Black and white goldfish

 Another fish.

I created a big charcoal mural on my wall one day when I couldn't seem to come up with a big painting to match the feel I wanted in my new living room.

I loved the directness and freedom of sketching something so big right on the wall. After that I decided to create a few smaller ones on wood:

The fish is an attempt to create a similar, immediate feel using paint on metal.

flower still life--a piece reborn

If you look at the bottom half of the painting you can see there is an underpainting creating a little extra interest on the "table" under the arrangement. Originally I had envisioned a dyptic and happily spent two days painting a flower arrangement that spanned two panels. Unfortunately, at the end of day two I stepped back and was disappointed with the ho-hum-ness of the piece. I learned long ago in art school  (after many tears and grumbling about wasted time) to be brave and destroy for the good of the work. So I took a deep breath and painted over the whole piece in aqua. The result is a much richer painting, something I may actually keep rather than paint over again.

Cafe Dogs Painting Series

My life took a sharp turn several years ago, necessitating I find solid and regular income--in addition to the come-and-go client-driven world of the artist. So I branched out and applied to nursing school. Many might think art and healthcare have nothing in common, but I would say inquisitive, thoughtful people can succeed anywhere, and I can't think of a place in more desperate need of creativity than a hospital. As a result, I spent inordinate hours at coffee shops plugging away at anatomy, microbiology, and mental health nursing along with a million more topics (probably not much of a hyperbole here). After a time, I began to notice how interesting the dogs were hanging out waiting outside the coffee shops for their owners. As an homage to the cafes, which played a huge part in paving the way toward my successful nursing career, I decided to paint a few of them.

More dog paintings...I can't stop!

Dogs make the best (and silliest) subjects.

View from the studio. Vegetable paintings in progress....

Bunny Paintings from my Moon Bunny series.

Several years ago I painted a line of greeting cards for Blue Mountain Arts. Here are a few, but there are many, many more out there...

fun vintage-looking planes

This is one of my favorite little vintage paintings--painted on canvas-covered panel and hung with string.