I began painting this watercolor at the beginning of March and it took me almost a month, longer than usual. I had the abstract shapes in my mind a long time, since taking the photo of this dilapidated hay baler. It was sitting all rusted in a field. A friend of mine, who took me […] more »
These are two very devoted canines of my sister’s, and otherwise called “the two knuckleheads” by her husband. They are well-behaved most of the time, and well-trained too. Bubba, the Boston Terrier, is the most energetic dog I’ve ever seen. He runs around the backyard like a maniac–it is fun to watch him gallop wildly. […] more »
This was a commission of the English Bulldog who won many competitions for this breed, and was a therapy dog in hospitals and clinics. This dog was well-loved by his owner and many people. Unfortunately, he had to be put to sleep because of illness. My sister has two of his puppies, Snoozer and Petey, which […] more »
I chose to paint this old, red barn in Plano, Iowa because of its weathered silo, cattle chute, and out-buildings. These are no longer standing. The photographs I took in the 1990s of barns in southern Iowa describe many old barns of this era. It is sad that many of them were not saved. It […] more »
This painting includes five of our cat family: Saoirse, Fiona, Sadie, Ruby and Aurora. They include a variety of colors — a calico, siamese, white calico, black and a spotted black & white. I did this as a portrait sample to let people know that photos of different pets can be combined into a single […] more »
This is my second still life featuring my hand-sewed Crazy Quilt, and I wonder what I was thinking since it has so many details — the ruby-red vase, apples, an antique mirror, wood-grained table, and transparent glass! A lot a textures crammed into a still life, but I am very happy with the results. It […] more »
This still life is crammed with interesting objects that I have collected. The main feature is the flared emerald-green vase and the crazy quilt, which I sewed with many of my fabric scraps. It is a one-of-a-kind quilt! Also in this setup are square mirror tiles, apples, and a round ruby vase. It was most difficult […] more »
I’m back doing the exotic animals. These birds were designed in 2007 and I’m finally getting around to completing the collage. I chose it for their colorful pink, long-necked bodies and legs, having some fun with changing some of the colors. They seem to be dancing and fluttering with movement. For the background, I decided […] more »
Eateries are popular with customers, so I painted an angled view of this popular restaurant in Centerville, Iowa, owned and operated by the Derbys. It features the bright blue awning with their name, beige bricks, and neon signs in the window. The ladies’ fashion store next door has closed and now houses the Flower Center. I’ve […] more »
This is another painting of my never-ending fascination with barns in our area. I’ve painted this before from a different view. It is a round dairy barn on the historic register located off Highway 2 in southern Iowa. Supposedly they danced on the third floor of this large barn and farm workers lived there too. […] more »