Neptune's Court

Another oil sketch done from a photo of the Neptune's court Fountain outside the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. You can find the first one here: Neptune's Court I

Neptune's Court II / oil on linen panel / 16 x 20

In the meantime, my daughter's wanderlust has taken her to Milan, Italy where she was lucky enough to go have the opportunity to tour the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie and to view Leonardo da Vinci's mural painting  the 'Last Supper'. It was painted in 1495 and she tells me it took her breath away to see it in person.

Here is the photo she took while there:

Some Figurative Work and more SNOW!

I took a few photos while hanging out in a waiting room recently and had fun doing this graphite sketch and quick oil study of the same man. 

Graphite and white charcoal on newsprint /  18 x 14

Waiting Room Blues / oil on linen panel / 14 x 18

And a few photos of our wintry  landscape....

Another Hound Dog....

Oil on linen panel / 14 x 11

Done on a toned linen panel, this hound and his loping gait intrigued me. He is a Treeing Walker Coonhound - a type of dog I had never heard of until someone asked me to paint him! Such a beautiful animal!


Below is a close up crop to show the brush work in a little more detail:

A Late Start to 2017 Blogging

Some new canine paintings to begin 2017 - untitled as of this moment.

Oil on linen panel / 18 x 24

Oil  on linen panel / 16 x 20

And a graphite figurative drawing on some old wrinkly newsprint. It's been quite a while since I did any figure drawing and this was a difficult pose. I am not displeased with the results but wish I had drawn it on better paper.

Graphite on newsprint / 24x18

We had a white Christmas and several storms these past few weeks.  Lots of rain resulting in flooding of the Truckee River. It was quite a sight to see and I certainly learned to respect the power of Mother Nature. Reno had been in a drought for the last 5 years (since we moved here) and this past summer, the river was down to a trickle. It's the first time we have seen it in all its raging glory! The rain storms were followed by snow storms - up to nine feet in the higher elevations. The ski resorts nearby are having a wonderful ski season and my husband and I are getting good use out of our shovels and snowblower!


And my five favorite Christmas gifts - four wonderful art books to devour cover to cover and add to my library and a porcelain tea service from my dear friend in the UK! What a nice surprise that was and it has led to a rather civilized new habit of my husband and I sharing a pot of green tea each afternoon!

Art books for Christmas!

Wedgewood tea service from England

Plenty of snow!

We are expecting several more storms by this weekend - the local meteorologists are calling them "atmospheric rivers". Apparently the storms originate far out over the Pacific Ocean and pick up huge amounts of moisture while generating fierce winds. The storms rush in succession over California (which has also been drought ridden and is benefiting from all the rain) then they soar over the Sierra Nevada Mountains where they become colder and change over to snow.  We have a wonderful view of all this energy from our back yard. It's amazing to watch!

Off to relax with a cup of tea and my new David Curtis book -  Painting with Impact. He is a wonderful painter - both oil and watercolor and this book is mostly about his philosophy of painting. I can't wait to read it!

Hope everyone is having a terrific start to this New Year!