Mendenhall Glacier is only 4 miles from my home. My husband and I like to take walks there frequently. This stream flows nearby. This is the second time I have painted this scene. It is very appealing to me. I love how the warm tones of the sand and water balance out the coolness of the stones. This is a very simple setting but I think that is another reason I like it. I love simplicity in a painting.
These sweet little terriers are full of life and enthusiasm. This guy is no exception and he seems to exude his self confidence here. Almost seems to be saying, look at how handsome I am! They are very fun to paint!
I think it is so fun to paint shaggy dogs. They can be challenging at times, but overall, I just think they are fun. They tend to look a bit more comical…maybe that’s why I like them. This particular one went together very quickly. I don’t think I even had to do any preliminary drawing on this one.
This is a commissioned piece. I really liked the way the shininess of his coat came out. I would like to have added a bit more warmth in it somehow. But even though this is very cool, it appeals to me. I usually prefer warm tones in a painting, but I really like the combinations in this.
This is a little painting of one of my favorite views. It is looking toward Mendenhall Glacier where my husband and I walk all the time. On this particular morning, the silhouetted trees stood out to me. And I just love the cool colors of the green and blue background. I also like that there is a little bit of balance to all the cool colors with the warm reflection tones (of almost orange) coming in from the lower left corner of the picture towards the center.
This is Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. It is only 4 miles from my home, and a favorite destination for walks. I particularly enjoy how many blues there are here. Blue is my favorite color, and they are so beautifully displayed in the mountains here! I tried to add some warmth to the sandy areas to balance the cool. It might even need a bit more warmth.
I have been wanting to do this for a while. I liked it because I tried something new and used a gray-blue toned canvas, to help with the gray mood of this day. Juneau is very rainy, so this mood is very typical. Something about that, as well as the conglomeration of buildings and objects made me want to paint this scene. I am definitely drawn more to a strong, sunny scene, but I would like to be able to capture different types of weather and light conditions.
I really enjoy small town scenes like this. I have never felt adept at painting them but this shot made me want to give it a try. The view of Mendenhall Glacier on our road is spectacular. On this particular day, my husband was driving and it allowed me to get a good shot. I think it is always appealing for local people to see a familiar scene. I like how this one worked out.
This young man with attitude is my youngest son. This is painted from a photo taken while he was on deployment in Afghanistan. In spite of the terrible situation and danger of this deployment and this job, it must be quite a cool feeling to be able to drive one of these big rigs. It looks like he was enjoying himself, at least at this moment. Thank God, he came home safely!
These are my best friends’ dogs. They are very cute and well behaved. I have had this photo for quite a while just waiting for the right time to do it. I have several others of them, as well, that I will be doing. They are good subjects for practice. This is one of my favorite pet portraits so far.
Art with my Coffee 