head fulf of big, furry ones and long feathery ones...

inspiration can come from the all over. for me, it normally comes from a dream, or the particular shape of a canvas, or seeing something in person that makes me want to paint it.

i'm working on a bison because i have 3 friends who, in the last few weeks, have painted beautiful bisons! a big violet one, a large soft brown eye, and a meatatarian's dream have forced (though, eagerly and with copious pleasure, mind you) my hand into painting my own furry beauty.


also, i recently heard that Grizzlies have (sadly) been placed on Canada's threatened species list, and my mind's eye is filled with golden fur and stoic shyness.

oh, yes, i also am working on a new Black-throated hummingbird, a Cedar Waxwing, and a Blue Heron; always, my birds :)

snowy is done

Snowy Owl (SNOW)
20x24"

mixed media on gallery canvas

i had a lot of fun creating and working on this piece; there's not one inch of the painting that is not full of texture and depth. the sky is luminescent, glowing leaf under washes of blue & gold, the snow is full of winery hues of violet & aqua, the rocks built up from actual stone & sands. and the owl himself is cut from one heavy sheet of paper & mounted upon it all.

i thought long & hard to show the right stage of his plumage- go all white or speckle his feathers with more blacks for the spring. in the end i chose a late February look; he's just beginning to get his spots back.

he, along with 3 other canvases are designated for the Gallery, and now i get to work on some new pieces for the Slave Lake library show as well as more (always more) for the Gallery and even a few smaller pieces for trades :)

redwinged blackie

my Red-winged blackbird is complete- he's 15x30x2", and has many different layers and textures throughout. the cattails are a mix of soft hemp paper and sand, and the leaves are embellished with swirls of japanese lace tissue, and his "red-wing" brilliantly shines with gold leaf. i love him! off to the Gallery he goes...

the path to tread... or fly.

wow, for someone wanting to update this blog more often, i'm sad to say that it's been 2 months since my last post. a lot has happened since then; i'm back to having official representation here in the city at the FRONT Gallery. looking forward to a big group show it's putting on at the new Lexus dealership for the month of June, and painting a few works for it- a snowy owl in violets and copper, and a red-winged blackbird surrounded by cattails.

i've also been asked to have a show at the new Rotary Club of Slave Lake Public Library in September. it'll be a great venue for some smaller works, plus i'll get to reunite with some old friends that i haven't seen for a while.

i've got some big plans brewing in my head for the future, and how to accomplish them. taking a jump, albeit a well-prepared one, is always exciting and scary. but it must be done!

4 and 20 blackbirds...

ummm, well, maybe just 2, and a couple more.

i've been working on a submission with a fellow artist and dear friend, Nancy Corrigan, for a show at the McMullen Gallery- a public art gallery at the University of Alberta. we're combining our love of our feathered friends, and building a spring (hopefully) show around the wee birdies.

i've been doodling up a few red-winged blackbirds, here & there, and will be transferring the doodles to a canvas shortly. at least one, or maybe a few. in a pie.

early mornings

... are a wonderful thing.

granted, waking up just before 4:30 this morning was okay- sometimes i can fall back asleep until i need to actually get up (around 6 or so) but this morning, my mind was all abuzz and excited and happy... so i listened to it. managed to get my studio corner tidied up, a couple of smaller canvases prep'd and texturized to start painting, a new water container at the ready, and realized how much i LOVE and desire my early-morning creative time.

this is how i know that spring is coming,

and coming fast!

whooo are you ?

i'm sure i'm not the only one asking this on a daily basis, looking into the mirror in the wee hours of the morn, in dreams, in art... life is all about discovery, and finding passion and love in everything. well, for me, it is.

i love how things present themselves when one's ready for them. in the last week or so i've received 3 possible opportunities to show new work in a variety of venues. no guarantees yet on any of them, but the mere fact of the opportunity itself is exciting and encouraging and makes my senses tingle and my fingers twitch.

most of my recent work is inspired by the last couple of years that i spent up north, surrounded by wild beauty, the trees holding sway to all the creatures within.

i'm finishing up a yellow warbler painting, but the next one i'm sketching out is a barn owl. i've had this fella in my head for a long time now, and see him perched on an aspen branch, surrounded by songbirds hiding in the leaves, playing peekaboo.