Cotton Field Series addition

12x16 Oil Pastel
I'm trying out some more detailed oil pastels...they have a very different feel that the soft pastels. I like the smoothness and it is nice to switch up the techniques.

Southern Exposure

Southern Exposure
11x14 Soft Pastel

This picture evokes a lot of feelings for me. I called it Southern Exposure because you can't look at it without feeling something about the South, it's history, it's conflicts...I hope it will expose feelings that have been ignored and remind us that we are all human.

Best of Show!

So I've been a terrible daily painter, but I did recently win Best of Show at the Shelby County Arts Council Juried Show! Hooray!
Copy and paste the link below to see the article in the local paper about my winning piece "Rhythmic Shoreline." Daily Paintings soon to follow...

http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/news/2009/sep/09/artists-put-egos-line/

Cotton Field Series

"Introvert" 5x5 Soft Pastel

"Extrovert" 5x5 Soft Pastel

I am working on a new series..."Cotton Fields"...exploring my Southern roots, reminding us of the past, the present, that things don't always come easily...larger field scenes to come. I thought these two cotton bolls had some good expressions.

In the Brush

In the Brush, 5 1/2 x 3 Soft Pastel
After a month long hiatus due to moving, I am finally back to my much-missed art. I started back up with my sheep...more to come.

Figs

Figs, 12x12 Acrylic Paintings

I did this pair for a design warehouse in Birmingham. I was aiming for a more abstract style and enjoyed the change to painting from my usual pastels.

Rhythmic Shoreline

Rhythmic Shoreline
24x36 Soft Pastel
I love the challenge of the splashing ocean waves on the rocks in soft pastel...this piece will be displayed in the Birmingham Art Association's summer show during the month of July at Birmingham-Southern College.

Tuscan Hillside

Tuscan Hillside
9x12 Oil Pastel
I took a jump from my usual realistic soft pastel paintings and out came a series of bright oil pastel paintings. I based them off memories from my travels to Italy and Jamaica, as well as other places I'd like to visit.

Highland Dune

Highland Dune
11x14 Soft Pastel
I got behind posting my pieces online, so here are 3 most recents to catch up.
I enjoyed the expressive sky, sweeping sands and scrubby grasses of this simple scene.

Pecking Order

Pecking Order
3x4 Soft Pastel
This is a very tiny piece, but I thought this chicken has a lot of attitude.

Cades Cove

Cades Cove
8x10 Soft Pastel
I loved the colors in the piled-up wooden fence and the new buds on the tree in front of the cabin. It was a fun picture to do because it used different colors and had such a different composition from my British Highland scenes.

Tessa

Tessa
11x14 Soft Pastel
One of my good friends is Carl, "my framer." He frames all of my pictures and loves his little dog Tessa. To thank him for all he does, I drew a portrait of Tessa for him.

Double Vision

"Double Vision"
5x5 Soft Pastel
Sold
I've been building up pieces for my Spring shows. More sheep!

Fisherman's Rest

Fisherman's Rest
4x6 Soft Pastel
I'm working on some small pictures for upcoming shows and liked the colors in this boat

Mary Clare

"Spring Flowers"
18x24 Soft Pastel
I'm building up my portrait portfolio and had a wonderful picture of my daughter Mary Clare playing on the rocks by the camellia bush.

The Climbing Tree

"The Climbing Tree"
5x9 Soft Pastel
I had one of those bad days where I couldn't find anything I felt like drawing. Then I saw the old climbing tree at my grandparents' house. We have pictures of my cousins, my sister, myself, and now my daughter all climbing this old tree. I thought I'd try my hand at capturing the history and the movement of this special monument.

Opposites Attract

"Opposites Attract"
5x8 Soft Pastel
I always like to find strong contrasting colors, and I found it in the black and white in this picture. I did this while my little girl was happily scampering around the room and it seems to echo that moment with its brightness and humor.

"Wimbley"

"Wimbley"
11x14 Soft Pastel
This is my mother's Shetland Sheepdog Wimbley. He's a sweet, gentle little dog and I tried to capture that in his expression.

"Grandfather's Figs"

"Grandfather's Figs"
5x5 Soft Pastel
These figs evoke a lot of memories of my grandfather...making fig preserves with him, his fig tree, and his love for the fruit. I was happy with how they turned out.

Mixed Grazers

"Mixed Grazers" 8x10 Soft Pastel

The highland cow and sheep in this painting were grazing on the North shore of the Isle of Iona, Scotland.

Oranges

"Oranges" 9x12 Soft Pastel
After drawing so many sheep and cows, I felt like trying something different and simple. It was such a perfect Spring day that something fresh and bright felt in order, so sitting by my open window I drew three simple oranges, keeping the color palette to a minimum.

Three's a Crowd

"Three's a Crowd" 5x5 Soft Pastel
When I saw this photograph we took on the Isle of Iona off the western coast of Scotland, I loved the grouping and the strong lights and shadows of the sheep.