" Everythings Cuter in Texas"

6"x 6"

acrylic on canvas

Grandmothers are so awesome. Grandma made this costume by hand for each of our boys. Just for fun. They wear the costumes often around the house. Here we have something called "Go Western Day" in honor of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. All of the schools in the area participate in it so I was pleased as peaches when I didn’t have to buy anything for this year's "Go Western Day" at school. This never happens.

I was up until two in the morning finding, washing and yes, ironing this outfit so that my son could wear it the next day. The last thing I did that night was iron his vest. My husband informed me during dinner the following evening that he'd decided not to dress in his western outfit that day. That’s the thanks I get for being a supermom, I can’t complain, I got a great painting out of it.

$75.00 + $5.00 shipping

"Dessert Anyone II"

8”x10”

acrylic on hardboard

I couldn't make up my mind when it came to the perspective I was going to take painting my chocolate cake, so I decided not to decide at all. This is why I made two paintings. Indecisiveness runs in my family. Why should I paint one tasty treat when I could paint two. Through out this experience I have noticed that frosting looks and feels a lot like paint.
$145.00 + $5.00 shipping

"Dessert Anyone"

8”x10”

acrylic on hardboard

I think I mentioned before that I love dessert. I purchased this tasty treat at or local grocery store during a moment of weakness. I am not a chocoholic but I can appreciate all things sweet and beautiful.
$145.00 + $5.00 shipping

"Hats Off"

6"x 6"

acrylic on canvas

This painting is really about my grandmother. This was one of her many hats. She always wore hats, big hats, small hats, ugly hats, and beautiful hats. You never knew which one you were going to get until she showed up to the function. Her hats were much better than her wigs, which in the seventies was probably fashionable. I remember waking up at her house as a child and trying on wigs from her wig draw. My brother, cousins, and I would take turns trying on all of her wigs before she got up in the mornings.

This is one of the many hats we found as we put her house in order. We thought it a little odd that the little lady that owned the hat boutique had come to pay her respects. But after coming across some of the elaborate hats with the equally elaborate price tags it made a lot more sense. I can naturally assume my grandmother was a loyal and constant customer. When we went through her hat boxes some of her hats had not even been worn, I guess she hadn’t found the perfect outfit to match.
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping

"Hot Pink"

5"x7"
acrylic on masonite

At one of the festivals we attended I captured this scene of the young lady resting in the heat of the day. I loved this little umbrella that she had blocking the sun. I’d seen them all day long dotting the crowded street. They came in assorted colors of blue, purple, red, and orange. I had never seen these before and became obsessed with the way the bright color of the umbrella filtered through the fabric and turned everything under its canopy. I wonder if anyone else was as impressed by this.

$75.00 + $5.00 shipping

"The Treehouse Girl"

5”x7”
acrylic on masonite

I have been working on this picture for way too long. I paint a little and put it to the side, a little more and complete a different painting. It’s been nearly completed for several months. Finally I have decided to complete what I have started and here it is….Zora in the backyard in the afternoon in the afternoon light.
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping

"Dessert"

6”x6”
acrylic on masonite

This is my first painting of one of my favorite things, dessert. I rewarded myself with this lovely piece of pie on my very last day of school. Let us just say I really deserved it. Some people have a drink, I have a dessert. I still have a little way to go when it comes to capturing the perfection of whip cream, but I consider my painting a success. Actually I was completely intimidated by the glass plate more than anything else. Like many things in life, it is the small things that I fell in love with in this painting, like the way the light hits the chocolate loops at the top and how I was able to create the lime with a few simple brush strokes.

$75.00 + $5.00 shipping

"Red & White Flowers"

5"x7"

acrylic on masonite

I just finished this one. I began this painting several weeks back, painting a little here and there as I worked on other stuff. Finally it is completed. I wasn't sure that would ever happen. I still love those daisies.

$75.00 + 5.00 shipping and handling

"Cutie Pie"

5"x7

acrylic on masonite

You can't fake a sunny personality (she's not at all camera shy). I envy people that can maintain their youthful characteristics through out their lives. Usually life has a way of tapping down the charisma you exuded as a child. I actually painting this image from black and white. I think painting "Aunt Tip " gave me the courage to try this one. I remember having great difficulty working like this in my previous attempts. I guess I've just gotten better at choosing color.

$75.00 + 5.00 shipping and handling

"Big Sister"

5"x7"

acrylic on masonite

I couldn't wait to paint this one. I just loved the way the light filtered through and around the little girl.

$75.00 + 5.00 shipping and handling

"The Sleeper in Blue"

6"x6"

acrylic on masonite

The end of all great outings are followed by one or all kids asleep on or in something. This little darling is fast asleep on top of all of her stuffed animals inside of a prized Sea World push cart. I really enjoyed painting all of the colors in this one.

$75.00 + 5.00 shipping and handling

"Aunt Tip"

6"x 6"

acrylic on canvas

My aunt tip was the kind of woman that was always well put together. She was a “hair dresser” or at least that’s what she called it. I think her occupation is obvious when you view the care that was put into her hair in this painting. I remember when I first came across this image of her as a young lady. What a gem. I had really never thought that she, my Aunt Tip was ever a young lady, and wow how stunning she was. As I look back at her through adult eyes I can describe her as both a simple and complicated woman. Simple in the way she navigated through her world with very few material things. And complex in the fact that she did it so well without any projection of poverty. This was a very easy painting to paint from the drawing to the finish.

SOLD

"Young Gentlemen"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard

These two little boys had just sent a third in to ask one of their parents a question. This scene played out over and over again in my childhood, except I was always the person that was designated to go to the adult with the question, usually the question was one that had little chances of receiving a “Yes.” They’d always say something like, “You ask, they like you the most.” Then they’d fall behind and wait for me to return with the answer. This was an easy painting for me from start to finish. When I completed it, I couldn’t help but see the resemblance of some of the characters from the Ezra Jack Keats books I grew up reading. “The Snowy Day” was one of my favorites.
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling

"Leaf Bouquet"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard

This year after a not so lovely birthday. I was presented with a bouquet of leaves, which became the highlight of my day. I placed each one of them in a sandwich bag and preserved them between the pages of a book when we returned home. I got to play around with different textures with this painting. It all came together rather nicely. Bad birthday, great painting!
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling

"Young Ladies"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard
I have had this image for sometime now. I always knew I’d paint the portraits, but I never really saw their real energy until recently when I took another look at these to young ladies. They were standing in line waiting for their turn in the game at a birthday party. I cropped the image considerably and focused on what I thought was really important. To quote a friend, “Keep the main thing, the main thing.” When I was a little girl my mother would adorn my hair with bows, ball ties, and rubber bands just like these two cutie pies. As a painter I am fascinated with the way the light filters through the transparent plastic balls I guess I was drawn to the color contrast of the little girl and the white dress she wore as well. The background was a challenge. I used several color options before I settled with green even at one point deciding that I should paint the background in full detail before I remembered I was focusing in on what was important. Greens, browns, and earth tones in general have been my safety blanket. So in the end, as I look back at the journey I took in painting this piece, I should not have been shocked at my decision making when it came to my color choices.
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling

SOLD

"Red Daisy in a Shot"

“Red Daisy in a Shot”
5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard

This daisy was pulled from my mother’s flower bed. I love daisies but they seem to hate me. I have killed every single daisy I have been given or purchased. My mother on the other hand does nothing to nurture her plants and her daisies are constantly in bloom. When I say nothing, I really mean NOTHING, no watering no fertilizer, just a clump of dirt. I guess I love mine to death. My daughter never has passed up the opportunity to pull flowers from a flower bed so upon our departure from a visit to Granny’s house she pulled this beauty. I had to paint it. The petals on daisies are so packed with energy. I love the way they capture the light on some but not all of the petals.

SOLD

"The Drummer"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard

Last summer I collected a series of images from the International Festival. The spotlight was on Africa that year. I don’t remember the country the drummer represented but I was drawn to the pattern of his costume as well as the contrast between the foreground and background. White is a color that I try to use very little of and when I do only in controlled areas of my paintings, but the tent happened to be pure white and I debated weather or not to paint it in as my background all together. In the end I think it worked.

$75.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling

"Giraffe Carousel"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard

Another carousel animal from the zoo. I have always considered giraffes to be the most beautiful animals that I know.
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling

"The Carousel"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard


I have always enjoyed photographing carousels ever since I was in collage and photographed the carousel in Central Park. I never knew exactly where the carousel was in the park, so we usually just walked until we’d happen upon it, which always happened at the end of the day. All of my images were rushed and I’d never manage to capture anything extraordinary with my camera. I guess my obsession continues because I’ve never seen a carousel that I did'nt photograph. Through out these years I have noticed that there are only a few models of carousels. After seeing them over and over again, you can image how excited I was when I stumbled across the carousel at our local zoo that was…unique. The carousel is filled with zoo animals, I loved it. Painting the zebra was a joy and refreshing.
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling

"Lights and Shadows"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard

I used to shying away from painting glass. The reflective surface never seems to end. I can’t say that anymore. I am so excited about this painting. The actual berries take a second place to the glass vase and the shadow created behind.
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling

"Saturday Morning II"

5”x7”
acrylic on hardboard

The toes say it all. This painting is actually the second half of the "Saturday Morning" painting. They connect to one another perfectly side by side. I thought I would try something I hadn't tried before after the obvious change in my painting size.

SOLD

"Saturday Morning"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard

Saturday mornings tend to be some of the calmest times at our home. This particular Saturday I came down stairs to find my kids sitting quietly on our big purple sofa and instead of watching television they were flipping through our family photo albums. I was so glad to be able to capture this moment….before they began to manhandle the pages and the magic moment was lost.
SOLD

"Going Places"

6"x6"
acrylic on masonite

This is my recipe for frustration. I should have stopped at the painting you are viewing. I must have sensed bad things where coming, because I actually scanned the painting before I began with my final touches. Hours, then days later my attempt to simply polish some of the details had resulted in an almost completely new painting, not better just new. Finally I did something I never do. I gave up on this one. The commitment that I make is usually rewarded eventually with success, except on these rare occasions when the magic just doesn't happen, no matter how much time I committed to the painting. So I'm posting this earlier happier version.

"The Reader in Red"

5"x 7"
acrylic on hardboard

This is the second of two red dress paintings that I had in mind. I love the color red and the mood that the painting creates.
$75.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling

"Sunflowers"

5"x 7"
acrylic on masonite

I love sunflowers! I love their color. Whenever I’m feeling blue, sunflowers always brighten my day. Forget a dozen roses. These I arranged for one of my kids birthday dinners. I usually don’t need a reason to purchase them, but I do feel just a little guilty when I do.

SOLD