Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast is such a relaxing, energizing place to be. I find it easy to draw inspiration from the ocean. One of these paintings is available. Lincoln City Cloudy Day, 30" x 40" on one-inch gallery canvas, oil. (Second one from the top.)

Balboa Park

This series of paintings is inspired by Balboa Park in San Diego. There is a cacti garden there, and it was easy to find different ways to paint these beautiful plants. Dimensions are 30" x 30", 24" x 36" and 36" x 36". Oil. All are available.

Food Art

When I had a show at the Wild Pear last year, they asked if I had any food art. I did not, so I thought I would give it a try. I did these four fruit and veggie paintings as my attempt. I had more fun that I would have imagined. They are 16" x 16" on 1" thick gallery canvas with oil. All but the veggie painting are for sale. The one with the pineapple is currently on display at Classic Hairstyling in Salem.

Family (and Friend!) Art

I've been giving away my artwork for as long as I've been painting. I enjoy painting things for people, whether they like it or not. (I'm sure friends can attest to this.) Last Christmas I did three paintings for family members. The Great Wall painting was for my brother, Ryan, who is quite the world traveler. He had spent some time in China before Christmas, and I used one of the pictures he took to create this painting. I did it in acrylic, which reminded me why I find acrylic so frustrating and rarely use it. The rest are in oil, as are most of my paintings. The fruit painting with the pear was for my sister, Krista. I've given her two lanscape paintings, so I thought I would give her something different. The Caribbean picture was for my mom. She had been on two cruises where she photographed the same group of houses. I figured she must have really fancied those houses, so I painted them. It was a risky move, because the colors are quite "Miami Vice", and as much as my mom says she likes my paintings, she is my toughest critic. She will tell me what she likes, and she will tell me what she doesn't like. This is a large painting, 36" x 36". It's not bashful. The fruit painting with the papaya was for my friend, Jenny. She is a dietitian, university nutrition instructor and the resident expert in all things food-related. I thought she would appreciate it because good food is in her soul.

Sold!

I've been selling paintings since 2005. These are the first two paintings that I sold. They are also the beginning of my exploration with buildings and houses. Houses of Symi is 36" x 36" and in oil. San Francisco is 30" x 40" and in acrylic. I learned from these two paintings that I quite enjoy cityscapes. One has bold, primary colors. The other is more subdued. They were both fun to paint. The painting of San Francisco comes from a picture I took in 2001...I snapped a picture while on a trolley. I didn't know it would turn into a painting. This is the first of several San Francisco paintings that I completed.

Wild Pear

These pictures are from the show at the Wild Pear in downtown Salem that went from May 2008 through April 2009. My paintings were supposed to be up for one month, but I was fortunate enough to have them up the entire year. I did some fruit and veggie paintings for this show, and it was quite fun.