Schlitz Audubon #18

Painted this yesterday at Mystery Pond in warm conditions....around 35 degrees. Yes, that feels like a heat wave now. It was fun trying to paint the frozen pond -- imagining all those little creatures under the ice, just waiting for Spring. My painting partner Lynn and I both agreed that painting the snow is a wonderful break from green, green, green. We are so thrilled with WHITE (for now anyway).

Schlitz Audubon # 16 & 17

Another morning painting (two actually) at the lakefront from Schlitz Audubon. I often feel like I'm on another planet when I'm looking at this frozen landscape. Lots of odd shapes,colors and patterns that are constantly changing.

Schlitz Audubon #14 & 15

Painted at the lakefront yesterday....yes, I'm hoping these paintings reflect how cold it was.

Schlitz Audubon #13

Boots in the snow....this time, it's boots on the ice. #13 was painted this morning on the frozen shores of Lake Michigan, another beautiful part of this Schlitz Audubon property. Next time I need to remember to put my gripper trax on my boots. Thanks to Liesl for convincing me to take the hike down to the lake. The colors are so subtle between the sky/water and ice formations. I thought of our son Michael while painting this, he's away at school but has such a love for Lake Michigan. We'll have to take another hike down here during winter break.

More cat tails

I am working on more of these cat tails and having fun.

Schlitz Audubon #12

Okay, call me crazy, but I painted this morning while the temp was 12 degrees. It really wasn't too bad for an hour painting session, had on lots of layers. It was so peaceful tucked away in the woods this morning -- the only sound came from the waves from Lake Michigan in the distance. At the end of an hour, a curious Chickadee came to visit.

Peep!

Here's something to warm you up on a cold winter morning!

Schlitz Audubon #11

Don't know why I thought I could use watercolors when the temps were well below freezing today....oh well, here's a picture of my little palette with frozen paints. Also, a nice photograph of a turkey and a deer nearby in the background. All in all, still a great morning to be out painting.

Jane's Party Pigs

My friend Jane owns a wonderful farm just north of here....check it out, The Family Farm in Grafton. These pigs were just enjoying another blissful day at the farm, little "oreo and pinky." Closed for the season now, but open again in May. Little Alex is already asking when it will be open again.

Schlitz Audubon #10

Back at duck blind pond this morning, this time with oils. It was a beautiful morning....imagine Vivaldi's Spring playing in your head. Watching ducks on the pond. Enjoying the clear blue sky. Then, out of nowhere, what sounded like hundreds of high school kids start howling out on the prairie. I think they were pretending to be wolves at this beautiful nature center. I couldn't stop laughing. One tried to outdo the other. Then, it was back to painting.

Round Bales Rock

I have a "thing" about round bales. The car stops when we're out driving around and I find some without the netting. Ahhhh, the old fashioned "naked" bales. They are really hard to find these days.
Anyway, this is a little 5 x 7 I did a while ago that is one of my favorites on this subject.

Schlitz Audubon #9

Wanted to hike a bit farther on the property today and didn't feel up to lugging my oil paints along, so I opted for watercolor and a little pen and ink on the side. Love this little bird blind pond. Felt as though I had it all to myself, with the exception of a few frogs, the chickadees and this little baby buck. There is an impressive old tree on this property too, looking forward to seeing it draped with snow.

Schlitz Audubon #8

Another beautiful day for November in Wisconsin. While out painting at Teal Pond, first these turkeys came for a visit, followed by the buck looking for his girlfriend. Then, lots of school kids were out hiking and exploring and I had a chance to show them all the colors on my palette (in between catching tadpoles).

My Shadow

This is a little painting of Alex and his shadow....Alex is also my little shadow! I have been trying more figures in the landscape lately and this was a lot of fun.

Schlitz Audubon #7

Painted this morning at Mystery Pond. Without the foliage, you can now see the main building peeking through the trees. Saw a monster buck while painting, along with very cheerful ducks enjoying the warm autumn morning.

Getting ready for the Artbar exhibit

At last count, I have 23 paintings in this wonderful mini show....that means everything is priced under $100 and is small in size. About 80 local artists participate and the owner hangs about 400 pieces of art for the opening. It's a lot of fun. 7:00 p.m., Friday night 11/5! Artbar is located near Holton and Burleigh.

More chickens from Monches Farm

Can't get enough of these chickens! I also love painting on the long, vertical format. These chickens are looking for sunshine!

It's showtime!

I love county fairs. As a 4-H and FFA kid, I loved the competition and friendships that formed during county and state fairs. As you can see by some of these paintings, I am revisiting the fair scene via paintings. Telling these stories to my city friends is fun....how we used baby powder to whiten the whites on the Holsteins, baby oil for the black parts, shoe polish for the hoofs.....that's just the beginning!

Schlitz Audubon #6

Back at Schlitz this morning to paint. Found a variety of color in these tall grasses, many of them were Goldenrod going to seed. Skinny golden grasses were just shining this morning. Did about 80 percent of the painting on location, then came home to try the palette knife.

The amazing Zion

My paintings of Schlitz Audubon have been a little sidetracked due to the flu hitting our house. So, here is a little painting of Zion National Park from a photo reference taken this spring. What an awe inspiring place.

Baby Calf

This little calf was hard to resist. I love how they tuck their little legs under their body. I played around with the background, making it more abstract than I usually would. The calf is saying, "stop painting and give me my bottle"!

Cat Tails....

I've always loved cat tails, especially this time of year when they get puffy and fuzzy. Here's my first "solo" cat tail, up close and personal! When you really study a cat tail, there are a multitude of colors. Pretty exciting!

Getting ready for the Art Bar exhibit

Starting to get paintings ready for the mini show at the Art Bar in Milwaukee. Here's a sneak preview of a little 6 x 8. Will have about 20 for the show which opens Friday, November 5, 7 p.m.

Schlitz Audubon #5

Painted this morning at Mystery Pond....much harder than I anticipated. Will go back to try it again. I learned about "marshmallow feet" today, the guide was asking the children to walk softly so they didn't startle the frogs. How CUTE is that?

Schlitz Audubon #4

These yellow flowers seem to be consuming my attention. My last post about these flowers was incorrect, they are actually a Compass Plant. The large leaves at the bottom almost always align themselves with the north or south, therefore the "compass" reference.
Another beautiful morning to paint at Schlitz Audubon....trying to take advantage of as many of these stunning fall mornings as possible.

More Fall Grasses

It's so wonderful to paint these lush fall colors. The reds/oranges in the foreground are a nice lead in to the little red barn in the distance.

Painting #3 from Schlitz Audubon

Since I've painted the last two Schlitz Audubon paintings showing the yellow flowers in the distance, I wanted to get up close and personal with them today. It was very difficult, painting them from a distance is much easier. But here's my attempt. They are called prairie sunflowers. Met more nice people hiking today, so I think I'll be seeing them often in the next couple months.....many are birders and some call Schlitz Audubon their home away from home.

Three Little Pigs

Hurry, hurry our food is here! There's no big bad wolf in this neighborhood for these three little pigs....they are fat and happy!

Schlitz Audubon - Painting #2

Another beautiful morning to paint.....the variety of colors in the prairie grasses continue to be fascinating. This is a little pathway where the grasses and flowers hug the trails.

Schlitz Audubon: Painting #1

This painting begins my nine month journey to capture the beauty of this local nature center through plein air painting. Today, I started in the prairie, where the grasses are tall and the yellow flowers abundant. Also enjoyed three turkeys passing by while painting, I was about 6 feet from them when I spot this picture.

Colors of Autumn

Spring and Fall are my favorite times to paint outside. This little painting comes alive with the colors of golden soybean fields, alongside the green hay field. As opposed to July when everything in Wisconsin seems GREEN, this is a wonderful time of the year to paint more subtle colors in the landscape.

Levy the Rooster

Another happy rooster from the Family Farm in Grafton. This guy loves to strut his stuff.

Cedarburg Plein Air

Sometimes, God arranges all elements right in front of a person for a fun painting experience. This happened on a Sunday evening while painting with my friend Susan. The clouds were dramatic, the tall grasses were lit by that late evening sun, the cows (beef) were being cooperative. This painting "Sunset Strip at Kays" was one of my favorite ever plein air pieces. Everything about the evening was magical. Found out later, that I buy my organic beef from "Kay".....yes, the same cows I painted!!

Spring Sheep

Having painted tons of Holstein cows, it's been fun studying other farm animals. Here's a painting I did this spring "Spring Blossoms" of a beautiful group of sheep posed perfectly in front of blooming trees.

Toes in the Sand

This painting,"Toes in the Sand" is being donated to the House of Love charity auction in late September. Painted plein air with my friends along the shores of Lake Michigan in Port Washington, we had lots of fun chatting with all the friendly people on the beach. The House of Love is a Christian based organization which prepares youth to lead self-sufficient lives by providing a safe and loving family environment that is missing in their lives.

My first blog

Okay, this is all new for me....I have been avoiding a website for years due to fear of technology. Thought a blog might be an easier way to share more about my paintings and the moments of wonder that happen as each are created. This painting of the chicken coop was inspired by the crazy chickens at Monches Farm. These chickens seem to have quite a delightful life. They live in a quaint building, have lots of acres to scratch and dig around in....who could ask for anything more?