Over the years I have created many barn collages, and the first four collages I painted were of barns with a variety of farm animals. I fell in love with the old, rustic barn structures. My love of animals inspired me to add these whimsical creatures to the barn shapes that attract people of all ages. more »
This is a special design combining the bicycle amid the downtown buildings on Grand Avenue in Des Moines. more »
Chickens galore! This collage is one I completed as a Daily Painting exercise. Most of my artwork are larger sizes, so I thought it would be fun to do a small and simple piece. It is also great to be able to use some of my collage paper scraps. I have about twelve bags sorted […] more »
Drawing and painting my garden flowers has been a delight for me. Every year I add new plants to the old favorites. I draw from life in the garden and also cut bouquets to set up still lifes. more »
This abstract landscape was inspired by seaside vacations in the past. I wanted to explore this motif in a different format instead of a traditional watercolor painting, and not use a standard size. 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 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 »
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 »
This composition is another adventure, a voyage into the unknown. It seems easy enough to choose favorite colors and then the decisions begin with different shapes and arrangements. Because I hand-paint my papers with Golden and Liquitex pigments, the juicy, thick paint results in a highly textured surface that adds interest to the patterns and shapes […] more »
The most exciting moment for me is completing a collage without a thumbnail design, allowing the process to carry my creative mind on an adventure of discovery. In the past I began with a specific idea and drawing for a collage. It started with Iowa barns and farm animals. I traveled in southeast Iowa searching […] more »