Red Umbrella

Title: Red Umbrella

Size: 9" x 12"

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See eBay auction tonight for purchase.

PAINTING:

This painting has lots of paint in many layers. I have an abstract underpainting and then moving horizontally, layed the rich oils down in golds, pinks and blues to lend a watery rain effect, dragging my knife every once and awhile. I then highlight with bits of white. Finally, I paint the woman with the red umbrella....the umbrella being the focal point.

INSPIRATION:

We had a big downpour today for a short time and nice drizzly rain for a few hours after that. I love the sound of rain on the roof. From my window I can see the people walking around with their umbrellas, busy going to work, but this woman's red umbrella caught my eye and made me smile. Hope you enjoy.

New Orleans Jazz Duo

Title: New Orleans Jazz Duo

Size: 16 x 20

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See eBay auction tonight for purchase or contact me for commission

PAINTING:

I have a black underpainting to give depth to this piece. I then drag and sculpt with a small knife my rich oils. I used vibrant blues and greens and punches of red to bring elements of New Orleans Jazz to this musical painting.

INSPIRATION:

This painting was pure joy to paint. I love to listen to music and paint musicians in bright colors and rich textures. I hope you enjoy this one!

Late Night Rainy Date

Title: Late Night Rainy Date

Size: 16 x 20

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

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PAINTING:

I have a black toned underpainting as a base and then pulled vibrant blues, red and yellows all around the canvas, creating the illusion of lights and the blur of rain at night. I add many layers in this manner, making sure the colors are placed just right. The couple are added in whites and golds and accents of black. No brush was used, just rich winsor artist oils and knife....thick and buttery.

INSPIRATION:

I had a group art show last weekend and it's always a fun social event. It's been raining a lot here lately. I love this kind of rain...not too much but enough to water the plants and clean everything off and make it smell new and fresh. I painted some rain paintings for the show but saved my favorite to list here for you all. I really like how this one turned out....hope you enjoy.

Fields of Lavender and Gold

Title: Fields of Lavender and Gold
Size: 24 x 30
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See eBay auction tonight for purchase

PAINTING:
This large original oil has a black, orange and blue underpainting. I used a palette knife on most of this one, dragging bits of mixed blues and purples in my lavender and blended golds and cadmium yellows in the fields. I spent some time on the sky with some textured brushwork in the clouds and hillside.
INSPIRATION:
The vineyard bed and breakfast in Verona, Italy called Musella has beautifully inspiring countryside. A tapestry of color and folliage....olive groves, vineyards, lavender and forests. It was acres of beauty and this is one of my large studio paintings done from a smaller pochade.

Sunflowers

Title: Sunflowers

Size: 16 x 20

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See eBay auction tonight for purchase

PAINTING:

I used an abstract underpainting for added texture and tone and then rich, buttery oils and palette knife. I blended some soft green and gold background colors on my palette first. These make a nice setting for the blue vase and brighter yellow petals, which are delicately dragged onto the background.

INSPIRATION:

I have had some requests from a few local shops and one of the restaurants I hang art in here for more sunflowers. This one was my favorite of several that I painted so I thought I would offer it to my eBay people! I like to go to the Farmer's Market and buy a fewSunflowers on Saturdays. They do always make me smile. I hope they bring a bit of joy to someone's home!

New Orleans Ambience

Title: New Orleans

Size: 16 x 20

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

check out eBay auction for purchase

PAINTING:

This original new oil adds a whimsical touch to a soulful and spicy New Orleans corner. I have a red and black abstact underpainting under this one and then dragged many layers of bright reds, yellows and blues to create a reflective and bright version of New Orleans.

INSPIRATION:

Jazz music and the city itself are my inspirations. This city holds many stories, many memories and represents lots of things to many people, and will always have a special place in our hearts.

Italy Villa

Here I am with Mike resting from walking for miles in the beautiful gardens of Villa Carlotta on Lake Como, Italy.

Title: Italy Villa

Size: 20 x 24

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See eBay auction tonight for purchase

PAINTING:

I developed this composition slowly. I knew I wanted to put Carlotta in the forground and the Villa in the back. The paint is layed on with knife and it is rich and buttery and thick. I used a bit of gold paint in the forground for some added glimmer, and pushed my color with some winsor greens and purples in the background.

INSPIRATION:

This was one of my favorite Villas and we visited many. It has an impressive front yard with winding flowers and staircases and fountains. The acres of gardens are varied and have loads of mounding Azaleas, waterfalls and a Japanese garden. Just beautiful.

Scarlet Red Roses

Title: Scarlet Red Roses
Size: 16 x 20
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out eBay auction for purchase tonight.

PAINTING:
This original oil has a subtle dark underpainting and then rich, buttery oils are dragged swirled and scraped across the canvas to create this illuminating still life. I used mixtures of cobalt and manganese blues on the vase and cadmium and rose reds on the roses.
INSPIRATION:
My husband has a wonderful airforce career. I love him and am so proud of him. Before his last deployment to Afghanistan he gave me a bunch of red roses. He knows I love to arrange and paint them, and while I do, they are close to me and I get to smell them the whole time I paint.

Venice Italy

Here are our girls in Venice! They saw it for the first time and were in awe. Our feet got bruised from all the walking but it was worth it!

Title: Venice Italy

Size: 20" x 24"

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out eBay auction tonight for purchase

PAINTING:

I have many multiple layers of color on this peice and lots of details and color. I love the way the ocher colors of the buildings look with blues and greens of the water and the reflections are so much fun to swirl and drag with a palette knife!

INSPIRATION:

We just returned from Italy at the 1st of this month and I already miss it. I think the detail and architecture of Venice is amazing and it has to be one of the most interesting cities in the world.

New Orleans Jazz

Title: A Little New Orleans Jazz
Size: 12" x 16"
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See tonight's eBay auction for purchase

PAINTING:
This original oil has a black, red and yellow underpainting. I then lay multiple layers of rich, thick oils pulled and scraped on the canvas. The Winsor Newton Artist Oils are the very best and so it is always so much fun to apply with palette knife...cadmium reds and winsor yellows to the canvas.

INSPIRATION:
My youngest daughter loves Jazz music so we hear it all the time...after all she is 14! She plays clarinet and violin very well. I associate New Orleans with this old wonderful sound, and it seems everytime I paint a New Orleans scene, I can't resist a few musicians!

Lake Como by Boat

Here is a snapshot I took just after we got off the boat in Varena. It's so pretty, I miss it already!

Title: Lake Como by Boat

Size: 20 x 24"

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out my eBay auction tonight for purchase!

PAINTING:

This painting took many weeks to complete and I am very pleased with its finish. It has both fine brush work and textural palette knife work and so it is layered with translucent oil color and rich with texture and detail, light, shadow and depth.

INSPIRATION:

We returned from Italy and a 4 day stay on Lake Como. From the town of Bellagio, we boated to all the other towns on the lake and the sites from the Lake are spectacular. Everywhere I looked I saw something I wanted to paint.

This waterscape looks great in a black or silver plein air frame, but can hang without one as well.
Hope you enjoy!

New Orleans French Quarter Glow

Title: New Orleans French Quarter Glow
Size: 16" x 20"
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See eBay auction tonight for purchase!

PAINTING:
In this painting I put down a black and bright red underpainting. When dry I started multiple layers of palette knife oils, layer upon layer, dragging and cutting with my edge to create this modern, whimsical piece.
INSPIRATION:
I have had several people request more French quarter paintings so I certainly will get busy. This is one of my favorite places to visit and I hope you enjoy this painting as much as I enjoyed painting it for you!

Little Rooster

Title: Little Rooster
Size: 9" x 12"
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See eBay auction for purchase or contact me for comission

PAINTING:
I have a black and red underpainting on this little gem. The ochers and umbers laid in oil with knife make a nice backdrop to the white and red rooster. He is highlighted with pops of red and blue and bright green grasses. I spent some time on his detailed little face!

INSPIRATION:
I have several art shows this month and there is quite a demant for roosters around here. I like to paint several at a time, so here is my favorite for eBay. They are spectacular to paint because of the showy colors and I love to paint a rooster rich and thick and put it in a wide black frame for a show....it's an eye catcher. Maybe that's why he gets all the chicks!

Blue Hydrangeas

Title: Blue Hydrangeas

Size: 12 x16"

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See eBay auction tonight for purchase.

PAINTING:

A brightly colored abstract acrylic underpainting was applied and when dry I began many layers of oils with palette knife. Going dark to light and lean to fat, the images begin to come to life. Pops of bright yellow and complementary blues make this painting sing.

INSPIRATION:

This morning I cut big fluffy hydrangeas from my old bush on the side of the house. It is always amazing to me how these flowers change color and can vary so greatly in hue. They are starting to turn a bit silvery blue because Fall's chillier air is on its way, so this might be one of my last arrangements of the season.

The Art of Fishing

Title: The Art of Fishing
Size: 20" x 24"
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

See tonights eBay auction for purchase.

PAINTING:
I began this composition slowly from some old photos I took of my Uncle Fishing along the Truckee River near our house in Floriston, a small town in California where I grew up. I drew with a brush and cobalt blue, then adding dark purples and winsor greens for shadowed areas. When the paint is thinned it dries quickly and then I have my underpainting complete. The fun part is laying it thick with the knife, in bright blues and greens and rich frosting-like white highlights.

INSPIRATION:
I always loved watching fly fishing. I'm not so good at it myself, but I used to sit and sketch while my uncle fished in the the summers of my youth. Seems like a really long time ago.

Rainy Melody

Title: Rainy Melody
Size: 12" x 16"
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out auction tonight on eBay for purchase.

PAINTING:
This modern and textured painting uses pure oils and palette knife, rich and thick, and was a joy to paint. It was raining when I painted this peice and so I decided, no underpainting and just to put on thick drags of fluid, buttery oils, layer upon layer.

INSPIRATION:
Of course all the wonderful rain and colorful umbrella people in Arlington!

California Napa Views

Title: Napa California Views
Size: 20 x 24
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

PAINTING:
I layed on a colored and thinner layer of acrylic in dark colors as an underpainting and when dry came back with thick oils in palette knife, working bottom to top. I used soft brush work in the sky and bold bright thicker golds in the vineyard.

INSPIRATION:
Growing up in California and going to college at UC Davis I spent a lot of time in Napa and it is as beautiful as Italy. Similiar climate and foliage...no wonder they both make fantastic wines! Landscapes with this type of perspective are so much fun to paint...hope you enjoy.

Venice Reflection

Here I am on a great day from our recent trip to Italy. This is one of the hundreds of snapshopts I took here. The small canals are beautiful and in afternoon light the reflections from the old buildings and gondolas are amazing. I drove my daughters crazy contantly saying, "Look at the colors in the water...there and there!"

Title: Venice Reflection

Size: 12" x 16"

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

PAINTING:

I have many layers of paint on this sweet little painting. I focused on the water and the texture of the buildings, using some foundation white and some gold. I used some brush but mostly knife dragged horizontally in water and used like a mason on the buildings!

INSPIRATION:

Venice just seems to glow and glitter all the time but especially in afternoon and early evening. It is a most unusual and beautiful city. Hope you enjoy!

Wild Red Poppies

Title: Wild Red Poppies

Size: 30" x 24"

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

check out tonight's auction on eBay for purchase

PAINTING:

Rough scrapes of acrylic color prepare the base of this painting. Overlays of smooth, rich oils then create the vision poppies and the illusion of sunny fields and the outdoors. This painting is very large and using complementary colors of red and green which always appear brighter when placed next to eachother, so I do it often in paintings.

INSPIRATION:

I have a friend that is an interior designer and often commissions me to paint red poppies for her clients. She says a room can always use a punch of red. I would frame this one in a wide black frame but it is so large that it looks great without a frame as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Rainy New Orleans French Quarter

Title: New Orleans French Quarter
Size: 20 x 24
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Will post on eBay auction tonight for purchase.

PAINTING:
After painting an abstract and brightly colored underpainting with knife in acrylics, I began to see old New Orleans emerge with pure oils. I used some cad red and cad yellow in this one for added punch. I decided all palette knife and no brush as a knife seems to better suit New Orleans. Good Jazz music and lots of vibrant color.

INSPIRATION:
I have had many requests for more New Orleans French Quarter paintings and promise to try to keep painting more. This city is like the Paris of our country. Everyone who has ever been there loves it and some of the best people are from New Orleans. I love its antiquity and architecture, soul and charm. It is a joy to paint....hope you enjoy.

Poppies and Wildflowers

This is a photo of me and out girls in front of the oldest part of the estate. It used to be stables about 500 years ago, but is now the wine tasting room. Look at that old olive tree to my right. Beautiful. They have a big olive grove here to and make fantastic olive oils and spreads. We were talking about how we wished we could stay longer. What fun.

Title: Poppies and Wildflowers

Size: 20 x 24

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

PAINTING:

I stepped up the color using bright greens and complimentary cad reds with palette knife in this Italy inspired oil. The color of this painting is remarkable in person. With my traditionally heavy oils, the textural feel of the landscape makes the place come to life.

INSPIRATION:

The vineyard Musella was absolutely stunning...as was the wine. The landscape was directly out of a Monet painting and I couldn't wait to paint this piece.

Trees of Gold

Title: Trees of Gold

Size: 20 x 24

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

check out eBay auction tonight for purchase

PAINTING:

This painting has a pthalo blue underpainting and many layers of oils with palette knife were dragged and delicately layered for trunks and leaves. The trunks have several layers of colors: purples and greys followed by golden and white highlights. Even though cadmium red is very expensive, I couldn't resist using it in the canopy of fall leaves because it is the perfect shade for fall.

INSPIRATION:

Today was the first day of school and Fall is just around the corner. I LOVE the turning of the trees. Virginia is especially beautiful in the Fall because of all the trees.

Sea of Lavender

Title: Sea of Lavender
Size: 20 x 24
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out my eBay auction tonight for purchase

PAINTING:
I layed on a dark acrylic underpainting in palette knife as I usually do. Then with knife applied various shades of lavender with gold rows imbetween. Many shades of greens were added to the mountains and details on the little houses on the hillside. I used a bit of brush on these clouds to make them light and fluffy.

INSPIRATION:
I recently returned from Italy and the vineyard I stayed at for some of the time had olive groves, vineyards, sunflowers and lavender everywhere! It was so inspiring and beautiful. I love the scent of lavender so much I had to plant some in my yard as soon as I got home!

Sunflowers on the Patio

Title: Sunflowers on the Patio
Size: 20 x 24
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out my eBay auction tonight for purchase.

PAINTING:
It was a day for Sunflowers and I immersed myself in values of yellow highlighting with rich oranges and soft reds. A complimentary background blue and lots of detailed knifework brings these beauties to life.

INSPIRATION:
Sunflowers were abundant at the vineyard Musella that we stayed at in Italy, outside of Verona. These beauties were sitting on our patio and called to be painted. One of my many snapshots.

Italy

This is a photo of the house we rented in Venice. It was lovely 400 year old house off a quiet canal in the Jewish getto. I took this photo to show you our clothes line! There are no air conditioners or dryers in Venice, so everyone has a clothes line. It is so much fun to use and I think lovely to see towels drying in the sun, so we had to use ours too!

Title: Italy Flowers

Size: 16 x 20

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

PAINTING:

This painting has multiple layers of paint and I let it dry imbetween a few. I used palette knife on most of it and added oil color to foundation white for lots of thickly textured and aged looking walls which is lots of fun...I feel like a mason when I paint these scenes. And of course I added the clothes line, the charming flowers, and a cat.

INSPIRATION:

My Italy trip is and will inspire many many paintings. I think I took over 700 photos and my mind is still whirling with images I want to paint so many more to come.

This painting will be on eBay auction for purchase soon!

Here is our oldest daughter and my husband on our first night here in Venice. Right next door to our house was a little Trattoria with some great pizza that we frequented. I highly recommend!

Venice Twilight

Title: Venice Twilight

Size: 20 x 24

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out eBay auction for purchase.

PAINTING:

This painting really glows because of the bright colored underpainting and many layers of oils applied with brush and then heavier with horizontal strokes of knife. Details are also added with palette knife and I had to add bits of gold paint heavier with a knife because there is so much actual gold in the ancient and beautiful mosaics here in St. Mark's Basilica of Venice.

INSPIRATION:

My recent visit to Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace. I am a bit jet lagged still! What a place this Piazza is and so many millions of pieces of gold line the Doge's Palace in beautiful guilded mosaic form. They tell ancient stories that you must see to believe. The view of this painting is looking across the grand canal at the Square where all the lovely Gondolas are docked. This light was golden and breathtaking at the end of this day. I will post some photos soon.