I have posted this painting before and this will be the last time, but I thought I’d share my most recent news. “The Artist’s Wife” was one of 150 pieces juried into the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society International 2020 Spring On-line Show. I was very excited!

This piece, a 32×24 oil, was my response to a painting of the same title by William Merit Chase, done in 1892. In that beautiful painting his wife was seated perpendicular to the viewer. Her face was turned away so she was quite anonymous. My painting, a self portrait, is full of symbolism. It is even more so now, as I have moved into the next chapter of my life!

The Artist’s Wife was also chosen to: grace the Classic Moments page of the July / August 2018 Fine Art Connoisseur magazine; Chosen as a Finalist in the  2018 Portrait Society of America’s “Members Only Competition” (in the Non-Commissioned Portrait Category), hung in the ’18 show Full Sun: American Women Artists Illuminate the Haggin at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, CA.

#portraitpainting, #selfportrait, #NOAPS, #nationaloil&acrylicpainterssociety, #artstudio, #mystudio, #williammeritchase, #americanwomenartists, #tomgilleon

Thanks to CV-19, this show”Making Their Mark: American Women Artists”, at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, GA. is virtual, as the Booth has not yet reopened it’s doors.

I was thrilled that my piece “Mourning Dove” was included and was so looking forward to being there for this important show! The show is posted online however, on the Booth site and FB page, and the awards ceremony will be as well, this afternoon at 3:00pm EST.

“Mourning Dove” is mixed media – oil and metal leaf on board, and is 36×24.

To watch, visit the Booth’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/boothmuseum/on Friday at 3:00 PM ET.

#AWA, #Boothwesternartmuseum, c #Makingtheirmark:americanwomenartists, #cartersvillegeorgia, #mourningdove, #oilpainting, #metalleaf, #mixedmediapainting

I’ve been trying to get some info on CBS Newscaster Anthony Mason’s painting – the one seen behind him as he broadcasts from home everyday. I finally found his discussion of it. I just love the piece!

#anthonymason, #earlyrussianart, #piazzasanmarco, #veniceitaly

OK. It’s time to step away from the ongoing news of the CoronaVirus19 pandemic and the surreal time we’re living in. I need to refocus, and for me, there’s no better way to do that than get back to painting.

“Almost” 22×24, is a painting I did a year or so ago, inspired by a wonderful trip to stay with friends on Nantucket. The painting recently came home and I decided to ‘Montana it up’ a bit. So the boat now sports Montana stickers and has adopted a little more rustic appearance. Who’s to say that I can’t do what I want? I have Artistic License, right?

#dinghie #whitepainting #waterscape, #nantucket, #fishingboat

As I head to Black Tie and Blue Jeans this evening, which is a fundraiser for the hugely talented Great Falls Symphony, I thought I would send out this poster for their last big party of the season, “Gourmet of the West”. I will be doing a painting, to be sold that evening. Not this cowboy, probably a regional landscape… I hope to see you at one of these events!

#greatfallssymphony, #blacktie&bluejeans, #gourmetofthewest, #lauriestevens, #lauriestevensart, #landscapepainting, #westernart

Many painters, myself included, are attracted to the “has-beens” as subject matter – old broken down cars and buildings, rusty things. The sagging structures, rusting or flaking finishes on these beauties, often found in equally interesting surroundings are all eye candy for a painter! They’re so much more interesting that clean lines, right angles, perfect paint jobs! As art can often be about story, these relics are rich in that regard!

“Out of Commission” is an oil, 18″x24″.

#oldtruck, #landscapepainting, #classicvehicles, #lumbertruck, #fineart, #oilpainting, #figurativepainting

Getting into the Booth Western Art Museum show Making Their Mark: American Women Artists has been high on my list, and the competition was fierce. But yay -I was accepted! My painting, “Mourning Dove” will be heading to Cartersville, GA. for that show, which runs from May 27 – August 23, 2020. I’m thrilled!

Mourning Dove was the pen name of Christine Quintasket, a Salish woman born in 1884 in Idaho. In 1904, she enrolled in the Fort Shaw Indian School in Montana. She witnessed the 1908 roundup of the last free-ranging bison herd, an event that had a profound effect on her. Her novel, Cogewea, the Half-Blood, (1927) was the first known published novel by a Native American woman. It explored the plight of the mixed blood (or “breed”), who lived in both white and Indian cultures.

Mourning Dove is oil and metal leaf on board, 36×24

Deer, obviously, and especially Mule Deer are some of my favorite subjects. I enjoy their graceful presence and beauty. I especially like painting the does, and avoid the widely popular subject – the trophy antlered bucks. I prefer to focus on the essence of the animal, and not their trophy potential.

As hunting season is upon us, I hope you hunters will take pause, treat these beings with respect, and appreciate the ultimate gift they may give you.

“Looking Together in the Same Direction” is oil and metal leaf on board, 16×20.

#muledeer, #metalleafpainting, #muledeerdoe, #oilpainting, #wildlifepainting

Walk in customers can put a damper on dedicated studio time. But it’s hard to not welcome these two – my regulars, and my favorite audience!

#mystudio, #artstudio, #horses, #quarterhorse, #bestcustomers

I’ve been painting some still lifes lately and am really enjoying doing them. They too are “painted from life”, but without the hassle of dragging your equipment outdoors and dealing with the elements, bugs and changing light during the plein aire painting process.

Painting from life is so important, as you see much nuance of color, light, shadow and depth that is lost in a photograph, even with today’s great technology.

Tangerines and Sunflowers is an oil, 12×16.

#stilllife, “studiopainting, #sunflowers, #tangerines, #oilpainting