The last couple of years my work has been evolving. I am glad for that because it reflects continual personal growth. I believe that whatever you choose to do in your life you should continually try to improve; to grow and evolve. There is no nirvana in life, be it with your job, hobby, relationship, or passion. I have always considered myself an illustrator of life and certainly have been known to have long, heated conversations about where the transitional line between fine art and illustration might be…. if there is actually one.

An active part in this evolution has been long drives with my husband, soaking in wonderful images, and taking photographs to use in future paintings. I love sponging (a term I use that means to learn, stretch, grow and absorb new things) and these drives are wonderful; saturated in visual richness and important stimuli for later time at the easel. One of the subtle impacts these outings and the photos I have been gathering through the last two years has had, has been the drift from painting people in historical story venues to the geographical settings themselves. The land, the time of day, the light, and the texture of the moment have begun to drive the images. The challenges of capturing these moments set in more demanding settings has been exhilarating and motivating. The stories are less blatant and allow the viewer to bring more of their personal stories to the image.
I hope you are enjoying the evolution.

I enjoyed painting so much this last weekend and it was especially fulfilling to complete the work before end of day on Sunday.

The picture here, like all of the pictures of my paintings that I post on this website, are merely raw shots with my phone and do not do the works justice. I just enjoy sharing them.

In this spirit of the romantic historical fiction of the “Outlander” series, I decided to paint from a photograph I took of my husband as he walked one morning through the grasses near one of our encampments. He was wearing a great kilt.

This painting will probably stay in my personal collection.

What fun I had today! I just painted and watched tv and relaxed with my husband.

There’s a cheery fire in the fireplace and supper was pizza with wine.

The painting is about 2/3 done already and I like how it’s falling into place.

I’m working oil on canvas, 11″ x 14″ on a tabletop easel so I can just stay in the living room while I paint.

Days like this are precious.

It is always a great day when I can carve out time to paint and when that is a whole Saturday I am elated. The first part of the day I was able to bring out the painting of the late afternoon sun that I had started in the spring.

For a number of reasons, most related to being too busy or having priorities determined by other parts of my life, this work has leaned in a corner for most of the summer. I knew it was close to done but there were things that felt awkward in parts of the image and my distractions had made it hard to pinpoint the problems. Yesterday, I had the time to implement the sub processing that had been going on [a large portion of any creative work goes on in the mind without touching the materials] and complete it.

The rest of the day I spent completing a panorama format landscape I started after I got back from a trip to north shore Superior in early August. I had been able to work on the sky in small increments (after work some evenings), but a nice, long stretch made it possible to gain inertia in a way I couldn’t have predicted. The paint just flew and my mind kept pace. It was pure pleasure.

Undivided time to paint for long stretches is such a rare blessing and I am thankful. I look forward to the time in my life when these kinds of days are more the norm and less the exception.

I hope you enjoy seeing the new work. Unfortunately, the little thumbnails I post here or the larger pictures in the galleries, both taken by my phone, cannot do the originals justice.

There’s an old farm adage that applies today, “Make hay while the sun shines…”. I have this day to work and don’t want to waste a bit of it. While I am waiting between the steps preparing the other board, I was painting a small portrait to try out my new magnifying lamp.

It takes a little practice to adjust to looking through magnification but it was fun. My phone shot doesn’t do it justice but thought I’d share anyway.

I have always loved the world of miniatures and making small art. From 18th century portrait miniatures to dollhouse miniatures, it is just good fun to work in small scale. This last February I painted a watercolor landscape in an enamel pin-brooch (see image in that post) and enjoyed making it very much.

In April I went to one of Tom Bishop’s International Miniature Shows and I was thrilled and challenged by the caliber of fine craftsmanship I saw. I decided fairly quickly that I would like to try my hand at high-end, dollhouse paintings and get into that show.

This is the first of a whole series of paintings I will be completing over the next months to build inventory so that I can be in that show next April. I am anticipating a need for a minimum of 30 to sustain inventory for the weekend so they should be coming along at a pretty healthy clip. I would love feedback on them, if you’re so inclined.

Don’t worry, I have full intention of continuing my large scale work as well. Enjoy!

I have always loved painting in little and painting in the scale needed to fit dollhouse walls or a piece of jewelry is especially fun. In honor of the upcoming show this weekend where I will have a few new large-scale landscapes, I created this small brooch to wear. It is 1 1/4″ long watercolor on Bristol vellum and is behind glass.

I have spent the morning painting and I think I am ready to call this sunset done. I hope you have enjoyed watching the process.

This last picture I shot of it was done outside and the color is definitely different when in natural daylight. Most of my photos are shot inside and after dark and it makes the color all over the place. This is the main reason why I have my work professionally photographed and the captures color matched before talking the originals to a show. That way, if the original sells at the show, I would have a record of the original and I could make prints at a future date.

I will be taking these landscapes and other selected works to the Echoes of the Past Historical Trade Fair in Oshkosh next weekend. Come see me there or at any of the events you see on the calendar.

I had the opportunity to get back on the painting this last weekend and it was fun.
At this stage it is a slow process of adding details in the grasses in the foreground. I paint a few bits and sit back and see if it is what should be there. The small size doesn’t show the amount of detail that is growing there but when I get done, rest assured, I will post a larger version.