Surf's Up

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

I really enjoyed painting this.  The ocean challenged me but I found that once I loosened up, it came out the way I had hoped.  I've been really busy working on commission paintings, so it was nice to paint one of my choosing.  Enjoy!

Girl vs Ocean

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

It's been quite some time since I've painted children.  It was wonderful working on this one and mentally reliving a wonderful time spent on the Oregon Coast.  A while back, I did another painting from a photo I had taken on this trip.   This is one of my best friend's daughter, who is now 20!  Time passes so quickly.  By the way, knowing Maggie (girl pictured here), she'd win!  She is one amazing young woman now!

The Duke of Adorableness

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

This is Duke, one of our sweet dogs from Adopt-A-Pet.  He's long since been adopted by a wonderful family.  He was such a joy to have at the kennels!

I enjoyed painting this adorable boy.  His wrinkles and big, meaty paws were challenging, but great practice.

Prevost Harbor Bliss

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

This is one of our favorite anchorages in the San Juan islands.  We're hoping to get up here next summer (fingers crossed!).

Kailua Beach Labs

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

I enjoy painting dogs at the beach so much!  Some people reach for comfort food; I reach for comfort paintings;) .

Swimming With a Mouthful

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

This is our boy, Salty, doing what he loves.  In reality, the stick was MUCH bigger!  Why he always has to find the most massive pieces of wood to fetch is beyond my comprehension!  Funny dog!

 

Sierra 2

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

Another one of my friend's sweet Sierra.  She was such a good dog.

Sweet Sierra

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

One of my best friends lost her sweet girl this past summer.  It's been heartbreaking for her and the family.  I was more than happy to capture this wonderful girl's personality on canvas.  RIP Sierra.

Swimming Among Diamonds

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

I love those warm summer evenings down by the water, and so does our dog, Salty!

Pacific Wren

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

This is a painting I did for one of our neighbors.  I don't paint many birds, so I was a little out of my comfort zone, but I think I might try to paint more because this was so much fun!  I've also been so much more aware of  the sweet flying friends we have around us!

Pacific City Fisherman

8x8
acrylic on canvas

This is a commissioned painting that I just finished.  I love the splashing surf in the background!

So Close and Yet So Far Away

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

Our wonderful friends have the sweetest dog, Fathom.  She loves playing ball and swimming!  I used a photo I took a few years ago in the San Juan Islands as a reference.  If I can remember correctly, she eventually jumped in after the ball.

Fetching Friends

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

Dogs and water, what could be better?  I really enjoyed painting this one.  It just came along so smoothly.  Don't you just love days like that, when everything kind of flows easily?  I was really in need of a good painting day.  I've been struggling with motivation lately.  My hubby thinks it's because we haven't had our usual summer "exhale", where we go out on our boat to the islands for weeks at a time.  I know, poor me! Yes, I'm spoiled ;) I used a photo from Pixabay to paint these pups.  Thank you Pixabay photographers!

Pearl At Rest

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

Our beautiful sailboat, Pearl, at anchor in the south Puget Sound.  We've had an incredibly busy summer and haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time on her.  I treasure my summer cruising time, so it's been a bit frustrating.  If you look closely you'll see a couple of curious souls peering over the bow.  The dogs love their "Pearl" time as much as we do!

In Fields of Gold

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

Oh how I love summer!  The bright sun and warm evenings...I wish it never ended!  I used a photo from the royalty free photo sharing site, Unsplash for this painting.  I hope this brightens your day!!

Release the Hounds

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

These two were so happy to go off leash at the beach.  They immediately hit the water and began running and playing.  Seeing dogs like this brings me so much joy.

Beau

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

Beau is one of our amazing dogs at Adopt-a-pet.  He is one of the most goofy, sweetest pups around.  I'm quite smitten with this big fella (Don't tell Salty or Chili!!).

Salty On the Sea

acrylic on gessobord
6x6

This our sweet boy, Salty, in his happy place (our boat).  He loves watching everything going on around him, whether we are at anchor or on a passage.  When we were on our year long cruise to Mexico and back, we learned what a valuable asset Salty was.  He was always on watch.  He'd let us know when there were crab traps ahead, whales, dolphins, or other boats.  He had a different bark/noise for each thing.  We can't imagine cruising on our boat without him!

Boston Harbor Reflections

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

We try to spend every 3rd of July on our boat at Boston Harbor in Olympia.  They put on a fantastic fireworks show out on the water.  It's always fun to see what new boats are around.  This little beauty caught my eye right away!  I absolutely love the reflections on calm waters!

Salty Swimmer

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

This is another painting of our sweet Salty enjoying his summer swim time.

Cooling Off Corgi

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

"Life is short, and so are my legs"!  I saw that on a Corgi poster in a store last summer.  It just cracked me up!  These dogs are awesome!  I grew up with Corgis, as well as Beagles.  I loved all of them!  My mom still has a couple Corgis, so I can get my fix whenever I visit her.

     I used a photo from Pixabay as a reference for this.  The dogs I grew up with were never beach/water dogs, so this pic really caught my interest.  It was really fun painting this guys ears...I love the glow!

Fetching Swimmer

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

This is our sweet Salty doing what he loves most!

Summer Swimmer

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

The weather here has been amazing lately!  I can't wait to start taking our Salty dog down to the beach to swim.  I used a photo from Pixabay as a reference for this painting.  Thank you Pixabay!  I love how the sparkles on the water came out!

Great Dane

12x6
acrylic on hardboard

I kinda have a thing for big dogs.  Especially Great Danes!  I love these gentle giants so much.  I had planned to work on a different painting today, but I was so excited to start this one, I couldn't help myself.  I really enjoy painting on these oblong sized surfaces; probably because it's out of the norm for me.  Enjoy!

Mine

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

This is another scene from my morning walks on Kailua Beach while I was visiting Oahu.  I wish that I could have our dog, Salty, there. He would absolutely love playing in the ocean!

I Could Do This All Day 2

12x16
acrylic on canvas

If this one looks familiar it's because I painted a smaller version of this swimmer a ways back.  I liked it so much I decided it should be on a larger canvas!

Tuckered Tucker

12x12
acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Just finished this one for a friend.  Thank you Heather for asking me to paint this adorable pup!  Snuggle time is the best!

Splashing Dogs

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

These two dogs were so happy when they got to the beach!  As soon as their owner let them off leash, they went romping through the water, splashing and playing. 

Makapu'u

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

This is one of my very favorite views on Oahu.  Driving home from Sandy's Beach, this is the gorgeous scene that hits you as you follow the road towards Waimanalo.  It's a gorgeous beach with great body surfing and boogie boarding.

Before I started painting this one, I did a rough sketch on my pad using the artrage app.  I am loving using this app to try out colors and composition.

View From Kaneohe Yacht Club

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

This is one of the beautiful views from the Kaneohe Yacht Club.  My focus here was on painting the perception of depth.

Views from Kaneohe Bay

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

While visiting my family last week, my brother took me out sailing on Kaneohe Bay.  It was utterly amazing!  The Ko'olau Range was as majestic as ever!  I can't believe how blessed I was to grow up here.  I never tire of the views!

Makapu'u Paddlers

10x8
acrylic on gessobord

I recently finished this painting for my high school friend, Leighton.  There's nothing quite like the water in Hawaii.  The rich blues make me want to dive right in.  Here's the really great part;  I get to deliver it in person!!!  Wooohooo!  I'm flying out tomorrow morning to Oahu!  My mom turns 88 tomorrow and I get to celebrate with her!  I'm so excited!  I'm really looking forward to morning walks on the beach (with my camera in hand, of course!!), afternoon swims at Kailua Beach, and hanging with my friends and family.  Yay for me!!!

Spin and Sparkle

6x6
acrylic on gessobord

Shadowed figures are something that I struggle with on a regular basis, so I decided to face my "fears" and see what I could do.  All in all, I'm pretty happy with the outcome. 

Sweet Josephine

8x8
acrylic on gessobord

Isn't her face just the sweetest?  I've been busy working on a few commissions lately, as well as bringing our daughter home from college!!!  Yay for summer break!!!  This beautiful bearded girl is for a client's sister.  I actually get to deliver it to her in person!  I'm so excited!

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.

Class Clown

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

This cutie was another of our shelter dogs, but was adopted some time ago.  I've been digging through photos I've taken in the last year or two at our dog shelter.  This goofball wouldn't sit still unless he was on his back!  I'm so glad, because it made for a fun painting!

Cooling Off

6x8
acrylic on gessobord

This one just flew off my brush!  It was so fun to paint!  I just love the warm colors set against the cooler ones.  Thank you Karen for the reference photo!

I've Got My Eye On the Ball

8x6
acrylic on gessobord

Meet Lana.  She is one of the dogs at our shelter.  She is so goofy and playful!  What makes her super special is that she is mostly deaf.  We've been using hand signals and gestures to communicate with her.  Super cool, huh!  It's not super obvious in this painting, but she has the cutest ears. When she is sitting up, her ears rest, flopped over, directly on top of her head...so stinkin' cute!  Just so you know, she is available for adoption at Adopt-a-Pet in Shelton, WA.