This Just In... VENTILATE YOUR STUDIO!

My newest commission!

"The Road to Lilliano"

Oil and noxious fumes on canvas.

36x48 

Ventilate: (verb) to cause air to enter and circulate freely.

I have been working on a new project for a wonderful couple I met at one of my shows back in May. It is my first extra large painting that I have done in my new studio. Lucky me! I have found out that my studio lacks a certain necessity for an oil painter. AIR. The kind that flows in and on it's way out, takes with it all the harmful fumes that accumulate when painting like I do. Instead, they linger. So I turn a little green and pass out for a couple of minutes, and then I am good to go. Just kidding, it's not that bad, but unfortunately it does cause my painting sessions to be a bit short.

This piece is wonderfully inspiring. It is farther along than this picture reveals at this point, and I am waiting for paint to dry to the touch before I can continue so I thought I would post some pictures of my process in the mean time. So I will begin feeding my blog updates daily... so stay tuned and you will see, just what a cool painting this will be! If you have time to come and play, you will find out how it changes every day! In the end it will become, something that doesn't look so dumb... Ok, kidding again. It's not dumb, I was just trying to rhyme. It's just that as we all know, the beginning steps of a painting look a bit rough around the edges so to speak. So close your eyes and come back tomorrow!

Discovery Park

Today I spent the day preparing another bundle of Pocket Landscapes! It was 80 degrees today, so I gathered up my little microscopic canvas's and headed outside to get creative... only made it as far as my front porch, but it was great painting out in the fresh air again!

You can see the most current editions that I created today here. I did NINETEEN! It's a record! I will most likely do 10 more and then I'll call it good. I have a really fun time naming these little guys. Most titles reflect my experiences while on many road-trips to Eastern Washington. I endured long hours and many miles in a hot stuffy, or freezing cold, 76 Ford Bronco (until it was stolen!)... during a long distance relationship with my husband when he was in vet school... Anything for love!

 This one is titled "Proud" and is only 2"x3" big.

Launching a New Series...not a small feat...

A couple days ago, I introduced my newest series of little itty bitty landscapes so small that I want to keep them all for myself! Because if you know me, I am addicted to all things tiny...So I have appropriately titled them a landscape "In your Pocket", because they really are that small!

When out and about painting or getting inspiration from the landscape around me, it is fun to capture my little discoveries in this format. It is a great way to avoid the detail, and focus on color and contrasting brush strokes to create a mood. You can visit some of them here.

Tonight I started to prepare more tiny surfaces to work on. I have a new size to play with - a whole 2.75" to paint on! If the rain stays away I will go to Discovery Park and see what ends up flowing off the tip of my brush...