Art Contest | Soft Pastel | Jerry's Artarama | Victoria

When my daughter first started school, I wasn’t sure where to pick up where I had left off with my art career. I had owned a paint-your-own-pottery studio, taken freelance commissions and given art lessons while she was little. I took her with me to my studio. Now that she was in school, it gave me a lot more time to pursue my hands-on art. Jerry’s Artarama (an art supply store) online had several art contests listed. There was one for soft pastels. I had never used them before, but thought it would be fun to give it a go. Several years prior I had taken photographs of the girls making clover jewelry in our front yard. I used one of Victoria as a reference. I place 2nd in the contest… and I still love using the soft pastels today!

Car Portrait | Ferrari | Acrylics | Father's Day

I was asked to paint a father’s beloved Ferrari as a gift from his daughter for Father’s Day. The coolest aspect I can share about this particular painting is that I use what is referred to as “a limited palette”. I only use three colors to paint with… magenta, a bright yellow and turquoise. Although this car is red, I never use red paint (I mix it from magenta and yellow). Though there is white, I don’t use white paint ( instead I let the white from the canvas show through). Though it looks like there is black, I don’t use that color of paint either (I mix the dark color from magenta, yellow and turquoise). When painting with acrylics my go-to brand is Apple Barrel, sold at Walmart. I love them because they are already thinned down… the way I like my paint to be. If you look at the zoomed in image of the car, the light areas aren’t actually “painted” I painted around them to let the canvas show through… sorta like using watercolors.

Chincoteague Island Town Banners | Miles Hancock | Decoy Carver

My step-father, Larry Williams is from Chincoteague Island, VA originally. HIs birthday always falls near Chincoteague’s most famous event, Pony Penning. This event was made so popular by the book Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. She was awarded the John Newberry Medal for her writing. Later, Paramount Pictures made a movie based on the book. They used a lot of local people for extras in the movie. One of my favorite scenes features Miles Hancock carving decoys in his shop. Larry’s family helped raise Miles, he referred to him as Uncle Miles growing up and helped him in his Terrapin business. For his birthday one year, I drew a portrait of Miles for him as a gift. Later the town of Chincoteague printed it on a banner when they chose to decorate the town with local art. The piece was drawn in pencil. I was really young, maybe 20 years old when I drew it? Still one of my favorites because of the story behind it.



The Deitch Family

I grew up on a tiny island off the mainland of Virginia’s Eastern Shore- part of the Delmarva Peninsula. Heather Deitch and I went through grammar school together. I have fond memories of sleepovers at her house where her mother would always make us delicious blondie brownies called Caramel Cuts. We spent the day sitting outside talking, walking along the dock, her teaching me short songs on the piano and painting with watercolors on her sun porch. Her younger brother would be running around the house.

Now her little brother is all grown up with a family of his own. Christopher and his wife, Ursula, commissioned me to paint his two little girls with their dog. I used watercolors, a nod to my memories with his family.