wild eyes

This handsome guy never took his eyes off of me until...

the sun set and his girlfriend finally showed up for their date.

christo and jeanne-claude

I love Christo's art.  Excuse me, the art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.  The Valley Curtain, The Umbrellas, Surrounded Islands, Running Fence, Wrapped Trees, Pont-Neuf, the in-progress Over The River project here in Colorado, etc.  Even when they offended my environmental sensibilities (they did, but I got over it), I've always admired their belief in their vision, their persistence, and maybe especially, their controversiality.  Their self-confidence challenged the Pharoahs' grand scale egomania, but to their credit, they left no pyramid behind.  I mention them now to honor Jeanne-Claude's passing.  http://christojeanneclaude.net/ 

medicine cape

I thankfully out-lived thinking I could sew and painted my medicine cape instead.

shy dog

so smart so sweet so shy

what a girl

garrett the great

This is Garrett.

Part Aussie Cattle Dog---"telltale" white-tipped tail and herds all his toys and bones into perfect piles.

Part Cherokee---a rez dog from northeastern Oklahoma.

Part raccoon---handsome longish brindle coat and thoughtful generosity.

Found at the local shelter, he's one of the most interesting dogs I've ever known. If I were one for making dogs wear clothes (boy, am I not), I'd get him a t-shirt that says,

                                   DAMN THE AKC 

leaving honolulu

Hawaii is so gorgeous, right up to the very last minute.

P.S. I assume everyone who posts pastels knows that the colors are so much more vibrant than they ever appear on a blog. Argh!

anything's possible

I don't even remember when I painted this. I do know that it was totally different (even upside-down I think). I decided I had nothing to lose but pride and painted over it. Losing the attachment often saves the day.

I keep it around to remind me that anything's possible.

more stuff

These were willed to me by a best friend. She was a painter and a legendary multi-media artist. She never wore the shoes; she bought them at the Goodwill in San Francisco because she saw them as the beautiful objects they are. Indeed they are.

A perfect size 7.  Silk.  Couture.  Hmmm... just imagine what their story might be.

juniper

Like a fool, I sometimes paint dogs who exist only in my head. Admittedly, it can be pretty dark and scary in there. Just me and Cerberus deciding who gets through. There are no photos; there are no posers. Although, just like people, some of the dogs certainly have enough attitude to be poseurs. Because I have no visual cues for these paintings, they can wind up looking, well, quite literal. Okay, so my mind's eye can be a little anal. Depending on my mood, it has either too much discretion or not enough. Ain't it always the way...

I start with a sketch, made with the charcoal leaving nothing more than an outline. Occasionally, I do check photos for anatomical references. Anything after that shows up while I paint. What the values and hues are, where the lines get lost and found, the impression, the expression; one thing leads to another. I apply a few rules but generally try to stay out of the way. That's how dogs like Juniper get to be here. Believe me, I'm not about to tell him he doesn't look right.