Dressage Horse for the CDI show

I created this 18 x 24 oil of a dressage horse from photos that we took while down in Southern Pines, NC.
I used a 2 inch Gallery Wrap canvas and had fun pulling the painting around the sides! Take a look!

Saddlebred Horse show at Blowing Rock NC

It's been fun creating a collage for the both the Hunter Jumper and Saddlebred portions of the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show held each year in the incredibly beautiful location in the NC mountains of...Blowing Rock! The show has been an annual event for many, many years and we enjoy being there for the activities. OK, maybe the climate has something to do with that too!
I have completed the Saddlebred collage which will be auctioned off at this year's event and also used for the T-shirts. The Hunter Jumper collage that I am creating will be for next year's show. They are held in the same location but on different days. This pastel is 18 x 24 in size.

Wild Roses and Artist inspiration

I am not, by nature, a landscape painter. Odd, huh? You would think that an artist would paint pretty much anything and in one respect, I do. But my artistic heart is on subjects...people and animals especially. Or a tree. Now THAT I can get a grasp on-a big, impressive or gnarled subject! But a landscape? No. To look at a beautiful landscape has always held a wonder for me. The oceans, the the pastoral farm settings, a pasture with cows, the mountains of the Blue Ridge. But to paint those scenes? Actually.....no. Sometimes I look at all the green in all its variations and think "No, I don't wish to paint each leaf." But of course I miss the point don't I? In memory, one remembers with a softness, not with clarity and that is probably why the Impressionist movement has such a following. I am quite fond of my husband's work as he loves his landscapes and perhaps has the essence of what I just said-light, color and generalities to combine into a beautiful coherent scene. But having said all that, maybe, just maybe, after wandering through my yard yesterday and looking at the once a year amazing burst of colors from the wold and heirloom roses that surround the house, studio and pastures, I might be persuaded to pick up a brush and boldly go where I usually don't go! Into a landscape!

Pastel portrait of Little Girl in White

Here is an image of a cameo pastel that I just completed for a client of her granddaughter. People love the cameo size. Most frame out to around 11 x 15 with a mat and are the perfect size for gift giving and small apartments and those watching their pennies!

The clients provide the photographs for these and some can be quite challenging! I create many of these cameos for genealogists who bring me very old black and whites (or even tintypes) of their ancestors and I re-create them in the soft colors of pastels.

Super popular for the holidays!

Meet in the Street art show

Wow-so many miles these past few months that a small show (with over 10,000 visitors!) 14 miles from home....it just doesn't get better than that!

So here I am, having completed a cameo pastel and chatting with all the visitors. Just a hint of rain, a few sprinkles, a light breeze, not too hot. Of course by 3 pm I needed a cup of coffee but what the heck?
The Wake Forest Meet in the Street held May 2 was a big success for all.