All In A Row - Pear Still Life Oil Painting - 12x12

I'm really happy with how this one turned out, I usually get frustrated when painting fabrics, but this one wasn't so bad. I'm not as happy with how the photo turned out, the bottom part of the painting isn't quite that dark.

Oil on stretched canvas, 12x12 inches, sides painted.

SOLD

and don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't!

Tall and Slender - Carpinteria Palm Trees - 6x12

I made trip into Santa Barbara yesterday, camera in hand, looking for new things to paint. I think I only got three good shots the whole time I was there. I have much more luck in Carpinteria, maybe because it's less crowded, and there are more open spaces (that's why I love it). This painting is of one such space.

Oil on 3/8 inch thick panel, 6x12 inches - SOLD

Santa Barbara Mission - Oil Painting - 12x12

I figured I had to at least paint the Santa Barbara Mission once, so here it is right before sunset. I found the subject a little boring, maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it today. On a happier note, the sun came out today and I colored my hair, all the makings for a great day.

Oil on cradled panel, 12x12 inches - SOLD

To purchase this painting click here

Shimmer and Buzz - California Landscape Painting - 6x6

I just love how this one turned out! I liked how bright the white fence was against those big dark trees. I will probably rework it a little and then paint a larger version as well.

Oil on Ampersand Gessobord, 6x6 inches- SOLD

To purchase this painting click here

and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Giveaway!!

I've decided on this darling little painting of avocados for this (my first!) giveaway. It's oil on a canvas panel, 6x6 inches. And since it's flat it can be easily framed, or be displayed as is on a decorative shelf or bookshelf.

Oil on canvas panel, 6x6 inches

How to enter the giveaway:

1. Just leave a comment on this post to let me know you looked around a bit :)

2. For an extra entry become a follower, and then leave a comment telling me you're a follower.

3. For a third entry you can tweet, blog, or facebook to let your friends know about the giveaway.

This giveaway will last for one week,

I will announce the winner on Tuesday, May 4.

Connected II - Tomato Still Life - 6x6

The last few weeks have been strange. It's like we physically moved, but part of me still thinks I'm in Denver. Maybe it's because all of our stuff is still in storage, or because we still have a house there (poor house), or because we're in temp housing (which is very small, and poor Zach has to deal with my paintings everywhere, I wish I could hang them but feel like the owners would frown on nails being hammered into the walls). Anyway, here is another angle of those tomatoes from the other day.

I love how the sides look on these deep stretched canvases sometimes

Oil on a 6x6 inch deep stretched canvas - SOLD

To purchase this painting click here

Ok I'll Share - Avocado Still Life Oil Painting - 8x8

I was hoping that this weekend would be sunny and beautiful so I could get more shots of the town to paint. That was not the case, so I was stuck painting still lifes... ok I'm not really complaining... but I did want to hang out at the beach more :)

Oil on canvas panel, 8x8 inches - SOLD

To purchase this painting click here

Trio - Carpinteria Beach Landscape - 12x12

I saw this trio of lifeguard towers on my jog yesterday morning. I got so excited because they were such bright colors, and the sun was shining on them in such a perfect way. I knew they would end up being today's painting :)

Oil on cradled panel, 12x12 inches -SOLD

To purchase this painting click here

Giveaway?

I want to do a giveaway soon (where I would giveaway one of my small 6x6 paintings). But I can't decide which would be a better choice, a landscape or a still life? Anyone have thoughts about which they would rather win?

So a landscape giveaway might look a little like this one:

And a still life giveaway would probably be of avocados (so fun to paint) and might look a little like this:

thoughts?

Connected - Tomato Still Life Oil Painting - 6x6

I had so much fun painting this one. I was at the market and saw these two little tomatoes and just had to buy them. I took a lot of reference photos so you'll probably see more of these in the future.

Oil on a 6x6 inch deep stretched canvas, sides painted.

SOLD

Santa Barbara Courthouse - Original Oil Painting - 12x12

The Santa Barbara Courthouse is one of my favorite subjects to paint. I love the color of the shadows on such a white building. I got up extra early this morning to paint, because the rest of my day with be spent in LA, watching the filming of the Glee finale! My best friend acquired free tickets, it's going to be awesome!

Oil on cradled panel, 12x12 inches

SOLD

Sandyland in the Morning - Carpinteria Landscape Painting - 12x12

This painting reminds me of my childhood :) It's the entrance to the beach we would (and still do) always go to.

Oil on a 3/8 inch thick gessobord panel, 12x12 inches

SOLD

The Spot - Carpinteria Landscape Painting - 6x6

This is one of my favorite places to eat during a day at the beach. I painted this one small because I wasn't sure how it would turn out, now I'm really sad I didn't just paint it larger.

Oil on gessobord panel, 6x6 inches

SOLD

The Clock Struck Twelve - Pear Oil Painting Still Life - 6x12

I'm trying to find other things that I can add into my still life paintings. I think a trip to Goodwill is in order, maybe I'll find a fantastic red vase or some interesting glass pieces. But for today this old clock was the best I could find.

Oil on canvas panel, 6x12 inches - SOLD

To view this item in my shop click here

Three's A Crowd - Still life oil painting - 6x12

I can't think of a whole lot to write about this one.... I wanted it to be simple and I wanted it to be colorful. And I love orange and blue together, so tangerines were an obvious choice :)

Oil on a 6x12 inch canvas panel

SOLD

Lemons on Blue - Still life oil painting - 6x12

Well my whole body aches, so I know I've had a productive day. And I'm very much looking forward to this weekend, which will consist of date night, casino night, and most importantly beach day!

While I was packing up my studio I also found these 6x12 canvas panels, so I'll be trying those out for the next few days.

Oil on canvas panel, 6x12 inches - SOLD

To view this item in my shop click here

Avocado with Red - Still life oil painting - 8x8

Santa Barbara makes me want to paint avocados... it also makes me want to eat avocados, so I guess it all works out. I found these 8x8 canvas boards when I was packing up my studio, totally forgot I had them :)

Oil on canvas panel, 8x8 inches - SOLD

261 Linden Avenue - California Landscape Painting - 12x12

This is the view from our front window in the morning, turns out I don't have to look far to get inspiration here :)

I'm really enjoying working on these larger panels, I'll have to find somewhere else to show them soon or I'll run out of room to store them here.

Oil on cradled panel, 12x12 inches

SOLD

Seven AM - Carpinteria Landscape Oil Painting - 12x12

I painted this from a photo I took on my jog yesterday morning. It was my first day painting on a larger surface, I didn't think it would be that different until I realized that it's actually 4 times the size of my normal paintings. It made me nervous but I really liked how it turned out.

Oil on cradled panel, 12x12 inches - SOLD

Foggy Morning On Cabrillo Blvd - Landscape Oil Painting - 6x6

I felt like I had the perfect spot in Denver to photograph my paintings, I have not found such a spot here, I probably look pretty funny covered in paint walking around with a huge camera trying to find a glare free zone. I think it will take me more than one day to get used to my new surroundings. But here it is anyway, the first one:

Oil on gessobord panel, 6x6 inches - SOLD

We made it!

After a long two days in the car (with a very unhappy cat, buried in a carrier in the backseat) we made it to Carpinteria! Our temporary apartment is super cute, and just a few steps from the beach. I was up early this morning and went jogging with my Nikon in my hand, getting a few great sunrise shots for tomorrow's painting.

I was a little hesitant this morning as I got ready to unpack my oils and set up my temporary studio. Our apartment is cute, but also very small, which means I have to paint sitting on the floor. So I wasn't expecting a masterpiece for today, maybe tomorrow I will figure out something better.

the "studio"

I couldn't find Charlie for a while, turns out he thought the door was a good hangout

We didn't have a coffee maker, so my Mom brought me this one (and she was right it does make good coffee:) even though I think it's at least 30 years old. And it's my birthday so I'm allowed to have cake for breakfast...yum.

The view from our front window, not much to complain about, we think that on a really clear day we could see the ocean.

My Favorite River - Golden Colorado, Landscape Painting - 6x6

I love how this one turned out, it's of my favorite river in Golden, CO. A perfect spot to go hang out on really warm summer days. This will be my last post for probably a week or so, it's time to pack everything up and get moving! We leave Friday afternoon, and I'll get to start painting again on Monday (which happens to be my birthday, what a great present:). Did I mention that our temp housing is in a hotel? I'm hoping for an interesting view so I can paint what's out our window.... I don't know what's in store exactly, hello adventure :)

Oil on Ampersand Gessobord, 6x6 inches

SOLD

Denver Skyline at Sunset - Daily painting - 6x6

This is my last week in Denver, we were busy all weekend getting our house ready to be put on the market. That meant finally painting over the last of the wood paneling, a horrible task! And painting our front door a nice bright red, so much better than the weathered wood color that it was before.

I had a difficult time photographing this painting, the ones that have lots of dark areas are always a challenge. I was really excited about painting the geese, I don't think I ever see a goose without smiling :)

Oil on Ampersand gessobord, 6x6 inches

SOLD

Morning in Edinburgh - Cityscape Oil Painting - 6x6

I painted this from a photo I took one morning on our way to class. It felt like at least a 2 mile walk and we were all jet lagged, so taking random pictures was a great way to stay alert :) And as I've now realized, pictures taken in the early morning are the best!

Oil on Ampersand gessobord, 6x6 inches - SOLD