Sunny is the cherished cat (and probably a teensy bit spoiled) of my friend, Jan, in Washington. I've seen lots of photos of this great little ball of fur, most of them with an even squintier look on her face. It was really fun to paint her. Yes, her eyes are that blue, and yes, she spends a lot of time sticking her tiny tongue out, so I am told.
Ginger is a little Jack Russell Terrier who works in Santa Rosa at United Auto Center. Her job is to visit with customers in the waiting room while Walt and Bill are fixing the cars. She does a great job, and so do Walt and Bill. If you want old fashioned great service combined with new technology, this is the place for you and your car.
En plein air is a French term meaning in the open air. At the time when the Impressionists, circa 1870, were first beginning to experiment with plein air effects, Winslow Homer also was discovering sunlight and atmosphere which he thought could be only found in nature.
Monday Morning Painters is a group of plein air painters that was started over a decade ago by Sonoma County artist, Patrick Fanning. The group paints mostly throughout Sonoma County. Inspiration is found in the vineyards, rolling landscapes, barns, cows, cliffs and ocean, among other scenes, which result in works that are varied and seen from each artist's unique viewpoint.
Visit our Abramson Gallery page for more information.
These tiger eyes are going to be watching my grandkids, and their mom & dad.
This painting is based on a picture I took while watching the inauguration on tv. The shutter on my camera has a delayed reaction so it went off just at the moment the shot changed from the people to the flag, and caught a wonderful double exposure. Previously on exhibit at the Santa Rosa Finley Center through November '09, this painting is currently on long term exhibit in the library at Geyserville Education Park.
On my first day out with the Monday Morning Painters, I had an adventure with a horse, determinded to be painted. This is his friend, the llama. After all this time, I'm finally getting around to painting from some of the photos I took. I think I will try painting the horse again. The first one was kind of a joke. Currently on exhibit at Mendocino Art Center.
Same cow, different scenery and time of day. On exhibit this month at Rochioli Winery in Healdsburg.
One thing I love about this painting is the view and fresh morning colors are so typical of Sonoma County, it reminds me of home whenever I look at it, and driving around the valley here, reminds me of this painting. It is in a show at the Mendocino Art Center this month. It just sold. Now the Llama is in the MAC show for the duration.
This one has attitude. Looks like gossip is happening. On exhibit at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, 2009.
Misty is my latest painting. She is the star of a loving family in Oregon. She has a little sister, Abby, to help keep her young and playful. Misty chases sticks, swims in a Koi pond and lives the good life at the edge of the woods. I was delighted to meet her and thrilled to be chosen to paint her.
I was honored to be asked to paint this special moment between a little girl and her favorite horse to ride. It is based on a beautiful picture by one of Oregon's leading family photographers, Kristi Seanor, of her daughter Kayla. I hadn't met Kayla before, so I was really happy when I delivered it and saw that the painting really looks just like her. You can see more of Kristi's great photography from the link at the bottom of my blogspot, "A Slice of Life Photography".
This is one of my personal favorite paintings. After spending weeks painting something else, that I wasn't really happy with, I spotted this photo of Lucy on our wall and had the impulse to paint it. It only took a couple of hours (it felt like it painted itself) and it looks just like my pampered princess Plott Hound, Lucy.
One in a series of paintings inspired by the Vortex show at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.
I'm working on creating little birdnests from raffia, yarn, found vines and needles, dove feathers and Skulpy eggs. This one is sitting on a stave from an old wine barrel.
My grandson Ian, and a quiet moment at the beach. Love the crabby shadow. That's the way it looked.
On an outing with the Monday Morning Painters this tree, with its long fingery foliage just grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. So much for painting the Chateau.
Zebra stripes of magazine text and puzzle pieces, enhanced with acrylic paint and several layers of acrylic glaze.
My friend Bobbie Morrison invited a bunch of us up for a paint-out. One of the other patinters had a red umbrella. Who could resist?
I don't usually do still life paintings, but the light coming through the bottles in my studio window made me grab some blue paint and go for it. 
This painting is a joint project with my Granddaughter Madison. She shot the picture, and started the painting. After she got bored, I finished it. Fred is an Eastern Rosilla parrot who flew into our lives for about 3 weeks last Fall. Visited, ate lots of tasty food, and flew on. We miss him and hope he drops by again next time through.
Limiting my palette. This black isn't black, it's a mixture of ultramarinre blue, aliz. crimson and burnt sienna. Makes nice greys.
Some people see rain dripping down a winter window, others see something else.
This little mama barn owl collage is named Ann Arbor after the Michigan map that makes up the green area to the right of her face. She's a collage of pieces of pictures from old National Geographics and her body is made entirely from the little "daisies" and globes on the magazine covers. I think they make great feathers.
This is Harvey, one of the family granddogs. When he comes to visit, he sleeps on a nest of fancy throw pillows, just like he deserves.
