On The Fence

It's a cat painting.... and I enjoyed painting it.... and I like the result!  I'm so excited.  At least for today, I have overcome my cat painting jinx.  I like cats, well, maybe it's more accurate to say that I admire them.  I am also quite allergic to them so I keep my distance.  Of course that means they always come right up and want to sit on my lap.  Cats like people who admire them from a distance.  For some reason, I have had significant difficulty painting them so I'm quite happy with today's efforts, not perfect, but it feels like a real cat to me, so I'm purring.  Cat eyes are just so wonderful to paint! 

Flying Start (in process)

Just so you know that I have been painting... and also to get that, not so flattering, self portrait off the page!  I'm really not quite that scary looking, guess I'll stick to painting dogs for awhile :) 

I've been too busy lately to do the small daily pieces, but I have been painting.  I'm starting some larger images for a show featuring animals.  I really prefer "alla prima" painting where I finish the whole thing in one fell swoop, but it will take me about 3 swipes at it to get this one done.  I also got "tagged" by Carol Horzempa, so I'll be working on that (after I finish my taxes and a couple of other jobs, yes I am the queen of procrastinators!).  For those who don't know about "tagging", it's a way to introduce you to some other bloggers work that I follow... there are some really interesting bloggers out there, not to mention their inspiring art work, so stay tuned!   

Me, side view

This is a real double whammy, painting myself, ouch!  I decided to give it a try.  I was having a bad hair day but at least I could get rid of some of the wrinkles!  OK any of you out there that know me, what do you think, does it look like moi??

Road to the River

This is from yesterday's travels, still stuck in the fog around here.  One of the advantages of being a painter is that it can transport you anywhere you want to go!

lovely bones & sunlight through the trees

I took a field trip today, escaped the fog blanket over Puget Sound for warm sunshine... in the rain forest no less!  It's wonderful living close to old growth (cedar, spruce, hemlock) forests and wild rivers.  This is the Quinault River drainage in the Olympic National Forest.  Those lovely bones are from an elk who fairly recently met his maker.

Makin A Splash

I've been wanting to try this image for awhile so tonight was experiment night.  I like it well enough to try a larger version I think.  Last one in's a rotten egg!

Spring Pond

I guess I'm wishful thinking, although our weather has been considerably calmer lately.  After cold, snow and rain we are now in an "inversion" where the temperature up at Mt. Rainier is warmer than down here at sea level.... go figure?  It's dry though so that's nice.  Anyway, I'm thinking spring and a weekend field trip somewhere.  I had great plans to simplify this image which I'm afraid I didn't quite meet, sigh.  I like the passage of dark water though, it still has potential so I may have to try again another day.

Jefferson Memorial

Not something I would generally paint so I guess that's a good enough reason to do just that. This was from Karin Jurick's challenge blog.  The building looks rather like some alien space craft I'm afraid, but I do like this time of the evening.  There is a wonderful shift that happens that is more than just a dimming of the day, it's a revival of the night as if it were some tangible creature.

Hangin' Out

This is kinda silly but it's a lab, what would you expect?  

Gizmo Works Out

You just gotta love a dog named Gizmo!  

2008 Revisited

A final goodbye to 2008, looking forward to new adventures in 2009.  Click on the image for a larger view.

Sky

The first commission of the year.  Sky is no longer with us so I'm not so sure I really got Her.  If there are tears it's a good thing.  If not, we do a little more reminiscing and studying of photos. I find that even the bad photos give me a better sense of the animal than trying to capture their personality from just one view.  I like this dog though, even if she only exists right here.  :>)

Buffy

Hooray! I'm finally starting to catch up with 2009 with my first painting of the year.  It's a late Christmas present for a good friend.   Happy new year everyone.