Fishin’
July 12, 2016
Our pets are a source of never-ending entertainment and inspiration. I couldn’t resist painting our cat Vincent, who was caught in the act. He is so curious and dipped his paw into a glass of water while perching on various pieces of furniture to do it. more »
Hollyberry Toucan
June 29, 2016
I have been working on a series of Christmas themed animals and birds because I believe there is a need for something humorous and different than what the usual holiday designs offer. I love toucans because of their shape and colorful feathers. I’ve combined the winter holly with the tropical bird in a Christmas hat, […] more »
Peppermint Pups
May 24, 2016
This is another collage I decided to rework. Most of the design was good, but needed fine tuning. Color adjustments were made and I also added details to the ears and cap. Dachshunds are adorable dogs and these cute pups are ready for Christmas! more »
White Whiskers
December 14, 2015
My second model, Sally, was happy to sit and pose for this painting. She looked at me very intently, wondering what I was doing. After the picture taking, she settled in for a long nap. I do work from my photos most of the time, as pets move around too much unless you plan to […] more »
Green Eyes
December 10, 2015
Vincent showed up for a modeling session last weekend, so I decided to focus on a close-up of his face. He has expressive eyes and is happy to sit and pose for me. I used lots of thickly applied watercolor pigments with some acrylic medium. He is quite happy with the results! more »
Box Sitter
November 24, 2015
Cats play a big part in our lives and I have a lot of models around during the day. Felines love squashing themselves into a small box and I used a reference photo for this watercolor painting. I used a limited palette of cadmium orange, cerulean blue, sap green, ultramarine blue, white and thalo red. more »
Fowl Attitudes
November 3, 2015
Lately I seem to be creating a lot of different birds! This one started with some loose, contour drawings of chickens, which I think are funny birds. I love the variegated feathers and textures on the birds. After I completed some drawings, I used my tracing paper to combine some of them into a pleasing design. […] more »
Bad Hair Day #2
October 28, 2015
This piece was inspired by my observances of birds’ funny behavior and appearances. I used one of my sketches for this and edited as I worked. It began with the bird’s overall color and expressive eyes and wild hairdo. Another challenge for me was using a smaller format, but not quite as small as what the Daily […] more »
Crossword Cats #2
October 2, 2015
I couldn’t resist doing another design using our cats as models and the crossword block pattern for the background. The main character here is the red cat with green whiskers and pink-striped tail. His buddy is beige with teal eyes. The background is limited to the colors of emerald green, reds, ultramarine blue and teal. […] more »
Sage
September 30, 2015
This watercolor painting was commissioned by my brother Joe. It is a beautiful Great Dane. He provided the photograph and I began this piece by drawing the design in pencil first. The main purpose of the portrait was to capture her inquisitive and playful expression. The background uses a wet-in-wet method, to keep it simple and […] more »