Too Much Candy!

 

9x12in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - available soon

Oh no! This pumpkin got too sick eating all of that candy! Poor guy.

Valentine's Day Eye Spy

 

16x16in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - available soon as the original painting and prints

This is the first painting in a new series that I'm creating reminiscing on those old I Spy books using candy revolving around various holidays! As mentioned above, this will be available as a print in addition to the original painting. This series includes this painting, a Halloween painting, an Easter painting, and a Christmas painting.

Road Through Colorado

 

6x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - not available

In October 2021 we took a trip to Phoenix, AZ. To get there, we drove across Nebraska, through Colorado Springs and ended up in a place called the Rio Grande National Forest. Our navigational system directed us to take the back roads, so to speak. In places like the desert at night with no lights around for miles it was absolutely terrifying, but in the Rio Grande National Forest, I was extremely thrilled to get lost on winding roads through the sea of aspen trees. I drove (and we were the only car around for what seemed like miles), which, of course in the place that we were, meant that I drove about 15 miles per hour and made my husband take plenty of photos from our rental car. I sorted through probably a hundred car photos and landed on the reference photo for the above painting. There was something about these trees that shouted at me "turn back! You're leaving your home!". It was on this road trip that I was confronted with the truth that one day we will live in Colorado. This painting is part of a series I am calling my "diary pages" - not for sale, but paintings that are snapshots of meaningful moments in my life. The first one was the Estes Park plein air painting from October of last year, a view of the mountainside from the deck of the cabin that I got married in. I have plenty of these diary paintings to create, so stay tuned! This painting is part of my personal collection.

Help! I Can't Hold All of These Pumpkins!

 

10x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

"Why can't I hold all of these lemons?" Alternatively, "well, when life gives you lemons!"

I love composing still life compositions and adding humor and play to them. This lil dude (a wine holder) just can't hold all of his pumpkins. Poor guy.

Blood Drunk

 

6x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

Halloween is never over for me! Dracula's tea time treat: a cup of warm blood (in this case, alizarin crimson oil paint).

Estes Park 1

 

6x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - not available

Last October we took a trip out to Estes Park, CO and this time I remembered my plein air supplies! Our cabin, located off Elkhorn Ave, was surrounded by glorious mountain faces and beautiful pine and birch trees. Watching the sun rise through the freshly orange leaves and warm up the mountain faces was a treat I just couldn't pass up. I poured myself a cup of coffee, set up my easel and painted away. This plein air truly feels like a diary entry: listening to the river flow, the leaves blow and even a flock of wild turkeys running by on the trail! Unfortunately this was the only painting I made on the trip, but next time I'll make more! This painting is part of my personal collection.

Venice Study

 

8x6in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - not available

Another Paint Coach Patreon study, a scene in Venice! I had a ton of fun with this one and I think it's my favorite Paint Coach study so far. This paintng is part of my personal collection.

Iridescent Skull

 

6x6in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

What's in the skull? A mysterious elixer, or a concoction of poison? Do you dare taste the forbidden juice?!

I had a lot of fun with this painting. The skull bottle is see through glass and I knew I wanted a very dramatically lit prop, so I set up some LEDs and turned the lights off. I'm excited to be working on Halloween paintings again, streaming on Twitch!

Triple Pumpkin Spice Latte

8x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

Are you ready for some early fall content? Personally, I always have fall on the mind.It's now becoming a tradition for me to buy tiny lil pumpkins each season, whether they be from Target, the local pumpkin patch or anywhere else. In our kitchen we have yellow, orange and brown hanging lights that we like to plug in at night. With the counter being the resident housing for these wee guys I noticed they created such an interesting shadow pattern - it also didn't help that they looked absolutely gorgeous in the light. I actually have painted each one of these pumpkins in their own individual paintings, two of which are available on my website (here and here) and the third one I raffled off. I can't wait for my first pumpkin spice latte of the season! In case you were wondering, my favorites are Dunkin', Scooters and then Starbucks.

 

Your Hands Are Cold

 

8x6in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - sold

Elizabeth: I couldn't sleep.

Mr. Darcy: Nor I. My aunt...

Elizabeth: Yes, she was here.

Mr. Darcy: How can I make amends for such behavior?

Elizabeth: After what you have done for Lydia, and I suspect for Jane also, it is I who should be making amends.

Mr. Darcy: You must know. Surely you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night and it has taught me to hope as I had scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I would have to tell you, you have bewitched me, body and soul and I love...I love...I love you.

Elizabeth: Well then. Your hands are cold.

Sunset on Lake Mozingo

 

8x6in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

In September of 2023 we went on a trip to Lake Mozingo, MO. Later on in the day the sun started to set, creating beautiful and magical reflections on the lake. I know in this moment that I had to paint what I saw.

Lake Mozingo

 

6x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

In September of 2023 we went on a trip to Lake Mozingo, MO. Filled with bass and fisherman chasing after them, the water rippled and the wild grass swayed. Bugs flittered about and fish slapped the surface of the lake. We set out for a lovely family picnic filled with grilled food, cornhole and myself plein air painting. Family members came up to me to check on my progress and it was great to have their company. The temperature was hot but the breeze was nice, and I didn't get attacked by too many mosquitos, but unfortunately one was given the "landlord special" from my wet paint. Oops (and ew).

Duck Lake

 

6x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

On a trail near me there is a lovely little park with a lake. The lake houses fish, a grand water fountain and many ducks. The ducks love to float around and walk around on the grass but they don't seem to care much about the people who sit on the benches nearby. I painted this painting en plein air with a delicious pumpkin spice latte from Dunkin' and I had a sun hat with bug netting on. A few spiders bungee jumped from the tree I was sitting under and landed on me, but they seemed to be more interested with their surroundings and not with me (thank goodness). Wrapping up the painting I had a wonderful moment of mindfulness and gratitude - the breeze was cool and the air smelled like warm grass. It's currently in the 90s (more like 98 degrees with a feels like of 115, goodness) so I can't wait for it to cool down to go on some bike rides soon.

Small Landscape Study

 

6x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

Another Paint Coach Patreon study in the books! I really liked this quick study, how the warm light is shining on the barn to the mountains in the far background. The paint strokes are also pretty thick in this painting, which I like a lot. I definitely enjoyed the mountain practice, I have a lot of photos from the Rocky Mountain National Park that I'd like to paint.

Cornfield 2.0

 6x8in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

Another one of my October Plein Air Challenge paintings! I wanted to re-do my Cornfield painting to see my skill growth, and holy cow, I've grown so much! I love painting en plein air. I live near a cornfield so it's my most frequent source of practicing en plein air. This day was a little foggy and very overcast, and a little bit windy. Combatting the weather is always something to keep in mind while painting en plein air, but it wasn't too bad.

Lost Home 2.0

 

8x6in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - sold

Another one of my October Plein Air Challenge paintings! I wanted to re-do my Lost Home painting to see my skill growth, and holy cow, I've grown so much! I love painting en plein air. This location means a lot to me - it is a park that was close to the house I spent a considerable amount of time living in as a kid so its's a very special place. I love the dappled light against the shadow, which this painting is mainly in.

Grape Poison

 

12x9in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - NSF

Disclaimer: it is difficult to photograph dark paintings at my current photography skill, I apologize. That said, here is a spooky cauldron filled with grape poison! I love grape as a flavor of candy. This is a sister painting in a 2 part series.

Green Apple Poison

 

12x9in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - NSF

Disclaimer: it is difficult to photograph dark paintings at my current photography skill, I apologize. That said, here is a spooky cauldron filled with green apple poison! I actually like green apple as a flavor, but only as Zotz (if you haven't had Zotz before and like fizzy candy, check it out!). This is a sister painting in a 2 part series.

Winter Cabin Study

 

8x6in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

A subject I wanted to study specifically was leafless trees in the wintertime. I have a few breathtaking reference photos that I'd love to paint but have absolutely no clue how to approach them due to the trees only being wood. When I found this Paint Coach Patreon study I was very excited to jump into it. I'm also a sucker for reflective water in paintings, and I really liked how saturated the sky was compared to the muted winter landscape. Overall, a really successful study session.

Mountain Path Study

 8x6in. oil on Ampersand Gessobord - click to purchase here

There was so much about this Paint Coach Patreon study that drew me in. The warm mountains in the background, the verdant dappled light in the grass, the gray path and the wildflowers in the shadows really wowed me. I really liked that this tutorial looked difficult - the cool thing about it is that it didn't end up being that difficult in the end! I learned a lot about hue and temperature play in this study. I will admit that greens are pretty difficult for me to get right, so I'm happy to have followed along to a study that emphasized the greens.