Lanikai Labs

 

6x6

Acrylic on Gessobord

I captured these two playing on the beach in Lanikai on one of my walks.  It was a gorgeous beach morning; sun shining, winds calm, and a perfect temperature.  It doesn't get much better, especially when you add a couple of dogs to the mix!

White Water Wader

 

6x6

acrylic on Gessobord

With all the time I've been spending on Oahu, I've accumulated quite a few beach dog photos for reference.  My time in Oahu these last several months has been sad, exhausting, and down right frustrating at times. Loosing my mom has been really challenging.  The thing that helped me " keep it together"  were my morning walks on Kailua Beach and Lanikai.  I was able to escape my reality and savor the ocean and all the dogs that enjoy it as much as I do. Luckily I brought my trusty camera along!! This adorable, young Golden was a joy to photograph and paint!  Her owner would swim out a ways and try to get this pup to come out to her, but she didn't have a whole lot of luck with that!  This is her waiting for her owner to swim to shore.  I hope you enjoy it!

Fetching Bulldog

 

6x6

Acrylic on Gessobord

This speedy little Frenchy was really fun to watch.  He was a little powerhouse!  As he passed by me he was snorting and snuffling happily with all concentration on the ball.  What was really fun to paint on this piece was the water.   I really like the warm tones of the water coupled with the cool tones of little Frenchy here.  Of course, painting splashing water is my fav!  I love the action in the waves and shore break.

Seeing Double

 

6x8

Acrylic on panel

I have found that when I don't paint for a while, when I come back to it, my confidence has disappeared.  When I started this painting, that nasty little voice inside my head kept telling me it was no good.  Thankfully, I persevered!  I concentrated on keeping it loose and simple and am loving the results!  I hope you enjoy it too.

Sisters

 

20x16

acrylic on canvas

This is a larger painting I recently finished for a friend back in Hawaii.  Sadly, sweet Ellie (the Rotti laying on her side) passed away.  These two had a special bond that I was trying to capture in this painting.  The photo I used was of these two on a couch.  My friend wanted something a bit more fun for the background, so in came the pool!

Sunset Stance

 

6x8

Acrylic on panel

I've been chomping on the bit to paint this one for quite some time!  I love the warm glow on this dog's fur and the rumbling waves in the distance.  It felt good to work on a smaller painting again.  Thanks to Pixabay for the photo reference!  I have a bunch of photos from this summer that I'm excited to paint but will have to wait a week or two as I'm headed back to Oahu to spread my mom's ashes next week.

Curious Chihuahua

 

6x6

Acrylic on Gessobord

Have you ever met a Chihuahua that thinks she is a Labrador?  Well, let me introduce you to Gemma, queen of the neighborhood.  She grew up with a Labrador Retriever so she now identifies as a lab.  It's pretty rare to find her without a tennis ball in her mouth!  I love this funny girl (and so does our Chili Pepper!  He's got a HUGE crush on her!)

Happy Go Lucky

 

6x8

Acrylic on Gessobord

There's nothing like a Golden Retriever to bring a smile to your face.  This sweet boy was one of our dogs at our local shelter a while back.  I don't think I ever saw him unhappy!

I really tried focusing on not overworking this one.  That takes a bit of concentration from me and so often I get sidetracked.  I want to get to a more simplistic and direct way of painting.  I'm looking forward to doing more paintings this way.

Patos Island Tide Pools

 

6x6

Acrylic on Gessobord

Patos Island is my favorite island in the San Juans.  The history, clear water, and lack of crowds make this a winner in my book.  We were lucky enough this summer to hit the tides right and get the opportunity to explore the tide pools.

San Diego Sunset

 

6x6

Acrylic on Gessobord

A few years ago I was with our daughter at a women's national sailing regatta in San Diego.  On our last night there we found some time to make our way to the beach.  We were greeted by this amazing scene!  I'm not nuts about painting sunsets, but this one was calling out to me today, and I'm so glad.  Painting the ocean and vibrant sky really perked up my mood!