Merry Christmas to all!

Looking forward to getting back into my blog, it has been a busy holiday season.

Sketch of Bear

This is my dog bear, I am in the process of painting her in pastel. This is my preliminary sketch.

This wolf was painted on suede board. The suede was given to me by my friend Leslie to experiment with as I had never used it before. The soft texture was wonderful and I know I will be purchasing some for future paintings.

I am having a problem with my computer. When I post my paintings they are somewhat stretched. I have to find a way to correct this.

Corgi Puppies

I just got back from a workshop with pastel artist Lesley Harrison. It was a whirlwind of three days but lots of fun. The puppies are far from being completed but wanted to post anyway.

Wolf sketch

pencil

This sketch is from a photo I took at The Wolf People in Washington. It is a sanctuary for wolves. I have been working on a pastel but wanted to post something since it has been a while.

Up the Lazy River

Yesterday I took a boatride up the Broadkill River with friends. What lovely day. The river is long and winding with beautiful grasses and trees. I took many photos. Just a great day!

Palm Beach

8x10
oil

Landscape

8x10

oil

I visited cousin Joan this weekend and we painted a landscape together. What fun it was! This is step one, there is tweaking to be done. I really enjoyed working with oils.

Leopard

pencil sketch

8x10

While I was doing this pencil sketch of this beautiful animal my eyes got so tired from all the spots. I had to stop or else soon they would have all run together.

Annie
The Miracle Dog

charcoal pencil
8x10


I call her the Miracle Dog because she survived on the streets for at least four years that I know of.
Many times when I would see her, I would try to entice her with a biscuit but she would not let me near.
I hadn't seen her for quite some time and I thought something happened to her. I work for a delivery company and one day I pulled up to a house and there she was on the lawn. I asked the lady is that your dog? She said "no, her family threw her out of the house when her owner got sick". Well, the rest is history, I brought her home and quickly she fell in with her pack, Molly and Bear. She is such a sweet dog. Each morning when she wakes up she rolls on her back and kicks her legs. She is a study in pure joy! I named her Annie for Little Orphan Annie because " the sun will come tommorrow, so you got to hang on till tommorrow come what may".

Polar Bear

I have been practicing polar bears as I have never painted one before. I want to do a pastel (16x20) on velour paper. What I have learned about this wonderful mammal is that its dense, waterproof coat helps it survive the lowest temperatures on the earth. Tracks have been seen a few miles from the North Pole.

Mountain Lion

Pencil sketch

8x10

Happy 4th of July!

Running Wolves

Charcoal 8x10

Since I am "in between" paintings I thought I should post something. This charcoal was done some years back.

Mother's Watch

Pastel on Velour

11x14

I have been working on this in between playing with the watercolor pencils.

Lab pup

w/c pencil

sketch

I'm playing with a new medium for me,

watercolor pencils.

Wolf sketch

This is a sketch with watercolor pencil. On my cousin Joan's recommendation I tried them for the first time. What a lot of fun! It's a great combination, drawing then using the brush to paint.

At Rest

Pastel

11 x 14

Wolf in Autumn

Pastel

8x10

Molly Tippytoes

11x14 pastel

This is a pastel I did of my dog Molly a few years ago. Molly was a '"shelter dog". She had been adopted and brought back twice. What is the saying " three's a charm". I adopted her at eight months old and she has turned out to be such a great dog that I took in two more. The colors are not as sharp as I had to take this in the frame.

Bear and Cub

16 x 20 pastel

Wolves

8 x 10 pastel

This is the first pastel I did of wolves quite some years ago.

Wolf - pencil sketch

11 x 14

Wolves are my favorite subject.

I read a book by Shaun Ellis, "The Man Who Lives With Wolves". He tells a story when he worked at a wildlife center in England. One day a man came with his 14 year old son. He was mentally and physically disabled and in a wheelchair. The father said he heard where children could interact with the wolves and he wanted his son to meet one. Shaun was hesitant and asked if the son would be able to indicate when he no longer wanted the wolf near him. The father said "no, he won't be able to:, he has never spoken, and never reacted in any way to anything. And he has never expressed an emotion in his life". Shaun brought a wolf pup, energetic and wirey about the size of a spaniel. When the pup saw the boy he became still and looking into his eyes started licking his face. Shaun looked at the boy and "saw one single tear welling up in his right eye, then trickle slowly down his cheek". He glanced at the father, tears were streaming down his face. "In a matter of seconds, the wolf pup had gotten through to this boy in a way that no human had managed to do in fourteen years".

I love this story and wanted to share it.

Harp Seal pastel sketch 5x7

This is a pastel that I did in Lesley Harrison's workshop last year. His name is Teddy and from what I understand he is the docile one of the pack. He lives in a preserve.

Last year I went to a workshop given by Lesley Harrison. What a learning experience it was! The lion is one of two paintings that I worked on in class. It is on velour paper. Not only did I learn but it was alot of fun. Lesley is a terrific teacher, a warm and fun person.

Wolf sketch.... Last fall I went to the Lakota Wolf Preserve. What a wonderful experience to see them up close, they are magnificent animals. I took many photographs for reference material.

Tiger sketch

This is a quick sketch of my cat, April, also known as Crabbycakes. I will be posting sketches as well as paintings of animals and my pets.

Pencil sketches