Alice Through the Looking Glass

12x9, oil 

Mother and Child

Sweet to hear their whispers and laughter.

10x8, oil

Twilight on Osage Creek

12x16, oil

Day is done. The sun is waning, casting its golden glow.  Cattle are heading toward the barn; the birds to roost. The thrum of cicadas provides the musical backdrop to an early fall evening.

Update:  I'm so pleased that this painting won a Merit Award in the 2017 Illinois River Salon under judge Jeff Legg. 

Alstroemeria and Nectarine, 16x12, oil

Still Life with Pear

What to call this?  I paint light and shadow. Every painting could be called 'light and shadow'. 

Here, this is a pear, a cup, some leaves in light and shadow. The painting says all that I have to say.

Playing Out the Day

Revisiting a subject that I've painted before.

9x12, oil

Spring Still Life, The Hound and the Hare

12x16, oil on linen panel

The porcelain dog (yes, I realize this isn't actually a hound)  has spied the brass rabbit.
Spring has sprung.

Still life painted in north light during a rainstorm.

10x8, oil on panel

It has been raining for days.  We are having historic flooding in our region.  Electricity and phone service comes and goes in the area. Many roads and bridges have been washed out. Yesterday I painted on the covered back porch while it rained.  I had rescued the roses from my garden. It was cold and windy, a raw kind of day, but the light was beautiful.

Detail from unfinished painting

Pear study

9x12 study, not finished, not cropped.

Winter in These Ozarks Hills

16x20, oil

Working the Fields

11x14, oil

Into the Light

12x9, oil

Over the months of November and December, I've had the privilege of painting some commissioned pieces and illustrating a book.  Now I'm back at the easel, exploring ideas that have been gathering.

Plein air painting

Untitled portrait

This is what I've been working on lately.  16x20

Best in Show in the Illinois River Salon, 2016

I was honored to have my painting chosen "Best in Show"by judge Alejo Benedetti of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  Awards were presented at the Illinois River Salon awards banquet at Crystal Bridges.

Grateful

I woke up this morning feeling grateful. Like most mornings, I woke up and squinted to see the light and shadow patterns in the white oak tree outside my window.  I'm grateful for that dance of light and shadow in the branches and for the ability to see differently.  I'm grateful for the art community that shares knowledge and encourages one another.  I'm grateful for being able to paint. I'm grateful for the lifetime that has led me to this spot.  How long does it take to make a painting? A lifetime of learning, observation and inspiration, followed by a moment of response at the easel.

Head Study, September....another one.

Red-Haired Woman

There's bit of glare in this iPhone photo, but you can get the gist. 

This piece was accepted into the AIS Small Works Showcase

Marseille (again)

This painting has the mood, the emotion, of being in Marseille to me. It pulls at my heart.