Hello, strangers!

Little House in the Trees
oil on canvas, custom order
9 x 12"

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've posted. Since my two Holiday shows I haven't had much time for painting. I had these two custom orders to fill and once those were out the door it was *poof!* Holiday overdrive. Now that Christmas is over, I feel like I can share them with you without spoiling any surprises. I now feel like I have been in motion for too long. Time to settle in and get situated before welcoming the New Year.

Junco portrait
oil on board, custom order
6 x 6"

Hazy Day, Downtown Sacramento

One last painting before the weekend! A bigger one with a more abstract feel. If you've ever driven into Sacramento, you know the downtown sprouts from what seems like golden farmland. It's a bit surreal, this urban cluster surrounded by peaceful horizons.

Hazy Day, Downtown Sacramento
oil on deep canvas
12 x 12"
lightly varnished + signed
contact me for purchase info

Barn Dance

I originally painted this on a small laminate chip sample and few years back. I was happy to do it again, this time with blue shoes.

Barn Dance
oil on canvas
4 x 6"
lightly varnished + signed
custom order, *sold

Blue Clog

I love all shoes, but there's just something about clogs. Maybe because I'm a child of the 70's and they remind me of how I would tromp around the house in my mom's Dr. Scholls, Willie Nelson's "Stardust" playing the background.

Blue Clog

oil on canvas

4 x 6"

lightly varnished + signed

custom order, *sold

Sunflower Field

I am missing the fields full of sunflowers now that winter has arrived. There is something magical about living somewhere where you can tell what month it is by what's growing (or not) in the fields. When your dinner conversation involves "they harvested the tomatoes today" or "the sunflowers are now gone", you feel a connection even if you're not actually farming the land. For me, it makes the passing of time less jarring..more fluid. A continuum.

Sunflower Field
oil on wood block
4 x 6"
lightly varnished + signed
contact me for availability

Yosemite Meadow

..Life is too much like a pathless wood

Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs

Broken across it, and one eye is weeping

From a twig's having lashed across it open.

I'd like to get away from earth awhile

And then come back to it and begin over.

---Robert Frost

Yosemite Meadow

oil on canvas

4 x 6"

lightly varnished + signed

Spotlight

I have had a few request for ballet shoe paintings. Because I love all shoes, I'm happy to oblige. Now if I could only get Elton John out of my head. "Hooold me closer tineeeeee daaansuh..."

Spotlight
oil on canvas
4 x 6"
lightly varnished + signed
contact me for availability

Orchard Fog

Orchard Fog

original watercolor

5 x 7"

matted to fit an 8 x 10" frame

$40

contact me for availability

Converge

That point where it all comes together. Off in the distance. You can't really see it but you trust that it's there.

Converge

oil on deep cradled panel

6 x 12"

stained wood edges, perfect for immediate hanging

lightly varnished + signed

contact me for availability

Orange Clogs

I used to think that painting the same thing twice (or more) somehow was cheating. I'm happy to say that I've changed my mind. To return to a subject that's familiar and comforting to paint is a joy. You may remember these in red a while back. This time they're sunny and more sketchy orange ones.

Orange Clogs

oil on wood block

3 x 3"

lightly varnished + signed

perfect for sitting upright in a favorite spot

contact me for more info

Marsh, Winter

Up and running with my new computer. Still making adjustments and getting my feet wet--colors look different and everything seems HUGE. I have to say this Mac thing is pretty awesome. I did a series of three little landscapes on wood blocks this weekend. This one had an olive green underpainting which gave it a toned-down Old World palette feel. I like!

Marsh, Winter
oil on wood block
sawtooth hanger on back
4 x 6"
lightly varnished + signed
contact me for availability

Nesting

It's Wednesday, but I don't have a watercolor to show. I do have this little guy I painted yesterday, though. I love seeing little birds with their beaks full of bits for nesting.

Nesting
oil on deep canvas
4 x 4"
painted edges, suitable or immediate hanging
lightly varnished + signed on the side
contact me for availability

Sunset Oak

This is painted from a really old reference photo taken here along Putah Creek when my husband and I were in college. One of my all-time favorites. I keep coming back to it. It's comforting somehow and each painting turns out differently.

Sunset Oak
oil on wood panel
7.25" x 7.25"
lightly varnished and distressed along the edges
contact me for availability

Summer Rice

Summer Rice
original watercolor painting
8 x 10"
matted and ready for framing
$50 contact me for availability

Late Afternoon, Co. Road 102

This stand of trees is along my favorite country road. It makes such a beautiful contrast--the warm glowing fields and the cool green grove along the creek.

Late Afternoon, Co. Road 102
oil on cradled board
11 x 14"
stained wood edges, suitable for immediate hanging
lightly varinshed + signed

Moo.

California cows do seem to be pretty happy. And happy paintings come from happy cows.

Brown One
oil on cradled gesso board
6 x 6"
lightly stained wood edges, suitable for immediate hanging
varnished + signed
please contact me for more info

Rice Fields

Right now it's harvest time, but I love painting the little shoots of Spring. The green meandering carpet almost glows.

Spring Rice
oil on cradled gesso board
6 x 6"
lightly varnished + signed
*sold

Fogbank, Ft. Bragg

A little trip to the cool, misty ocean...at least in my head. Fall is coming, it's just taking its sweet time getting here. I missed my watercolor post yesterday. I had photos on my other computer which up and died two days ago and didn't have any new ones to share. I'll get back on it next week!

Fogbank, Ft. Bragg
oil on cradled gesso board
10 x 10"
lightly varnished + signed
available, please contact me for more info

Sky and Sand

I'm sorry the colors seem a bit wonky on this one. Our computer died yesterday and I'm fumbling on our old laptop. Fingers crossed the 'ol HP didn't eat all my pictures before going black!

Sky and Sand
oil on canvas
6 x 12"
lightly varnished + signed

Two Up High

This week has been a little chaotic so far and I haven't been able to park it at the easel like I had wished. But I eeked out this one last night. It started out as a still life but morphed into a landscape...funny how that happens.

Two Up High on a Hazy Day
oil on canvas
4 x 6"
lightly varnished + signed
$60
contact me for more information