Three 5x7 Paintings

Blue Light Night
oil on linen panel

                    Painting on this small size is a challenge.  They take so long because of their small size and my older eyes probably make it harder.  I often paint over things and wipe out things, constantly changing the composition and sometimes the entire color palette.  I have found these little paintings to be frustrating latley, so I did not order any more of this size of linen panel.  I am now painting on 8x10 on up to 20x24 canves, much more freeing!  

Chair Duo
oil on linen panel

Small Duo
oil on linen panel

 

I recently came across THIS video posted by The Netherlands Bach Society and have been obsessively listening to this music while I paint, cook, and wash dishes.  Thomas Bauer's voice is so beautiful. 

I do not always listen to classical, but this slow and mournful cadence speaks something comforting and deep into my soul during these quiet and contemplative weeks in Winter.

Pretty Boy

Pretty Boy

oil on cradled wood panel

10x10 inch

available here

The shape of these trees changed dozens of times, inspired by arborvitae of the most unusual green.  However, that hue in oil paint was elusive.  

The title was the easiest part.  

Happy New Year!

 

This year has been a beautiful one.  I painted.   I made dolls.  I gardened...a lot. So much peace comes from being outside in nature, and it is a big part of  what made the year feel so beautiful. I was outdoors for countless hours creating beds, mowing paths to reduce my lawn, planting seeds and just planting in general.  I put in dozens of trees, shrubs, and flowers.  I even put in a mini orchared with apple trees, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. I studied permaculture and learned about rewilding, trying to apply those practices into my yard.  I cannot wait to see how it all looks next year.  

I put together a a video showing all the art from 2023.  Many of the dolls were actually made in 2022, but I never shared them until this year.  And below is my favorite photo this year from all the ones taken of my garden.

I hope you have a wonderful and Happy New Year! 

Spring is Coming

 

Flowers Citron Green
oil on panel 6x6 inch
(sold)

Winter is a wonderful season of rest.  One can sleep more with the extra darkness and cozy up for some good reading and movie watching.  But come March, it is common for a craving of color and warmer temperatures.  That craving often shows up in my art.

Frog
original art doll

cilantro started from seed

My first pot of the season is full of cilantro!  I am planning on growing some other herbs and vegetables this year.  Growing food will be a learning experience for me.  Tomorrow I will be joining a group of local urban growers with Montiel Farms to plant potatoes.  You're never too old to learn new things!

This Painting is Finally Home

Cafe in Tribeca 
2015

If you have followed my art for a while, you may remember this painting from 2015. It was painted back in the day when I was at Tessera Gallery here in Wichita. It was inspired by a visit to New York City and a cafe there in the Tribeca area. The figure sitting at the window to the left is a nod to one of my favorite Edward Hopper paintings called Chop Suey. This painting has been all over the place from the gallery here, back to my studio, then to Colorado while I lived there where it was in a show in Colorado Springs and in then in the background photo of an interview  I did with Colorado Homes. We were smack dab in the middle of moving back to Kansas when that interview was done, boxes everywhere and the pandemic was in the beginnings.  The painting traveled with me back to Kansas, went on a long term loan with someone I trusted to keep it, and then back to my studio to be listed once again on Etsy. I often paint over paintings this old and this one did have a retouch on the waitress at one point.  Her neck and posture bothered me, so I repainted the whole head and face. Anyways this painting is finally home, purchased by a long time collector and it's back in Colorado.  I am so so happy and grateful for this because it was always one of my favorites.  

February! Around Here Lately

 

Seated Woman Waiting
oil on linen panel

Though the landscape still looks very much like winter, the daylight is returning.  Some birds are becoming more vocal, like the cardinals.  You don't realize how much you have missed their song until it returns filling the quiet morning air with delightful energy.  

female cardinal

male cardinal

I have been doing the usual things this new year.  Painting, drawing, reading and taking daily walks are my favorite things to do.  I am also dreaming of a wildflower pasture in our backyard, a small effort to join the "rewilding" movement I am so intrigued about.  I live in the city limits, so growing tall grass is not allowed.  I will have to place the pasture in a place where it cannot be seen from the street, so it won't be a big one, but they say every little bit counts to help with pollination. 

The pasture will go somewhere where you see the green grass, but more to the left of the photo's edge.  I am trying to decide on layout, shape, etc.

Last year I planted a little seed garden with all kinds of flower seeds.  These are morning glories popping up.  The garden did not turn out as full and pretty as I hoped, but the this year it will be more mature hopefully.  

What does gardening have to do with painting and art?  For me, everything.  They go hand in hand.  Time outside = inspiration...always.

I want my garden to feel like this...all layers and texture and color.  I took this photo at the botanical garden in Denver, Colorado while visiting last fall. 

GOALS :)

Mitsou says "until next time!"

New Art, New Home

New Mexico Kitchen
mixed media on paper
available here

I moved again, but this time it is more permanent.  I feel like I have just returned from a very long long trip.  It started in 2018 when Vic and I moved to Colorado.  We lived there until June of last year, then moved back into our old Riverside neighborhood in Wichita, Kansas last June.  They say people often return home after moving away.  It turned out to be true for us.  We rented a house on the river while looking for a home to purchase, and with the market being a bit fast and crazy right now, finding a Riverside home that suited us turned out to be difficult.  However as luck would have it, a really wonderful modest sized midcentury home not far away turned out to be a great fit.  There are windows and outdoor spaces surrounding the house and it is just wonderful.  Ironically, my studio is the darkest room in the house so I have a lot of lights turned on when I am in it working.  I love it though.  It is a great little room to work in.

mixed media works on paper
5x7 inch
available here

I am slowly getting back to painting and finding a rhythm again.  I have been doing some works on paper lately, something I get a lot of requests for.  I also have some oil paintings on wood in progress.  I am really all over the place right now, but loving every minute of it.

Here are a few peeks at our home and until then, take care!

Balthus and His Mitsou

 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
during a visit in 2014

In 2014 I went with my sister to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and there was a wonderful Balthus exhibit taking place.  You can read a little about the exhibit HERE .  Part of the exhibit contained 40 drawings that Balthus did as a child of his found and lost cat named Mitsou, and depicted the story of her life with him.  The drawings were displayed in chronological order and in one of them there is a sad little boy, carrying a lantern, searching for his lost beloved cat.  A friend of his mother was so moved by the drawings that he published them into a book which was on display at this exhibit.  No photography was allowed, but if you search online you will find a photo of the book and some of the drawings.  

I left the exhibit promising my sister that my next cat would be named Mitsou, in honor of Balthus as a boy, the loss he endured, and in memory of this wonderful exhibit in New York.  As luck would have it, a short time later, a friend offered me a sweet grey and white kitten and the name Mitsou fit her perfectly.

My Mitsou posed for this painting I did below, but I painted her black and white, preferring a strong black and white contrast.  And now as I type this, I am wondering if the black and white choice was more of a subconscious decision.  A sort of nod to Balthus' black and white drawings of his Mitsou.

A Studious Cat
oil on cradled wood 9x12 inch

Mitsou

Musical Bluely

Musical Bluely
oil on paper 9 x 12 inch
available here

A couple of months ago I started guitar lessons and that is what inspired this. I suppose I painted a piano because I feel much more comfortable with it even though I have not played for quite some time. Music has always been a huge part of my life and it is a blessing to be part of a musical family.  My dad and siblings were musical, my in-laws are musical, and my son is now a piano teacher running his own music studio and gives my grandson piano lessons.  Kind of neat!  

This painting is available in my Etsy shop.