Self-Portraits

14" x 18"

charcoal on paper

16" x 20"

oil on canvas

I've started graduate school this summer studying art education. There aren't many art projects that I get to do; mostly I'm writing papers or lesson plans or reading. I did write a unit on Van Gogh's self-portraits and had to do examples, so I drew and painted these. They are supposed to be in a style similar to that of Van Gogh. I made myself look tired in these on purpose, because I was completely exhausted at the time I was trying to complete these and do all of the other work. Thankfully, I'm on a break now and can hopefully have some more time to paint (and sleep).

Star Wars

acrylic on canvas

each canvas is 20" x 16"

My son loves Star Wars right now. He kind of gets obsessed with whatever he is into at the time, to the point that he thinks of nothing else and talks about it incessantly, which can get kind of tiring to listen to. Last year it was Transformers. The year before that he was obsessed with keys. Now it is Star Wars. Anyway, he asked me to do some Star Wars paintings for his room, so these are the ones I did for him. 

Red Gerbera Daisy

40" x 32"

oil on canvas

SOLD

This painting is done on four seperate canvases, each hanging an inch apart from the other. 

Trees in Spring

20" x 16"

oil on canvas

I was looking for some scenes to paint for spring. I found these trees in an area beside the tennis court in my neighborhood, so decided to paint them. I had no interest in painting the tennis court. 

St. Michael's

11" x 14"

pencil on paper

Apples, Egg, and Bottle

18" x 24" 

pencil on paper

Apples and Tangerine

12" x 16"

colored pencil on paper

I'm teaching a class in colored pencils starting this week, so decided to prepare for the class by drawing some. 

Christmas Ornaments

30" x 30"

oil on canvas

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. It seems that my paintings have been very seasonal this year; maybe they always are, but I am really noticing it more this year. I guess I really am affected by the seasons and since painting is really just a way of keeping a record of one's life, much like a diary without words, I paint what I see during whatever season it may be. So these are some of my Christmas ornaments. I always love to paint with reds and reflections are always fun to work with too. Also, it seemed like I needed a Christmas painting in my house, because I am going overboard with the decorating this year and the flower painting that usually hangs in my living room doesn't really go with the Christmas theme that I have going on in there. 

Autumn Road

18" x 18" 

oil on canvas

It's been a while since I've posted any paintings up here. I have been doing some things, just not anything  I felt like putting up here I guess. Anyway, I've always loved the colors of fall, all of the oranges and reds. I decided to paint it before it was all over. 

Sports Paintings

Each painting is 12" x 14"

acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Lately I have been doing some specific paintings for bedrooms. These were done for a little boy's bedroom, 

obviously. I like doing the paintings for the entire room together, because it is fun to see what a difference the artwork brings to the room when it all comes together. It is definitely more of a decorative kind of art, but that is what people seem to be interested in. 

Great Smoky Mountains

18" x 18" 

oil on canvas

SOLD

I went on a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains last week. The mountains and the national park there are so beautiful. Of course when I go anywhere, I always come home and do a couple of paintings about it, so this is the first one from the trip. 

Black and White Abstracts

18" x 18"

acrylic on canvas

20" x 30" 

acrylic on canvas

20" x 30"

acrylic on canvas

20" x 20" 

acrylic on canvas

20" x 20" 

acrylic on canvas

20" x 20" 

acrylic on canvas

18" x 18" 

acrylic on canvas

18" x 18" 

acrylic on canvas

ALL SOLD

These paintings were all done to go in a bedroom. I just took some elements of the bedding and changed it up some to make designs that would look good on canvas. I saw a couple of pictures of the bedroom after they were hanging on the walls, and they do look good in there. I painted them a week ago, but didn't get them posted before I went out of town. Now I'm back and am catching up on things. 

Calla Lily

 

This is a video of me painting a calla lily. If the quality isn't the best it is because I filmed and edited it all myself on my laptop, so that's the best I could do in a very short amount of time. I think it might be featured on another website sometime soon. I'll let you know if and when it is. The painting is 28" x 36" and is oil on canvas. I did it for a friend of mine and when it is dry I will be shipping it to her.

This video is now featured on atlantawomanowned.com 

Road Through a Vineyard

15" x 10"

watercolor on paper

With this one I tried using more neutral tones than usual, with the exception of ultramarine blue and lemon yellow. 

Autumn Trees

9" x 12"

watercolor on paper

I was playing around with watercolor some last night. I tend to paint a bit more vague and impressionistic with it than with other mediums. 

Sunflower

12" x 18"

pastel on paper

I'm teaching a class in pastels starting in a few weeks, so I did this so I would have a new example to show. I am going to work on new examples for all the different media I'm teaching, so I will have some different kinds of work up here, besides just the oils. 

Wall in a Salon

I've been on vacation for over a week, so I didn't do any painting. Yesterday, I went and painted this border around three walls of a hair salon. I know, it's different than what I usually post up here, but I did paint it. I have a new painting I started working on last night, so I should be finished with it soon and post it then. 

Napa Valley Vineyard #2

18" x 18"

oil on canvas

SOLD

This is the second of my Napa Valley paintings, which I suppose the name makes pretty apparent. There is a bit more texture in this one and more red.

Napa Valley Vineyard

18" x 18" 

oil on canvas

SOLD

I have been commissioned to do a painting of a Napa Valley vineyard scene. I did this one and loved working with the colors so much that I am going to do at least one more before I move on to something else. I love the purples that show up in the landscape there, something that doesn't happen here in the southeast. 

Also, I've been going around to some other painting blogs to see what's out there and read on one that someone uses around 60 different colors on their palette. I have never owned 60 tubes of paint at one time and wouldn't even know what to do with that many if I had them all. It would seem like so much effort to set up the palette that I wouldn't ever get around to painting. I am curious to see a palette like that though. I just use 8 colors: 2 reds, 2 yellows, 2 blues, 1 black and 1 white, and sometimes a neutral like a burnt or raw umber, but very rarely. Now I'm feeling like I should expand the palette some. 

World of Coke

6" x 6"

oil on masonite

In our city we have a museum dedicated to Coca-Cola. We visited it over Spring Break, and I thought that it was funny that my kids were really only interested in the "free" coke that they got at the end. I spent $30 and all day so that we could get a free coke.  This is a painting of my son standing in front of a vintage Coke machine there that had sound effects, like a bottle opening, coke being poured, someone drinking, and then a loud burp at the end (which was of course his favorite).

A Walk on the Beach

30" x 24"

oil on canvas

This was painted from a very old photograph and is going in a beach house next week. I really like the waves and the colors where the water meets the sand the best. 

Daisies

14" x 11" 

oil on canvas

SOLD

Orange Slices

6" x 6' 

oil on masonite

Oranges

6" x 6"

oil on masonite

Poppies #2

9" x 12"

oil on masonite

SOLD

This is a companion piece to the other one. 

Poppies

9" x 12"

oil on masonite

White Trees

6" x 6"

oil on masonite

I think I am tired of painting trees now, so this is the last tree painting you will see for a while.

Tree in Yellow Field

6" x  6"

oil on masonite

Yellow Field

10" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Pink Tulips and Trees

8" x 10"

oil on masonite

This is another spring painting. I do love this season so much, especially for all the colors that appear.