Google Street View - Belfast, Northern Ireland

I painted this from the Google Map Street View as a challenge from Bill Guffey's VirtualPaintout. I don't know why I wait until the end of the month (when the challenge is almost finished). At least I painted it.

San Miguel de Allende Street

San Miguel de Allende is a wonderful city in Mexico. The buildings are brightly colored. The streets invite painters to come and paint the many neighborhoods. The people are beautiful ... each is a painting. This street is in a residential neighborhood. (One of many that have been painted or is waiting to be painted.)
10 x 10 oil on gallery wrap canvas

$95.00
Buy it now

Encaustic Landscape

I'm working on my encaustic blog. It has taken a while for the weather to allow me to produce new work for the blog. Fortunately, the weather has been great ... The last few days I have been able to open the studio for ventilation and heat up the wax. This landscape/abstract was a piece that I finished and was very happy with.

$35.00

16th Edition Island Art and Soul Calendar

I have gathered the images within the calendar and posting so that you can look inside the calendar. Even better, you can click on the link to Island Art and Soul to access each image individually.
Island Art and Soul, the 16th edition of Fine Caribbean art will be ready for shipping shortly. There are 13 images, ready for framing! Artists from the USVI, Puerto Rico and Culebra! The proceeds from the sale of the calendar benefit the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts located on St. Croix, USVI.

The calendar has been a passion of mine for the 16 years it has been published. The last 9 or 10 years, I have had the pleasure to be a promoter.

Order the 2010 Calendar

Soho Crying - My interpretation of the William Kentridge drawing

This week I visited The Modern in Fort Worth. The current exhibit is "William Kentridge: Five Themes". It was my first introduction to the South African Artist. I sketched his drawing "Soho Crying" Drawing for the film Stereoscope. Visiting this type of exhibit is always a good time for me to exercise my drawing skills. I seem to forget how much I enjoy drawing.

If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area between now and Sept. 27, you should plan to visit the exhibit at the Modern.

Building Sand Castles - The first of a new blog

I'm posting this painting to introduce my new blog Beach Paintings. The beach has been one of my favorite vacation destination most of my life, but living in Dallas, it isn't as easy to get to the beach as I would like. I hope to catalog my memories of the beach with new paintings.

This painting was painted after a great vacation with my long time friend and her daughters and granddaughter. Sabre (the granddaughter) loved this painting of her and has proudly hung it in her room (the best compliment ever).

Arroyo Seco Mercantile Truck #2 - Taos, NM

This truck has been parked outside the Mercantile store in Arroyo Seco, NM. Everytime I have visited, I have tried to get a better photograph. I've painted it several times. This particular view, I've painted once before, in a smaller version. When it sold, my husband was disappointed, so I painted it for him, a little larger...(8 x 8) and I think a little better.

I'm traveling to New Mexico next week and I hope to see the pickup truck again. I have heard they moved it to the other side of the store, making it difficult to get a good shot of it. I hope it has been moved back to a proper photo location.

Different Strokes from Different Folks Challenge

This is a painting I painted for the Different Strokes from Different Folks challenge. I thought I would pass when I first saw the photo that Karin Jurick posted. It was a boring image of a figure. I just didn't find it interesting at all. Then I realized that that made it even more of a challenge and an exercise that I should make myself do. I'm glad I did it. Finding the recipe for the black flesh was an exercise of its own. I think I did a pretty good job. I've included a copy of the photo.

Taos Magpie

I'm not sure which I am more fascinated, magpies or crows. Living in Texas, I do see crows, but not magpies. Luckily, my last trip to Taos, I managed to take a LOT of pictures of magpies. They seem to be very happy to have their pictures taken. Slowly, I am working on painting each magpie that allowed me to take their picture. 6x6 Oil on Ray Mar canvas panel.
$50.00
Buy this painting.

Rower in Michigan - Different Strokes From Different Folks

This is my first contribution to the Different Stroke from Differenet Folks. It is a fun exercise. This "challenge" was a good exercise for me. I've never painted water before.... and although I love having people in my paintings... painting them small is a huge challenge.

Via di San Vito, Florence, Italy - Google Street View

Do to the painter's block I skipped the "Paris" Virtual Paintout assigned in May, so I was anxious to do this month's Florence Google Streets for the June Virtual Paintout. This landscape painting of a field of olive trees was a good exercise for me.

I love my little vacations while on Google Streets. I could plan a trip like no other. I have become addicted to Google Street Views. My husband will walk in while I am on the computer and automatically asks, "And ... where are we now?" This weekend... I discovered the countryside of the South of France. OMG.... I have never been... but am so ready to go more than I have ever been.

Texas Longhorn - Black and White

I have been in a serious painter's block the last month or so. I am feeling better, but am still looking for exercises to strengthen my creativity. Hopefully, the worse is over. This 8 x 8 oil painting is an exercise I did to try to break out of the block. It did help.

This Black and White Texas Longhorn is painted from a photo from a trip I took this spring to with my favorite painting buddies in and around Columbus, Texas. This was an unusual Longhorn in that he allowed me to take his picture. It seemed the Longhorns in the part of central Texas are very shy and really don't like to have their pictures taken.

Amsterdam Headshop - Google Street Scene

This painting is one I have been working on to post to the Virtual Paintout blog. It has been a great exercise for me. What fun I have been having. First, trying to find the perfect google street scene, then to accomplish the painting.

Now that I have taken the photo of the painting I can see all the mistakes. MOSTLY... I left the "D" off of HEADSHOP. Well.. either I will fix it or just call it "Heashop".

My good friend and studio partner Carol Morgan also finished her painting and submitted it this morning. What a great job she did on it. I admire her painting style and skill.

I can't wait until the new city is announced.

Thanks to Bill Guffey for organizing the Virtual Paintout.

Taos Watering Hole

These were two magpies that landed in the courtyard of a Taos house I rented with several artists. The magpies were very cooperative to let us take photos... (unlike the crows of Taos).

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Carol Marine's Panel Holder

This is the Carol Marine panel holder and it is now available for sale. It allows you to paint small canvas panels from edge to edge without the interference of the lips of an easel.

Buy it now.

Tagged

I was tagged by Austin Artist, Deborah Thomas, I am so flattered. By tagging me, she is saying she thinks my blog is fabulous. I always enjoy looking for Deborah's newest painting. I wish I lived in Austin so I could be one of her regular painting buddies. Visit her blog.

This tag asks me to list five favorite blogs, tell five things about myself and list the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules in your blog
3. Write five random things about yourself
4. Tag random people at the end of your post, with links
5. Let each person know they've been tagged

Five random things about me:

1. I have 2 grown daughters, Ashley and Kiki, and a fabulous husband who is my biggest supporter.
2. In the 90's I owned a gallery in the Uptown Dallas neighborhood (K. Rike Gallery).
3. I'm an "Aramco Brat" having lived in Saudi Arabia in the 50's.
4. I sometimes think it would be fun to be certified sommelier.
5. I dream of being healthy and fit, but seem to have a hard time do my part to make that happen.

My five tag picks:

Suzy Moritz-Rawdin

Kay Wyne

Susan Cox

Kelley MacDonald

Robin Cheers

This is from a photo I took while in Taos at a workshop. We were told to go out in the morning and find shadows. The painting took a little more than a day. I've tried painting her several times, each being a wipe off until this time. It was fun.

12 x 12 oil on gallery wrap canvas unframed - $95.00 + Shipping
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Taos Magpie #2

This Magpie landed in the courtyard of a house I was renting with several other artist. The magpie was accompanied by several other magpies. Fortunately, they were very receptive to having their pictures taken (unlike the crows of Taos).

What character these beautiful birds have.

Today, I finished painting this study. Just so I could feel that I had accomplish a "Painting a day".

Buy this painting from my shopping cart using your PayPal account.

$50.00 Buy now

Crow

This crow was spotted last spring around Dallas' Whiterock Lake. One of several that I have painted, but the first time to paint one this fast. I love the way the light hits the feathers revealing their blue color. I haven't attempted plein air painting yet... but since this is from a photograph.... is it called digital plein air?

6x8 unframed - $50.00 + Shipping
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One Stroke Mango

This a painting I did while attending a Carol Marine workshop. It was and exercise of loading your brush one time to make one stroke. We were instructed to not mix on the canvas. After each stroke was laid on the canvas we took our brushed back to the palette to either grab more paint or mix more paint. It was terribly hard to not go with my natural tendancy to blend.