Summer Evening

Summer Evening

watercolor

8.5 x 9

Happy Memorial Day

Painting by Childe Hassam, 1917

Happy Memorial Day Weekend :)

Naples

Naples

7 x 7

watercolor on paper

My grandad used to live in Naples, FL. It was a pretty fun place to visit... to say the least :) Naples has one of those beaches that one dreams about. Crystal clear water, white sand, seashells and sand dollars. In fact, my husband's first gift to me was a sand dollar from Naples with a quote that he had handwritten on the back. {sigh} yes, I'll marry you.

Sorry for the mushiness :) Maybe all this royal wedding craziness has me in a romantic mood. Just got a text from my mom that says we'll be having a brit style tea time and pimms cocktails tonight to celebrate! Haha ;)

Anyway, I'll definitely be doing more watercolors of Naples. It's fun to paint a place that brings back such fond memories.

Snake River Watercolor

Snake River

6 x 8

watercolor study

I am finding that it is very different photographing watercolors. If anyone has any tips let me know! I'm finding that the colors are quite different and the whites are quite gray. OH watercolors, I will conquer you.

This is a {slightly grayed} study of the Snake River painting that I posted below. Hope you all are having a lovely spring. Thanks for checking in!

Watercolor Studies

Up the Mountain

6 x 8

watercolor

I've been working on some watercolor studies lately. Watercolor painting does not come naturally to me, although I do enjoy it. It is like thinking backwards if you compare it to oil or acrylic painting. It's also not so easy {if at all possible} to fix a mistake! I suppose that is good for my brain. I have many more to come so stay tuned...

I've also been working on pet portraits and I have a couple commissions that I need to start! Mike is in his full swing of landscape season and I occasionally get to help him color or ink a design. Things are getting busy but fun around here :)

Snake River

Snake River

11 x 14

A simple sketch

Tucker

Charcoal on Paper

8 x 10

Charley

Charley

10 x 10

oil on canvas

This is a sample pet portrait I did to display at Long Dog Fat Cat :) Gotta love those puppy dog eyes! This is my uncle's family dog, Charley! Named for Hurricane Charley. What a sweetie!

Tucker!

Meet Tucker! We've been busy getting to know this beautiful boy over the past week and a half! He is great and we've had so much fun with him :) I think he's getting used to our routine and his new cat sister Jesse. She keeps her distance but is starting to come around more and more. Hopefully I'll be starting a painting of Tucker soon! I'm currently working on a couple of other pet portraits to display at Long Dog Fat Cat out in Village Pointe South. They are so sweet there and very helpful! If you have a dog or cat with special diet needs or you just want to upgrade your pet food, I would highly recommend this store! Everything is corn and grain free. It's easier on their tummies :)

Back to work!

Re-hab Furnishings

I'm very proud of my husband and his "winter" company Re-hab. Check out the website if you get a chance! We're still adding content to it, of course. He has been designing, making and selling tables for a couple years now and it's really starting to flourish! He absolutely loves doing it. Here is one of his most recent tables:

This table is called the 'Tucker' in honor of our new dog that we'll be getting this weekend! It's made of solid Walnut and recycled steel. Isn't it beautiful? It's currently displayed at Pearson & Co. here in Omaha along with some of my art! If you have a chance, check out this store! It's beautiful! They have really nice furniture, art and decor. They are out in Legacy and the owners are super friendly :)

New little painting

Limon

oil on linen

8 x 8.25

available for purchase at my etsy shop!

This little painting was a fun one. I think I'll do a larger version soon. I've been working on a couple landscapes lately that haven't been going so well... let's just say they're very purple. Not that there is anything wrong with purple, but they are very purple. I haven't even been able to look at them in a week. So I've been working on smaller paintings and painting the edges of older paintings, sketching, writing down ideas... anything to not work on these other dreaded paintings!! I know I can always start over, but there's just something in me that wants to be able to finish them! I'll keep you posted...

A recent pet portrait

Abbie & Jackson

Oil on Canvas

16 x 20

Sold

Here is a recent pet portrait I did for one of my oldest friends! Her sister commissioned it and it was a surprise which was fun! I really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed the challenge of painting a black dog, the texture of their fur and painting all the grass. Aren't animals so fun? We are currently in the process of adopting a dog from a rescue... pretty exciting!! A new subject for my paintings :)

Check out some of my other pet portraits on my facebook page! Become a fan while you're at it!

Painting Update

A short post today as I am busy painting and cleaning... but here is a painting very much in progress. Sorry that I couldn't figure out how to get the pic on my blog! I took the picture with my phone so it's not the best, but here it is anyway! It's a big one so I have a ways to go! I'm enjoying painting the ocean in the middle of January :)

I have not blogged in so long and I feel like I have lots to update! So stay tuned! I'll be posting some new ideas... what I've been working on... what I will be working on... some inspirations...

OH! and check out my mom's new blog, Ink Wash Letters {very exciting!} about our family history, Omaha history and the arts in Omaha with a focus on a WWII pilot that was an amazingly talented artist {my great uncle Bruce}.

Magnet Paintings

Singing on the Shore

Original Oil Magnet

1.25 x 5

Available for purchase in my etsy shop!

Extorted From the Sea

Original Oil Magnet Painting

1.25 x 5

Available for purchase in my etsy shop!

These are two in a series of mini magnet paintings that are now available in my etsy shop! I've had a lot of fun painting them. It's nice to be able to paint such beautiful places. I've been busy with some commissions, but I've been meaning to do these for quite some time. I'm glad that I finally got around to it! The titles come from Emily Dickinson poems... in case you're wondering. Her poems are so beautiful.

Watercolor Studies

Palm Study

5 x 5.5

watercolor

Palm Study 2

4.75 x 5.5

watercolor

We've just returned from a vacation to beautiful Puerto Vallarta. I have hundreds of inspirational photos to work from now :) The sunsets were fantastic! I considered the possibility of becoming a beach vendor just so I could have an excuse to paint that view everyday! Alas, I chose to come back to the beautiful midwest. I actually do love the midwest landscape, especially in fall. Don't be surprised to find a mix of midwest and tropical landscapes on my site though. I just can't pick one over the other! These are just some little palm tree studies that I did in watercolor. I love the way each palm tree has it's own quirky shape!

Promised Sunrise

Promised Sunrise

oil on canvas

18 x 24

Sold

Here is a recent commission that was a lot of fun. I loved painting the warm light in the clouds against the dark, stormy clouds. This was a surprise anniversary gift for a husband that was in the Navy. It's always an honor to be commissioned to paint something that is meaningful to someone. I have to say, it's a highlight of my job : )

Just Another Day in Paradise

Just Another Day

18 x 24

oil on canvas

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted! Here is my latest painting available for purchase from my etsy shop. This was from a photo that I took while on the beach in Costa Rica. That's Pedro, our bus driver :) It was a beautiful day on the Caribbean!

New Mexico Evening

Originally uploaded by life.of.leia

New Mexico Evening

oil on panel

5 x 7

Available for purchase at my etsy shop!

An evening drive through the desert inspired this painting. Has me wanting to be back there. I am still wanting to paint more of the midwestern landscape but yesterday I was having trouble finding a picture I wanted to paint. Thankfully last night we had a lovely evening at a friend's lake and I took countless pictures! It was the perfect lighting and the perfect setting. I'm so excited to get started!

Happy 4th of July!

Iowa Landscape

8 x 10

oil on panel

Available for purchase in my etsy shop!

Happy 4th of July! Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone!

Fields of Iowa

Fields of Iowa

8 x 10

oil on panel

Available for purchase from my etsy shop!

"To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle."

~ Walt Whitman

This is another painting from my midwestern landscapes. I used a photo that I took on a road trip back in May. I just got back from a road trip down to Kansas City this past weekend. I wish I had gotten some pictures of the landscape this time. The amount of flooding in the fields was incredible. It's really unbelievable how rainy it has been this spring. Living in the city I have become a little removed from it. Hopefully the rain will stop for a bit for all the people whose farms and homes are at stake. This is not nearly as important but some of my plants are beginning to rot from all the water as well! The weather really shows us how little we are in control.