Pete

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

This is another commissioned piece I just finished for a friend.  She's giving it to her mom for Mother's Day.  What a sweet daughter!!!

Hog Kiss

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

This is a commissioned painting I recently finished for a friend.  It's a gift for her step daughter, who's really got a way with hogs!  I just love the way her sweet face wrinkles up to receive a kiss from this pig.  I hope she likes her gift!

Happy Lab

8x8
acrylic on gessobord

And here is #3 in my "dog and ball" series.  Check out my Instagram page for more pictures of this series; #sharibueltart

Nice Catch

8x8
acrylic on gessobord

This is painting #2 of the three "Dog and ball" series that I've been working on this week.

I remembered to capture one shot before I finished!  I like starting with a sketch, then laying down some basic colors.  After that it's all fine tuning and shading.

Incoming

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

I had the pleasure of playing with this sweet, ball-obsessed pup at one of our daughter's regattas.  I went crazy taking pictures, and am working on two more of her and her favorite playmate (the ball!).

a glimpse at part of my process

I meant to take a photo earlier in my process, but I got caught up in the fun of this piece.  Luckily, I got this one pic in before I finished it!  To get proportions correct I make a grid on my panel and draw a simple sketch before beginning painting.  I use my Samsung tablet to crop and orient my photos, and also have an app to grid my reference photo.  This makes the whole process so much easier!

Girls' Beach Weekend

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

Just messing around with warm and cool colors.

Reflections of the Adventuress

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

If you are from the Puget Sound area, then you know about the beautiful tall ship, Adventuress.  She is a 1913 schooner with a fascinating past that now sails the Salish Sea, educating and inspiring youth while helping to protect our marine environment.  We always enjoy seeing her and her crew while cruising the San Juan Islands, or when visiting Olympia for one of our awesome waterfront celebrations.  We've even had the "opportunity" to unintentionally see her up close while on our boat, Pearl, but that's a story for another day.

So, my favorite thing about this painting is the deep blues.  It's so indicative of the Puget Sound.  Our waters are this deep, luscious, bluish-green color (when the sun is out). I'm getting excited for summer sailing and cruising season!

Leaving a Trail of Light

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

I used a photo I took a couple of years ago as a reference for this painting.  I was at Shilshole marina in Seattle for our daughter's regatta and came upon a man with his chocolate lab playing fetch off the docks.  In this piece I decided to make the dog more of a golden color, to help contrast the water.  It was late in the afternoon and the sun shining off the water was beautiful.  That's what I really wanted to capture in this one.  I love the patterns water makes when reflecting the sun and sky.  Enjoy!

Kailua Beach Cutie

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

My friend and I were walking along Kailua beach when this little sweetheart came to greet us.  I love seeing the dogs playing and walking on the beach, and I make every attempt to meet them all!  If only I could have my pups with me when I'm visiting my family.

Up To My Elbows In Snow

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

I haven't posted in a while due to preparing a couple of paintings for our local juried art show.  Hopefully one will be accepted into the show!  Also, our oldest daughter was home for spring break!!  It's always so nice to have the whole family together!

This painting is from a photo I took during "Snowmaggedon 2019".  We had soooooo much snow.  It was crazy!  This is one of our sweet shelter dogs, Duke, playing in the snow.  He's one of my favorite pups at the shelter right now.  I'm hoping he's found his forever home this week.  He is so special.