Life is a Great Big Canvas

 One of the things I enjoy painting is known as "altered art" what that means is that I find an unwanted painting at a yard sale or second hand shop, and I alter it, adding in an element of pop culture, normally. Usually I only alter part of it, and try to keep the additions looking like they are part of the original piece. Sometimes, if the painting was really amateur, I will enhance it a little, before adding another element.  For this particular piece, however, it started out as altered art and just became an original painting. I started on a thrift store painting that was never finished. It was a tree with the outline of a child peeking out from behind it. It was just barely sketched in, with a little green painted in the background.  Some pieces just tell me what they need to be, and this one rasped, "Gollum! Gollum!" So I researched, and ended up using three different reference photos of Gollum and Andy Serkis, to draw out my Smiegol. I am not the greatest lan...

 --This piece was originally published in 2015 but has been updated for the new blog format. Early 2015, I received an invitation from Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, to come tour the Baker Heritage Museum. I, along with many other artists, went, and found inspiration for art in the artifacts, exhibits, stories, and people dressed and in character, at the museum. Upon entering the museum, one of the first people I met was a woman wrapped in a red feather boa, with a feather fan in her hand. Her real name is Elaine Logsdon, but her character's name was Diamond Lil. I imagined she had been a burlesque dancer in her youth, and now perhaps ran her own saloon and theater. I am sure she could tell some very interesting stories! I knew I had to paint her, and knew her personality would shine through on the canvas. I decided with the other paintings I made for the museum, to be more creative in the composition. Instead of painting the entire object, I chose to crop it in a way that would b...

There have been many theories as to the identity of Mona Lisa, the portrait painted by Leonardo Davinci. Some think it is a feminized self portrait. Some say it's DaVinci's lover. I found an article in The Artist's Magazine that makes a very good case for the identity of LaGioconda. The article is called Who's That Girl? written by Katherine Mesch, in the June 2005 issue of the magazine. I read this many years ago and thought it was very interesting. I recently rediscovered the article and thought I would share it. In this article, the author explains that "after 17 years of research, historian Maike Vogt-Luerssen ...claims that the Mona Lisa is really Isabella of Aragon, the former duchess of Milan." The paintings themselves give clues, as well as documents from that period in history, She goes on to explain: "The woman is wearing heavy mournful garments (Isabella's mother died a year prior to the painting of the portrait--she would have still ...

Vashti, Queen of Persia, wife of the mighty Xerxes. Some believed that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. King Xerxes certainly did. Once, during a great feast, he ordered his queen to reveal her beauty to all the men in attendance. This did not mean just unveiling her face, but unveiling everything. He wanted her to dance before them, so they could receive pleasure at her sight. It was unheard of for anyone to say no to a king's order and live. Perhaps Vashti hated being treated like a piece of meat. Perhaps, being the queen and mother of Xerxes' heir, she felt that she should receive more honor and respect. For whatever reason, she stood up to her husband, the king, and said NO. Vashti, charcoal, 2014, SOLD Xerxes consulted with the wise men on what to do with her. He must have loved her somewhat, because she would not be put to death for this crime. But he had to do something. If he just let it pass, then the other women of the kingdom might rise up ...

As I am constantly creating more art, I am running out of room to put everything! I am letting these pieces go at clearance prices. Do your Christmas shopping early and get some awesome art at great prices! My loss is your gain! Shipping is based on package weight, free delivery or pickup in Baker City, Oregon. Please click here if you are interested in purchasing. Historic home 1  pen and ink, $30 unframed Geisha, oil, 12x16", $75 unframed Starlight House, pen and ink, $30 unframed South African Man, pen and ink, $20 framed Rainforest, oil, 12x16", $75 unframed The Brothel, pen and ink, $30 unframed Baker Towers Flowers, oil, $75 unframed African Child charcoal, $75 framed The Guardian, charcoal, $75 framed

Self Portrait An area that I specialize in is accurately drawn and painted portraits. If you are interested in commissioning a portrait in either oil or charcoal, please contact me. Here are a few examples of what I can do with oil paint. Walter Abraham's Prayer Contemplation Mischief Grampy with Rosie and Lily

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...

I am celebrating a big achievement in my life, that of graduating from Academy of Art University with a degree in fine art! It has been a long journey for me and I am proud of my accomplishment. The actual graduation ceremony will be late spring in SanFrancisco, California, and I am hoping to have enough money saved to participate. This is a miniature painting I just finished in celebration, "Blonde Bubblecut". It measures only 5x7" and is painted in oil on a canvas board. It is signed on the front and signed and dated on the back. Barbie has always been a major part of my life. I remember receiving my first brand new Barbie, "Beauty Secrets Barbie" for Christmas when I was about 4 years old, but she wasn't my first Barbie. I had my older sisters' hand me downs, which included many Barbies, Kens, Skippers, and even Allan, and I played with them all the time, along with Ideal's Tammy Family. Good memories for me, I kept all of my childhood doll...

This was an exercise I did for my second semester, in Sketching for Communication. I was happy with the way she turned out. Pencil, 2010.

I have gotten behind in posting my art here, but these were my final projects for my first semester. From top to bottom, they are Matthew, Emily, and Elizabeth, my children. I had so much fun working in charcoal, and was excited that I was able to choose all three of my kids for school projects.