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!

2013: The Early Bird

                                     "The Early Bird," 6 x 6 in.   Oil on canvas panel    $85 

  

Buy It Now     or    Click to Bid

For the first time in many years, I took a painting sabbatical to rest my "art muscles" and to enjoy the holidays with my family.  I've been working steadily and with intense focus for several years now, and after the Studio Tour last November, I realized that my brain and my body needed a break.  Last week, I returned to the studio rested and refreshed and have some fun paintings that I'll be sharing with you.  Here's "The Early Bird" that started me off bright and early!

I'd like to remind everyone that there are two ways to purchase my paintings online:  

Buy It Now   or    Click to Bid

1)  The "Buy It Now" price is posted beneath the painting's photo.  You can either contact me by email, or click on "Buy it Now"  to purchase with PayPal.  When you use "Buy It Now,"  you instantly guarantee that the painting is yours.

2)  The majority of my posted paintings are also available by online auction.  The "Click to Bid" link will take you to Daily Paintworks, an online auction site for artists.  The starting bid on my paintings is currently $35 (unless otherwise noted).  Bidding is in $2 increments.  I'm still building my online following, so these auctions are often a great way to obtain my work at below retail prices.  

Please note that once a bid has been placed on a painting, "Buy It Now" is no longer an option and bidding in the auction becomes the only avenue to purchase that painting.

If you'd like to take a look at my Daily Paintworks gallery and investigate my current auctions on the site, click here.  

Enjoy!

Old Fashion, Glazed

Old Fashion,  Glazed         6 x 6 inches, oil

Click here to Bid

In preparation for the Pikes Peak Studio Tour, I set out to paint some small, very affordable paintings,  5 x 5" in size.  Who knows why, but I decided to start with a donut.  One thing led to another, and I ended up painting a dozen donuts and a cup of coffee.  Powdered sugar, chocolate covered, jelly-filled, sprinkled, boston creme....  They're charming on their own and will be great displayed in groupings.  This Old Fashion Donut I painted expressly to auction on Daily Paintworks, so it is the traditional 6 x 6".  

I'm dying to show you all of them, but am keeping them under wraps for the tour.  Your first chance to see them will be at the First Friday ArtWalk in Old Colorado City.  Did I paint your favorite donut?  Come see on November 2nd.

In hopes of preserving my figure, I'm now turning my attention to painting inedible things...

The Young Collector

I was hiking with my husband recently on a beautiful autumn day.  Much of the way, we followed a family with three young children.  The youngest was just a toddler and was bouncing here and there as he ran along.  With his bright orange sweatshirt and shining blonde hair, he reminded me of a little sunbeam.  I was lucky enough to have my camera ready when he bent down to reach for another treasure.

"The Young Collector" can be purchased for $320 (framed) plus shipping and tax (if you are a Colorado resident).  I take credit cards and you can ask me about making payments if that would be helpful.  Contact me at 

info@juliekirkland.com.

Canned Carrots Still Life in Oil by Colorado Artist Julie Kirkland

This week's painting challenge was to paint your vegetables. I was a little intimidated by the lacy leaves on the carrots, but ended up liking the way they turned out.