Teapots in the Sunlight.


One element that has become important in my paintings is fabric. I like that it suggests a time period by the age of its pattern. I like how the fabric can be extended into several areas of the composition. I enjoy playing with the patterns in more then one area of the picture. I am also a weaver, so the fact that woven cloth has become a visual factor in my paintings is something I think I will continue to push. The idea of combining the two forms in some way will continue to grow.

14” h x 10 ½” w, Watercolor

All work is for sale. Matted.

Green bowls and blue.

It is a challenge working in this format. I like it.

8x22" 300lb Fabriono hot press.

Clay pots and a watering can.

I bought this new paper handmade in Japan. Not sure I like it. It behaves completely differently than the Arches I have been using. I bought ten pieces of it, so I guess I have to use it up.

15x15" 260lb. handmade Japanese paper.

Bittersweet in Still Life.

I am really excited about this one. It took a while for it too come together, but once I started "reading the painting" it really started to flow.

11 x 15"

FOR SALE.

Old Cups in a row.

I like things in a row. I like old things.

6x 18"

FOR SALE.

Iris Flowers in a row.

Another oddball size 8 x 22". Really went after the free and loose paint on this one.

FOR SALE - email fo the details.

Italian Window.

Tall odd shape. Actually, this was left over paper from another earlier painting. I cropped a picture I had taken while in Italy this summer and used the idea for this work.

8 x 22" on Arches 300 lb paper.

FOr Sale. Want to buy it? email me, I'd be glad to sell!

Red Flowers Ornage Cloth.

18 x 22 " 300 lb. cold press. I thought I totally lost this one, and I may have. So, I painted the orange thing right over what was already there. Maybe that is a good thing...

Iris Flowers.

I like the way this one turned out. It held the looseness I have been after.

15 x 22 " half sheet on 300 lb. cold press.

Picnic Still Life.

My daughter named this one basedon what she thought it looked like, I guess the clothe give it a feeling of a picnic.

15 x 22 " 300 lb hot press paper. Half sheet.

Peaches and Fruit.

11 x 14 " . This is on hot press paper. I keep going back and forth about the texture thing. ...more painting.

Apples in a Still Life.

I am certainly not as loose as I'd like to be with the paint, but I getting there. Things are starting to feel less confining. I am beginning to have more fun with designing the paintings. They are bigger which is a little easier. I have more space to play with. Using more water helps.

the paper is roughly 11x14. And it is the 300lb cold press.

Apples on the windowsill.

I had leftover paper. Filled it. Fun. Probably too fussy for what I have been doing, but it was a fun little painting. I did crop off both ends because it would not fit in my scanner window. I read about a larger scanner, may have to look into that.

A painting I shall go...

Blue Stuff Still.

Just some stuff sitting around the studio. Quick and lots of water. I am really having fun, and learning so much. Mostly, I am seeing how waiting for the water/paint to dry helps the painting come together.

This is in my Moleskin sketchbook.

Still life and checkers.

My professor suggested, since I was not completely happy with this originally, that I paint over it. Sloosh paint on it. Still having a hard time just painting over things, but I did it in a gentle way. I think I like the painting more now.

Cutwork curtains and still life.

Another sketch in my new moleskin book. This is a study for painting the lacey edge curtains which ends up appearing in a larger painting. I will post that one too, when it is finished. It is taking longer to do the larger work, so, while I am painting everyday, I am not posting everyday.

I am trying to capture elements from objects without being to fussy about how they appear.

Still Life 1.

This is perhaps THE turning point. Very little was drawn in before painting. There was some, the plate, the mason jar and part of the table. I did these things well into the painting. I kept the painting transparent which is something I have been looking to try.

10 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. One 300 lb Arches watercolor paper. I thing the paper makes a BIG difference. The paint behaves differently on nice paper. So much more to do...

Guitar in Still Life.

The first sketch in my new Moleskin book. I have decided to just go with the mini still life paintings for now. It is what is comfortable. It will enable me to keep my hand going.

the moleskin book is 5 x 8 inches.

Studio Still Life 1...

I am not as sure of myself when I have not drawn the lines out first to block in my image. Here I just went right to the painting. I used sticks to draw lines into the wet paint which created darker lines in select areas. This is quite small, and not as loose as I think it should be, but it is a start.

7x10 inches watercolor on 300 lb paper. For sale. Email for a price.

Stove and Towel...

What is a turning point? When one makes the decision to try something new? When you actually reach newness? Here I am painting a new subject and the method of painting is slightly different, but it still looks like my painting. I am not putting the ink linework in. I am not drawing every detail prior to painting, but the application of my paint feels the same. More to do...

A Street In Rome

Feeling a little better. This might be the turning point painting. I think what is changing is the need to do away with the gesture pencil drawing prior to painting. I find I am trying to follow those lines too closely instead of being free with the paint and allowing the painting to speak for itself.

For sale. 11x14 watercolor on 140 lb paper. Email if your are interested.

A Woman Begging at the Roman Forum Ruins.

I feel I am getting there in terms of looseness, yet still have so much more to learn. Here goes more painting.

For sale - 11x14 140 lb watercolor. Email requests.

A Woman on the Spanish Steps in Rome.

A very poor woman. My daughter said of this painting, that woman must have a story. I asked my daughter what she thought the story would be. In my painting class during critique, my classmates and professor agreed that there was no story, no mystery - the story is all told with the destitute nature of the woman in the painting. My daughter did not agree. Molly decided one could make up a story about what happen to get the woman to the point where she felt she had to beg, as the woman is doing. Then Molly told me she thought the painting told a story about where the woman would go if someone gave her money.

I guess this could be an illustration and not a painting that stands on its own. For me, it is a record of what I saw and felt and experienced on that day at that time in Rome Italy. Nothing more. Except now, I have the vision expressed in watercolor paint.

This painting is for sale. 11x14 on 140 lb. watercolor cold press. Will come matted in a neutral mat. Email me if you are interested.

Rome Pizza Maker #2.

Only this painting is much larger - 11x14inches. I bought a block of 140 lb paper to see how it would feel to paint on. Not the texture I am use to with the 300 lb paper, but since I have twenty or so sheets of it, I will make use of it for he next paintings.

Having completed the sketchbook of Italy paintings, I thought I would do some larger works based on my trip this past summer. I have several more done which I will post in the next several days. As I indicated several days ago, however, I feel a change coming on. I have been looking at still life. Loosening up is definitely something I need to do. So, I may be putting the figure to the side for now and directing my attention to still life and freer work.

This painting is for sale. Email if you are interested!

baskets dry sink and an old kitchen.

Still not loose enough, so I will keep going along. Playing with color, enironment and design. Not too worried about perspective issues, in fact I like that there are different agles to look at.

Towel and Stove.

There comes a time in one's development that we have to look for new things to paint, draw and create. Here is such a time for me. I am in need of a break from the figure work and the work on the Italy paintings.

So how does one find something new to paint? I began by looking at the things that were significant in my life. I made a list. It all boiled down to those items that make life feel comfortable and at home. So, I looked at old things. Places the old things have been as a means of touching the lives of the living. My mother in law always surrounded the family with antiques and things from the past. I believe, in effort to help us all feel a part of the importance those items played in helping to mold us into what we all have become.

Here lies the importance of who I am. So, at least for now, I will look toward old things in order to make sense of the new ideas.

I am not trying to be specific. I hope to find a new loose quality and perhaps a loose style. I want very much for the work to take me, not for me to take it.

here goes...

My Euro Pruse from Rome.

The entire time I was in Italy I looked for a change purse to treasure. Finally, I found one that I loved in Rome not far from the Trevi Fountain. Fitting for completing my Italy series. The sketchbook is now done.

Last night I bought a new sketchbook, just like the first. I like the size and format. The small paintings could easily translate to larger ones. I like cariying it around and painting as I have time to fit a little in. Not sure what I will go with next. Perhaps simple objects for everyday use.

I am excited to have this project completed, and I am motivated to begin the new series.

A Window in Rome...

On our last day in Rome, I took several pictures of windows around the city. This window was near the Pantheon. Windows have the potential to tell wonderous stories.

One more painting from this series! I need to go out to buy a new moleskin sketchbook tonight!

I have two more paintings to post that will then complete my Italy Sketchbook series. It will be thirty six paintings in all, I believe. I will be working on some larger works for the next couple of months. Some of these paintings will be based on my Italy trip, although I think I may start something completely new. I feel a change coming on.

Swiss Guards at the Vatican in Rome...

have been wearing the same clothing since Michelangelo's time (1500!) In fact, he designed this outfit. Cool.

Colosseum in Rome...

This place is amazing. No words to describe it really. Unbelievable in terms of what took place there.

Elizabeth Barbara Clark was my friend.

When someone dies it is so sad. When someone whom you have been close to for more than half your life passes, some part of you goes too. That is how I feel right now...my husband's mom died on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 8:40pm est.

My mother-in-law was not your typical mother-in-law for me. I knew her since I was 11 years old. She was my best friend's mom and became one of my best friends. She was the woman I most admired in my life. She was my mentor. She was the person to whom I went with questions about raising children. She was the person who had knowledge of and skills in painting, quilting, cooking and life. We could talk about just anything. When I was sad I could call her and she would always have a careful bit of advice. She always knew just what to say to make things feel right. She knew when to correct and when to encourage.

Right now, I can not imagine life without her. I have thought about this for a long time, as her illness took its toll on her life and ability to function independently for quite some time. But now, reality facing me, I find it difficult to paint. To think. To act on anything other than what is absolutely necessary.

I will breath for a while. I will come back to painting in a few days.

Thanks for looking in.

Interior Pantheon Rome

I kept this painting light. Mostly, to capture the extreme blinding ight that poured into the space from the skiylight. This is where Rapheal is entombed.

Ancient Rome Forum

The feeling I got from walking these streets was incredible. I don't have the words for it even now - three months later. One gets a great feeling of space when surrounded with these ancient ruins.

Trevi Fountain Rome

My aim here was to capture the overall movement of this place. The day I was there it was so full of people and flooded with light - both were almost blinding.

Brick Oven Pizza Maker in Rome

Orvieto was merely a stop on our way to Rome. Once in Rome, our first stop was at a hotel where students got to watch how they make pizza in Rome. They also got to make their own.

Pottery Shop in Orvieto

When I saw this street, it led me down a path to other roads throughout Orvieto. I found some beautiful pictures to take and felt that I had all I needed to see in this one town. Every corner I turned there was something more beautiful than around the last turn.

A back Alleyway in Orvieto

If I could go back to Italy, and I do hope to one day, I would spend more time exploring places like this. Tucked away in the back streets and alleys you can see day to day life in these beautiful old - historic settings. I could spend a lifetime exploring and painting these places and never satisfy my need or exhaust the ptential for images. Just an absolutely amazing place!

Orvieto Italy

I loved this town! It was high up on a hill between Florence and Rome. Protected and quite old. Many artists live and have shops here. I loved walking into some of the back roads and taking pictures in the alleyways.

This was one of the highlights of the whole trip for me.

Santa Croce Monastery Florence

It is quiet in this space. Well ordered. Evenly divided and divine.

The Duomo in Florence

You can see the Duomo from almost anywhere in the city of Florence. Its size commands your attention. While I have not painted it with the detail it actually has, I wanted to capture the command it has over you to see it.

Cello Player in Florence...

There are many people in and around the city who are trying to share talents, and make money on which to live. Not so different from America cities and probably true around the world.

Along the Arno River...

We walked along this river several times. Each time, I had to take pictures. It was irresistible.

The Ponte Vecchio in Florence Italy...

No matter what view you choose, this bridge is unmistakable.

The Baptistery of San Giovanni

You can see the gollden doors opened only every twenty-five years by the Pope.

The Leather Seller...

My approach was much faster with this painting, as a result, there is a sketchlike quality about it. Seeing all of the venders' wares is nearly overwhelming, so focusing on the overall was good for me.

Piazza Santa Croce

Florence Italy

This is a very wide open sauare. It felt old - a feeling of history.

My First Caffe in Florence...

I learned that if you stood to drink your cup of coffee or whatever, you paid what it cost, but if you were to sit, the cost went up. Made sense. I stood. I drank. It was good. A real boost in the afternoon!

First View of Florence Italy

Our first evening in Florence the Pietra, our bus driver, took us to where we could see the magnificent view of the city from the hill where one of the David sculptures now stands. His timing was just at sunset when the colors were quite simply amazing.

Doorway in Assisi Italy...

One of the things I loved about Italy was the old buildings and passages throughout the town we visited. There is a feeling of hisotry everywhere and just being there helps one to feel as though you are a part of that richness. Tucked away in the corner of the medival town I found this spot.

In Florence Italy

In Italy, they have these shutters that swing open from the bottom, and they hang wet wash to dry out the window. Everywhere we went I saw this.

The Narrow Streets in Florence Italy.

These streets would not take an American car, well most of the older streets would not. And in most places in Florence, they would not allow them. This was from our first night in Florence.