5×7 Soft Pastel

“Arrangement”
12×16 Soft Pastel
The latest addition to my new “Blue Series.” It’s funny how art happens…one minute you’re painting bucolic fields, sheep and cotton and then one day you sit down and this comes out instead. It is surprising, but you have to let it flow. Art has a powerful ability to channel emotions and express them in unplanned ways.

“Untasted”
9×11 Soft Pastel
I am experimenting more with color and texture in this piece, one of a series.

“Wings”
9×12 Soft Pastel
I am branching out into the dog breeder world with pet portraits…this is a portrait of a prize-winning Boykin Spaniel, a treasured pet of one of my friends. They breed these spaniels and are located in Mountain Brook, Alabama. www.otmboykins.com

“Vigilance” 8×12 Soft Pastel

Everyone needs a release…a way to express how you feel, what you think…some outlet through which you can work out internal confusion. I find my release in art. As I drew this piece, I contemplated my life, my faith, my questions, my struggles and could feel my eyes looking into the light in hope that all will be well. It is hard to sacrifice, to search for authenticity, to love with a selfless love. In this picture, I sit for a moment in peace and breathe through my lingering thoughts…

12×16 Oil Pastel
I’m trying out some more detailed oil pastels…they have a very different feel that the soft pastels. I like the smoothness and it is nice to switch up the techniques.

Southern Exposure
11×14 Soft Pastel

This picture evokes a lot of feelings for me. I called it Southern Exposure because you can’t look at it without feeling something about the South, it’s history, it’s conflicts…I hope it will expose feelings that have been ignored and remind us that we are all human.

So I’ve been a terrible daily painter, but I did recently win Best of Show at the Shelby County Arts Council Juried Show! Hooray!
Copy and paste the link below to see the article in the local paper about my winning piece “Rhythmic Shoreline.” Daily Paintings soon to follow…

http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/news/2009/sep/09/artists-put-egos-line/

“Introvert” 5×5 Soft Pastel

“Extrovert” 5×5 Soft Pastel

I am working on a new series…”Cotton Fields”…exploring my Southern roots, reminding us of the past, the present, that things don’t always come easily…larger field scenes to come. I thought these two cotton bolls had some good expressions.

In the Brush, 5 1/2 x 3 Soft Pastel
After a month long hiatus due to moving, I am finally back to my much-missed art. I started back up with my sheep…more to come.