Treetop Pair

These birds are a male and female pair of Red House Finches. They were sunning themselves on a cold day on the top of a pine tree. This framed 5 x 7 inch oil painting is available at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call (719) 545-8407 to purchase or send me an email.

Red Finch - SOLD

Another painting of a red finch sunning himself on a tree top. I am pleased with this painting. I was able to loosen up and not be as careful. Doesn't seem logical but that usually makes for a better end result. It's about letting the paint be paint. This a is a 6 x 6 inch oil available in my Etsy shop for $100.

Bison Twins - GIFTED

Another painting based on our bison tour at the Zapata Ranch last spring. The hardest part of this painting for me was the foreground grass. I wiped it out a few times. I didn't want so much detail that it became a distraction from the real focus. I tend to put in too much detail. The other challenge was to make the bison in the back look like it's further back. This is a 6 x 9 inch framed oil painting and is available for $175 at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call the gallery or email me if you're interested in buying this painting.

Prairie Sunset - SOLD

​This painting is of one of the many spectacular sunsets we see from our new location. This 6.5 x 10 inch framed oil painting sold for $200 as soon as it got to the local Pueblo gallery but I'm putting it online anyway. My 2015 painting plan is to focus on the prairie sky and sunsets. I have so many ideas for paintings I know I could easily spend the rest of my life working on them.

Treetop Finch - SOLD

Colorado has 300 days of sunshine a year. Even though it can be very cold outside, the sun is usually shining. This red house finch and his pals were taking advantage of the sunshine on a cold day last week sitting on the top of a pine tree and soaking up the rays. This painting is available unframed in my Etsy shop. Click here to purchase. To see my other available paintings click here.

Bison Faceoff

These are two young bison bulls about to test each other. They lowered their heads and locked horns after this. The one on the right proved to be strongest and the other backed away. The funny thing to me was that there seemed to be no emotion involved — no anger shown, no noise or flattened ears. Almost like robots doing what they are programmed to do. This 6 x 9 inch framed oil painting is available at the John Deaux Gallery for $175. Call the gallery or email me if you would like to purchase this painting.

Prairie Sunset - SOLD

 

I love the skies in southern Colorado. Every day I see many possible paintings when I look at the sky.  My goal is to do large oil paintings of what I see. I did this small 4 x 9 inch painting as a guide to help me prep for a large 12 x 36 inch painting. What a difference it is to work large in oil! I have done many large paintings in pastel but oil is a challenge for me. The two photos below show my palette (lots of paint) and the start of the larger painting. The framed small painting is available at the John Deaux Gallery for $125. You can call the gallery or email me if you would like to purchase it. I'll be posting the larger painting in the future if I like what I've done.

Perfect Perch - SOLD

I have enjoyed learning how to paint birds. I love to watch them. They all seem to be little characters with their own personalities. They constantly look around for danger like they are on super adrenaline and adapt to their surroundings like this one. This is a house sparrow perching on our chain link fence. This is a 5 x 7 framed oil painting available at the John Deaux Gallery for $125. Call the gallery or email me to purchase.

Jackrabbit Itch - SOLD

 

This painting was a challenge because the photo I worked from was taken on one of the rare overcast days we have in Colorado. So I decided to go with the flow and emphasize the lack of color. The pink in the ear is muted too but still works like a splash of color. This is a 6 x 6 inch oil painting. I framed it in a white barn wood style frame. It's available at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO for $125. Call the gallery or email me if you are interested in buying this painting.

Running Bison

Another bison painted from a photo taken at Zapata Ranch near the Great Sand Dunes National Park last year. Fall color and blooming Chamisa in the background. This is an 8 x 8 inch framed oil painting available for $225 at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call the gallery or email me if you are interested in purchasing this painting.

Morning Ride

This painting has a cute story behind it. I have a friend named Joe who owns this pretty palomino mare. I asked Joe if I could come by to see his horse and would he mind if I took some photos. His response was, "I ain't doin' no posin'." But when I showed up, he and his horse were all decked out in Western garb including an antique rifle. I must have taken 100 photos. This is my first attempt to turn them into paintings. Horses were my first love as a child. I owned four of them and did just about every form of riding you can think of. So it was fun to pull those memories out of my brain as I worked on this painting. This is an 8 x 10 inch framed oil (framed as shown) and is available at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO for $250. Contact the gallery or me if you are interested in owning this painting.

Baby Kingbird 2 - SOLD

 

This is my second painting of this little Western Kingbird who came into our yard last summer with its family around sunset. The warm light added wonderful colors to the bird. This framed 5 x 7 inch oil painting is available for $125 at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call the gallery to purchase. 

Goldfinch

This 5 x 7 inch unframed oil painting is available in my Etsy shop. Click here to see it and my other available paintings. Thanks to Rodney Campbell at paintmyphoto.ning.com for the beautiful reference photo.

Kingbird Looking Up - SOLD

A family of Western Kingbirds showed up in our yard around sunset last summer. This painting is done from one of the many photos I took. I just enjoy birds so much — watching them and painting them. This unframed 5 x 7 inch oil painting is available in my Etsy shop. Click here to purchase or to see my other paintings.

Jackrabbit Dining Out - SOLD

This jackrabbit visited our property last spring taking advantage of the fact that the extra rain we were having gave him a lot of salad options : ). This is a 5 x 7 inch unframed oil painting available in my Etsy shop. Click here to buy it or to see my other available paintings.

Quail With Chicks - SOLD

 

This has been a good year for Scaled Quail in our area. We had lots of rain this past summer. This bird actually had nine chicks following her. I love the middle chick in the painting. It looks like it's wearing a tutu. You can see the beginnings of their head top feathers even at this stage. I'm saving this painting for a local holiday show that I'll be participating in at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo, CO. But if you can't live without it, just email me : ). This is an 8 x 8 inch oil painting. 

I've just made my gallery page on the Daily Paintworks site my main website. You can see all my paintings — both sold and available — on this site. Click here to take a look.

Raven Call

 

I saw this raven almost every day last spring. He definitely claimed his territory around our house. I'd often see him on top of the telephone pole telling the world. Then he started bringing rabbit parts to our bird bath so he could have a drink with dinner. Later that summer I saw four ravens together. I think it was mom and dad and their two kids : ) This framed 6 x 6 oil painting is available at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call 719-545-8407 or email me to purchase.

Baby Kingbird - SOLD

This young Kingbird came with its family to our yard around sunset. This bird had its back to the sun but you can still see a soft orange glow on its feathers. This 5 x 7 inch unframed painting is available in my Etsy shop. Click here to purchase or see other available paintings.

Kitty and Her Star

I love the warmth of this picture. This is the same cat (Amy) that I painted a couple weeks ago. I love the pattern in the rug and her yellow toy star. I grew up with lots of cats around. They were the other members of the family. This is a 6 x 8 inch unframed oil painting available in my Etsy shop for $125. Click here to see this painting and others that are available. Thanks to Ariane Kraemer at paintmyphoto.ning.com for the great reference photo.

Hummingbird Feast - DONATED

 

Hummingbirds are wonderful creatures to paint but ​I also enjoyed the colorful flowers in this painting. The color was almost used 'as is' straight from the tube. Many thanks to Katherine Tobin for the use of her photo on www.paintmyphoto.bing.com.This unframed 5x7 painting is available in my Etsy shop. Click here to purchase or to see my other available paintings.

Run, Rabbit, Run! - SOLD

 

This rabbit was sleeping in our yard on a frosty morning. The light was cool and it looked like a blue ball because it's ears were flat against its head. Then as the sun got higher, the light and the rabbit got warmer. I watched it as it woke up and ran away. This 5 x 7 inch framed oil painting on a canvas panel and is available for $125 at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call the gallery at (719) 545-8407 to purchase or contact me via email.

Cat Bliss - SOLD

 

 

I fell in love with this cat's face. It makes me smile whenever I look at this painting. This is an unframed 6 x 6 inch oil painting available in my Etsy shop. Click here to purchase this painting or to see my other available paintings. Thanks to Ariane Kraemer at paintmyphoto.ning.com for allowing me to use her photo.

Young King Series - SOLD ONE

These paintings are a series I did of a young Western Kingbird. I love the color of this bird. Its yellow belly and purple-gray back feathers are perfect complements. Birds are cute and comical to watch in all their different poses. These unframed 4 x 4 inch paintings are available in my Etsy shop for $45 each. Click here to purchase or see my other available paintings.

Figure With Hat - SOLD

This 7 x 9 inch unframed painting is a quick oil study I did in a class. The model was wearing a wonderful hat. This painting is available for $40. Click here to purchase or to see my other available paintings.

Prairie Sunset - SOLD

I wish I could invite you all over to see the sunsets we've been enjoying at our new house. We've got a full western horizon view and we're up on a bluff. It's hard to put into words the sense of awe we feel about them — like watching God paint. I'm attempting to do them justice when I paint but it's a feeble likeness. My hope is that my brain will soak up what I'm seeing and I'll get better as time goes on. The painting I've attached to this post is a 6 x 12 inch oil that's at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo for $220. It's not the sunset in the photo but is from a month or two ago. The two photos are from a sunset last week. One shows Rich, my husband, in the picture to give a sense of scale.

Morning Hummingbird - SOLD

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This hummingbird came to feed on my mint plant yesterday morning. The sun was low in the sky so most of the bird was in shadow. The challenge was to keep the painting colorful in spite of that. I used a linen panel that was smooth so I could keep the paint thin and lift it when I needed to. Hummingbirds are like little gems. This 5 x 7 inch framed oil painting sold for $120 at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO.

Dogface - SOLD

 

Driving around town and came to a stop light where this dog was hanging his head out the window of a red car next to us looking totally comfortable in his world. Couldn't resist the chance to catch his pose and make a painting : ) I'm calling this painting "Dogface". It's a 6 x 6 inch framed oil painting on a canvas panel and is available for $125 at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call the gallery at (719) 545-8407 to purchase or contact me via email.

Scaled Quail - SOLD

Scaled quail are common birds on the prairie in Pueblo West. But usually you see a single bird or a pair and sometimes the pair has chicks. But last week a whole flock came through our backyard — a couple dozen birds! When they left the yard I followed with my camera hoping to get some photos of them in their natural environment. But they hid in the shadow of some cactus. The only one I could see was the quail on guard. He stood on top of a large rock. This painting is of that bird just before he thought I was too scary and took off with the flock trailing behind him. This oil painting is 5 x 7 inches and is being sold framed at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO for $120. You can call the gallery at 719-545-8407 to purchase or email me with any questions.

Kingbird at Sunset - SOLD

We have some dead aspens on our property. Aspens don't do well in Colorado on the prairie where we are. They belong in the mountains. I was planning to have them cut down but one night a family of kingbirds showed up at sunset and perched on the dead aspen branches. I was able to get lots of good photos because the trees have no leaves. This kingbird was watching the sunset. It's yellow belly was brilliant. I decided to leave the dead aspens where they are : ) This is a 5 x 7 inch framed oil painting on a canvas panel and is available for $125 at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call the gallery at (719) 545-8407 to purchase or contact me via email.

Meadowlark - SOLD

Meadowlarks are wonderful birds to listen to and a common sight on the Colorado prairie. Not as common as they used to be though. I got a photo of this one on the ground. Usually they are on telephone lines or rooftops singing away. I was happy to be able to paint one in their natural environment. Even with that bright yellow color they are hard to spot. This is a 5 x 7 inch oil painting that was sold last week for $100 to a local birding legend : )

Baby Bison - SOLD

My husband and I did the bison tour at the Zapata Ranch near the Great Sand Dunes National Park this Spring where we saw lots of baby bison. The ranch hands call them pumpkins because of their color. The Rocky Mountain Iris was blooming. Beautiful! This is a 5 x 10 inch framed oil painting on a canvas panel and is available for $200 at the John Deaux Gallery in Pueblo, CO. Call the gallery at (719) 545-8407 to purchase or contact me via email.