View of Fitch Mountain Through the Railroad Bridge

Healdsburg Center for the Arts, Members' Show this year was going to be views of Fitch Mountain. Since it has been raining non-stop and I couldn't paint outside, I scurried through all my old photos and found this view. It is Fitch Mountain, perfectly framed by the railroad bridge. Meanwhile they have broadened the scope of the show, but I'm glad I did this painting. I don't usually deal with so much structure, and it was a fun challenge. It will be in the show at HCA through April.
Copyright Susan Moore

Snow on Pine Flat

It snowed here last month. This is the wine country in Northern California. It doesn't usually snow here, but there it is, so I had to paint it, plus there was mustard, and a red barn (always a favorite with plein air painters). This one will be in a show at Healdsburg Center for the Arts through April.
Copyright Susan Moore

Talk to the Hen

I love this couple. What are they looking at? I feel like there is a story here. Did they just have a disagreement? Is one of them a bit passive-aggressive? Hmm.
Copyright Susan Moore

Pick a Little, Talk a Little...

One of my newest paintings, this is inspired by Heifer International. The local group is having a barn dance/dinner as a fund raiser and they have invited me to show some of my paintings to decorate the barn. I had paintings of cows, sheep and llamas, but no chickens. Until now.
Copyright Susan Moore

Gus and Jenny

Gus and Jenny were two of our very favorite dog friends. They have been gone for quite a while, but we still think of them every day. I painted this for my husband, any dog's best friend. In my next life, I think I would like to be Ed's dog.
Copyright Susan Moore

Sammy at the Center

I don't do many abstract paintings. I like abstracts, but it's not in my nature to let go and paint abstract. I think I'm too much of an explainer. As you can see, this isn't very abstract, but it is for me. I borrowed the technique from Beverly McChesney, and I'm happy with how it turned out.
Copyright Susan Moore

Paintings at the Citrus Fair

These are two of the paintings I entered in the Cloverdale Citrus Fair this year. Local fairs are always fun, especially if it's not raining. It's often raining at the Citrus Fair. Late February. Go figure.
Copyright Susan Moore

Lyin' on a Rock

This lion, by contrast with the Phantom Lion, is young, smooth and started out on a fresh white canvas. He doesn't have the lumps and bumps and colorful "experience" of the Phantom. Just a lazy, innocent, lay around in the sun kind of guy. A little curious, a little bit bored. Maybe it's time for a nap.
Copyright Susan Moore

Phantom Lion

I painted this lion on a canvas I had been using for a palette. It was thick and crusty with dried paint of many colors. I had barely started to paint in the lion's features when I was advised to stop and leave it just like this, with all the colors and texture showing through. I call it the Phantom Lion because he was for a show at the Phantom Gallery in Santa Rosa.
Copyright Susan Moore

Klamath Redwoods in Fog

Here's another foggy painting. Fog is fun to do, especially doing it in lots of layers, using a lot of medium and just a touch of pigment. This is from a great photograph my friend Patti Ferrera took in the Klamath Redwoods.
Copyright Susan Moore

Falling Apart in the Fog

Painting with a group on a foggy morning at Bodega Bay. When I started, the only thing visible in the fog was the wharf. Soon the fog lifted and the background coastline came into view and changed everything. This painting was selected for a juried show in Petaluma.
Copyright Susan Moore

Llama Hat/Mask

See the previous post for an explanation of this hat/mask, and why I'm wearing it.
Copyright Susan Moore

Chicken Hats

Just being silly, I decided to make mask/hats from paper plates and bowls. These chickens are my favorite so far. My first was a llama hat I made for the gallery reception for a mask show where I had Fernando (down 2 posts) entered. The participating artists were encouraged to wear masks, so I whipped up the llama out of some paper plates I had around the house. I will try to find a picture and post it next.
Copyright Susan Moore

Lauren

Lauren is a sheep mask I made from 100% recycled materials. The base of his face is a plastic laundry soap bottle, grapefruit juice bottle, and his ears are cut from plastic water bottles. His black face is from an old Ralph Lauren sweater from Goodwill, (hence his name) and his white curly wool fleece is from an unraveled old Irish cable knit sweater. Eyes and teeth are old buttons, and the tag in his ear is the Ralph Lauren label from the sweater. This was really fun to do.
Copyright Susan Moore

Fernando

Fernando is a mask I made from paper mache, and yarn. To attach his fur, I knitted a mask to pull over his face to which I could tie the long strands. This is dedicated to Fernando Nugent, a dear friend, and one of the best teachers I have ever known. He was respected and beloved by his students.

Copyright Susan Moore