"Chops"

 Pastel - 18x12

My daughter found Chops about eight years ago, when he ran away from a pet shop where someone had just dropped him off.  Because she wanted a dog, she decided to adopt the little bugger - and he is a handful.   I hope I captured his huge ego, his "I'm in charge" attitude.    Many years ago I spent 10 days babysitting him and we became best of friends, which isn't easy for Chops.  As he's gotten older, he's become more accepting but for a little guy, he sure has a big bark!

Beaver Meadow Brook

This pastel was painted from a very exposed photo that I had taken sometime this past summer.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day when we hiked in to this spot and I loved how the sun highlighted the water, yet much of the area was in deep shade.

 9x12 - $95.00

 Feeling and seeing color everywhere lately, mainly because of all the ice and gloomy days we've had here lately.  I think I "exposed" the spot with lots of color - not that it wasn't already there!

A Garden Jumble

14x11 on Richeson board - $145.00

I've had a bad cold for a week now and I've been home, trying to paint, taking it easy and hoping I'll feel better soon.  The weather hasn't cooperated at all.  It snows, then rains, then gets warm, the snow melts, the roads get icy and I don't want to move!  I went through my stash of photos and found some of the garden at my mom's complex in Mission Viejo, California.  Flowers......I haven't seen fresh flowers since the summer.  I painted this riot of flowers in the garden.  Made me feel good.  I'd love to find some flowers and paint fresh ones.  Wonder where I might get my hands on some?

River at Balsam Road

 12x15.5 - $125.00

A few weeks ago, Bill and I walked our dogs to this remote little spot not far from our house.  We don't have much snow this year - we seem to get it and then it rains and disappears.  The day we walked to this river, which wanders to our lake another mile away, the snow was a few inches thick.  Our dogs loved this spot as much as we did.  When taking pictures of the snow in the winter, most of the photos end up black and white.  Not this one, as the colors in the sky reflected beautifully in the water, and the scrub around the river was rust and light orange.  Absolutely wonderful!

Admiring Degas

 12x9   $95.00

During the Christmas season, Bill and I spent the day in New York City.  It turned out to be a rainy day, but we spent a good part of it at the Met, on the second floor, admiring all the impressionists.  The museum had almost three rooms of Degas, alone.  I happened into one room and saw these two talking between themselves, in front of two Degas paintings.  She just made me think of all the women in his paintings - long dresses and hair styled just right, holding a glove in one hand........

The Catch is In

 16x20 Pastel on Richeson board
  $225.00

Another view of the fishing boats, docked in the early evening, in Provincetown, MA.  I find it very difficult to paint all the lines that are an integral part of the boat, and try  to simplify whenever possible. I only painted three of the ten seagulls surrounding these boats - I think they hadn't been in dock very long, so the gulls were out in force.  I just wanted to give the viewer a "feel" of the gulls.

Winter Sprint

 12x15 1/2 - $175.00

Last year, in February, the women from our quilting group spent a weekend at a resort.  They all quilted, but I just wanted to have an entire two days to paint.  I brought lots of my photos and was so happy to spend the entire weekend just painting - no cooking, cleaning, laundry - just pastels.  On Saturday evening, before it got dark, I took a walk by myself, and took lots more photos.  Came across about five deer all together, in the snow.  They saw me right away, but decided I wasn't a threat and so I was able to take a bunch of pictures.  Finally one sprinted away and I got a shot of it near a shed just running.  It made me smile to see how fast it was going.  Anyway, here's my version of it, in pastel.