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.

Spring Sky

Spring Sky

Oil on Canvas Panel

8 x 10

Now Available in my etsy shop!

Oh how I love a road trip through rolling hills and manicured farmlands under a big cloud-filled sky...

Whoever says the midwestern landscape is boring must be crazy! This is my latest little landscape painting. I'm starting a series of midwest landscapes. I'm really excited about it and I don't think I'll ever get bored with it...

"What was any art but a mold to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself- life hurrying past us and running away, to strong to stop, too sweet to lose." - Willa Cather

Sketches

These were just some quick sketches of my adorable cousin Gracy. She is a lot of fun to sketch... I love all of her flowing hair! I think sketching is important. It helps me to visualize a possible painting and keep up my drawing skills. As a painter, I think understanding value and being able to translate it onto the canvas is key. Sketching always helps me to focus more on value. These sketches were quickly done, not really studies in value but they still are a good exercise even if you only have 5 minutes!

Our Sweet Riley

We lost our sweet Riley this week to cancer. He was nearly perfect in every way. He was always happy and was eager to please us. He gave us a lot of love over the past 10 years and we couldn't have asked for a better dog. As you can see, he also was a great model. We love you Riley.

Recent Portrait

Sold

18 x 24

Oil on Canvas

This is one of my recent commissioned portraits. I had a lot of fun playing with skin tones and lighter hair colors. They are really cute kids! Who wouldn't want to paint those faces? It was challenging to have to paint black clothing from a photograph, but I tried to make it interesting by mixing my own blacks and making sure it was a rich black with some blueish highlights.