P.R.A.Y.

This commission is actually 4 separate 18"x18" gallery wrapped canvases which were painted to hang horizontally on a dining room wall that needed a little color. I fooled myself into thinking that they would be easier to execute because they were more design-like than realistic - not so! But boy, were these little angels fun.

"Don't forget to P.R.A.Y."
Four 18"x18" oil on gallery wrapped canvas
Private collection

Road To A Villa

I paint in a group of people in which there is a lady who has been painting for quite awhile and I think I could pick out her paintings from a mile away. Artists as a whole love for someone to say that about their work. Her personal style is established and she is comfortable with it. I'm a bit envious. You can tell by my work that I am still experimenting and exploring different things and figuring out who I am as a painter. There are so many roads to go down, I can hardly pick just one. Not yet, anyway.

"Road To A Villa"

8"x8" oil canvas board mounted on 10"x10" canvas board

Unframed, $100 +S/H

Delicate Bloom

When I cut this rose blossom from my garden, it's petals were already loosening and falling out. I hated to toss it, because it was so full and delicate. I decided to do an impromptu still life with a pear from the kitchen and laid it on its side so more petals wouldn't fall out.

(Would anyone like to help me come up with a title? I guess I used up all my creativity painting it. Email or comment your suggestions and I'll pick the first one that strikes my fancy). Update - thanks for all the suggestions, you didn't make it easy for me to choose with all your great ideas!




Pink Petals and Pear
8"x10" Oil on Canvas Board, unframed
private collection

Where's Petey?

Petey was nowhere to be found when it was time for him to go to his yard and his owner had about given up finding him on their ranch. It wasn't until she decided to go ahead and leave that she walked out to her truck and found Petey, ready and waiting. Petey obviously had other ideas.


What is it about cars and dogs? "Wanna go?" is all I have to say to my dog and he tears out to the garage as if he's afraid I might change my mind if he doesn't hurry. I wish it was that easy to get the kids into the car of a morning!




Petey, Ready to Go
9x12 oil on canvas, private commission, nfs

Dragonfly Pond

Grab your book and a blanket or just sit quietly and wait for a dragonfly to land nearby. The photo this was painted from was taken in Colorado. Talk about a peacerful, serene setting. It's been a long time since I've been to Colorado in the summer - I much prefer it over winter trips. I hope we can go again sometime soon.

Dragonfly Pond

12"x16" oil on canvas, $220

Stealing Second

My boys are always asking me to paint something for their room and it was this quote that finally inspired me:

"You can't steal second if your foot is still on first base." ~Author Unknown

Taking that first step away from a place that feels safe and risking failure applies in a lot more places than just the ball field!

This was a different painting for me, not only in subject matter, but also because I really tried hard to stick with a looser style. I did this by forcing myself to use large brushes and not obsessing over detail like I usually do. What a blast I had doing it.

"Stealing Second," 18"x24" oil on canvas, not for sale

In Step, On a Stroll

I have one of my dear friends to thank for this image. We worked together a long time ago in a creative environment and when she sent me this photograph, I knew I would paint it eventually. I like the fact that it came from her because I see her eye for creativity in it and it reminds me how much fun we used to have when we worked together. She was one of the first people to ever believe in me as a bona-fide artist, not just a hobbyist. We had a discussion about filling out paperwork and I always cringed at the occupation part (I was home with kids) and she said, "You're an artist, of course!"

An artist is always looking for images that tell a story or engage the viewer to finish the story. That is something I am still working on developing. It's fun to do a painting that asks questions of you. Are they on a quick stroll? Is she walking the dog for her own sake - a need to get out - or for the dog's? Are they in a park or near a busy street? Maybe she's a dog walker and it isn't even her dog! I doubt it - in my mind, these two are buds.
I've always enjoyed cropping photos a little differently and placing them on a dark background. I hope I didn't do this one a disservice by doing so. I think it will look nice in a black frame and will almost give it a matted effect. Here's an adorable close-up of their feet.

In Step, On a Stroll 12"x12" oil on canvas, will be available on my website at www.artbymj.com

St. John's Anglican Church, Richmond

Last week, I had my first experience painting "en plein aire," French for "in the open air." For those of you who have never heard of that, it means that the artist paints outside, exposed to all the elements, straight from life. Let me tell you, it's very different from painting from a photo...mainly in that there's no cropping feature when you've got a wide panorama in front of you. I rely on my computer far more than I realize. I loved experimenting with the much looser style than I am used to painting indoors. You also have to paint quickly enough that you don't lose track of your lighting from when you started the painting.

A friend that I paint with from the gallery was kind enough to organize this for us at the Old South Plantation in Richmond. Located on the plantation is this quaint church, St. John's Old South Anglican. The plantation home was built in 1890, but I neglected to find out the history of the church itself and now can't find anything about it online.

I chose the angle from the pond across the road as I wanted the reflection of the church in the water. Strange noises which members of my group identified during our lunch break as ALLIGATOR made for a less than relaxing finish to my painting day. I was constantly looking behind me to make sure nothing was back there. I'm pretty happy with my first attempt, even if I did rush the end!

Study After Fragonard - Finished

I finally finished my version of Fragonard's "Young Girl Reading" with J. as my model. I was nervous to show her after I finished the face, but when I pulled it out of the car to show her, she said, "Mom, it looks just like me!" Whew! As one of my best and most honest critics, I knew she wouldn't let me get by with less. I think I solved the problem of the hand by staying true to Fragonard's version, but trying to make it a little more realistic.

In a continuation of Sister Wendy's opinions of "Young Girl Reading," she states: "What Fragonard seeks here is to show us the innocent bloom of young beauty, and its capacity for reverie." You'd have to ask J what book it is that she'd like to be reading.

I can't wait to get it framed as soon as it's dry! I hope you have enjoyed seeing the entire process of how this painting came about.

"Southern France," Study after Andre Derain

Another "Study For My Study," Andre Derain's Southern France, was also found in my copy of "Thousand Masterpieces" by Sister Wendy and inspired me to see what I could learn from doing a study of it (The colors also go well with my decor!) These are great learning experiences for me. I really wanted to see what it would be like to do a landscape without getting all stressed by the details as I am prone to do. This was thoroughly enjoyable and I had a much greater appreciation for the artist as I tried to understand why he made the decisions he did in painting it. When I first saw it, I didn't really like the white, blossoming trees; but as I progressed, I understood why they needed to be that color for the interest of the overall composition. I'm hoping that this study helped me loosen up a little so that when I do my own landscape in the future I can apply what I've learned.

24"x36" oil on canvas, collection the artist