New Dog Portrait: Jackson

I really enjoy painting dog portraits-so here's another one! This is a recent commissioned portrait of a Border Collie mix named Jackson. As Jackson is a black and white dog, I painted him in shades of blue and used warm colors for the background to make the painting more vibrant.

"Jackson" acrylic on canvas, 2012

Here is a pic posted by Jackson's person of the "Jackson" and "Bacchus" paintings hanging together in their home (I did a painting of Bacchus last year):

Boulder Flatirons Painting

I realized the other day that even though I've lived in Boulder for over six years I had yet to do a painting of the Flatirons. Many would call the Flatirons an icon of Boulder. I think technically the Flatirons fall under the category of "foothills." They are jagged rock formations that look like they shot up out of the ground. We have enjoyed a lot of hiking and climbing on and around the Flatirons, so I have positive associations with them, which I wanted to show in my painting. I chose to do a simple but colorful representation of the Flatirons, giving them a warmer color than they actually have when seen from such a distance (although, I noticed when climbing the Third Flatiron that the rock was actually very red in some sections).

"The Flatirons" acrylic, 2012

Sea Turtle #2 Painting

I've completed another sea turtle painting-this time for my brother's birthday. He really likes sea turtles. Maybe this runs in the family? I decided to create a composition that was more of a view from above rather than the side view that I used in my first sea turtle painting. I also chose a warm-colored sea turtle to create more of a juxtaposition with the cool-colored water. In contrast, the other sea turtle painting that I did ended up focusing on a very limited color palette and consequently the completed painting wasn't as visually appealing for me.  Happy Birthday Jon!

"Red Sea Turtle" acrylic on canvas, 2012

Island Rooster Painting

I finally got a chance to finish the rooster painting I've been working on. We saw a ton of roosters walking around the island of Kauai. At first it was really strange to see a rooster walking across the sand at the beach, but it became commonplace after we'd been there a few days. I really enjoyed how colorful some of the roosters were, so I decided to do a painting of a Kauai rooster by the beach. I'd love to live on Kauai for a few months every year and just paint!

"Island Rooster" acrylic on canvas,  2012

Sea Turtle Painting

My husband and I went to Kauai, Hi in July and we loved it! We were lucky enough to see a sea turtle while we were snorkeling. Since I was really excited about swimming with a sea turtle, I decided to do a painting of one while I was dreaming of being back on the island of Kauai.

"Sea Turtle"  acrylic, 2012

Here is a photo of our sea turtle friend in Kauai (underwater cameras are great!)

Wedding Seating Board

We decided to use a seating board rather than individual place cards for the seating at our wedding reception. You can pay someone to create a large printed version of one of these, but I decided to make my own. Because our wedding was in the mountains (Estes Park, CO) I wanted to keep a mountain theme. I ended up using a cork board rather than a canvas since it was cheap and came pre-framed. You can still see a little of the texture from the cork surface, but overall I like how it turned out.

New Mexico Landscape Painting

This is a painting of an area in New Mexico called the Valle Vidal (near Taos) that I love. We've gone there almost every summer for the past few years (minus last year when the forests were closed due to high fire risk). Hopefully we'll be able to get back there soon!

"Valle Vidal" acrylic, 2012

Llama Painting!

So, I actually painted this a month or so ago, but I have been too busy to post it until now. I also have a fun landscape that I'm currently working on, which I'll post soon as well. I did an internship working with llamas in high school and I must say, they are really interesting animals. I love their facial expressions and funny feet.

"Llama" acrylic on canvas, 2012