A Gathering of Artists

Today is the day for the "Gathering of Artists" Show!  Come to the Tribes Warehouse (302 4th Ave. South in "old town" Twin Falls between 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. to visit with 20 artists showing original works.  I am privileged to be included in this show and have new work to present at this show.  The warehouse is a unique setting for the show, and the experience promises to be an exciting new way to show art in Twin Falls.  Stop by for a glass of wine and enjoy the afternoon with us.    

Long Stem Series - Hollyhocks

I painted this piece at the Sawtooth Botanical Gardens during one of our South Central Region of Idaho Watercolor Society second Tuesday painting sessions.  We have beautiful weather and I found these hollyhocks captured my attention.  They took me back to my college days and the Sorority house where I spent so much time.  The house had  hollyhocks growing all along the south side and I enjoyed seeing them each summer.

Long Stem Series - Blanket Flowers

Finally, the next addition to the Long Stem Series.  I have a lot of Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia) in my flower garden and they brighten the garden now that the daisies are gone.  They are drought tolerant and plentiful.  The seed pods are fun to paint, and the flowers a challenge with the brick red flowing into a bright yellow.  

I am still working on the Long Stems series and will post when I have the current piece finished.  In the meantime, I have been on a couple of wildflower walks and am posting Artist Trading Card paintings of flowers from the walks.

Long Stem Series - Daisies

Here is the third component to the Long Stem Series. My front yard daisies are four feet tall this year, and prolific.  This piece was challenging in portraying the white of the flower on white paper.

Long Stems Series

The flower garden is in full bloom and the long stems are calling.  I started with delphiniums and added the day lilies to the series.  I am working on daisies and will add a couple of other varieties of tall flowers as I go along.  The series will be hanging at the Twin Falls Center for the Arts during the IWS Regional Show.

Canyon Glow

Good news!  I have placed in the Idaho Watercolor Society's Annual Show with my "Canyon Glow" painting.  I learned last night that my painting was ranked 12th out of the 50 semi finalists.  There were 197 original entries in the contest.

I am so amazed to have achieved this ranking after seeing the quality of the works in the show.  The works are available for viewing in BSU's Art Gallery in the Student Union Building. The judge, Don Andrews, said he "really liked my painting" as he shook my hand on stage.  What a compliment coming from the judge!  Small words that meant a lot to me.  The show will hang at the BSU gallery until the end of June and will travel around the state through November.  During the month of November, the top 20 will be hanging in the gallery in Twin Falls at the The Center for the Arts.

Doodle Bugs

I have been working on Doodle Bugs.  They are on display and for sale at Flutter.  Flutter is the wonderful venue that hosted my work during the Art & Soul Contest a couple of weeks ago.  Lori, the owner, graciously offered to display more of my artwork, so I have paintings available for sale as you enter the door.  Nice store, nice people, stop in if you can!

Bottoms Up

My tulips are all done, but the memory is fresh.  

Poppies

Poppies! Soon to be everywhere.  This painting was done with a splash technique, and then I added detail.  It's part of the Flower Power Series that I'm working on.  Hard to resist as things start to bloom.

Early Spring Pinks

This piece is a part of the Flower Power Series I have been working on.  Bold bright colors, and a reflection of spring.  Don't forget to visit all the great art on display in the Art & Soul contest in Twin Falls.  178 fine pieces of art work in 45 businesses.  It runs through May 5!  Visit Flutter to see my entry.

Funky Tulips

This piece is part of a spring series. It is entered in the Art & Soul of the Magic Valley contest in Twin Falls. It will be on display at Flutter during the exhibition April 27- May 3. My contest number is 307! Votes appreciated!

IdahoTangle

Continuing to learn about ZenTangle techniques. This piece is larger than my regular drawings in my Moleskine notebook, and another direction with a landscape, so more of a challenge. Work in progress.

New Release

A recent good time with friends over dinner and the good wine they provided was the motivation for this piece. The original intent was for an abstract, but detail took over and frankly the paint had its way.

For The Fishermen

The sunrise over the canyon this morning was peeking through the rain. Lucky me to get this show today! I am grateful!

Crazy Fish

Still on the ZenTangle kick.

Silly Cat

Have been trying out ZenTangle/ZenDoodle. What fun! Teaming with watercolor, it satisfies my need for doing close tight work, and lets me dabble with colors. I am trying out a color wheel that I saw from Robert Burridge. He shows an interesting way to think about color.

Canyon Spring

Back from the snow and skiing up north to spring in the valley. The canyon is beginning to green up for the few months that it looks that way, and this view looking east is one of my favorites.

Springdale School of Art

Tuesday I was fortunate to spend the day painting at Springdale School of Art near Burley with good friends from the local IWS chapter. Springdale is an amazing art center started years ago by Claudette Bray along with her good friend June Carey. Claudette has classes for kids and adults in what once was a school building. She has converted the old school building to house a wonderful multipurpose classroom, a gallery, a clay room, as well as places for digital work. It is an amazing resource for the community. http://springdaleschoolofart.com/

I have just discovered Zentangle/Zendoodle and love the challenge of creating patterns and Zen textures. It is truly relaxing. While I am learning the techniques, I am using a Moleskine watercolor notebook and black pens to create the designs. A spin off of my interest is posted today. The drawings depict what I saw yesterday at Springdale. My hope was to convey the energy we felt in the room yesterday!

Niagra Springs

The colors at Niagara Springs are spectacular in the fall. Niagara Springs is just one of the great places to visit in Thousand Springs State Park. Our paintings group spent a day there some time ago and I finally took those preliminary sketches a bit further.

City Streets

A trip to the city always inspires. The tree lined walks, tall buildings, and interesting light are subjects to paint over and over.

Snow Creek

Trying my hand at more snow scenes since it is snowing again today. This one is for Mikey!

Arizona colors...

Spent a week in Green Valley, just south of Tucson. Had a great time touring the artsy town of Tubac. They are adding colorful housing there and I could not resist!

Creekside

Hiked near the area around the SNRA Visitor Center and along Murdock Creek to get this view. The snow levels were low during the holidays, so we could get close to the creek. It should be gorgeous today since the snowstorm is dumping as we speak!

Just finished this painting of the Big Wood River north of Ketchum. Have been working on skills to depict snow and water. I'm into a series...maybe. Definitely need to do the snow dance for the mountains this year.

Snake River Canyon!

Happy New Year!

The sunrise this morning was spectacular over the canyon. Saw a bald eagle gliding along the edge, and base jumpers billowing off the bridge. Good start for the new year!