Sacre Coeur Cathedral

When I visited Montmarte in Paris, way back at the age of 18, I could never have imagined that one day I would be painting it as a commission. You just never know where life will take you!

And when my client's fiance took her to Sacre Coeur one evening, she had no idea there was a proposal coming as they stood at the front of this beautiful cathedral and he asked her to marry him.

Sigh. So romantic.

And I (moi!) had the honor of creatively capturing that momentous occasion.

"C'est à partir de toi que j'ai dit oui au monde."
- Paul Éluard
It was beginning with you that I said yes to the world.

C'est magnifique!

Tea Ceremony & Tradition - Golden Gate Park

Art is my work, but it is also my play. I have been doing a lot of playing over the summer months, hence my lack of posts. In between commissions, I have been playing at new kinds of media (different types of paint, pencils, pens). It's been rejuvenating and revealing.

This current "play" is actually a little piece that I started for fun early in the summer. I've also posted the preliminary work so you can see how a painting gets started. A departure for me, this is acrylic on heavy gessoed paper. It was a challenge to work with acrylics the same way I work with oils because they both behave very differently.

Originally, I had intended to paint a picture of the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco a la Monet. I got sidetracked though when a friend offered me his photos and after picking one out, I found that when I enlarged it, there was a little boy taking part in the traditional tea service. So I scrapped Monet and did MJ instead, creating my own version, redoing the scene and the little boy.

I was just telling a friend the other day that I don't think I could ever settle in to painting just one thing or one style. I love being an artist - I can be a gardener, an architect, a cowboy, a traveler, a naturalist, a child, a florist...the world is my inspiration!

"Tradition and the Tea Ceremony"

11"x14" acrylic on gessoed paper

El Santuario de Chimayo

The village of Chimayo is located just north of Santa Fe and is known for its church which was built in 1816 after a crucifix was discovered buried in the dirt. El Santuario de Chimayo has a long and interesting history (you can read more here about it's history) and is often referred to as the "Lourdes of America."

I have had my reference picture for this painting for several years now, but it wasn't until I was able to visit Santa Fe this winter and walked through several galleries, admiring the use of colors that I finally understood what I wanted to portray with my Chimayo painting.

I could've painted it exactly like my photo - a truer visual representation - but it was more important for me as an artist to capture my feeling of New Mexico, it's culture, it's local color. I'm so glad I did, because this was a lot more fun!

El Santuario de Chimayo

16"x20" acrylic on canvas, private collection

Journey Series - #5

It's been awhile since I've completed another addition to my "Journey" series. As my family traveled by car to California, we were delighted to see snow on the approaching mountain range and I snapped a photo of Interstate 15 on the way into Barstow. Historically, Barstow is known as "a jumping off point for immigrants entering the state" during the Great Depression and was made famous by John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath.

As I painted, it brought to mind a painting done by my father (posted here and one of my very favorites) - his interpretation of what was either Interstate 10 (most likely) or I-40 on the way to California. The cars represent our family's multiple moves to and from California along with a plane in the sky which I like to think symbolizes the many miles he logged on airplanes in between moves. He always preferred travel by car.

Lots of good memories were made traveling back and forth on those highways. I hope my own children will treasure similar memories from our travels. To my delight, my son recognized my painting right away and said he could recall that exact point on the road. I hope he meant it, but maybe he just wanted more money so he could go get a hamburger at McDonalds :0) !

"Road Through Barstow"

24"x36" oil on canvas

All of Nature Proclaims His Glory

"All of nature proclaims His glory" (Psalm 19:1)...and for bird lovers and others, the indigo bunting may be viewed as one of nature's visual crescendos.

A friend, and avid bird watcher, generated much talk when she posted a photo of the indigo bunting that took up residence in their backyard this past November and is still visiting them every day (!)

As an artist, nature inspires me in a way that nothing else does. When I saw her photo, I knew I would paint it, I just wasn't sure how or when (which is what happens with many of my initial inspirations - they come to fruition on their own time and I've learned not to force it).

How do you do justice to an indigo bunting?!

This year, I plan on playing with some new types of media. Oil remains my priority, but I look forward to taking some creative adventures with watercolors, acrylics, colored pencils, digital art...sky's the limit!

And what better place to start than with this little guy? (You may see him again!)I'm grateful for people (my friend) who share what inspires and delights them in their daily lives, and I thank you for allowing me to share my own delights with you, here, on this blog.

Elk Journey

Just before Christmas, I was commissioned to complete a large painting for a man's study which featured snow and elk. I was so thrilled to be asked to do this because of all the things my dad used to love to paint, mountain landscapes combined with deer and elk were among his favorites. Because of that, there is a special connection I feel with him whenever I paint these subjects.

This was a creative challenge for me as I have never painted snow (to this extent) or elk, for that matter.

What you can't see in the finished painting is all the back and forth and creative input that goes into the painting between myself and the client. When it is done, it definitely feels like a combined effort.

I've shown the original sketch because I thought you might be interested in seeing how the initial photo layout transformed into a beautiful, peaceful painting for the client's study. As I look at this sketch, I think about the level of trust this person had that I could go from step A (the original idea) to step B (the final).

I learned more than I ever thought I'd care to know about elk as I poured over websites of our National Parks and read an entire book about elk. I put as much personality as possible into each of the elk and thoroughly enjoyed it once I had done my research. These bull elk are portrayed during their journey up the mountain. There are no females or young ones because they leave several weeks ahead of the rest of the herd in the autumn.

Originally, I thought it might be interesting to add a little cabin in the back of the woods, but my client thought an eagle in the sky above the elk would be a better idea. It might be hard to see among the contrast of the trees (which was how we intended it to appear), but it was a perfect suggestion and adds such a wonderful touch!

...oh, and by the way, one of my dad's trademark accents was to add an eagle in the sky of his paintings.

:0)

Elk Journey

3'x4' oil on canvas

Private Collection