Lisa in her wedding kimono

My friend Lisa shared with me some beautiful wedding photos and I just loved this picture so much that I wanted to do a painting. It’s a very small painting as you can see by the printer paper of my photo reference.  This painting is in gouache paint on 9x12” heavyweight cold press watercolor paper.  I think this is about 20 hours of work.  It was a challenge painting so small but it also was enjoyable to see progress so quickly!  I adore the deep green of her kimono and vibrant flowers!  Even her pose is just so beautiful!  So thank you Lisa!  I hope you enjoy your painting when it arrives in Japan!  
 

In progress:

Hardy Gallery: Magnolia

 It was fun to work on this year's Hardy Gallery Submission.  I painted this little 6 x 6" canvas from one of the pictures I took at Olbrict gardens when the magnolia trees were in bloom.   My long time painters group class likes to submit a canvas each year.  It's always fun to be a part of.   All these little canvases come together to make one big mosaic each year at the Hardy Gallery.  The paintings are purchased by raffle ticket purchase so it's always a surprise what you end up with. 

 

6" x6" acrylic on canvas

Jesse Painting Continued

This is the longest I've ever worked on a painting but I've thoroughly enjoyed the color, textures and surface variety of the gold, cut stones, fur and knitting.  I love portraiture but the textiles also their own delight to work on.  My dear friend Jesse with her pretty orange-brown eyes let me dress her up and sat for me to get my reference.  I'm looking forward to being able to show her how it all turned out in the end!  I'm sure I'll add to this post in the future but here's my update on this painting!

Snail: Hardy Gallery Mosaic Project

 

This little 6" x 6" canvas is a fundraiser for the Hardy Gallery.  Artist from all over receive a canvas to paint and return.  All the little paintings are then assembled in a mosaic and patrons can purchase one by lottery so they never know what little canvas they'll be taking home.   It's a fun little project and one that is finished in a very short amount of time.  

I took this picture of a tiny snail when I was visiting my sister-in-law in Oregon.  It was a small camera phone photo but it still worked for such a small canvas.  :)

Inktober Sketches

I didn't keep up with the hope of doing one ink sketch a day for the month of October but I did manage a few.  Here are a few of my favorites.  The first is of my husband drawn from a picture I took at the light art installation at Olbrict gardens.  The second is a little witch drawn from my imagination.

 

Father Daughter Dance

This picture I took before the father daughter school dance is just one of my favorites!  The first picture is a coffee shop sketch.  The second is an experiment with a water color canvas I found at Michaels.  (I'd never heard of stretched canvas for watercolor before.)  I got out my gouache set and gave it a go.  It turned out ok.  I'm interested to see how it holds up over time.  :)  It made a nice Father's Day gift. :)

16 x 16" Gouache on Canvas

 

Karen and Ted

I painted this engagement picture for friends of ours.  The picture was taken in Brazil when they were there visiting her family.  It was given to them as a wedding gift. 

 

Artist in Wisteria: Hardy Gallery Mosaic Project

Happy Mother's Day

This was a fun quick painting.  Also a good study in what I'm going to look like when I'm older!  

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

 

            

Emma sketch in colored pencil

I got a few hours to get out of the house and drink coffee and sketch!  Hooray!  I haven't done any colored pencil in a very long time.  It was a favorite in high school.  Maybe I'll get out again soon and sketch my other daughter.  It's funny being a parent, it's so nice to get away for a bit but then when you do they're all you think about.  ❤️

Plein Air painting Sunflowers

It has been a long time since I've painted plein air!  This little painting took almost 3 hours to paint.  We enjoyed the wonderfully mild August weather.  It was such a treat to paint with Natalie!  I hope we get to get out and paint again soon!

Mekai Painting

This is my latest project, it's a commission for one of my friends.  The painting is of her son Mekai. The photo credit goes to his dad.  I worked on this one while expecting my 2nd babe and it was slow going!  It was so wonderful to hand over the finished painting and see it up on their wall. 

Almost finished with the first pass!

Finished!  yay!  

"Mekai"

22"x 28"

Acrylic on canvas

Carolyn and Carl

A speed painting for sure!  This was a gift for my friends wedding.   I was pretty happy to paint at all at 6 months pregnant and still feeling pretty sick.  The skin tones only had one pass but I was still pretty happy with the result.  

Carolyn and Carl

Acrylic on canvas

The Kiss

I decided to expiriment with gouache.  I chose a wedding photo from a friends wedding that I had wanted to paint for some time. Instead of approaching it like watercolor I used them like acrylic paint.  It made a big difference in the results. I'm excited to have a new medium to add to my favorites!  

The Kiss

16" x 20" 

Gouache on paper

Jesse in-progress

Painting Jesse has been a fun and ongoing project.  From makeup, hair, to the photo editing this project has been bigger and more time consuming then any of my previous paintings.  The lacy woven shawl, crystals and gold have been a challenge and fun to paint.  Here are some in-progress pictures.  I hope to post more as I get closer to finishing it.  Acrylic on canvas.