I've made art for many reasons over the years. Now I make art for stress relief during an extremely disturbing time. We have a corrupt government at the highest levels. We were lied to in regards to the severity of the COVID pandemic, no plan to manage it and now we're closing in on 200,000 deaths. We are in full blown wildfire season that is a direct result of climate change and again, our President has said it's because we haven't swept the forest floors. Really? This is not normal. You can make a change and it's by VOTING! You're voting, right? The painting above called "Wallowa Lake" is 6 ..read more

I've had several role models in my life. Two stand out above the rest - my mom and my Aunt Fern. My mom was a huge proponent of education and my aunt was all about lifelong learning. I always felt their support and encouragement. They shaped me into who I am. And guess what? I'm still following their lead. I've been taking an online watercolor class this week taught by Nancy McCarthy, an artist I greatly admire. I didn't make any art that WOW'd me or anyone else but the lessons I've learned will help me in my future art making. Take away? Look for shapes. Th ..read more

I painted for the first time at Pilot Butte today. It's "our" butte that is right in town. From the summit the entire city of Bend is visible as well as several major Cascade peaks. It is one of only four cities in the country that has a volcano within their city border. For the curious the other three are Portland, Oregon; Jackson, Mississippi and Honolulu, Hawaii. That's what I said, Mississippi has a volcano?! I made a couple thumbnail sketches prior to painting and it became obvious that the clouds were going to steal the show.  I wanted them to float, to interact ..read more

Painting outdoors is fun and rewarding. It's also exciting! First, there's the wind. I have a good setup (see below). It's very stable, but painting in 30 mph gusts is a little disconcerting. Painting with my right hand and holding the easel and palette in place with the other hand is a new skill that needs to be added to my resume. MOSQUITOS. I grew up in Michigan so I know mosquitos. They're a pain in the you know what. I've actually had to change my location because I would have been eaten alive. I'm talking about you, Tumalo Reservoir. Finding the perfect place to paint has ..read more

Part of painting outdoors begins with walking around with a sketchbook looking for a good subject. A few times I've explained to people what I'm doing, especially if they seem a bit concerned. Ha! These two stumps stopped me in my tracks. At the time I didn't know why, maybe the circular shapes, maybe the mass, maybe that they were in the middle of an Aspen grove. About an hour into the painting I realized I was making a narrative painting. These two were snuggling. What had they been through? How long were they there? Are they still communicating through the roots so ..read more

This painting, A Slice of Paradise, is part of my Nature Series. It will be around for the summer. I found this location only because the location where I was going to paint was closed due to bridge construction. I was determined to paint so I hopped in my car and headed down a dirt road not more than two minutes away - Voila! This scene came into view. Looking at the beauty before me, listening to the wind in the trees and watching an Acorn Woodpecker climb up and down and all around a Ponderosa pine, I knew this was the spot. I spent three hours out here. I made a couple of quick sketc ..read more

It's nice to be a beginner at something. I put plein air painting into this category. It's fun but challenging to decide what to paint, narrow it down to something achievable, create a design, sketch in a drawing, put the values in, and lastly add color. When I headed out to Tumalo State Park, I found the perfect place to paint. I setup the easel and palette and quickly realized I didn't have my palette knife with me. I also remembered that I forgot to go buy more solvent-free medium. It was a bit clunky feeling but I quickly adapted to mixing paint with a brush. I think it's why this paintin ..read more

As a white woman I cannot even imagine what it is like to live as a black person in this country. I never had to have "the talk" about how to behave outside the house. That if I were ever pulled over by the police that I was not to move my hands without telling the officer what I was going to do so as not to get shot. To not talk back. To say yes, sir and yes, ma'am. And that even if you do everything "right", you may still be shot and killed. I also can't imagine being hated for the color of my skin. I'm pretty sure I was never denied a job interview because my name was too "black ..read more

How are you? I hope you and your loved ones are well during this incredibly difficult time. Since moving my studio home January 1, I'm taking this sheltering-in-place time to learn a new skill. I have watched every video I can get my hands on (You Tube and Streamline Art Videos) to learn how to paint outdoors aka en plein air. I will say right off the bat how incredibly challenging it is and how much new respect I have for those that paint en plein air. I've been at it for a couple months now and each time I go out I gain a bit more confidence, but have a ways to go. The good n ..read more

I’ve made art for many reasons over the years. Now I make art for stress relief during an extremely disturbing time. We have a corrupt government at the highest levels. We were lied to in regards to the severity of the COVID pandemic, no plan to manage it and now we’re closing in on 200,000 deaths. We are in full blown wildfire season that is a direct result of climate change and again, our President has said it’s because we haven’t swept the forest floors. Really? This is not normal. You can make a change and it’s by VOTING! You’re voting, right? The painting above called “Wallowa Lake” is 6 ..read more