My two loves - watercolor and oil

I love both watercolor and oil but understand why watercolor doesn't sell in galleries as well as oil does.  It is not the look of watercolor but the glass that is required when framing watercolor paintings.  It is as if there is a barrier between the viewer and the painting viewed.   This is done in oil in the style of watercolor with no glass required!!

I Found My Heart Song

I was asked recently what I liked to paint.  I said that I paint everything.  This is true but that question stayed with me this past week.  What do I really LIKE to paint?  I sat for a long time with that.  I pulled out some paintings and reflected on feelings I had when I painted them.  I realized that there are times when I paint I get an inner joy that is beyond description.  It is a feeling of being high and it is as if my whole body were smiling.  I have it when painting some things and not as much when painting others.  So, I put those paintings next to each other that had memories of feeling like I was "in the zone" when I painted them.  What did they have in common?  They were not all of the same subject.  They were not the same colors.  Some were high key and some not.  Some had a lot of contrast while others not so much.  There had to be something that weaved them all together.  What was it?  Then it hit me.  They all had faces but not necessarily human faces or even animal faces.  It could be the face of a mountain.  It could be facing fears.  I found faces of flowers and faces of people or animals equally exciting.  Ah, I finally found my heart song!  I finally discovered what made me sing inside.

22"x28" oil on canvas

Traveling Artist

This past month has been one of travel.  One way I find inspiration is to look at the work of others.  The Cache Valley has lots of artists but few galleries so Bob and I took off for both warmer weather and art galleries.  We spent time in both Tucson and the Phoenix area taking is as much art as we possibly could.  I came back ready to break open the new canvases that arrived while we were out of town.  This is still a work in progress and seeing it online often helps me see areas I'd like to improve upon.  This painting is 30"x40".

Missing the Desert

I miss the desert.  I miss the dry, heat.  NO, not the HOT heat of summer but the dry heat of the other seasons.  My body really likes dry heat.  Since I can't get to the desert right now, I'm bringing the desert to me via some new paintings.  These are a sample of what Utah has to offer.

Busy painting

I've been busy painting but haven't been very good at blogging lately.  I'll post some of the work I've been doing as soon as I get some photos taken.  In the meantime, here is one I'm working on.

Back in my studio again

When I looked at the date of my previous post, I couldn't believe it.  It has been a little over a month since I've painted or posted anything.  Yes, the holidays are one excuse but this year's holidays have been gloriously laid back.  Maybe it is that I needed a break for awhile.  Whatever the reason, I'm back in the saddle (studio) again.  The colors of the paintings are richer.  There was a lot of sunlight coming through the window when I took these photos.

"Balanced Rock at Sunset"

Oil on Linen 12"x16"

"Window in the Rock"

Oil on Linen  20"x16"

Another View

This is another view of Lake O'Hara in the Canadian Rockies.  I would LOVE to go back there again!  I feel peaceful even when painting from photos I took.  The water is this amazing color of green with bits of the sky reflected into it.  I'm told the green comes from the minerals in the water.

"Another View"

20"x16" oil on board