Sunset Ride

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

I painted "Sunset Ride"  for this week's DPW Late Light Challenge.  I used a friend's photo to paint this (thank you, Karen!).  I love the feeling of that super bright sun shining down on her and her sweet horse.  Seeing this kind of sun makes me crave warm weather even more!  Here's to soaking up the sun!  Enjoy!

Heron In Flight

6x12
acrylic on canvas

 
I painted this from my friend, Donna's, amazing photo.  She has a special relationship with herons and her camera.  I just love this action shot!  This painting is for our daughter's high school auction.  I hope it does well!

Beach Puppy

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

I've been working on several different paintings lately for a couple of auctions and commissions.  I enjoy the challenge, but really miss the freedom of choosing whatever makes me happy that day.  I was stalling on one of the paintings, so I decided to loosen up and paint this sweet pup.  

In January I flew to L. A. with our daughter's sailing team.  We had the best luck...the regatta took place at the local dog beach!  I took so many photos!  This is just one of the dogs there that caught my eye.  I'm looking forward to doing a lot more beach dog paintings soon!

Kaneohe Bay Sand Bar

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

When I was young, my dad, brother and I would jump in the boat and head out to the sand bar for a day of sun, water and fun.  I have so many fond memories of this place.  I used a photo that my sister-in-law took to paint this.  What a perfect day it must have been out there!

But I Don't Want To Go Home Yet

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

On one of my visits to Seattle, I made a stop at the local dog park.  This adorable giant caught my eye.  He was so happy to be visiting with the other dogs.  When it was time to go, he had the most pitiful look on his face.  I would have liked to run up and give him a big hug, but that wouldn't have gone over very well.  I was getting some pretty strange looks from the people there.  I guess there aren't many people that hang out at dog parks without a dog (and take numerous pictures of  other peoples fur babies)!  I made a swift exit before anyone became too upset with me!

Dark Clouds Ahead

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

This is the third small preparation painting for our daughter's sailing team auction.  I haven't focused on painting water in a while, so this was really fun.  I loved messing with the skies in this one too!

Windswept Skies

8x6
Acrylic on Gessobord

At one of our daughter's regattas last year, the sky put on a spectacular show.  I snapped a few photos that day with the hopes of using them for a future painting.  In reality, the skies weren't this dramatic.  That's where the magic of paint and imagination step in!  I had a wonderful time playing up the sky!  This is the second small, preparation painting in a set of three that I'm doing for our daughter's sailing auction.