Landscape Painting of Meadow and Stream at Sunrise, Unframed Image 5" x 7"

"Landscape Variation No. 2"

Available Framed or Unframed

Unframed no Matt $45.00 Unframed with Matt $50.00 Framed with Matt $75.00

Here's the second variation on the landscape theme I've been playing with. This is also available with three options - framed with matt, unframed with a matt, unframed with no matt.

For those of you who have wanted to purchase a pastel but have been concerned about the piece being ruined or smeared before you could frame it, this is a good opportunity to purchase a pastel without worry. The small frame fully protects the piece under glass and it's framed size of 8" x 10" is great for hanging in small out of the way places which won't accommodate a larger piece.

Pastel Landscape of Trees and Stream, Image 5" x 7"

"Variation No. 1"

Available Framed or Unframed

Unframed with Matt $50.00 Framed with Matt $75.00 Unframed no matt $45.00

I've just returned from a trip to South Korea. This trip was part of a military revisit tour offered by Korea to all veterans who fought in the Korean War. Korea generously paid all expenses (except airfare). It was wonderful to experience the profound gratitude of these energetic and productive people for the sacrifices made by our soldiers on their behalf. I could go on and on here, but that's not the point of this post.

Just prior to leaving I had started a project where I have been working on doing variations of one landscape in pastel. The point of this exercise is to push boundaries and see what I can come up with. Because my time is the studio is limited to four days, I have been seeing what I can do to reduce the time spent on the small pieces I post here. These pieces are pastel and because they are small studies I thought I would give prospective buyers some options.

You may purchase the pieces unframed with a double matt, Framed with a Matt and Unframed with no matt. The prices are listed on the drop down menu above. I hope to be doing about 50 pieces as part of this color study. If you are interested in purchasing more than one with a price break, just email me and I'll be happy to quote you a price.

While this piece is shown in a dark cherry frame, a limited number are also available in oak frames. Email me if you'd like a photo of the piece in an oak frame before purchasing.

Oil painting of roses in a Green Ginger Jar with violet shadows, Oil on Panel, 8" x 10"

"Violet Shadows"

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Price: $99 USD plus $12 USD s/h
Or, send me an email

Things have been quite busy this week with school and an impending trip to Korea. I did manage, however to pop this one out and a few others this week which I'll be posting up until Saturday night.

Market Scene of Fish Dealer, Oil on Canvas, 8.25" x 9.5" Inches

"Always fresh!"
Sold

A collector recently asked me to paint a piece to go with another she had purchased from me. It's been awhile since I painted scenes from my Mediterranean trip last year so I really enjoyed doing this little piece. Hope she likes it.

Sunset painting, Pastel, 20" x 26"

"August's Last Blush"

I've been experimenting with pastels and watercolor recently. Clouds and sunsets have always intrigued me. I love the luminosity of watercolor and the intensity of pastels. I managed in this painting to bring both into play. I have no way of telling how this image will appear on your monitors, but the colors have subtle changes in hue and intensity. The opacity of the pastels played against the transparency of the watercolor makes for a good contrast and mimics the way in which clouds hover at different altitudes and sometimes work to mask the sun completely.

This painting when purchased is available double matted and comes with a protective sheet and it's own case to protect the image. Price is $575. Shipping is free. Email me if you are interested.

Pet Portrait of a Dachshund, 9" x 12", Oil on Canvas

"Sassy"

Meet Sassy. One of my students recently lost her beloved pet to old age and asked me to paint a portrait of her. My heart aches for this lovely lady and her husband who grieve for this sweet dog who's heart was warm and who was always gentle with strangers and family alike. If pets go to heaven - and I believe they do, then God saved a special place for this good dog where the fields always smell of sweet grass and breezes carry scents of warm sunshine and fragrant flowers and there is always a loving hand to give a belly rub.

Painting of Pink Peonies in Small Bouquet, 8" x 10"

"Practice Peonies"

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Price: $49 USD plus $12 USD s/h
Or, send me an email

Summer's nearly over. Health issues have kept me from being in the studio this summer but as the fall approaches and things are resolving, I hope to be publishing more often. As I'm returning to atelier this fall for two days a week and I'll be teaching all day Wednesday, that leaves me four days for studio, home and social life. I promise to do my best but I'm sorry to say I'll not be able to claim daily painting status any longer as the new demands on my time will make that very difficult. I'll continue to be a part of DailyPainters.com, however, for awhile.

I've been away from paint for so long, I thought I should at least give some flowers a try and work out the rust in my painting hand.

Pastel Painting of Duck a Bush Salt Flats, 22 1/2" x 10"

Mattina Tranquilla"

Price: $285 Double Matted, $20 Shipping
Washington Residents pay Sales Tax

On a recent return trip from Olympia, WA, my husband stopped the car at the Duck a Bush river so that I could take pictures of the salt flats. This area always intrigues me but unfortunately I never seem to be able to get there when the light is right. This time we were there in late morning. Not the best light but I made do. I improvised a bit on the color but I think this pretty much captures the moment. I may do an oil on this next.

The painting is not priced for sale with a frame. Framed, the painting is $350. Email me if you're interested in a photo of the piece framed.

Oil Painting of Magnolia Spray, 11" x 14", Oil on Panel

"Magnolia Spray"

I've recently been introduced to Facebook. Ok...I'm a little behind there. But then, not everyone blogs either. Anyway, as a result, I hooked up with a friend from my teen camp days and she commissioned a small painting. My friend didn't want a vase in this floral, however; she requested instead only a spray. So here it is. Hope she likes it. To see how this painting was done, see a step by step demonstration with pictures and explanation at www.musensbysusan.blogspot.com.

California Seascape Painting, 24" x 20" Oil on Linen

"Maestoso"

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Price: $600 USD
Or, send me an email

I'm plainly a romantic painter. It doesn't seem to matter what the subject is, I'll throw some emotion and drama into it. Skies are like that for me. I wanted to paint a landscape where the sky is somehow as deeply involved as the land below it. I had some old cloud reference photos from when I lived in California so I tied them into my memory of a coastline. Western Washington just doesn't have clouds like the ones I used to see in California. Well - perhaps they do, but not over the Olympic Peninsula at the northern most tip. I realize there's only one tree actually painted here. But I felt that this lone sentinel was all that was needed to be the mirror for and express what was happening in the sky.

I have no control over what happens on your individual monitors out there in cyberland, but the sky here has beautiful light with lovely tones. Despite the impending storm, the strong light coming through the clouds lends balance and overall, hope, to the dramatic scene. I chose the Italian word "Maestoso" which means, "with magestry and grandeur", for the title. It's painted in lots of beautiful glazes and looks spectacular with or without a light.

Painting Study of a Brass Pitcher, 9" x 12"

The past few weeks have been filled with parties, visiting guests, summer shows, studio tours and teaching. I've hardly had time to work at actually painting anything. But here's a study of a brass pitcher I whipped out during class. I'm just finishing up a landscape and hope to get that up on the site soon. Sorry for the absence. I live with guilt these days over not getting enough done. Yipes...I still have a commission to start. Sorry Arlene!

Nude Figure Study, 9" x 12" Oil on Panel

"Contrapasto"

I've been pretty busy getting ready for a three day studio tour. The Sequim Arts Third Annual Open Studio Tour takes place this year during the Lavender Festival on July 17th, 18th, and 19th. As most of you know, I have a new studio and so this was a good opportunity to show it off a bit. I have a bunch of studies that I did for school just before the summer break and I'll be showing some of them this week as a way of filling space. I can't actually get back to the easel until after the tour. Thanks for staying tuned.

Lilancs and Pears Oil Painting, 8" x 10" Oil on Canvas

SOLD

Time has been pretty tight lately as I gear up for the upcoming Sequim Arts Studio Tour. I'm number 11 on this year's tour. In addition, because I'm a contributing author/editor for www.sequim-news.com which is a local online newspaper, I've been writing a series of articles on all the particpating artists - an endeavor that is very time consuming. Check them out on the "arts" page or today's article about Rudy Bauer that's on the front page! Anyway, I'm a busy girl. I stole some time to get into the studio today and here's what I came up with.

I had no difficulty in photographing this canvas. Last week I reprimed a host of them with Ganblin's Oil Primer. This great stuff fills in the interstices on the canvas and gives a nice smooth finish. That's the kind of finish I prefer and it's much easier to photograph. Hope you like it.

Yellow Roses on Gallery Wrap Canvas, 8" x 10"

"LaNice's Gift"

SOLD
My Studio warming party was held this past Sunday. We had around 40 people or so - we had invited around 75. That's OK - the ones who showed were true blue and we had a ball. I turned the studio into a little night club with cozy tables and put a red gel in the theatre spot light on the ceiling. We lacked the darkness of a nightclub in that it doesn't get dark here until about 10:00 PM now, but it didn't seem to bother anyone and, in fact, we partied from about 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM and then went down with the sun.

These roses were a lovely gift of summer from a long time friend and collector. So I named the flowers after her. Here's to you LaNice. Thanks for coming to my party. It's friends like you that warm my heart and bring inspriration on days when nothing else seems to be stirring.

Here's a pic of my friend Coffee (far right) and some of his friends burning up the dance floor, er, studio.