Reaching, original oil painting of purple tulips

Reaching…my thoughts were all about mood and capturing a calm energy in this painting. I was reaching for a feeling, a mood, just as these sweet flowers seem to be reaching for, too. Sweet and fun and warm and inviting...so much fun!

This original 8"x8" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $160 here.

feeling peaceful

Feeling peaceful, if even just for a moment, is how I feel when I am painting. All time stops. All the noise of my thoughts slows down. It's magical and it's how I hope you feel when you look at my art :)

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel and is available, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

spring lilacs

This original 6"x6" oil painting is available, unframed, for $100 here.

Looks like Spring!

Crocus are a sure sign that spring is on it's way. Hurray! I find winter incredibly difficult to get through. I don't like the cold, or the darkness, not to mention it's so challenging to photograph my paintings when it's dark outside. It's best to photograph paintings in natural light. I feel thankful that having sunshine for my artwork is just around the corner...

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 here.

reach

Reaching higher, never giving up. A great thing about my personal painting practice is that it's a very obvious example of how practice and dedication equals growth. Sometimes in life, you try and try and feel like you get nowhere. But with painting, I can see my progress. And that gives me reinforcement that all the hard work does actually matter. This original 6"x6" oil painting is available, unframed, for $85. Click to Bid And just for fun, here is a work-in-progress of this painting. When I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull it off...

bird by bird

Awake at night, again, I am reading bird by bird by Anne Lamott. I absolutely love this paragraph, which puts things into perspective for me.

E. L. Doctorow once said that “writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice about writing, or life, (or art!) I have ever heard.

I often, and especially in the middle of the night, get lost in thinking that I’m not getting where I want to go (or even have any idea where that is). But thinking about it this way, just taking baby steps each day, makes it all so much less daunting. Now I just need to constantly remind myself of this! This 6"x6" original oil painting is available, unframed, for $85. Click to Bid

harmony

On this bitter cold morning I did something new. Instead of listening to the news, I listened to the Artists Helping Artists blogtalk radio show. It was about "Finances…the most dreaded topic for every artist." Even after having a business for the past 25 years, I still learned things from listening to this. Such as how to organize the records of artwork that has sold. So if you have never listened to her show, it's definitely worth checking out. Wishing you a weekend filled with harmony. This 6"x6" painting is available, unframed, for $75.

warm heart

Hope this painting warms your heart on this chilly Monday morning! Get all tangled up in a beautiful week...this painting is Sold!

thinking of you

Love, love, love these colors. Loose, free and happy. I have been reading a great book Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light & Color by Kevin Macpherson which I had but found as a recommendation from Jeff Mahorney's blog. It's been great inspiration! A must read if you love oil painting and are still in the learning stages like me. SOLD.

iris trio

This little 5"x5" painting is from a photo taken at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa. I plan to do a larger painting but wanted to try a tiny one first. Hope you enjoy it! Happy Friday! Available for purchase $80 unframed.

buds

Sometimes a painting is just effortless. I wish they all were that way, but then there would be nothing new to learn. Right? This little 6"x6" painting was effortless. And I love the way it turned out, if I do say so myself :). SOLD

pansies

These happy pansies are from a photo that I took of the flower box by my back door. I am so happy to see everything starting to bloom. This original oil painting is 8"x8", $180.