With Apologies to Monet....

Holly and Karen came to paint today. I really didn't want to work on any of our homework assignments, so I rifled through a stack of photos set aside for possible paintings and found the waterlillies. So, I had to give them a try. They're far more complicated to paint than they appear, and I worked on them most of the afternoon. All in all, they were a good learning piece. I have higher hopes for the next version!

Natural Elements

And the homework resumes, now that Christmas has passed. I took this photo on a trip to North Georgia with my dear friend Holly. It was a natural choice for the homework assignment to paint rocks.

'57 Chevy

I find painting cars a challenge, because they must be somewhat precise in order to look "right". Nevertheless, I painted this quarter panel of a '57 Chevy for Dave, my ex-husband; he will be receiving it for Christmas. I photographed the car one summer day in my driveway.

Framed

Not a great photo, but Spotty and Dotty are now framed and ready to go to their new home. I'm pleased with the final result and hope my friend will like them

I See Spotty...and Dotty

Spotty and Dotty are the beloved dalmations of friends. Both were rescues through the Atlanta Humane Society. Spotty (bottom photo) is the oldest and is deaf; when Dotty was adopted, the two became inseparable. I painted these pictures for my friend Lynn as a special "get well" gift.

I always look for feathers when walking and usually find at least one. This was a plain brown feather found lying on the beach at Harbor Island. I chose it for another homework assignment: paint the same picture twice, using warm colors for one painting and cool for the second. Though no feather is truly plain, this one did not distract with a variety of colors or patterns.

We Three Sheep of New York Are...

My friend Barbara took this photograph of her friends' sheep when she was on vacation in up-state New York three years ago. She e-mailed the photo me, and I have been saving it with plans for a painting. With a homework assignment for a painting using only black, white & gray, the fit was a natural. The sheep are beautiful and I may paint them again, using colors. Thanks, Barbara, Danny and Kathy.

First Snow

My friend Barbara shared some wonderful photographs made by her friend Charlie Smith. The pictures are really striking in composition and subject and, of course, I wanted to paint them! Charlie was kind enough to allow me to do so, and this is the first of several than I plan to paint. I loved the simplicity, the silence, the interplay between Autumn grasses and the remnants of a first winter snow. Thank you, Charlie.