Tomorrow begins Art Week in Great Falls, MT. I will be involved with two of the five different art shows in town. I am showing in room 176 at the Heritage Inn (part of the Ad Club’s Russell Art Show) and also have a piece in “The Russell” – the show to benefit the C.M. Russell Museum. I chose to do the wall sale this year instead of the auction. That sale is this Thursday night, March 18 from 5:00 – 8:00pm. You may view the catalog online.

I’ve shown you this painting before but since this is the big week, I thought I would show it to you again. It’s called “The Season’s Last Lilies” and is an oil, 24″ x 24″. Hope to see you there!

I had been eying an older painting recently that I felt needed a redo. I began that redo with my saw and made a vertical painting square, which immediately helped the composition! Then after getting rid of the frog, adding the two flower buds and some new paint I think I have a piece I really like. “Prelude” is 18 x 18.

I have been doing lots of landscapes lately. I’m not quitting the figurative pieces, but I feel I need to gather some more good research in that regard. I hope to get to some rendezvous, rodeos, Native American events and biker rallies this summer!

Yes, it is another lily pad painting! This is one of the paintings I’ve been working on the last few weeks, and it may represent a little breakthrough for me. I have usually used a medium to thin and dry the paint which makes it easier to use as well, but the medium also smooths the paint out, getting rid of much of the texture. This time I used paint without the medium, and wha-la! Brush strokes and texture! It seems so simple a solution, I know, but we all get stuck in our ruts.

Anyway, I’m quite happy with this piece. I had called it “A Quiet Place” but think I’ve used the title before, so I enlisted my daughter Kristi to come up with it’s new name. Much better I think. This painting will be in the wall sale at the The Russell Museum Show in March.

“The Season’s Last Lilies”" is an oil, 24 x 24.

I’m still working on two larger paintings that aren’t finished enough to show, so I thought I’d put this one out there, a little painting done on location near Ennis, MT. one autumn. Is that Ennis Creek south of town? I painted from the bridge as the sun was going down.

On the larger paintings I’m working on now I’m playing with a palette knife which I haven’t done much, trying to develop a more textured surface. It’s been fun to experiment a little. The surface is quite different than that painted with just a brush.

I’ve done a few more lily pad paintings lately. I have to space them out as they’re so involved and intricate. They tend to make me a little crazy!

Anyway, I’m glad – after the fact – that I’ve done the lily pad paintings. They remind me of the times some of my lady friends and I took all the kids camping at the lake. The lily pad cove there was in a secluded place across the lake, ten minutes by kayak. I loved to go there by myself to reflect, and take pictures.

This painting, “Daydream Cove” is 20″ x 20″ and is at Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson, WY. I am excited about my new relationship with them! I’m not on their web site yet, but will be.

I decided I needed to put something tranquil up today, and so this painting. The subject is also Brown’s Lake, as was my earlier lily pad painting. I loved going camping there with a pile of kids and a few Mom’s who were and are good friends – my support team. I had done this painting last year, but just reworked it a little. This is an oil, 16″ x 20″

The subject of this painting is Brown’s Lake where some other Moms and I used to take “our pile of kids” camping. The lake itself reminds me of a Montana moss agate – foggy in the morning, beautifully calm, reflective water, pine trees. This cove of lily pads was across the lake, accessible by kayak – sort of a secret spot. I am now redoing my website and plan to use this painting as a background for the main pages, so I thought I would show it to you here. “Lilypads” is an oil, 20″ x 24″ and is sold.