Portrait of a Rooster

Morning Call
20x16 Oil/Canvas
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Morning Call was loosely inspired by my lovely bantam rooster Vincent who, in real life, has an interesting shock of orange feathers on either side of his comb reminiscent of the pageboy type hairstyle worn by a young Vincent Van Gogh. His hearty crow announces each new day.

Portrait of Pete

Pete at the Crowsnest
5x7 Oil/Canvas
NFS

This is our dog Pete, a handsome fellow with huge ears which were laid slightly back in the wind making them look rather average in this depiction. At only knee height Pete is short but his enthusiasm and love are tall. This painting was a gift for my husband.

As the years have gone by I'm discovering a real love of painting in a more expressive manner. Lively brushstrokes and more interpretive colour have become more important to me versus painting exactly what I see. Although in this little painting the colour is, for the most part, as I saw it. The brushstrokes  however, are looser and more descriptive than my usual work and I'm happy about that. This painterly and more expressive way of painting has an energetic give and take that I love!

Cheetah and Pillows

The Art of Resting, Oil on Canvas, 30x24
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'The Art of Resting' was painted after a month or so of doing primarily still life. As much as I love the zen of still life the lure of playing with my imagination and going wild with colour is irresistible.

It's fascinating to see the links and threads of one's own creative life, to see how old unformed concepts connect to the present. Even though I have only been painting these whimsical cats, birds and flowers for a couple of years the idea for something along these lines was lurking about only as rough scribbles for illustrations in sketchbooks and bits of paper. An idea that was sketched out years ago and found in a file cabinet was the inspiration for this painting. Suddenly I'm grateful for my propensity to note everything and save those scraps of paper that litter the studio, you never know when an old idea will come to life.