Treasures in Miniature

Tonight I'll be attending the opening reception for the "Treasures in Miniature" art show on Mercer Island. I have three paintings in the show, so I thought I'd show them to you in case you can't make it to the gallery.

"Be my Valentine", 4 x 6,
 watercolor and colored pencil

This is my newest painting! On Valentine's Day, my husband, Keith brought home a huge bouquet that he picked up at Pike's Place Market in Seattle. They make the most amazing flower bouquets there, by the way! It was jam packed with tulips, pussy willows, statice and all sorts of beautiful greenery. I photographed it in the afternoon sun and was inspired to paint it. I loved the old-world, dramatic, dark against light effect it had.

The other two paintings I have at the MIVAL Gallery in Mercer Island are the teacup portraits I posted recently. These are also rendered in the same technique of watercolor on Arches watercolor board, with Lyra colored pencil on top.

"Nana's Teacup", 4 x 6

"Tea with Lemon", 4 x 6

If you live in the area and would like to go see the show, here are the details from the promotional post card:

Hope you can come! :o)

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Hedgehogs

Have you heard the old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"? Well, I love lemonade as much as the next person, but when life has given me lemons, the thing that makes me feel better is not making lemonade. It's knitting. Knitting shawls, blankets and socks have given me much enjoyment over the years... but honestly. Nothing beats knitting hedgehogs. It's like making instant friends! It's hard to fall in love with a sock, no matter how hard I've worked on it. But it's impossible not to fall in love with a knitted hedgehog.

Here are three of them enjoying a rare, sunny Northwest day in March. I decided to let them out of my knitting bag to explore the yard a bit. Coming out of the darkness of the knitting bag, their tiny eyes were blinking and squinting in the bright sunlight. Just like the rest of us who haven't seen the sun for months!

These two were having quite a conversation about their new discoveries out in the big, wide world. 

Everything was new and amazing to them. Even a stick became quite the topic of conversation! 

Before I knew it, more hedgies were joining in to see what all of the excitement was about! 

Oh, my!! Where did they all come from?! Did I really knit this many hedgies?? Well...I suppose I did. Once you start, you can't really stop. And anyway, they have all been invited to a party, so they all need to have a nice afternoon of exploring before they go inside to participate in the festivities.

So, there you go. Lemonade is good while it lasts, but a hedgehog is a friend forever. :o) 

A Tale of Two Teacups

Those who know me well know that I have a "thing" for teacups. Teacups made in England are my particular favorites, but old or new, I love them all! Of course, I enjoy drinking tea out of them, too. 

"Nana's Teacup", 5 x 3.5, watercolor and colored pencil

I have about a dozen vintage teacups that belonged to my mother-in-law, Elinore. When she married Hank back in 1952, her mother gave her those teacups as a gift. Every teacup pattern is different, but remarkably, each and every one has a rose of some sort painted on it. Since Elinore was marrying a  Mr. Rose, this seems very appropriate, I think!

"Teacup with Lemon", 5 x 3.5, watercolor and colored pencil

These two portraits are fairly small, and I enjoyed the challenge of rendering the different textures of china, silver, lace and tea all in two tiny paintings. Light watercolor washes on Arches watercolor board went down first, then oil-based colored pencil on top of that.  It's a method that is quick and fun with very satisfying results. So, now I suppose I need to paint the other ten teacups, too!

 

Portrait of Henry

I'd like to share with you my newest pet portrait! Henry's portrait was a gift from my client to his "mom" for Christmas and some great snapshots of him were provided. It was a lot of fun to create this portrait of Henry in colored pencil. His coloring worked well with the tinted paper that I used, providing enough contrast for the white fur. This portrait measures 10" x 8" and was matted and framed to a 14" x 11" size.

 Here's a closer view of Henry's face. Isn't he a cute little guy? 

My next portrait is on the drawing table of another cute little pooch named Dickens, so stay tuned for his portrait coming soon! 

Ninety-Three in the Shade

A couple of years ago, Keith and I visited the Coupeville Arts & Crafts Festival on Whidbey Island. It was mid August and the Puget Sound area was experiencing a heat wave. A bike ride on a breezy little island sounded like a good way to escape the heat, so we thought. Well, we didn't exactly escape the heat, which was close to triple digits! It was a little too hot to ride our bikes, so we slowly walked through the quaint town of Coupeville, trying to find a shady spot to rest. I spotted someone's sun-baked front porch with potted petunias exploding with color. I snapped a photo of it since I find front porches to be pretty much irresistible!

Ninety-Three in the Shade, 7.5" x 7.5" Colored Pencil

What was it about this porch that grabbed my attention so much? I liked the horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines going every which-way, softened with the rounded flower shapes. I also loved the old-fashioned appeal of the scene with the antique doorknob, scalloped window shade and the perky petunias. 

To make the colors pop, I tweaked them a bit so that they are more intense and cooler than in the original photo. I really wanted to intensify the feeling of heat, while maintaining the cool color palette especially in the shady areas. A square format makes this piece a bit different, but it helps to zero in on the porch elements.

I find front porches to be intriguing as I'm wondering who lives there, and wondering what the little house looks like behind those curtains. What are the people inside doing to keep cool on such a hot day? Okay, maybe I'm just nosy. But a charming front porch tells a story about the person who lives inside the house. Hopefully my painting makes you stop for just a moment to appreciate the common, everyday sights that are all around us, and the people who are connected with them.  

Sammamish Arts Fair 2012

I had a wonderful time this weekend as a first-time participant in the 6th annual Sammamish Arts Fair. I just want to thank all of you who stopped by my booth to take a look at my artwork and to chat. It was thrilling for me to see so many friends come to my booth. You filled my love tank with your hugs, affirmation and encouragement. THANK YOU!!

I met many wonderful new people as well, and if you are one of those who is taking a moment to check out my website, thank you for your kind words and amazing feedback. You have filled my artist inspiration tank with your enthusiasm and appreciation for my artwork. Today I go to my art room with a renewed sense of purpose to make more art and to grow as an artist.

In case you missed the fair, here are some shots of my booth. As you can see, I had a nice, cozy spot! The Sammamish City Hall was a beautiful location for this event. It may have been pouring rain outside, but inside the place was humming with creativity as a steady flow of art admirers wandered through for the full 14 hours. There were a total of 30 artists participating this year with a wide variety of mediums represented. Pottery, jewelry, paintings, metal sculpture, wood carving and more - it was truly inspiring!

The photo above shows a wall of my booth. I had on display watercolor, pen & ink portraits I created of  historical Issaquah landmarks. You can also see that I have some empty spots to fill! I plan on hitting the drawing board to crank out some more paintings to show next year. Empty wall space in my booth is wonderful motivation!

The photo above shows more of my Issaquah portraits and two samples of my custom pencil pet portraits. My 13-year-old Golden, Zoe was quite the star and I almost wish I had brought her along! I never knew there were so many Golden Retriever lovers out there. Again...notice the blank spaces. Motivation!!

One last parting shot of the back of my booth with more original portraits, giclee prints and information on ordering a custom home or pet portrait of your very own. Thank you again to those of you who came to see me! Hope to see you at the Sammamish Arts Fair in 2013!

The Pickering Barn, Then and Now

One of my favorite places in Issaquah is the Pickering Barn. When I first moved to Issaquah in 1987 the barn sat alone on a huge, empty field. The exterior was weathered to a silvery grey, and the whole structure looked tired and in sore need of attention. Over the years, I watched the barn change from it's sad, lonely, dilapidated state to it's current state of total renovation. 

"Pickering Barn, Issaquah",  11x14 watercolor with pen & ink

Along with the renovation, the Pickering Barn acquired some new neighbors. The Costco headquarters and warehouse sit directly across the street now. The barn is often accompanied by heavy traffic driving past it to and from Costco and the surrounding Pickering Place shopping center. Sometimes, as I drive by the barn on a busy Saturday, I think back to how different it looked when I first saw it. I often wonder if this old barn feels better with it's makeover, fresh red paint and frequent visitors. I also wonder if it misses the old days, how things used to be when it was a working farm with lots of elbow room and solitude.

The Pickering Barn has a story to tell, but not many people who drive past it know about it. Some may even think that it's a newly built barn placed there to look charming, next to Costco. I have painted this barn twice (on paper that is, not on the actual barn) but wish that I had taken a picture of it way back when it was in it's "before" state. I would have loved to paint a portrait of it as it looked before the stores and crowds came.

"By the Barn's Early Light", 11x14 watercolor and pastel

Would you like to know this barn's story? Here's a very brief history of the Pickering Barn. Originally built in the 1800’s by territorial governor, William Pickering, it was one of the largest dairy farms in the area for many years. The barn and its surroundings were maintained by the Pickering family for agricultural purposes until most of the property was sold to investors in 1975. The Pickering property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and donated to the City of Issaquah in 1993. In the mid-1990’s, the barn underwent a major renovation with most of the original woodwork being retained for reuse in the barn structure. Isn't that interesting? 

If you live in the area and have not been to the Pickering Barn, I highly recommend you visit! There is a wonderful farmer's market there every Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm. There is a small garden that overflows with flowers in the summer. The painting above is the view from that garden. Go take a look for yourself sometime, walk around the grounds and try to imagine how the area looked when the Pickering Barn was the largest building for miles around. It's fortunate that we have this piece of Issaquah history in our midst. There are more historic buildings in Issaquah to tell you about, but I guess that's a blog for another day.