Bluebell Forest (2010), 8 x 10"

A fairytale-like scene--a forest carpeted in bluebells. I was desperately searching for a photo to paint when I unexpectedly came upon this scene. It was another one of those occasions when I began painting immediately after finding the perfect photo!

SOLD!

View my other two bluebell paintings here:
Bluebell forest II
Bluebell forest III

Indi go Gallery and the Champaign Downtown Festival of the Arts

My show at the Indi go gallery is over now and I am pleased to report that I had three sales! Showing at the gallery was a wonderful experience and I got lots of positive comments and feedback from people who visited the gallery. I definitely feel very encouraged about continuing to pursue my painting career. Here's a picture of me from the artists reception July 8th.

Here's a picture of me painting during one of the closed events. Kelly's (one of the other artists) super awesome self-portrait is behind me.An album of photos from the show can be found here.

I am very excited to be participating in this year's Downtown Festival of the Arts in Champaign. I will have an outdoor booth all to myself! The festival is August 21 from 10am to 7pm. Come check out my booth--will hopefully have several new paintings to show!

Tulip Magnolias (2010), 9 x 12"

Magnolias are another subject I have wanted to paint for a long time. I finally found just the right photo.

SOLD!

Partially based on a photo by Filipe Fortes found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/
Photo used under a creative commons license. Original photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortes/3528464208/
http://fortes.com/

Tulips (2010), 10 x 20"

For sale at my Etsy site.

Indi-go Art Gallery Show--"The Three Graces"

Some of my paintings will be on display June 29-July 15 at the Indi-go art gallery in downtown Champaign! I will be sharing the space with two other artists (aka "The Three Graces"). The gallery will be open most days from 4-8pm with several special events planned. The official openhouse is July 8 from 6-9pm. Come check it out!

9 East University, Champaign, IL

For more information, see the Indi-go gallery's Facebook page. My poppies painting is the profile picture! Our artist statements are displayed here.

Champaign-Urbana flute lessons

Check out my new flute lessons website. Here you will find information about me as a performer, music samples, and information about joining my private flute studio.

http://flutelessons.blogspot.com

Sunset (2010), 9 x 12"

This is a wild sunset! Not so sure I love the color scheme, but the original photo really does look like this!

SOLD! Available as a gicleé print--visit my etsy shop.

Prairie Grass (2010), 8 x 10"

Having lived in Illinois for several years, I have come to love visiting the local prairie reserve. The tall grass that sways in the breeze and the unusual wildflowers are quite beautiful. Prairie grass is a subject that I had wanted to paint for several months before I finally found the right photo. I spent a great deal of time searching the internet for a copyright-free photo that was both inspirational and compositionally fascinating. One especially important aspect is that I need to be able to visualize the finished painting when I look at the photo. I find many photos that are inspiring and have great composition, but feel are beyond my technical facility or would not translate well in my style. When I finally found the perfect photo, I painted it immediately.

I consider this painting to be one of my "spontaneous" type paintings in that there was no planning--no sketching and no photo editing--involved, and the painting was completed in one sitting. The paint was applied thickly directly onto the canvas using two small brushed and a palette knife. The finished painting turned out exactly as I had envisioned it...I love when it works that way.

SOLD!

Irises II (2010), 12 x 16"

THIS PAINTING HAS BEEN STOLEN. Please contact me if you see it anywhere.One of those tedious subjects I mentioned... :-) Based on a photo taken by my sister. This painting is currently hanging in my apartment. At times it looks so real--practically like looking out a window .

Field of Ranunculus (2010), 8 x 10"

I have a folder of "painting ideas" on my computer, and this painting comes from one of those photos. This was a really spontaneous painting, and finished rather quickly. I often do these small, quick-type paintings between really tedious, complicated subjects. I love how this one turned out.

SOLD!

Partially based on a photo by Erin Pettigrew found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/superfem/
Photo used under a creative commons license. Original photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superfem/545345047/