It's Mocha!

A few months ago, the benefit auction for a local animal shelter started me down the road of painting cats. This is not a road I ever intended to go down, but let's face it, it's kind of fun. So far I've done three pastels of my studio cat Lily. After a while, this exclusivity started to seem a bit silly, since at home lives the World's Cutest Adult Cat. It's Mocha!

I decided to keep this one. :)

Convergence Study 2

Sold.

I spent the past several days at the Bellevue Arts Museum Artsfair, surrounded by my "regular" work. One small pastel that sold at the show had something about it that I want to explore further, in a larger work. Today I made this small study to work with the palette before embarking on the large piece.

I love the colorful grays with the shot of warm coral.

No, This is My Chair.

Sold.

A pastel of my studio cat, Lily, recently sold at an auction to benefit an animal shelter. It was a pretty popular item, so I decided to take advantage of Lily's modeling prowess and give it another go. Here, she claims my favorite chair of some twenty-odd years.

Reflection, Little Spokane

This painting has sold.

Every September I get to be a guest artist on the Little Spokane River Artist Studio Tour. The Tour takes place at three or four artist houses along the beautiful Little Spokane River, north of the city. This is the back yard of one of the host houses. Needless to say, I am a little jealous.

Evening Sun

This painting has sold.

A few weeks ago we were at some friends' house. They live out in the rolling hills south of town, and have a few acres of property. From the deck I spotted this little stream of poppies in the shade, with bright evening sun on the pale grass behind them. I hiked down to them in heels to get a reference photo.

White Light

$95. Click here to buy this painting.

Today I decided to try something a bit different. It was a fun challenge, although a bit of a complicated subject choice for someone in a hurry to paint for an upcoming show!

Approaching Storm

Sold.

On our drive back from Denver through Montana, the skies turned threatening. While Paul did everything in his power to keep the van from blowing off the road, I was snapping reference photos through the rainy windows. I loved this view of a lone tree weathering the storm, with the promise of clear skies in the distance.

East Montana Evening

$275. Available at Randy Higbee Gallery.

This past week my husband and I drove to Denver, where I showed in the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. One of the best parts of the very long drive was Eastern Montana at sunset. So many shades of green!

Cherry Creek went very well for me, so I may not get to post here every day as I paint new work for my next show, the Bellevue Arts Museum Artsfair. It's less than three weeks away, so I've got my work cut out for me.

Rondo

Sold.

Time for a koi break! I love coming back to these koi as a subject every once in a while. They have become easier for me to paint with time. The paintings get looser, but to my eye the koi feel more real at the same time.

I'm off to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver tomorrow, so this will be the last post until next week.

Sun on Sixteenth

$95. Click here to buy this painting.

On my way across Spokane's South Hill, I spotted this bit of colorful landscaping. I loved the contrast of the warm shrubbery and ground cover with the cool blue oat grass, and the light grass seeds against the deep shade beyond.

Nishinomiya

$95. Click here to buy this painting.

Nishinomiya, Spokane's Japanese sister city, is also the namesake of Manito Park's lovely Japanese garden. There is almost no view in this garden that is not worth painting.

Peony Day 3

$100. Click here to buy this painting.

Another of those bright pink peonies... I'm trying to simplify more with each one. I still got caught up in detail a bit, but I think it's going in the right direction.

The Neighbors' Yard 2

$95. Click here to buy this painting.

Another view of our neighbors' amazing garden, looking south as the sun shines down our street in the background.  This is the angle I see driving home from the studio every day.

The Neighbors' Yard

$95. Click here to buy this painting.

Around the corner from us in Spokane's South Perry district is a blue house with the most amazing yard... their guerrilla gardening spills out over the sidewalk and into the parkway. It is impossible to drive past without a smile.

The Blues

$95. Click here to buy this painting.

One of the most amazing color combinations of fall in the Northwest can be found in Oregon Grape. It grows like a weed here and isn't remarkable most of the year. Then, suddenly, there is this striking contrast of blue and turquoise berries against scarlet foliage.

Stone Bridge Shadows

This painting is sold.

This iconic, 100-year old bridge is always part of an inspiring view. This is only the second time I've painted it, though. I vaguely remember the first attempt several years ago as being far less successful. 

Blue Rose

$100. Click here to buy this painting.

This great, gnarly old rose bush looked so cool in the morning shade. The blues and purples of the dark foliage made a wonderful contrast with the bright, sunlit spring greens in the background.

Evenfall

This piece has sold.

Another scene from my favorite park. The repetition of patterns in the stalks of the shrubbery and the old branches of the pines made this a fun subject, and I loved the pink light!

Peony Day 2

This piece has sold.

Here is another study of the sunlit peonies in the university garden. I like the more abstract look of this one especially.

Cool Morning

$95. Click here to buy this painting.

One of my favorite colorful shrubs at the top of a trail through the park... There are things I like about this painting, but I think I will revisit this again soon.