I try outlining in a different color again, it will not be with ultramarine blue. It is too transparent, and consequently made my already labor-intensive method of work more laborious than usual.