taking on subjects that challenge me!

My two most recent paintings are ones that I picked to challenge myself.

The first, a painting of a woman reading the morning paper at the Hemingway House in Key West (and the darling six-toed cat!) Was one that I picked because I need to become more comfortable painting people.  I loved the way the light speckled over the pathway, and the lush jungle-like foliage.

The other painting of a peacock was from a photo I took at the bird sanctuary in Scotland Neck, NC.  I wanted to see how realistically I could paint the peacock and if I could capture the wonderful way the light lit up parts of him.  I also really like the fact that he is in a "non-traditional" peacock pose.

Pinatas at the Market

I took a picture more than a year ago at the Hwy 301 farmer's market in Wilson with all of the wonderful pinatas covering the ceiling.  I knew it was something I really wanted to paint, but felt completely overwhelmed by the subject.  There is so much going on!  I am very happy with how it turned out!

monster valentine box project

I was asked to help my son's second grade class make boxes for valentine's day and I came up with these funny tissue box monsters.  Card stock teeth (glued on the inside), egg carton eyes with google-y eyes hot glued on, pipe cleaners and foam heart stickers (sandwiched pairs on the tops of the pipe cleaners).  The kids even managed to not make a huge mess with the paint.  I, of course, did all of the hot-gluing.  Fun!!!

I really love how each one turned out looking different- with their own personalities!!!  I also love that most of these materials were recycled and super cheap.

My art

I started creating art seriously when my youngest child, Eli, started school and we moved to Wilson, NC.  Finally, I could give myself permission to use the few hours I have without other responsibilities to pursue what I love!  This is a (fairly) comprehensive album of my paintings since August 2009.