Nothing is more inspiring than a vase of fresh cut flowers from my garden! These gladioli and small sunflowers smelled wonderful, and their myriad colors and intricate shapes of petals and leaves inspired me to paint them. In the winter I plan and dream about what new varieties to add to my garden. Painting still […] more »
The main inspiration for this painting was a fresh flower bouquet displayed at the open house at Artisan Gallery 218 in February. The hues of the flowers were bold and vibrant. The combination of the different floral shapes were interesting: the stargazer lilies with creamy pale green buds among the deep crimson roses. These contrast […] more »
My inspiration for this watercolor was the contrast of the shiny black teapot against the luscious colors of the cosmos bouquet. I had already completed a similar design, and decided to do another because the shapes of the flowers were so fresh and inviting. My method of painting still begins with sketches of the bouquet, […] more »
My inspiration for this painting: these fresh cut flowers from my garden were gorgeous in color and begged to be painted! I never tire of painting flowers. Everything about them motivate me to paint them; the vivid colors and shapes and tiny details. When I observe flowers to paint, I always begin with lots of […] more »
My inspiration for this painting is the vivid colors of my garden flowers. Every year I plant new ones to the perennial beds. Although I have seven separate beds of flowers, there never seems to be enough room for all my favorites. These particular flowers are a giant zinnia variety and they are great in […] more »
My inspiration for this artwork was to explore another area that interested me: abstract compositions. A client recently requested this specific type of painting and I challenged myself in completing one. This is easier said than done, especially when my forté is painting still lifes and working from one of my reference photos. Some of […] more »
Painting a series of musical instruments has been on my mind lately. This began with a very loose contour drawing in ink and turned out to be more complicated than I thought. I completed the drawing from life and included the many sections of details as I worked. Sometimes I like to begin doing a […] more »
This watercolor painting was inspired by my late-blooming cosmos in our garden last fall. I picked a full bouquet and set up the still life in sunlight with an Indian-patterned cloth and the teapot. Other items were also included in the set up. When I set up the objects, things are moved around for different […] more »
Lately I have been working on a variety of Iowa-themed work in preparation of my joint exhibition next year with Deb Baughman, to be held at Indian Hills College in Ottumwa. This collage is a design of an old grain elevator in Chariton, Iowa. The structure was interesting with its many jutting pieces stacked on […] more »
It all started back in 1985, when a customer told me about a cool barn to see and possibly do a painting of it. So I grabbed my Minolta camera, the old film kind, and took off. The adventure led to traveling down many southern Iowa country roads without a plan or map — just […] more »