Life is a Great Big Canvas

During the time that I ran The Dancing Elephant Gallery, a friend of mine, Carri Sue Anderson, once suggested that I check out the art of Lindy Bronson of Chopper's Art. I looked him up on Facebook, and I could not believe what I saw. Here were gorgeous, detailed drawings in pen and ink, mainly done with stippling. His subject matter varied, but included a lot of pop culture and celebrities. They were fun and interesting subjects, but what got me was the quality of the art. Lindy really works to make sure the image is accurate and realistic, and the stippling (tiny dots made with an ink pen) was done with amazing precision. I knew I needed to make contact with this man, and get his art into my gallery! Lindy agreed to be featured artist in my gallery, the month that I closed the physical doors. I wished I could have represented him longer, but I had a feeling that our artistic relationship would not end once we closed up shop. I don't know about Lindy's point...

Today is the day that I graduate from college. It is a major milestone for me. It is one of those things that I never believed would happen, yet here I am. I married young, and we started our family soon after getting married. We both agreed that I would be a stay at home Mom, to personally raise our children. And I did. I put aside any possibility of working or going to college, and even put aside my paintbrush to focus on the kids. I had no regrets in staying home with them, and I believe my kids turned out great because I invested my life to make sure that I was always there for them. However, the desire to create art and become a better artist always gnawed away at me. I taught myself to do quite a bit, but I always felt my art was missing some quality to make it better. I had talent, but not professionalism, and definitely had no confidence in my art or ability. My sister, Cathy, decided to go to college in her late 30's, to become a pharmacist. She worked really hard, ...

I am excited to share with you my first show (outside of my own gallery) where I am a featured artist! For the month of February, I am sharing the spot of featured artist with the wonderful Maja Shaw of Richland Washington (also her first time as featured artist), at Crossroads Carnegie Arts Center here in Baker City, Oregon. I am showing figures and still lifes in oil and charcoal, and Maja is showing her florals and landscapes in watercolor. I am debuting "Hadassah" at this show, another figure/portrait in my series of exotic women, along with Delilah (seen in the poster) and Tamar. I plan on doing a few more in this series. Maja's watercolors are very vivid. Her florals are not soft, but lively and intense, as though viewed at mid-day with the sun shining down on them. They are very fresh, and well-executed. Drop by Crossroads any time this month to see our show. Who says oil and water can't mix? For more of Maja Shaw's work, visit her websit...

Leather Elephant, oil, 2014 I have been excitedly preparing for February's First Friday festivities. I will have new art in at Short Term Gallery and Cabin Cowboy Designs, but I will also be one of two Featured Artists in the show "Visions and Visages", at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center. The show will be a mixture of portraits, figures, and still lifes paintings. This is my first time as featured artist outside of my own gallery, The Dancing Elephant. This painting, Leather Elephant, will be one of the paintings on display at Crossroads. I found this leather elephant, and its mate, at an antique shop in Sumpter, Oregon. They were so unique and interesting, I just couldn't pass them up. I am not an elephant collector, not really, but my sister Cathy was. Cathy was older than me by nine years, and she collected elephants from the time she was little. She passed away a few years ago from Ewing's Sarcoma, a very rare cancer with no hope at this point for fu...