Elephant..........rocks?

I wanted to paint and offer something "generic" enough to put up for sale but I also wanted it to be something that represents part of me. I knew it would be a landscape of some sorts. I went through my childhood memories and it hit me like a ton of bricks, er.....rocks.  Elephant Rock Park in Missouri! My family and I went there about once a year for as long as I could remember growing up. So I looked through various pictures and this is what became of these memories.  Oh also, my daughter LOVES Elephants and she was naturally intrigued by this place.

"Elephants Rocks!"

11x14" acrylic on gallery stretched canvas

April 2011

FOR SALE

contact me for price

For fun a few pics of the real thing.

Me and my oldest boy in 2001.

"Chester"

"Chester" is a white Pomeranian dog of my brother-in-law and his family. He is a very loved and spoiled dog. So what better gift to paint them?

"Chester"

11x14" Acrylic on stretched canvas

April 2011

A house on memory lane

I was asked to do a painting from a panoramic shot of my husband's great grandmother (now passed on for many years) on the porch of her house. The photo was aged and details of "Granny" were hard to make out. I took one look and was immediately nervous and doubtful. But I like a challenge, and I knew this would definately test my talent. I stared at the picture for a good month and finally when it was nearing the end of the kid's spring break I dove into it. 

The house I knew well. You see ironically the house that is in the painting is the house that my family and I have lived in for the past 7 years. It's amazing though how many things I noticed when trying to translate it onto a canvas. It was also fun to paint it how it was back then. It looks different, yet the same today.

I snapped 3 photos of the process.
Here is the first.

Here is the second.

And the finished painting.

"Granny's House"

Acrylic on stretched canvas

March 2011.

My husband took it over to his Grandmother and  said she cried. She invited her sisters over to see look at it and they were just as emotional. I am estactic that they loved it so much. I put a lot of energy in this painting to get it right because I knew that it would mean a lot to a bunch of family. So much history and memories in this house. 

And just for fun........

The front porch of the house today.

Crowing Older?

This former city girl  loves chickens. At one time we owned quite a few but a fox took care of that. I am in the process of building a bigger and better coop, since we have some ducks that have moved into the now secure chicken one. With that said I had super fun painting this birthday present for my mother inlaw. She loves chickens too! So what better to paint than a glorious rooster looking handsome?

"Ah-doodle-doo!"

16x20"

Acrylic on stretched canvas

GIFT

No regrets

Since I had gotten my "feet wet" copying off of photographs I wanted to do something different and pull something from my head.  I have always been drawn to chiaroscuro art. When I was younger there was a 3'x1' painting that hung in the corner in St. Louis art museum amoung huge works of art.  It was my favorite painting and it was the first place I went to. I love how the lights and darks play off each other. So much feeling is expressed in this painting. Not just subject matter but in the monotone colors. It gives me chills.

St. Francis Contemplating a Skull

Francisco de Zurbaran

I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to paint at first but something was nagging at me. Finally, I had a clear image in my head.  The painting above was an influence as well as other things that drive me. This girl is no one I know but someone that I can feel for. She came to life on the canvas and spoke of sadness but hope of moving on. Mourning over the loss of a loved one, but finally moving on too. Where memories stay vividly alive in sorrow, but also where you can start living life again.

"No Regrets"

11x14"

Acrylic on stretched canvas

A beloved pet.

A "facebook friend" of mine contacted me after seeing some of my work to see if I could paint a dog named "Mac". It was going to be a gift for her sister-in-law. "Mac" had to be put to rest after 10 wonderful years with that family. Of course knowing how much it hurts to lose a pet I gladly took the challenge to capture this pet for them.

"Mac"

8x10"

Acrylic on stretched canvas

CUSTOM ORDER- SOLD

Run, Spider, run.......

One beautiful warm Mississippi fall day the kids and I were out with the dogs. The two little weinie dogs were playing with our cat Spider. They all get along great. It was a game of chase and after a while the cat was up the tree. I snapped a picture with my phone because it was so cute. The picture didn't turn out to good as a photograph but it immediately came to mind composition-wise when I was thinking of my next painting. This is the end result:

"Narrow Escape"

11x14"

Acrylic on canvas board panel

Can you say Moo?

So after I did my sweet doggie I was asked to paint a cow for a fundraiser. It benefited the local 4H and FFA clubs.  I decided  "Why not?" Here is the outcome:

"Red Brangus"

11x14"

Acrylic on stretch canvas

SOLD- auction

Rediscovering myself in art.

Many years back before I was well into marriage and kids I was an artist. I went to art school and was emersed into the art community. I finished my Associates in Fine Arts and moved on to my BFA. During that time though I met my husband and followed new dreams. Soon kids came, 4 of them, and art was something I appreciated but never found time for. Then this past Christmas (2010) my husband bought me the most awesome gift. A paint set complete with easel. He told me to not make excuses and find time to paint. I pondered for a while on what to paint but one picture kept calling me to it. It was one of our beloved dog we had to put down the day before Thanksgiving the previous year (2009).  So one night around midnight I grabbed a pencil, did a rough stetch, and started layering on paint. I was quite nervous because it had been about 13 yrs since I painted but 2 hours later I was pleased with the outcome.

"Addison"

Acrylic on stretched canvas

11x14