First Day of Spring Contest

Visit my new blog My Next Life for a chance to win one of my posters. And if you become a new follower you'll be entered an extra time.

Contest ends Sunday, March 27th.

15th Street Gallery Show

Here's a picture of the show at 15th Street Gallery. The space is lovely, open and airy, and I loved the way the paintings looked. I'll be sad to see the show come down.

A Pleasure to Meet You

For some reason I've never felt comfortable about writing much of my personal life on this blog. I want it to be about my art and I hope that for the most part my art stands on it's own. But for those of you who might like to get to know me a little bit better, I'd love to have you visit me at my new blog My Next Life. Of course I'll still talk about my art there, but you'll get to hear about the other pieces that add up to make me.

BEES

It may be snowing outside, but it's all flowers in here. I'm not a big fan of bees in real life, except for their honey, but they've been fun to paint.

15th Street Gallery

Opening tonight at the 15th Street Gallery. This pair of paintings are some of my favorite paintings that I've done it quite some time. I loved the pallet, so bright and airy and I'm looking forward to revisiting it again very soon.

PRETTY PLEASE

This is a fun new painting that's on press this week. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Right now I'm busily painting some new pieces for an upcoming show at the 15th Street Gallery here in Salt Lake. The space is beautiful and the gallery is a great gathering space for talks and readings. Just down the street from the gallery is my favorite bookstore, The King's English. And it must be noted that directly across the street is the little bagel shop where I met my husband when we both worked there as teenagers. Needless to say, the spot is close to my heart.

NEW PAINTINGS

Here'sa fun little piece that I painted up recently for Poems. Who knows if any client will snatch it up, but I think it's really cute. I also did a similar version with bees and butterflies (to be posted soon).

WELL ROUNDED BIRDS

The birds are really flying off the page!

I've been wanting to make 3D birds for a few years now and finally I decided the time had come to follow through. This paper mache fellow is still a work in progress. I'm trying to figure out how subtly or strongly I want the pattern to show. There are a few other birds awaiting paint.

I'm really having fun with this new medium. Next I'm thinking of branching off into something figurative, although I'll still keep some birdies around.

Pier One Birds

The birds are in! Well, they've been in for a few weeks now. I took the family on a little field trip to visit our nearest Pier One and there they were, cute little fellows, sitting amongst the other paintings. I've only seen these little birds in their small format so it was fun to see them on a larger scale. Pier One did a nice job presenting them. They're printed on a light cotton fabric and gallery stretched. Each one has a fun little tag describing the personality of the birds they depict.

HAPPY BIRD

My etsy page is being inundated with little birds. I have a goal to get forty of these little guys ready for the arts festival is June. I have four down. That's a good start, right?

A SUNNY SPRING

I do love all the rain we've been getting this week, but maybe in the back of my mind I'm really wishing for a little sun, thus this happy little sunny bird that I painted this afternoon.

Something New

I'm working on a new series of paintings. I'm liking where they're going so far. I've been using more organic forms and some new patterns found in images of microscopic cells. Here's a glimpse of one and I'll post more as they come.

GLEE

I'd have to say that I'm filled with quite a little bit of glee myself after finding out that two of my paintings THAI SPICE I & II are being used on the set of the TV show GLEE. My paintings are hanging in the character Rachel's bedroom. I don't know how many episodes they've appeared in, but I'm certainly a convert to the show now. I can't wait to see when they appear next.

Friday Gallery Stroll

I've got many new pieces showing at Evergreen Gallery this month. The opening is this Friday the 16th from 6-9. I'd love to see you there if you can make it.

Landscapes

I haven't done any landscapes for a while so it's been refreshing to paint some for the upcoming show at Evergreen. Here's a picture of a little diptych that I just finished.

Work, Work, Work

It feels good to be back in the rhythm of painting again. I always like a good deadline (this must play to the procrastinator in me), and I certainly do have a lot of deadlines. I just finished this piece at the request of my publisher and I'm hoping that it finds a good home. Today I need to finish the companion and begin work on the landscapes that are due on the tenth for my show at Evergreen Gallery. I'm looking forward to the shows at the Himilayan Kitchen that Alpine Art has set up for later in the summer and I need to start thinking about new work for the Ogden City Arts Festival, which I've been asked to attend as an invited artist. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it all.

New Stencils

It's time for some new stencils, not because the old ones have worn out, although some are getting pretty thick with paint, but because I'm ready for something new. I certainly don't create new stencils as often as I do new paintings, but I do love the process and I enjoy thinking about how I'm going to incorporate them into new work. I'll be starting a new series that I'm trying to make a little bit more formal and I thought I'd start off with a Damask stencil. I don't usually go quite this intricate and it will be interesting to see how the small pieces hold up.

SPRING CHICKADEE

Just a few more days until spring. I might have to paint an homage to it all week.

Thank You Etsy

I've had the good fortune of being featured in one of etsy's emails and these little birds have been flying off the shelves. (That is, if there were shelves to fly off of). Funny what a little bit of advertising can do. I'm certainly grateful to the editor who chose me. I also had the good fortune of being asked to be a featured artist in the Ogden City arts festival this June. I haven't done any festivals in a while so it will be something fun to look forward to.

Emerald City

Here's a peak at the scenery that I've been working on. My daughter was having a dress rehearsal and we snapped this picture of her in front of the magnificent Emerald City.