A Spring to Remember!

This is the first cactus piece I've painted in some time. I enjoyed the freedom of working with the watercolor.

"A Spring to Remember" • Original watercolor • SOLD

Impressions of Spring by the River

I started this piece on location at the Deschutes River. I talked my Mom into being my painting companion and we brought a picnic. I must say that this was after a LOT of rain here in the Northwest and we really wanted SUN! I think the light by The Dalles is BRIGHTER!!!!!! Even through my sunglasses everything seemed LIGHTER!!!!! Anyway, we sat by the river and I started painting. I finished in my studio. Even though the light was bright, the colors were kind of muted greens, browns and reds. The new growth is just starting to happen and the Spring flowers weren't blooming mucht yet. I used artistic license to add the light green leaves which were just starting to bud out. I wanted to make that contrast between the delicate first greens and the reddish, brownish colors in the background. I enjoyed creating the gradation in the water from dark to light, again using some delicate tints of blues and blue greens. The trees were fun, large sentinels along the river beginning to leaf out. The rhythm of nature continues to fascinate me and Spring is one of my favorite rhythms!

"Impressions of Spring by the River" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 12" x 12"

 If interested in purchasing this piece, click HERE.

Sunflower in Summer

This painting has been in the works for awhile. I wanted the colors to pop and the shapes to work. I'm pleased with what I've achieved, warm and cool yellows, warmth in the shadows, a good variety of different greens and I think the overall design works. I also tried cool highlights which work against the warmer yellows. Truly a Sunflower Summer!

"Sunflower Summer" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides • 8" x 10"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Paint an Egret Workshop

Today we painted an egret from a supplied photo. (Thanks to my brother, Joe Marek for the reference photo for this.) Everyone worked on different size supports and used different compositions and colors. Most worked in acrylic and one person worked in watercolor. We all had fun! The pieces we painted are below.

Here are all the paintings today! They are very beautiful and show creativity in both color selection and composition. YAY!!!!!

Owl Workshop

Today I did a workshop for Urban Tour Groups, a volunteer organization that gives tours of Portland to young people focusing on history, culture and architecture of the city.

We painted owls with acrylic and collage. Here is a sampling of the work. It was GREAT FUN! THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME!!!!

Here is a sampling of the work! There would have been 2 more pieces but my camera batteries died! Apologies to those not included.

Country Hawk

This hawk has been in my mind to paint for awhile. I really LOVE the reference photo. (Thanks to my brother, Joe Marek for that.) I think this was a case of not thinking everything through! The hawk was wonderful to paint with all the colors and shapes. The background was a nightmare! It took awhile to get the background to support the painting. Sometimes those brushstrokes just flow and everything works and other times everything doesn't work. It was the subtle shift in values in the background that finally pulled everything together...FINALLY!!!!!!! This painting has been my daily puzzle for awhile but now it's DONE and I'm HAPPY!!!!!

"Country Hawk" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 10" x 10"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.