"Baby Zebra in Sunset" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 5") sold

sold

A baby zebra looks as if on fire in the sunset light!

"Mommy and Baby Great Pandas" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 6")

click here to buy

Since I came back from the family road trip to the Midwest, I have been busy painting large landscapes to get ready for the Art League's annual landscape show in August.  They take days to finesse!  I sometimes take a break to splash water around doing small watercolors for fun.  "Mommy and Baby Great Pandas" is yesterday's output.  Isn't it an adorable piece?

"Baby Giraffe" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 5")

click here to buy

I have been working on watercolors lately although I haven't shared them on my blog because many are what I consider sketches.  Here is a painting of a little wobbly but adorable baby giraffe.  More watercolor paintings to come, I promise!

"Big Hug" (mixed media; 8" x 8") sold

sold

A pair of baby African elephants greet each other with a big hug!

"Piggyback Ride" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8") sold

sold

A baby polar bear gets a piggyback ride.  It's hard to read his mommy's expression.  Is she resigned or amused?  Ha ha!

"I Love My Mommy" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8") sold

sold

A baby African elephant with her mommy. The baby's eyes are filled with love for mommy!

"Fawn in Dappled Light" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8")

click here to buy

A fawn in my wooded backyard. It looks exactly like Bambi!

"Baby Emperor Penguins" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 10")

click here to buy

Two baby emperor penguins in the sun. Is one on the right suggesting to her friend, "Let's play!"?

"Mother's Love" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8") sold

sold

Is the baby polar bear whispering to his mommy while his sister is going for the warmth of her embrace? A polar bear mother and her two cubs are captured in their tender moment.

"Madison in the Snow" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

sold

I am back!  I was gone for a couple of weeks on a family vacation.  Since I came back, I have been experiencing excruciating back pains until now.  It didn't stop me from painting, but I spent as little time as possible on laptop to rest my back.  So now I have three commission paintings to share, back to back!

"Madison in the Snow" is for Mike.  I did a cat portrait for him last winter, which was intended as his friend's Christmas present.  Madison is his girlfriend's dog as a puppy.  I just love her thoughtful expression.  Perhaps it was the golden retriever's first snow and she was puzzled by the fluffy stuff all around.

"Baby Zebra" (watercolor on paper; 6.5" x 4.5") sold

sold

I have been having lots of fun lately, working on small watercolor paintings, about the size of greeting cards.  The format forces me to come up with the images that are simple, yet powerful.  How about this baby zebra glowing in the setting sun?  His black and white stripes have turned into rainbow colors!

"I Love My Puppy Lab" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

sold

Bailey is a Yellow Labrador Retriever.  She was two months old when the picture was taken. Look at her, with the furrowed forehead, trying to figure out what this strange thingamajig is.  I bet she put it right into her mouth soon after.  Ah, I love puppy labs!

"Doe and Fawn" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

click here to buy

A doe and her fawn in an enchanted forest. It is a dreamy, surrealistic painting!

"Miss Daisy and Lambs" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

sold

Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Elk River, Minnesota is a historic working farm that grows oats, hay, sorghum, and animals.  We saw oxen, horses, Miss Daily (one-year-old heifer), chickens, lambs, three piglets, and their mom.  On this hot, hot August day, Miss Daisy and two lambs were huddled together trying to find shade, although there wasn't much.  The scene was so funny that I just had to paint it.

I have a thing for animals; my favorites are sheep and giraffes.  I have painted cows, sheep, elephants, giraffes, polar bears, zebras, pandas, ostriches, ducks, geese, etc., although I don't consider myself an animal painter.  It must be their endlessly beautiful forms. 

"Puppy Love" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

sold

Lily is the newly adopted puppy of my painting buddy Vanessa.  She comes along on our plein-air painting outings to greet passers-by and other dogs.  Last week we went to the Mall to paint the Smithsonian Castle.  It was a hot and humid day, so we sought a shady spot behind the castle in Enid Haupt Garden.  Soon we were bombarded by biting bugs and curious tourists.  After about an hour of torments, we escaped to a nice sidewalk cafe in Shirlington, VA.  There I took a picture of Lilly, now immortalized in my painting.