Holiday Open House

I'm having a terrific time preparing more work for you to enjoy at the upcoming Holiday Show at The Second Floor Studios and am looking forward to visiting with everyone!  I'm also privy to the new work that my fellow artists are planning to show, and you are in for a real treat!  This week, I'm working on small pieces that will fit anyone's budget.  Here's a 5 x 5 inch titled "Day Dreamer."

Daydreamer   5x5" oil

Saturday and Sunday, December 5-6, 2015, 11am to 6pm.

The Second Floor Studios, 2418 W. Colorado Avenue

Above the Michael Garmin Gallery.  Entrance faces Bancroft Park. Just follow the signs!

Holiday Open House

As many of you know, I haven't participated in the First Friday ArtWalks in 2015, which means that there hasn't been any public access to my studio except by appointment. I'm excited to be inviting you to stop by my studio on the the weekend of December 5th and 6th to see all of the work that I've created in the last year!  I have plenty of paintings that would make great Holiday gifts, including florals, still lives, figures and many local landscapes.  Stop in to visit with me and find your new favorite painting!  11 am to 6 pm each day.

Studio L
The Second Floor Studios
2418 West Colorado Ave.
Colorado Springs, CO  80919
719-338-4298

Here's a taste of what awaits you:

Singing Hollyhock 4

Singing Hollyhock 4                                                5x5 oil

This will be my last hollyhock painting for awhile.  In this piece, I concentrated on simplifying the petals as much as possible. I'm very pleased with the result!

Summer Sisters

 Summer Sisters   6x6 inch oil

After having fun painting "portraits" of individual hollyhock blossoms, I turned to painting them in the abundance that we are accustomed to seeing them.  This series has been a fun way to explore painting with pinks (I'm more familiar with reds) and the way that they create beautiful purples.  I also discovered the wonderful glow that adding orange gives them.

Singing Hollyhock 3

Singing Hollyhock 3   5x5 inch oil

In this little painting, I fell in love with the grayed pinks and lavenders that created the blossoms on the left and the spark of yellow in the center of the main flower. In the original painting, the flowers are a softer pink and don't look as blue as they do here. Sometimes, Photoshop baffles me....

Singing Hollyhock 2

Singing Hollyhock 2   6x6 inch oil

This hollyhock painting is slightly larger than the other two in the series.  It measures 6x6 inches versus 5x5 inches.  Although it's difficult to capture in a photo,  what excited me when painting this is the discovery of how much red and orange I could use in the foliage and still have it look green. The colors in the original paintings are just a wee bit softer than they look here.

Putting on the Dots

Putting on the Dots     6x6 inch oil

 

Whenever I play with patterns, this little guy shows up front and center. This time I think he's imagining how he would look in orange polkadots.

Singing Hollyhock 1

Singing Hollyhock 1  5x5 inch oil

I've been doing a series of hollyhock paintings, and have enjoyed playing with the light and shadow of the petals.  All artists fall in love with little areas of their paintings, and those areas are sometimes away from the central focus. My favorite  "gems" on this piece are the bud in the upper right and the blossom in the lower right corner!

Jersey Girl

Jersey Girl   6x6inch oil

 

It's hard to say which is warmer, the golden afternoon sun or the soft brown eyes of this lovely Jersey girl!

The Coral Queen

The Coral Queen     6x6 inch oil

Starting bid is $40

This summer, I had the opportunity to paint in some beautiful gardens in the Old North End of Colorado Springs.  It was a sunny and hot afternoon, and this coral rose reflected the heat of the day.

Berries and Cream

Berries and Cream                6x6" oil

Berries and cream come to mind when I see red, luscious strawberries like these. You can almost smell their intoxicating fragrance!  What would summer be without them? Starting bid is $45.

Daisy Sunbath

Daisy Sunbath                      3x4 inch oil

Daises and sunflowers are my favorite flowers. They are simple in design and color, but their happy faces bring happiness and cheer. This little daisy charmed me with her upturned face soaking up the sun.

Opening bid is $20 or you can buy it now for $45.  Let me know if I can help you with framing!

Bumble Cafe

"Bumble Cafe"                        3x4 inch oil   (Image slightly larger than the actual painting)

  

One of the great sounds of a summer garden on a warm day is the buzz of bumble bees collecting nectar from the many-colored "cafes" that they find.   How to simplify the wings and still have them read properly was a challenge, especially on such a tiny canvas.

Opening bid on this painting is only $20!

Amber Eyes

"Amber Eyes" 6x8 inch oil on canvas panel

Click to Bid in my Online Auction 

$40 starting bid

The last two years has been a mixed bag of big events in my family, ranging from my sister's cancer, my son's wedding, my father's severe stroke, my husband's retirement and other major celebrations. My focus has been on painting in my available time and I gave myself permission not to spend as much time on the business end of art.  This post begins my return to connecting with all of you online, so I'm resurrecting my once a week blog post.  I'm excited to share my latest work and the progress that I'm making in the studio!

"Amber Eyes" was painted from a photo that I took about 5 or 6 years ago. The image has stayed in the back of my mind all this time as one that I wanted to paint.  I ran across this pretty tabby while roaming through a tack barn here in Colorado and I fell in love with her sweet nature (That shows in her eyes doesn't it?). Being in charge of rodent control in the barn meant that she only had sporadic company, so she was happy to great all visitors!

Caught by Surprise

Caught by Surprise    6x6" oil

Click to Bid in my Online Auction

$40 starting bid

Bunnies run rampant in my yard.  I plant only rabbit (and deer) resistant native plants, but sometime the bunnies just can't resist nibbling away.  This is the look on one bunny's face when he heard me coming.....

I will be open for the OCC Art Walk this Friday night, June 5.  I won't be open for Art Walk on a consistent basis this season, but will let you know when my studio will be open for those events.  I've been concentrating on three new series.  One is a month by month plein air painting of Pikes Peak, another is a return to some of my surrealistic/magic realism subjects, and the third is a fun project I'm calling "About Face."  The series features 6 x 6 inch portraits of the back of people's heads.  The idea is that our family and friends are just as recognizable from the back as they are by their facial features themselves, especially if they are wearing a favorite hat. Come take a look at the first finished pieces. There's an example below to give you an idea.

ArtWalk is from 5:30 to 8:00 pm at the Second Floor Studios in the Michael Garmin Building, 2418 W. Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO.  Our entrances faces Bancroft Park and you'll find me in Studio L.

About Face, No. 1