Schmincke Pastels

Having a great time working with my new Schmincke pastels. Expensive, but so worth it! I'm working on a wedding card right now for my Card Gnome store.

"For Love of Pia" Still Work in Progress

Sometimes letting a painting sit and stare at you unfinished gives you, the artist, the chance to decide how the painting should proceed. Many times I have other paintings in my head while working on the present one. It's a bit distracting, but I'm doing everything in my power not to be too ADD when it comes to creating. I'm hoping to be done with this one before the end of the week.

Father's Day

It's so easy to get Mom something for Mother's Day, but what about Dad for Father's Day? Another tie? A fishing rod? I choose to usually go the food route and fill my wonderful husband's tummy with a great meal of his favorite things. He can relax by the tv, feet up, as I drop grapes and other goodies into his mouth. Well, it's not exactly something out of the days of the Roman Empire, but you get the picture. Give Dad what he wants, and sometimes it's as simple as a day of rest and relaxation and the wife and kids at the grill for a change.

At Card Gnome where I have a card store, they have a great variety of cards. Hurry, though, because the deadline to send a card is just a day away! And speaking of fishing rods... I couldn't resist creating a fish card for those Dads who are truly gifted in the art of catching fish.

To all the great Dads out there... Happy Father's Day!

My Fishing card on Card Gnome.

"For the Love of Pia" WIP 2

There's something about painting to music that makes a painting seem so poetic. And painting alone with the music in a rarely empty house is a treat. Of course, there's the ringing phone and text messages that I need to answer. Heaven would be an art island in the middle of a sparkling, clear, blue ocean.

The owl... low res shot, but it will give you the idea of where I'm going.

"For the Love of Pia" WIP

I saw a photo of an Eastern Screech Owl recently and became immediately taken with its haunting, human type eyes. I knew I had to incorporate one into my next painting... hence the birth of "For the Love of Pia,"- an owl in love. We always think of our feelings about animals, but what about our impact on their feelings. While owls are not typically pets, I'm sure in their world, they have some sort of perception of us. What if an owl fell in love with a human? One that is as beautiful as Pia ( a name that popped into my head for the title for no particular reason. I don't even know a Pia )?
This is a work in progress. I'm not even sure how it will end up. Many times I can visualize the completed painting, and sometimes I let the painting dictate its end story to me, albeit it may take some time to finish.