I’ve been a writer much longer than I’ve been painting. But I’m really glad I’ve found this other creative means of expression in the past few years.
“Community UCC in the Springtime,” watercolor, 13.5 by 10.5, April 2021
Quick portrait of “Guy!” April 29, 2021
“Lazy River,” April 23, 2021
“Splashy Monarch,” watercolor, April 2021
“Katie Smiles,” watercolor, X by X, November 2020
“Goose,” acrylic, 3-by-3 inch canvas, December 2020
Phoebe, a friend, posted on Facebook a photo of a flower arrangement she had received. After I painted this, inspired by her photo, I posted my own version on Facebook and struck up a conversation with a woman from my church, who became my first customer.
This now belongs in the collection of Robert and Jacque Garcia. Thanks to Jacque, I can now call myself a professional artist.
I captured my youngest daughter’s radiant smile in this quick sketch, colored by watercolor pencils.
This was a technique I learned in a watercolor class at Clovis Adult School, taught by my former colleague, artist SW Parra. After doing a portrait of Clark Gable in class, I did this painting as a birthday gift for my son Mikel.
“Lilacs,” watercolor, 12 by 9 inches, April 2016
When we first moved to Fresno in 1978, our first house had a lilac bush in the backyard. Now, I run through my Clovis neighborhood, and this lilac hangs over a fence. I captured some photos of it blooming and painted it. It was my first time trying to paint the weathered wood of a fence.
NOT FOR SALE
After a several month foray into other art mediums – drawing and acrylic painting – I returned to watercolor. This was inspired by a photo I took of a geranium in front of my mom’s house.
“Bee and Blossoms,” acrylic, December 2015
The Blossom Trail in the spring is a beautiful tradition. I captured the brilliant color and the attention of a passing bee in this small acrylic, which lives in my office.
Larry Patten, a friend, posted a photo of this scene. I tried to capture the brilliance of the autumn colors in this painting, which I gave to my boyfriend for Christmas.
I love peacocks. This painting was my re-entry into larger scale acrylic. 16 by 20 is the largest canvas I’ve worked on – so far.
NOT FOR SALE
Norene Bitler was my paternal grandmother. The photo that inspired this painting was taken in 1969 on the campus of Ohio State University, where my dad was a student. Grandma always looked sharp – nicely dressed, completely put together with perfect accessories.
I want to do more portraits. This was actually my second attempt at recreating this scene, and I like how this version came out better than my first try.
NOT FOR SALE
More exploration using pen and ink.
I completed this project in my drawing class.
I took a drawing class through Clovis Adult School, taught by my former colleague Teresa Doffing. I knew we had a project coming up using pen and ink, and I wasn’t sure how that would go, since I’d never worked in that before. This was a practice project I did before the class. It also enabled me to capture the memory of an orchid I had gotten at work, since I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep the plant alive for long.
Sometimes I crowdsource my artistic inspiration. I posed the question on Facebook, “What should I draw tonight.” Someone responded, “Lizard,” and this is where I went with that suggestion.
“Lion and Tiger”
- Watercolors
- June 2015
I did this pair as gifts, very close together. Now in the collection of Beverly Bell and Lori Crane.
Up until I did this painting, I had been very sporadic with my art. When I did this one, I was coming back from a health issue, not running as much as I usually do, and focusing on a creative pursuit seemed a good outlet for my pent up energy.
This painting revisits of a photo project I had done several years before.
NOT FOR SALE
We were visiting family in Goldendale, Wash., as we do every year. I thought I’d be in the mood to do some writing while I was up there. My mind had other ideas. I got the urge to paint, so I had to go searching for art supplies in The Dalles, the nearest “bigger city” to where we were staying.
I finished this while we were up there and gave it to our host, my mother-in-law Barbara Patterson.
I hadn’t painted in nine years, but I decided to start again. I did this as an anniversary gift for Randy Bell, my partner in crime, after we had been together two years. I think Yosemite is his favorite place in the world, and we’ve been there many times together.
I started this one shortly after I finished my first painting (see below). This one didn’t follow a step-by-step guide – I used a photograph as inspiration. After this one, I did another one that I wasn’t as happy with, then I started another that I never finished. Then I didn’t lift a paintbrush again for nine years. This one hangs in my mom’s home.
I decided I wanted to learn to paint, so I bought a book that taught how to do this painting, step by step.
writeronthewall.com 