Young Bull

"Young Bull"

oil on canvas board

9x12
sold

I took a photo of this cow and calf in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge several months ago.  I used my camera with a 30 power zoom lens since the herd was quite a distance from the road.  This is the third painting I have done with the alky primed canvas.  It is truly a joy to paint on!  I'm hoping that the roll of canvas I ordered will come soon as I am now out of these panels.

The Perfect Day

"The Perfect Day"

oil on canvas board

12x16

sold 

I took a photo of this scene the day we were first allowed back into the national parks.  My girlfriend and I had been waiting all week to spend time in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and this day was absolutely glorious--perfect weather!  We took along our easels and painted in this very spot.  The rest of the day was so beautiful, we kept calling it the perfect day--hence the name! 

Grazing Buffalo

"Graziing Buffalo"

oil on canvas board

9x12
sold

I am experimenting with a new canvas surface.  I have tried acrylic primed and oil primed canvas and was not entirely pleased with either surface.  So I ordered a few linen canvases primed with alkyd.  I must say I love this surface to paint on.  The paint glides on easily, but with the control that is lacking with oil primed canvas.  This buffalo was so easy to paint.  I usually struggle with painting wildlife, but this one was a joy to paint.   

A Good Morning

"A Good Morning"

oil on canvas board

16x12

sold

When hiking with my family in Colorado last summer, I took a photo of this fisherman fishing at one of the gorgeous lakes we hiked to.  It was a long and strenous hike to this lake but well worth the climb.  It was a glorious morning and I'm glad to have this painting to remember it by!

Last Rays of the Sun

"Last Rays of the Sun"

oil on canvas panel

12x16
$165

I spent last week with my best friend, Renee Sheridan, hiking and painting in the Wichita Mountains and Quartz Mountain State Park.  We took lots of great photos which I look forward to painting.  This week I'm teaching an oil painting class and trying to get in some painting as well.  This painting is of a scene in Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo Texas.  The photo was taken from our campground in the canyon.  A very colorful place!

A Wandering River

"A Wandering River"

oil on canvas panel

10x20
sold

 I just finished this painting of a meandering river in Wyoming. 



Canyonland Cliffs

"Canyonland Cliffs"

oil on canvas board

10x20
$170

At long last I am back to painting after a trip to Europe and an art show.  I set up a booth at the Medecine Park Art Walk on the 28th and 29th of this month and sold nine paintings.  This is a painting of a scene in Canyonlands National Park in Utah.  It was late in the afternoon and the shadows were really striking! 



Bird on a Gate

"Bird on a Gate"

oil on canvas board

11x14

$140

This painting was painted from an old photo of a barn that was torn down years ago.   The title is not very imaginative.  If anyone can give me sugestions for better titles for this or any other painting, please help me out.  I'd really appreciate your input!



Grazing

"Grazing"

oil on canvas board

8x10
sold

                                                                              

This painting was painted from a photo I took in Fredericksburg, Texas, on a recent trip.  These sheep were in a field next to our campground.  Our chihuahua, Pepper, was very annoyed with me that I was taking so long taking pictures.  The last rays of the sun were lighting up the sheep and the colors were very warm.  I always enjoy painting mothers and babies, in whatever species.

A Study of Rocks

"A Study of Rocks"

Oil on canvas board

10x20

sold 

This was a good excercise in painting rocks--one of my favorite subjects.  I took the photo several years ago in Colorado while on a hike.  I used different colors than I've used before to paint the rocks and I like the results.  I'm always experimenting with new color combinations--it makes life interesting!

Telluride

"Telluride"

oil on canvas board

9x12

sold 

I am teaching another workshop this coming weekend and painted this scene in preparation.  I'm planning on painting this scene of the river in Telluride, Colorado, for a demonstration.  I worked from a photo I took years ago on a jeep trip to Telluride.  We usually camp in Ouray, and take jeeping trips over the old mining roads throughout the area.  The scenery is amazing, especially with the fall foliage!

Follow the Leader

Follow the Leader"

oil on canvas

11x14

sold

Today I finished this painting of a small bison calf following the bull of the herd.  I am glad to be finally back to painting after our summer trips to Colorado and Iowa.  I taught a one day workshop in Weatherford, Oklahoma on the 22nd of last month and have been catching up on projects around the house.  I had painted this subject a few years ago and decided to try it again.  The results were quite different the second time around.

 "Ragged Fence"

9x12

oil on canvas board

sold

I've been asked to teach a worshop this month and I'm trying to prepare for it.  I've been painting small paintings to find a subject that would work well for a demonstration.  This is the scene I've finally chosen to paint.  I panic when someone asks me to teach.  I'm not sure how much of a system I've developed to ensure a good painting.  I mostly just solve problems as they come up.  Hopefully I can teach them something worthwhile.

"Cool Waters"

9x12

oil on canvas board

sold

This was one of the paintings I did to prepare for the workshop.  I don't think I'll demonstrate painting this one.  It might be too difficult for the students.  I decided to paint this one in bright greens--colors I seldom use since we live in Southwest Oklahoma.  We just got back from a trip to Colorado and Iowa where we saw some breathtaking greens--so refreshing to the eyes!

"The Narrows"

24x32

oil on canvas board

Once again, I repainted an old canvas.  I painted the first version in 2009 and it just seemed too cool in color to me.  So I took off the frame and tried again!  That was not an easy process, as I discovered that the framer had nailed the painting into the frame with quite a few nails!  This is a scene from the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  I warmed up the color of the cliffs and the trees and darkened the crevises in the side of the cliffs.  I put a bit more detail in the background, putting in warm green trees.  Then I lightened up the water and the ground in the valley.  I also lightened up the mountains in the far background.  The light on the cliffs seemed to be a bit stark, so I changed the color from a yellow-white to a softer lavender.  Hopefully I can finally sell this monster.  This is the largest painting I've ever painted.  I was advised by several people that I ought to paint larger paintings, but they just don't seem to sell.  People around here don't want to spend much money on paintings.  

"Zion Morning"

12x16

oil on canvas board

sold

I painted the top painting in 2010 and was not pleased with it, so I decided to repaint it.  The bottom painting is the edited version.  I enjoy repainting canvases from time to time to see if I can improve on what was painted years ago.  The colors are warmer in the second version and the river has better reflections in it.  I do like the second painting better--hopefully I am getting better at expressing myself in oils.

"I Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills"

oil on canvas board

20x10
$140

This is a scene from the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge--one of my favorite areas to paint.  This particular scene is found on the trail to the Narrows.  There is a place overlooking the stream that has plenty of rocks on which to sit and enjoy the view.  I started this painting before I attended the Edmond Art Show and finished it after I returned.  I did well at the show despite the cold windy weather--I sold 10 paintings!  Now I am inspired to paint more.  I always enjoy visiting with my fellow artists and I picked up a few painting tips from them as well.

"Elk and Calf"

oil on canvas board

12x16

sold

I just finished this painting of an elk and her calf.  I had taken tha photo in the Rocky Mountain National Park a few years ago, but I didn't like the background in the photo.  So I looked through my photos to find a good background and found this scene taken in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  Since there are elk in the refuge, I combined the two photos.  We don't very often see elk in the refuge and if we do glimpse them it is usually in the evening or morning when it's hard to get good photos.  I've only seen calves this size in the refuge one time and they were too far away to get a good photo.  We are going back to the Rocky Mountain National Park this summer so I'm hoping to take more photos of elk.

"Cliffs at Mesa Verde"

20x10

oil on canva board
$175

I just finished this painting of a scene in Mesa Verde, Colorado.  This is the first painting I have ever done in this long vertical format.  It was certainly a challenge to paint, as the cliff was worn by time and rain into unusual shapes.  I loved the colors in the rocks, however, and had fun painting them.  I'm considering painting in an eagle or hawk, but I'll have to think about that for awhile.

"Lake Altus"

12x16

Oil on canvas
$150

Yesterday, I repainted an old canvas that I'd painted years ago, a painting of a lake in our area. My painting stye has improved so much since then, I was ashamed to display it any longer, so I decided to repaint it.  It's not exactly one of my best, but I am certainly more pleased with the second one.  As you can tell, the lake is low, but if I were to paint the lake as it is right now, you might not see any water at all in this view.  I don't like to look at Lake Altus these days--its too discouraging!  We really need rain!

Cactus

 

"Cactus"

oil on canvas board

12x16

sold

I had a lot of fun painting this cactus plant in the surrounding weeds.  The first day of painting was discouraging and I almost rubbed it off.  The colors just looked dull and uninteresting.  But after I began to put in the highlights on the cactus and the weeds it came to life.  Sometimes it pays to struggle on and not give up!  And other times it doesn't.

The Herd

The Herd

10x20

oil on canvas board

sold

This is a scene I recently painted of buffalo in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  This Refuge is only an hour from our home in Altus and a favorite place for my husband and me to camp and hike.  I take lots of photos to paint from.  The photos of the buffalo were actually taken in Wyoming, while the background photo was taken in the refuge.  I really enjoyed working with these colors--I usually don't have such a variety of colors to work with when painting the refuge.  I have been learning to work with grays more in mixing colors and I find that its easier to acheive the colors I am looking for.  I learned a lot from an artist named Don Finkeldei who puts a lot of instruction on his web site.  He was very gracious to answer my questions. 

Morning in Palo Duro

Morning in Palo Duro
oil on canvas board
10x20
sold

This is my first post on my new blog.  I'm losing my free website, so I'm having to figure out an alternative.  I'm not very good at computers, so this blog may be pretty basic.  Maybe I'll get better at it later.  This is a painting I just finished of a scene in Palo Duro Canyon.  I took a photo of this scene one morning from our campground.  I f you've never been to Palo Duro Canyon, its certainly worth a trip--its very paintable!