The Cat in the Hat

8"x8" Oil on Canvas

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone from Moneta, VA.  Thank you to all who have visited my blog and all the encouraging comments I have received this past year.  I'll resume posting my art in January.

Is Dinner Ready?

5"x5" Oil on Gessobord

I love to paint the birds that visit my yard, the problem is they don't sit still for long.  If they just stop long enough for a photo I am lucky.

Bird Bath???

7"x5" Oil on Panel

This is my neighbor's cat who has become a frequent visitor, which I love since I am no longer a pet owner.  He is so much fun to watch, he always comes for a drink from the bird bath, but this particular day it was frozen solid; but a little ice water did not deter him.   After his drink he checks for bird nests in the potted plants and then goes about his day.

Autumn View from Claytor Farm

8"x16" Oil on Canvas

Claytor Farm in Bedford is one of the most beautiful places in our area and my thanks to the guys at Goose Creek Gallery in Bedford for letting the secret out.  They suggested this place as a really nice location to plein air paint a few years back.  We took their suggestion and my jaw dropped when I saw the views from this old home.  It is well worth the trip to check it out.

Dead Beets

9"x12" Oil on Canvas

SOLD

It's been a very busy month for art, with art shows, sales and studio tours it has been hard to find time to paint.  This painting was certainly out of my comfort zone, I don't do still life or anything with leaves; but the challenge is done with the final touches put on at the studio tour yesterday.  Today it's back to the studio for the second day or the studio tour.  If you're looking for something to do, come on out, we are open until 5 PM today.  The studio is located at 7005 Booker T. Washington Highway, Wirtz, VA.

Franklin County Artisan Studio & Harvest Tour

This weekend our gallery will be open for the studio tour.   I will be there both Saturday and Sunday along with several other artists painting.  Hope to see everyone there.

Pigtails

12"x9" 

Oil on Canvas
SOLD

Yes, more pigs; but baby pigs are so darn cute.  I couldn't resist those little curly tails.

Wintertime Fun

5"x5" 

Oil on Gessobord

I guess I have just about depleted the photos I took of this snowstorm that hit Virginia several years ago, since that little person in the painting is now 11 years old.  But those fun memories are forever with me.   Nothing better than a grandchild snowed in at Grandma's house!

Doggone Cow

10"x10" 

Oil on Canvas

SOLD

Yes, it's another animal.  I'm back to painting animals again.  This one was done with a palette knife and I've really enjoyed doing the animals with the knife.  Stay tuned, there are more animals to come.  They are just so much fun and relaxing after a busy few weeks of preparing for a show.

Lynchburg Art Festival 2015

Thanks to everyone who came out to the festival on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day, the attendance was great and it was nice to see all who stopped by.  It's always good to see old friends and meet new people.  I really appreciate it and hope to see everyone again next year.

Lynchburg Art Festival

This weekend is one of the biggest art festivals in the area.

I will be in space #54.  These are just two of my new works that will be at the festival:

September Afternoon

5"x7" Oil on Canvas

Pretty Woman

10"x10" Oil on Canvas

There is always lots of great art, wonderful people and lots of fun.  The rain date is Sunday the 13th.

This Ain't No Bull

10"x10" 

Oil on Canvas
SOLD

This was such a fun painting to do with a palette knife.  I love texture in paintings but for some reason if I'm not using a palette knife it is so much more difficult for me to achieve, it also helps with getting different color mixes.

Man's Best Friend

8"x8" Oil on Gessobord

                                                                                SOLD

I spotted these two while on vacation at Skaneateles Lake, NY this summer.  It was evident that the dog was quite accustomed to enjoying the paddle board.  He was so relaxed and just enjoying the beautiful summer day.  It puts a whole new meaning to being "treated like a dog"! :)

Easy Sailing

12"x16" Oil on Canvas

SOLD

This is the latest commission that I delivered this week.  Smith Mountain Lake and the Blue Ridge Mountains never fail to provide something to paint.  They look different each day and are always a painting waiting to be painted.

Cupcake Connoisseur

7"x5" Oil on Gessobord

I spotted this little guy at CJ's Coffee Shop at Bridgewater Plaza while I was having lunch on opening day.  When he spotted all those yummy cupcakes he was instantly in love and there was no distracting him from them.  I just can't blame him, he knows a great cupcake when he sees one.  

Hopefully my posts will be more frequent than they have recently.  Summer and vacation time with my family seemed to consume more time than usual; but it was fun and wouldn't have traded it for anything.  We were able to show my granddaughter and her friend one of my favorite places.  Fine View Village on Wellesley Island, NY.  They even had time to swim in the "balmy" waters (65 degrees) of the St. Lawrence River.  

Hershee

7"x5" Oil on Gessobord
SOLD

This is Hershee,  a beautiful Bernese Mountain dog.  This is a commission I was asked to paint, I was given several poses from which to choose and that was the hardest part.  I really wanted to paint them all.   She was so much fun to paint with all that beautiful long hair

First Snow

16"x20" 

Oil on Canvas

What better way to cool down than thinking of snow, when the temperature reads 92 degrees.  Seems like that is when I think about painting snow, which I love to do no matter the outside temperature.  But this summer has been so much like Florida, and nothing wrong with Florida, except in the summer when you can't take the heat.  I think the heat gets to me more each year.  But I sure do love the look of snow and painting it.

View from Carrs Point

SOLD

12"x16" 

Oil on Canvas

The area of the Blue Ridge Mountains that I live in always provides something to paint.  The mountains and lake change daily and never leave the artist with nothing to paint.

Smith Mountain Lake Memories

SOLD

30"x40"

Oil on Canvas

This is a commission piece I just finished of Smith Mountain Lake, it was larger than I had done before, but so much fun to do.  Thanks to the very nice couple who gave me the opportunity to paint this for them.  They knew exactly what they wanted and were so supportive through the whole process.  It was a real pleasure to paint this piece for them.

Big Blue

20"x10"

Oil on Canvas

These blue heron's fascinate me, their patience and stillness while their eyes search the waters for food is amazing; and they are really fun to paint.

South West Harbor View

14"x11" 

Oil on Canvas

This was painted from a photo I took sometime ago in South West Harbor Maine.  I love white birch trees and the view of the harbor through this beautiful tree caught my eye.  There are so many beautiful views in the Bar Harbor area.

Spring House Hunting

5"x5" Oil on Gessobord

SOLD

This is another of the busy little birds from my yard when they were trying to decide which bluebird house to move into.  They are now all settled in and busy bringing food to the family.

Pretty In Pink

12"x12" Oil on Canvas

SOLD

This was just so much fun to paint, these quirky little animals have so much character I have to paint them.

Ebony & Ivory

8"x10" Oil on Canvas

I just couldn't resist painting these two babies, their contrast just caught my eye.  It was a fun painting to do.

Fine View to the River

16"x20" Oil on Canvas

SOLD

I did this painting some time ago, and was never quite happy with it.  I just recently made changes to it and am now happy with it.  The painting was done from a photo I took on vacation.  It is a small village called Fine View in Upstate NY on Wellesley Island in the St. Lawrence River.  The village of Fine View was started in the 1800's as a Methodist retreat.  The village has many of these beautiful victorian homes and is a wonderful summer vacation place.  It is like stepping back in time.  One of my favorite places.

Bluebird of Happiness

SOLD

5"x5"
Oil on Gessobord

Now that spring is here these little bluebirds are everywhere, house hunting, building nests, and protecting their already built nests.  I love watching them bring food to the family.

Keeping Watch

SOLD

10"x8" Oil on Canvas

Another animal, what can I say other than they are just so much fun to paint.

Sing Like No One is Listening

7"x5" Oil on Gessobord

I love hearing all the birds on a spring morning and I can just hear this Carolina wren singing his heart out.

Summer's Bounty

10"x8" Oil on Canvas

I love the window boxes of summer overflowing with geraniums.  A real plus of the geraniums is that the deer don't eat them.....well not yet anyway, but they do on occasion pull them out.  I guess in frustration of not finding them very tasty.    I hope everyone has a very nice Easter.

On The Rocks

9"x12" Oil on Panel

This was an experimental painting done on a textured panel.  The painting was done from a photo of Bar Harbor, Maine on Cadillac Mountain; one of my favorite vacation spots.

Patience

7"x5" Oil on Canvas

SOLD

Ok, I said my last painting would be the end of animals for a while, but do birds count?  Actually, I had to take a break from the painting I was hoping to post after the donkey but it is taking much longer than I had hoped and is much more detailed than I wanted to get into.  Oh well, it is still fun but at times a bit frustrating.  I love watching these blue herons, they are so patient waiting for their fresh catch of the day.  I wish I had just a little of that patience.

Don-Key-Ote

8"x8" Oil on Canvas
SOLD

This little painting was just so much fun to paint.  I've heard many artists say "the painting just painted itself", but I never had experienced it until I did this one.  I think this will be the last of my animal series, at least for a while anyway.  I know it won't be for long because they are too much fun to paint.

Amore

10"x8" Oil on Canvas

It wasn't planned (because planning is not me),  but somehow it just happened that this painting was painted and finished in timing with Valentine's Day.  A mother's love isn't just for humans, but animals also experience it.  Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

Out on a Limb

SOLD

10"x8" Oil on Canvas

I just love watching the birds and these little chickadees are always in abundance to watch.

Hunting & Pecking

5"x7" Oil on Hardboard
SOLD

Another of my baby animals series, these little fluffy geese were so much fun to paint.  There were more than three and I may be doing a larger painting of all of them.

Thelma & Louise

7"x5" Oil on Panel

Ok, so I'm still on baby animals.  I couldn't resist these furry donkeys.  They had so much shaggy hair their eyes were hardly visible.

The Five Little Pigs

6"x12" Oil on Canvas
SOLD

I love painting animals and baby animals are always so cute.  I couldn't resist painting this litter of pigs.

Snow Much Fun

10"x8" Oil on Canvas

Happy New Year to everyone, the craziness of the holidays is over and back to painting.   I'm still waiting for snow, but this painting is from the fond memories of it as a child.  Building snowmen was one of my favorite things to do, and still is.