A Son's gift

Roger Kellmann

1961-2009

20x16 oil on canvas

Last month I was contacted by the step-son of my fellow officer Roger who passed away in November of 2009. I had painted a small memorial piece back then. The son wanted to commission a piece for his mother (Roger's wife) as a gift during his surprise visit home during Thanksgiving. The son relayed that he grew up to love Roger as his own father. He was flying in from Germany where he was stationed serving in our Armed Forces. Since this was a spur of the moment trip, I only had two weeks to get the image and send proofs an changes back and forth to the son. In the end, I was honored to have been asked to be a part of a precious gift from such a loving and thoughtful man and Cindi is truly blessed to have the love of a special son. I told both Cindi and her son I wanted to capture Roger's twinkle in his eye. He always seemed to know something that amused him and he was a brilliant comet in our life. Hugs to all my friends and family during the holiday season and all through out the year.

Simple Pleasures

Happy Plane

6x6 oil on canvas

Silly Seal

6x6 oil on canvas

Before the fancy cars, all we needed to be happy was to bounce back and forth on little rides at our local parks when we were kids. We didn't need leather seats or cruise control, just our imagination to fly us up to the heavens or skip across the ways on the back of a sea creature. I found these adorable rides in a little park next to a beach on Lake Superior when I visited my friend a couple of months ago.

Angel Trumpet

Mendocino Angel Trumpets

16x20 oil on canvas

When I went to Mendocino with my kids this last summer, flowers were blooming everywhere around the quaint town of seaside Mendocino. I loved this tree of Angel Trumpets blooming near the entrance of one store. It took me a while to get the gumption to paint them because I put so much pressure on me to do their beauty justice. I think I'm almost there and now want to paint more.

Cooper's my comeback

Cooper

9x12 oil on panel

To blogging that is. It only took me an hour to post this portrait I made for a friend. He's her handsome Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Cooper. If my computer continues to cooperate, I will start posting again. Thanks for you patience.

Wanda Kemper Workshop and a little something

Pink in Pewter

14x11 oil on canvas

I took a workshop last Friday from a very gift artist who lives locally. Wanda Kemper specializes in portraits and still life oil paintings. I took a basic class on portrait painting several years ago and I adored her teaching style so I decided to sign up for a class she was having which was going to emphasize on the subject of shadows. Her class exceeded my expectations. Her positive and encouraging style bolstered by solid lessons and tips from her vast years of experience boosted everyone's confidence and abilities. I had to leave early [unfortunately for a doctor's appointment] and I finished the assignment over the last two days with the large photograph she provided all the students.

I think the most pertinent tip I got from that day was learning to use a bit of a complimentary color in the highlight to make it really pop against the surface color. I've always been challenged and confused with color choices so I am glad she squeezed me in next month's color workshop.

As a little aside, my daughter wanted me to crochet her a mom and daughter koala amigurumi so I thought I would share that with you.

Auction for Animal Place

"Cocky"

10x8 oil on canvas

bidding starts at a $1 on Ebay

HERE

Some of you who have followed me for a while, know I did a similar auction for Animal Place a couple of years ago. I think I'm ready to paint a few more to help them out again. This is my first painting of one of their residents. I don't think I've done a rooster before but he just happened to catch my eye with his in command demeanor. All of the profit from the sale of this auction goes to benefit Animal Place directly. Learn more about Animal Place with this LINK.

Happy 2011 Fourth of July!

Path to Baker Beach

16x20 oil on canvas

I hope all of you are celebrating today with something fun and festive. This is an image from a day I and the kids went to check out Baker Beach in San Francisco for the first time. We were lucky to find a spot in the parking lot but some folks had to park their cars at the top of the hill leading up to the park and walk down this sandy path. I hope to paint another image of this beach from the location that is at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge.