Pet Portrait

This pooch reminds me so much of our sweet little Willie dog. He wasn't very smart, and he liked to roll in stinky things and steal our hats when we went sledding, but we loved him a lot.

Half-Hour Portrait

I am a sucker for a face with good angles.

Half-Hour Portrait

Sweet little face. 

House Portrait

And now something a little different—a house portrait! This was SUCH an enjoyable process. Over several days of painting out on the street across from this house, I had so many lovely encounters—from the chain of nursery school kids, all shouting, “It looks just like that house! It looks just like that house!” to the local policeman who is into art, to sweet Rob Shepperson who brought me a much-appreciated soda one day, and a slice of Diane’s delicious banana bread the next, to my chat with a little boy walking his dog, who turned back from halfway down the block and shouted, “Oh and by the way—you’re a great artist!” Absolutely made my month. Paul and Melissa, so happy we finally did this!

p.s. Can you see the kitty cats looking out the front door? They’re my favorite part.

Half-Hour Portrait

My post about Andrew got me thinking about artists who have influenced me through the years. First, there was my mom. Mostly I remember feeling frustrated as a kid because I couldn’t draw as well as she did. (It took me a long time to accept that I couldn’t teach myself everything I needed to know about how to do anything.) Fast forward to the University of Michigan, and my first life drawing class. I don’t remember the teacher’s name. She wasn’t friendly, she wasn’t encouraging, and she was very tough. I thought of her as the “drill instructor.” But she taught me the value of working fast. I certainly don’t paint quickly all the time, and the half-hour time limit requires a very high level of concentration, but I really value the looseness it forces on me.