two gray cats

two gray cats (and the birds that taunt them).   commissioned pieces created on 8"x10" canvas using acrylic paint, ink and paper.

treasury

thanks so much to ARThiel for including this portrait in her "treasury" on etsy. a treasury basically features and promotes different artists work. ARThiel picked several portraits and grouped them together to be featured. i am honored to be a part! click here to view them all. 

ps: the listing will expire in 3 days. 

just a few balloons...

                                       ...added to etsy today

anemones round 2

yep...more anemones are on the loose! i decided to work with this idea a bit more. this one was painted on wood board. it measures 30 1/2" x 11". and like the anemones of old (see below), these anemones are currently being hoarded by me and my sparse walls. i didn't intend to do so, but halfway through this piece i found myself inspired by the colors that are in my bedspread. right now i'm sitting on my bedroom floor and the anemones are propped next to me atop my dresser. they fit well there. although, unlike the other anemones, i went ahead and posted these in my shop. so, if they sell, i will delightfully let go of them. be on the lookout for a round 3 and maybe even 4. 

(more) fun with birds!

well, i seem to be on a bird kick lately! it's interesting to me, because i'm really not even that fascinated with birds in real-life. i don't dislike them, they just don't capture my attention in the same way that illustrated birds do as of late. illustrated birds seem to be the trendy thing in design these days. i suppose that is the reason why i've been so inspired.

*collage and acrylic paint on 30"x15" canvas

what i'm working on today...

this is a little commissioned piece that i've been playing around with lately. it is a wedding gift. i met with the bride and she gave me photos to work from. it only measures one foot by one foot, but it's been a bit of a challenge for me. sometimes when i draw/paint portraits i am able to capture personalities and faces more quickly than others. this one is more of an "others". i left it alone for a while in hopes that i would be able to discern its finality. i'm still contemplating it this morning...

beginning to end

the above photos document my progress on a commissioned piece that i've been working on for a client in tyler. she has a blank wall in her dining room in need of some art. she gave me a swatch of fabric that the dining room chairs are covered in for inspiration and lots of photos of her friends and family that we decided to include in the piece. because the photos i was given to work from were primarily smiling faces from the shoulders up,  i had to get a little creative with the bodies and clothes (i do hope that they like what they're wearing!). 

this piece was different than any other that i've created before because i used paper collage, acrylic paint AND oil pastel all in one.  it was also a stretch for me because i'm used to drawing/painting realistic portraits. i've trained myself to work until i get an exact likeness of the person i'm drawing. it was definitely a challenge for me not to concentrate too much on facial detail, but to go with more of an abstract representation of each person, experimenting with color and composition. 

the entire piece measures 7'x4' and is broken up into three canvases.