Itty Bitty paintings II

Ok, enough already! I can't seem to stop painting these little guys! Much to my husband's sorrow...he is also my framer. He wants me to stop too! I am just having too much fun. But this should be it, except for the three I need to finish.

This is a dog I photo'd here in Minnesota at a game trial.
This is on of my neighbor's puppies. Her female dog had 11 pups in her last litter!
This little guy is from a Montana trip years ago.

What a great weekend is made of...

I have been painting all day, every day for weeks on end to prepare for the Easton Waterfowl Festival in November. Ask any artist...all that time in the studio can make you crazy and sometimes you just need to get out into the open air to refill your "creative stores". I had the opportunity to go to the Minnesota Wildlife Connection on Saturday and photograph some amazing animals. I got to feed a bear from my lips, carry a cougar cub and just have a great time. Best of all, I am completely rested and recharged to get back in the studio and work. Watch for some new work soon...
Please visit www.minnesotawildlifeconnection.com.

This little bear is Buford. He was raised by this hound dog and they are inseparable. She lost her litter on the same day he was born, they put him with her and the rest is, as they say, history.

Itty bitty paintings

I just love to paint small paintings. These are all for my upcoming show in Easton. None of them measure over 2" x 3". Doing small paintings allows you to step out of the norm and focus on the animal and have some fun with detail. Each one of these has a fun story that I will add with each painting.

Now, I don't claim to paint miniatures, that is a whole different form of art. Rachelle and Wes Segriest are probably the finest miniature artists I know, you can see their art and read more about miniature painting at www.artofwildlife.com. You can see their work at the Easton show as well.

I have a few more small paintings to do, then I am going to spread my wings again and do the larger ones. But in the meantime, I am sharpening the point of my favorite 00 paintbrushes and having a "little" fun.

Friends in...odd places

Recently my dearest friend, Rita, took time out of her busy schedule and came to visit me. We went to the South Dakota yearly artist ride and then spent some time hanging around here, swapping stories and riding my horses. It was a great time. On our way home from Wall, we stopped at the 1880's town in South Dakota and what else you would you to expect to see at a western town?? An affectionate camel of course! This one took quite a shine to Rita, as you can see. Rita is also an amazing artist, please take a minute to check out her work at www.drawntonature.com.

Shame on me...

I just received an email from a dear old friend who berated me for not having any pictures on my blog of myself. I did not realize it, but I have manned the camera for so long, I have not been included in any family pictures. I looked and looked and this is the only one I could find (that I liked). It is a few years old, and my hair is no longer blonde (thank goodness). Perhaps it is the ever increasing wrinkles and waistline that age brings on that has made me camera shy, but what ever the reason...this is for you Rex, now pony up some pictures of those kids for me!

New work

These are two small 5x7's for my upcoming show. I just love being able to paint things that I can see right out my window. These lilacs grow on the north side of our property and I look forward to them every year. We only have the ruby throated hummingbird here in Minnesota, but I have plenty of sketches of other species from living in Southern California.

I may be one of the most prolific fuschia killers on the planet. Every spring, I buy three from the local gardens and slowly, methodically murder them over the course of the summer. But...I always get plenty of pictures and color sketches before they go, so I guess you can say that they don't die in vain. I may have been born with a black thumb, but I was also born for a great admiration for them.

These are both in oil on board. I am growing more and more fond of oils the more I do them.