Petite Perch

I have a certain fondness for Chickadees now that my son has spent two years in the wonderful "Chickadee" classroom at Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool.  So when this little bird landed on top of a cattail, it was a perfect combo for a painting.  And, it is now uplifting to hear them singing their spring song as we look forward to the next season.

Foul weather friends

Foul weather?  Yes, for snow lovers like me it's been a rough season.  Think I've painted out twice this winter, despite the fact that I bought TWO boxes of foot warmers back in October, thinking I'd be fully prepared for another exciting season of snow and ice.  So, I'm in my little, cozy studio painting chickens and cows and lots of fun stuff!  Thanks to the chickens of Monches Farm for always providing such amazing inspiration!!!

Icecanos at Schlitz Audubon

This is a new 16 x 20 studio painting completed from plein air work at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Fox Point.   These "icecanos" occur when high, cold waves crash on the shore and freeze quickly.  After a few days, formations occur that look like volcanos of ice.  If you're lucky and the wind is blowing, water will spurt up out of the holes too.  It's pretty exciting!

This painting and other icy subjects were on exhibit at the Pfister Hotel's Snow Show on Gallery Night.  Thanks Shelby and Richard for a great evening.

My first snow painting of the season

For snow lovers like me, it's been a long wait for our first real snowfall.  By this time last year, I had already painted outside in the snow more than 10 times.  So I packed up everything and headed literally around the corner to a new nature preserve area.  Lots of views of Lake Michigan and untouched forest areas.  Now I'm just waiting for the ice to form along Lake Michigan!

Snow!!!!

Yesterday was our first significant snowfall of the season.  It's so hard to believe after last year's bonanza.  I grew quite fond of painting "en plein air" snow scenes last winter and really missed it.  So I decided to take the advise of my good friend Lori and use the small studies/photographs and work larger.  Here is one of the three paintings I completed over the past few weeks.  The first is January Raw at Schlitz Audubon....16 x 20.  This painting, along with many others pieces from Schlitz Audubon, will be on exhibit during Gallery Night (Jan. 20) at the Pfister Hotel from 9 - 11:30 (it's a Snowball!!).  Two paintings from this series will also be on display at DeLind Gallery across the street from the Pfister.

Father Christmas

Tis' the season for all things Santa.  I painted "Father Christmas" from life, in a three+ hour modeling session.  About eight artists set up their easels around the wonderful model who sat like a statue.  What is so interesting is that each artist ends up with a different perspective and different interpretation.  It's wonderful.  The model (Santa, I mean Steve) is a friend from church.  Steve (I mean Santa) is an amazing man of faith and has a heart for mission.  What a blessing to have this time of fellowship and fun. 

Time Traveler

This solo traveler was busy getting to his train on time and texting along the way.  I had the opportunity to visit my sister who lives in Switzerland earlier this year.  The Zurich train station is a wonderful place full of painting subjects.