Another Update :)

Courtney in her purple shirt!  She loves purple!  And it's no wonder.. It looks great on her! ;)

Work in Progress, Sisters..

Update on Portrait

16 x 20

Sisters

16 x 20

I'm currently working on this commissioned portrait of Courtney and her sister Kelsey.  Having fun already and can't wait to get this one completed!  I am working with two beautiful subjects here, and their mom will be so happy to receive this gift from them..

Finished!!!

The Call

Watercolor

16 x 20

Elk

Update..

Finished!

Autumn Morning

Watercolor

16 x 20

I really love this version of it as well.. I will probably do prints of both versions..

Finished with the second seascape..

I like the second and third version of this painting.. I don't care for the rocks on the left of the full version.  I just need a lot more practice at them..

Current Seascape

The seascape I am working on today!  Having fun with the waves!

Megans Bay

Megan's Bay

Watercolor

6.5 x 12.5

I just finished up my seascape!  I have never tried waves before, so this was a fun experience, and I'm going bust out a few more.. This is Megan's Bay Beach on the Island of St. Thomas.. One of the most beautiful places I have had the opportunity to see and explore..

Barn On Park Lane

Barn On Park Lane

Watercolor

8 x 10

Late Winter On Zoe Lane

Late Winter On Zoe Lane

Watercolor

6 x 12

Here is another barn I photographed yesterday, of course it's late summer, so the surroundings were made up.. I just love all the colors of the seasons.. Thanks for looking!

Joplin Barn

Joplin Barn

Watercolor

11 x 14

I went down the street this morning and snapped this picture..  And with a little bit of "Artistic License" this painting came together.  I love the truck in this painting.. I was debating with myself whether to paint the back on it, or just do a standard pickup look, but I'm glad I went with the actual truck.  I have set a goal of one painting a day for ten days.. Wish me luck.. I have to get ready for the next show in McCall.  It's the 17th and 18th of September, and it's called Art On The Lake.. I'm pretty excited about this show.. It's a lot bigger than the last one I did, so we will have a lot more exposure.  But with a great show, comes a great amount of work!!  Already feeling the pressure.  My husband told me last night, as I was sharing my anxiety with him, "Don't paint for shows, or for the money you could make.  Just paint because you love to paint."  Good words from a good man!

Booger

Booger

Watercolor

9 x 12

I just finished up this pet portrait for some friends of ours.. They were so kind to let us stay in their lake cabin in McCall during the last show, so I am giving this to them as a thank you gift.  I snapped a picture of their pup Booger, cute name, but the picture didn't turn out too good.  So this is what I came up with from a blurry picture.. Hope it's close enough!

Apens In September

Aspens In September

Watercolor 

14 x 18

I started and completed this painting yesterday evening.. I had fun doing something so different.  It was painted in little time, so it's not my best or my favorite piece of art, but I still enjoyed the subject of golden aspens in the fall. 

I won 1st Place at the Western Idaho Fair!!!

 This is me!!  Elated at the outcome of this competition!

 Isabella, so excited to see herself hanging in public!

 I love this little family of mine!  They are so supportive!

My inspiration!  

Wow, what an experience this was!  I was shocked to walk in and see my portrait hanging front and center!  And to see a first place ribbon on it, well, I can't describe my feelings on that.. Okay fine, I was HAPPY, EXCITED, PROUD, I feel SUCCESSFUL, what an amazing feeling!  I know it's just the fair, but it feels so great to have others love your work.  And it was cracking me up, because we were getting these pictures next to the painting, and people were standing around watching, and talking to us about it.  We felt like celebrities!  Are you cracking up as much as myself right now??!  We were stopped out at the rides a couple times too!  I just can't believe the publicity this gets your art work.  SO awesome!  Well, thank you friends for all your encouragement and support in my journey with all of this.  It is so appreciated!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Faith is Finished and Framed!!!

Faith Charlotte Marie Walker

Watercolor

11 x 14

I am finished up with this portrait of my niece.  I ended up washing out her whole face and repainted it.  I just wasn't happy with it.  But I love how it has turned out.  SO glad I took the extra time to get it right.  Now I need to get this to my sister Christina asap, since her birthday was July 24th!  I'm a little late with this gift :)

Isabella is Framed

You can see how large the picture is in this photo.  The Portrait is 16 x 20, with a 5 inch matte all around, and a 3 inch frame.  Just large and elegant.

I love the details on this frame.. So rich and elegant!

I'm so excited right now.. I just entered this portrait of Isabella, my Wild Horses, and my Sunflower Field into the Western Idaho Fair.  I don't know if I'll win any ribbons, but I'm just excited that they will be displayed!  I have been talking about doing this for years, and now it's another goal scratched off the list!  Thanks for looking and have a great week!

Update

I'm not really loving how this is turning out.  I think there are some crucial spots that need to be worked out.. Lips, nose, and eyes.  I haven't captured her yet..

Start of Faith

I think I'm off to a good start.. I can't wait to start her big brown eyes.. They are so soft and sweet!

Faith

I am starting a new portrait of my niece Faith Charlotte Marie.  She is such and angel and I'm so excited to paint her.  She is now age two, so I will do an updated one of her later, but I wanted my sister to have a baby portrait.  Faith has the sweetest personality and her soft puppy dog brown eyes just reel you right in!  Watch later for updates!

Tuscan Villa

I just started this landscape of a Tuscan Villa.  It's Acrylic on stretched canvas.  I haven't worked with anything but watercolor for quite some time now, but this is FUN!  I have been wanting to paint some landscapes of Tuscany and Italy, so when I found this picture, I got right into it.  It will be neat to see it come together.

Isabella is Finished

Isabella

Watercolor

16 x 20

Alright!  I'm finally finished with this portrait of my oldest daughter Isabella.  It took me a few extra days to decide what to do about her dress.  I'm still not thrilled with the color or even the style, but as you know, with watercolor there is no going back!  So I am satisfied with it, and will be more careful on her next portrait.. 

Russian Portrait

Smiling Eyes

Watercolor

5 x 7 

So I recently went on a fishing trip on the Smith River in Montana.  Wow!  What a ride!  We camped out at four different spots along the river on our five day float trip.  It was such a neat experience.  It's not everyday you get to cook your breakfast and dinner outside over a hot flaming fire!  Or use a Latrine (better defined as a toilet in the middle of a field!) with a five star view of the Rocky Mountains!  To say the least, it was a trip that I will never forget with my Husband and good friends.  

So about this painting!  I found a picture of this Russian character in a National Geographic book on the Soviet Union.  There were so many amazing pictures to choose from.  I painted him in about an hour between the first night we were there, and finishing him up in the morning.  He was a great way to calm my itch to paint, and start my fishing expedition!