I can finally post some new portrait commissions done for Christmas! My first post is "Max", who will be my new "sleeping dog" for awhile. There's nothing like a golden retriever on a purple couch! This portrait was for my friend Julie, who also owns Angelwood Gallery in Grand Rapids. Very nice art gallery, filled with her beautiful pottery!

I am having a blast doing commissions for Christmas! Problem? I can't post them til the people see them! But, some have seen their finished portraits, so.... Here's Dixie! She was delivered to her home today and was very well-received! Her Mom and Dad are originally from the south and are serious Tennessee Titans fans, hence the name Dixie and the dog tag "T". This is one cute beagle! :)

My hubby and I spent the morning in Grand Rapids doing a little Christmas shopping. We found an awesome used books store! Angelwood Gallery was fabulous! I bought a piece of Julie's pottery for my Thanksgiving table. Everything in the gallery is wonderful. No junk! I took in three more 6x6" pastel pieces. "Pear 1", "Pear2" and "Pear 3". What do you think? :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This painting, "Santa Angel", will be available at Angelwood Gallery starting tomorrow, when Grand Rapids begins their Christmas shopping season! This is an original pastel painting and is 17" x 19", framed in black satin. Hope you make it to the gallery over the holidays!

My artwork is now being represented by Angelwood Gallery in Grand Rapids, OH! This is an awesome art gallery with a wide array of art mediums. The owner is Julie Buetler, who does beautiful pottery! The Christmas Open House for all the downtown merchants will be this Sat. 10 am - 8 pm, and Sun. 11 am - 5 pm, Nov. 19 and 20. Restaurants, gift shops, Christmas music, entertainment, ice sculpting and horse-drawn wagon rides! Check out Angelwood's web site at: angelwoodgallery.com

I won't be posting much in the near future due to Christmas commissions. They are Christmas presents and I don't want to ruin anyone's surprise! But here's another fun 6 x 6. This is "Sweet Pepper" and is available at Angelwood Gallery. I guess I have a bit of a thing for peppers. :)

Finished a portrait yesterday. This is a little different with the deep background colors. This is "Katie's Hat". :)

Had a wonderful week at Sleeping Bear Dunes with my hubby and our new camper! We had no idea how beautiful the dunes are! Everywhere we went we saw God's art! And everytime we ate out, the food was great! A refreshing time!

Sold! Here's another little gem I will have available at Harrison Rally Days on Sept 17th. This is "Melting Pot", 6 x 6". These small paintings will have a very affordable price on them, $60. Come and see them in person. There's nothing like having original, hand-made art on the walls of your home!

A new painting for Harrison Rally Days - "Eggs in a Cup", 6 x 6" pastel on sanded paper

SOLD! This is the painting I sold at the Levis art fair. The colors are very rich and the subject matter - peppers - is very popular! I will be working on more still life and hopefully a homescape for Harrison Rally Days, coming up on Sept. 17th in downtown Perrysburg!

Levis Commons was awesome! Passed out a few hundred cards. Talked to lots of people. Saw alot of old friends. People especially liked the Walk-away wedding portrait I had on display. They also liked the people and pet portraits - especially the dogs. Okay cat people - where are you? Looking forward to doing new commissions!

7th Annual Levis Commons Art Fair this Saturday (10-8) and Sunday (11-5). Over 125 artists! Exceptional art fair! Hope to see you there!

Spending the week tweaking and reframing for Levis on Saturday and Sunday! So far we are to have nice weather! Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones!

Went to the county fair today. Got some great photos of cows, pigs and rabbits! Going to try and complete at least one for the Levis art fair. Met the owner of these black cows. A nice young guy who seemed to be enjoying himself. I wish I had asked him what kind of cows these are and if they have names? I gave him a business card so maybe he will post on my blog and let me know. :)

I got a new camera. This one takes a little better pictures of my paintings. Here's "Smudge". Every time I look at this painting, it makes me laugh!

"Ducks in a Row"

My sweet niece had a birthday this past week. My sweet nephew, her husband, decided to surprise her with a portrait of their goldendoodle, Rupert. Rupert has such a comical face, you can't help but smile when you look at this portrait!

My neighbor has a cousin whose wife is involved in golden retriever rescue. He often stays with them when visiting Florida and so wanted to do something nice for them. He decided to have me paint the golden retrievers they currently own, one of which is a rescue. Meet J.R. (on the left) and Jackson! Jackson is the rescue! Beautiful dogs!

And so, 6 paintings installed at SamB's in Bowling Green. Reception Friday, June 3rd, 9 - 11pm. My work will be there through the end of August. There are 24 artists displaying their work, including me. A very cool venue - 2 and 3D art.

The show at Terhune Gallery is a very nice show. The gallery is located in the Performing Arts building at Owens Community College. I won the Degas Award for "Black and White Calf". The show runs through June 9th, M-Th, 10 -5. Come out and see the artwork in person!

For my art friends that enjoy going to shows, the 2011 ArtAFair starts tomorrow at Owens CC Terhune Gallery. The Terhune Gallery is located in the Performing Arts Bldg. It runs through June 9th, Mon-Thur, 10 - 5. Tomorrow night is the opening reception from 6 to 8 pm. There will be over 150 works of art and literature. A good time will be had by all. :)

Starting this Saturday, April 2nd, Artomatic begins in Toledo and lasts the first 3 Saturdays in April, ending on the 16th. The hours are from 11am to 11pm. Over 300 artists are participating. I will have 2 pieces in the Prizm exhibit on the second floor, above Jed's. Also, I will be demonstrating pastel painting from 11am to 2pm this Saturday on the first floor in the purple room. This is a biannual art show put on by the Greater Arts Commission of Toledo. There will also be music and live readings. There are places to catch lunch close by. Hope to see some of my art friends!
407 Washington St. across from 5/3 Field.

Have to share a recent portrait of "Kaiser", a 15 year-old German short-hair pointer. He went to doggy heaven last month and is dearly missed by his mom and dad. This portrait was shipped across the country. Sweet face!

I am presently involved in helping with a large art show called Art-O-Matic, which will take place the first 3 Saturdays in April, from 11 am. to 11 pm. It is being held at 407 Washington St. in Toledo. This location is across the street from Fifth-Third Field. It is a bi-annual art show and includes visual, literary and "live" art. There is a huge range of artists, art clubs and art forms involved. If you are interested in seeing what's going on in the Northwest Ohio art scene, plan on coming down! I will be doing a pastel demonstration on the first Saturday of the show, which is April 2nd, from 11 to 2 pm. Be sure and say "hi" if you see me at the education tables. I will also be showing some of my paintings along with other members of the Prizm art club from Perrysburg at the Prizm booth. Hope to see a bunch of my art friends!

We have had a very anxious week watching the events in Japan. My son is fine, he is on the opposite side of the country from the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear catastrophe. We have been praying that the situation would be resolved and for all those people affected by this horrible tragedy. The photos and videos coming out of Japan are just heartbreaking. One American family cannot locate their daughter who is also teaching over there. She is also part of the JET program as is my son, and I can't imagine what they are going through in not knowing if she is safe.
God be with them and have His hand on Japan and the people.

Taylor's body was found. Say a prayer for her mom and dad. So tragic, for so many.

I am currently applying to some art festivals coming this summer and fall. There are also a couple art shows this spring. I will be posting all shows and exhibits and art festivals that I am involved in. What fun!

I have finally finished the wall mural at my church that I started last April. It was a lot of fun and because it is in the children's church room, the kids enjoyed seeing new things added each week. The pics are not the greatest because of the glare from the flourescent ceiling lights, but you can get a fairly good idea of what it looks like. If you would like to see this mural in person, contact me and I will meet you at my church and show it to you. Plans are in the works for a few more animals walking down the hallway to this room. Enjoy!

Another furry friend! This is Marley. He's a min-pin.

This sweet little bulldog puppy's name is Christa. She was commissioned by a woman who was giving it as a Christmas gift to her daughter. This one was expecially fun to do because it had so much color in it!