A WALK IN THE GARDEN

I love these tiny garden pictures. This one is 5x7. I keep them scattered around my house and they give me a bird's eye view of the outdoors.

THE GIRL WITH THE BIG EARRING

I had more fun doing this painting. The model is the antithesis of "The Girl With the Pearl Earring". In more ways than one! I was so inspired by the drama of her fabulous earring and gorgeous hair. This wonderful girl recently gave her sister the gift of life with a bone marrow transplant. No one could ask for a more wonderful sister. We love you, Lysh!

PITCHER WITH AN ATTITUDE

Tulsa is very privileged to have two of the finest museums in the nation. Gilcrease is an amazing place full of beautiful work. I felt extremely priviledged to be chosen to participate in the 2009 American Art in Miniature Show that opened this month. To add to the wonderful experience, my painting was also chosen to be used on the invitation. You can imagine how pleased I was. They had a wonderful reception. There was live music, great food, and exciting auction. You can view the collection at gilcrease.utulsa.edu/aaim2009. Two of the Water Street Art Gallery members, Ruth Harris and Celest Vaught also had paintings in the show.

DAISYS IN FULL BLOOM

This is the first of a series of miniature garden paintings that I began this month. I love the way color can lift your spirit.

THE SAVOY

This is a painting of an adorable little hotel in Tulsa. It's called The Savoy and is a wonderful place to stay.

Demo #2

On November 29, I did a demo at Water Street Gallery. I painted a 24x36 because it's so hard for people to get a real glimpse of what you are doing if you do a smaller painting. I wanted to emphasize developing your own style and painting BIG! Something interesting happened. The painting was almost finished when the demo was over. I put the a few finishing touches on it at home. When I took it back to the gallery the color was extremly cool and raw. I hadn't realized the light in my studio (which in real life is my kitchen) had gradually been switched to warm light. It made a huge difference. I added warm touches and now I'm pleased with the finished product. The lesson is to be sure what kind of light your painting under. I had a cool light directed at my painting but it wasn't enough. We can be easily tricked.

I've painted this scene before but it was in the spring. This is a pond at the Botanical Garden in San Antonio. It's a beautiful garden worth the visit and they have fabulous lunches!