Mark "The Bird" Fidrych , 16 x 20, oil on canvas

Fans everywhere were saddened when Fidrych died on April 13, 2009 in an accident working beneath his truck. This moved me to paint.
Fidrych was a Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers from 1976-1980. In 1976, Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA, won the AL Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19-9 record. In the process Fidrych also captured the imagination of fans with his antics on the field. He would crouch down on the pitcher's mound and fix cleat marks, what became known as "manicuring the mound", talk to himself, talk to the ball, aim the ball like a dart, strut around the mound after every out, and throw back balls that "had hits in them," insisting they be removed from the game.

Bowl of Lemons 20 x 16, oil on canvas

Study using glazing techniques.

Icebreaker Mackinaw, Oil & Cold Wax on Canvas

The Icebreaker Mackinaw (WAGB-83) was constructed during World War II to facilitate winter shipping to maintain year-round war-time production of steel. Normally the lake ice thaws at the end of April, but Mackinaw opened and maintained Great Lakes shipping lanes as early as the third week in March, thus facilitating the early shipping of millions of tons of iron ore and other materials. Usually during the first week in March the Mackinaw would head for the strategic area of the Straits of Mackinac to begin ice operations. As conditions would permit she would work up through the St. Mary's River to the Soo Locks, into Whitefish Bay and Lake Superior. Later the icebreaker would work in the lower lakes areas.
She is a variant of the Wind class polar icebreakers. Her design is made longer with a wider beam and shallower draft to allow her to operate in the Great Lakes. Mackinaw was built to be literally land-locked, her size not permitting her to leave the Great Lakes.
A diesel electric power plant delivers 10,000 h.p. through twin screws in the stern and one in the bow. The bow propeller is employed to suck the water beneath the ice allowing the Maierform bow to break the ice. When the Mackinaw drives its great bow onto the ice, the icebreaker is capable of breaking through 4 feet of solid sheet 'blue' ice. Mackinaw has also plowed through 37 ft. of 'windrow' (broken) ice.
Early in its life Mackinaw was used to handle the heaviest buoys on the lakes with the aid of its two 12-ton cranes, to carry fuel and supplies to light stations, to serve as a training ship, and to assist vessels in distress when necessary. In recent decades she continued to extend the shipping season from late March until mid-January. She also served as a goodwill ambassador for the Coast Guard and a training vessel. The "Mac", "Queen of the Great Lakes" as Mackinaw has been known with affection, provided 62 years of outstanding service facilitating commerce in support of the economy of the entire nation. She now resides in Mackinaw City, the community for which she was named.

Canoeing, 14x11, Oil on Canvas Board

Canoeing in Michigan

Pauly Fly Fishing the Muskegon...

To paint this, I used a photo from my friends at “Up North Getaway” http://www.upnorthgetaway.com/ Thanks Trever & Pauly – it’s the best picture of a fly fisherman I’ve ever seen and I loved painting it! I’m happy to say, this painting now belongs to Pauly (the fisherman in the water) & his lovely wife.

The Muskegon River is a river in the western portion of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The river has it’s headwaters in Houghton Lake. It flows to Muskegon, Michigan, where it empties into Muskegon Lake. Muskegon Lake is connected to Lake Michigan via a mile-long channel. In recent years, the river has gained a certain measure of fame as a recreational fishery, boasting large migratory steelhead, brown trout and salmon.
(24X30, oil & cold wax on canvas)

Cypress Sentinals Watch Over The Vines

More from the cold wax experimentation. Very fun to work with this medium!

Pink Hollyhocks

More Hollyhocks – I just love these Victorian flowers with their columns of happy little blooms.

Salmon Peonies

Another painting of plump peonies using a roughed in background with the cold wax and oil.

Three Windows In My Father's House

Reference to the holy trinity of course.

Confident, They Were Always With Her

Not everyone can see them.
She was always so confident.
Well. . . they were always with her so it was always different for her.
The Hubbard Park was always very magical for everyone, especially on the old, red merry-go-round near the baseball diamond. They loved to play with her in that park.

(16x20, oil & cold wax on canvas board)

Lucy & Toby, 22x28, oil on canvas

Toby thoughtfully reflects, looking into the fire about what a long and happy friendship the two of them have had. Lucy rests in her bed– she’s older – knowing Toby is watching over her and the home. These are my cousin’s babies - I painted this for her. I will be sending it out to her in California as soon as the oil dries.

Hollyhocks, 16 x 20, oil on canvas board

I just finished another flower painting – hollyhocks. I enjoyed everything about painting this composition – I used yellows for the rock wall instead of gray/green which made the whole scene happier for me. It was a quick work with chunky brush strokes. I added cold wax to the paint in the red flowers themselves for dimension.

Brothers Barrel Tasting, oil on canvas, 24X28

I painted this painting in a very short time – I really controlled myself to use fewer brushstrokes and it worked well. The shadows behind the barrels are dark but this photo just shows glare from the varnish – I used a huge brush for the walls and barrels in order to force myself to rough out the image because that is what I love in other artist work - I am not advanced enough in anatomy to be able to do the same with the people in this painting. I had to use a smaller brush but did not let myself rework any of this. I also tried to create a very warm tone to the whole composition. This was a very fun project for me.

Hydrangeas, oil on canvas board, 11X14

Here is a funny little interpretation of hydrangeas in the garden on a sunny day.

my Studio

Here is my studio - it's the happiest little room in my house - I actually share it with my son and daughter who are also artists.

Study of Peonies, oil on canvas, 12X10

I just completed this work – it is a study of a work by an artist I saw on Ebay – honestly I could not read the name on the work and it was auctioning from a site selling art from a number of artist – and they were not highlighting or naming the artisist??? However, I loved the work and wanted to learn to paint peonies like that so I did a study and will call it a study to be safe. I love it so much that I just had to post it, even though it was not my original idea, but a study of another artist. This painting now belongs to my mother.

Threshold, acrylic on canvas, 24X36

Enter at your own risk – that’s the meaning I wanted to portray – its life – you enter, even while you have no idea what is on the other side. This was going to be a very elaborate architectural painting but it became so frustrating that I ended up using a sort of impressionism instead.

Venice, acrylic on canvas, 18X24

This was painted a few years ago and was really my first painting. I had so much fun painting it that I was hooked and have been painting ever since.

Study of Sunset Over Wheat Field, acylic on cardboard, 18X24

This is a study I did on another artist who used different techniques to create this look. I first painted an under painting of dark thick brown, chunky brush strokes. I then painted my sunset and used sand paper to sand off the surface to reveal some of the under painted brown.

Stone Villa in Tuscany, oil on canvas board, 11X14

This would be my dream home – stone villa (with updated and posh plumbing of course) sharing a hillside with a private vineyard and quaint winery!

Road Side Shop, oil on canvas board, 8X10

I am so drawn to yellow buildings – it seems now when I see them, I simply must do a painting – especially yellow stucco buildings with red tile roofs such as this one – it was a road side café in France.

Opposites Attract, acrylic on Canvas, 18X24

I love buildings with red tile roofs and had such fun painting these.

Sunflowers, oil on canvas, 24X24

My dear friend Gina grows sunflowers all around her back yard. She gave me a vase full last summer and they were so rich, weighty and droopy so I painted a rich red background to try to portray this feeling.

Sunflower, acrylic on canvas, 10X10

Probably my favorite color combination, blue and yellow.

Blue Heaven

I loved this pool. The back tiles are actually a beautiful periwinkle blue - Periwinkle Blue is my favorite shade of all of the blues. Of course I love any shade of blue - since I was very young, blue was my favorite color. I'm always amazed when I meet someone who does not have a favorite color. I tried to change my favorite color in my 30s because I thought it was not fashionable. You know, it is known to be a cool color so I worried perhaps that I might be a cool personality. I tried to make reds and oranges my favorite so I would be considered a hot personality, but try as I might I could not draw myself away from blues. Don’t misunderstand me, I love all colors – absolutely love them all and am happy when I am surrounded by a multitude of color, even to the point that some would consider color chaos. But blue is my heaven. Also, now I am older, now I know, I am not a cool personality but an artist with great passion in my soul. Perhaps I also love blue because I am an Aquarian (a water child). And the draw to periwinkle - February’s birthstone is the purple amethyst. But I also suspect it is linked to peace, tranquility, composure and poise (the qualities I most respect in humans) – a stillness of one’s core, self disciple in one's soul to stay still long enough to see the heavens and all of the beauty of God’s treasures, the characteristic that sets an artist apart from other people.

House in Tuscany

Much of this painting was painted with a palette knife - it now belongs to some of my good friends.

Green side table

I just had to put this photo on my blog – I love to purchase old furniture at estate sales and paint it – I love how this one turned out.

Bottles of Red, oil on canvas, 12X18

Let’s open a bottle now. I did it – used very few brush strokes and painted this one in a very short time. I love how the wood turned out and thank goodness I was pulled away from this painting due to “mommy duties”. When I came back to my studio, the wood looked real and I stopped – I did not re-work the painting as I do so often which ends up ruining great work sometimes.

A Kiss for Grandma

This was a gift for my mother-in-law – my first attempt at painting faces close up. Again, I’m working at using fewer but well placed brush strokes in order to make my statement on canvas. This is a huge challenge for me as I have a tendency to over work my paintings.

Houses on the Rhine

There is a terrible glare from the varnish on this painting – looks much clearer in person. I’m working on roughing out a painting in a short period of time – trying to learn how to place fewer but well placed brush strokes on the canvas.

Daffodils

I’m working on a series of floral paintings. I was playing with color in this work – painting what the mind sees instead of the actual vision.

Yellow Townhouse

This was a practice in sunlight and shading.

And Giants Will Come From the North

This was a gift to my daughter – we are Norwegian. This is how the sky looked to me when I was visiting Norway – piercing blue and bright. I tried to portray how daunting it must have looked to experience a Viking ship approaching someone when the Viks were plundering through Europe.

Portofino

I really had fun creating this happy painting - it was a practice using vibrant color. You are standing on a hill overlooking a warm, sunny Mediterranean scene – it makes me long to go sit at a table under one of those awnings with a glass of wine, some fresh sea food and crusty Italian bread dripping in regional olive oil to pass the afternoon away watching boats sail by on the Med! My dear sister now owns this painting.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

We all struggle through life to move to the light at the end of the tunnel. And although it would most likely be much more comfortable to move through the lighted side of the tunnel, many of us are drawn to the dark side along our path and some even enter into dark passages (notice the flames inside the wooden door on the dark side of this hallway). This painting now belongs to some good friends of mine.

Shell Seeker

Second attempt at painting people – first attempt at painting water. This is my little shell seeker, but the water is cold so one must be brave to fare in further where the “good shells” lie. Water is transparent – I’m learning to create that transparency with paint.

The Promise & The Locked Gate, acrylic on canvas board, 18X24

The promise is at the top of the stairs in the yellow sunshine, but the wrought iron gate at the bottom is locked - isn’t this just what life throws at us all the time, hmmm, how to get past that gate to climb??? This was my first attempt at painting rocks and it was a bit challenging. This was my father's favorite painting - especially when he was hospitalized at the end of his life. I believe it represented so much for him - heaven at the top of the gate, but also so many struggles with his health over the years, just getting that gate open to climb. . .

The Greens, oil on canvas board, 12X14

I love working with oil paint! It is so fluid and silky. I have not figured out how to scan my paintings so that I get a beautifully clear image to import so this photo has a slight glare to from the camera flash.

Big Brother, 28X36, acrylic on canvas board

My first attempt at painting people. Such an age difference in my children - I loved how they looked walking on the beach together, just chatting like brothers and sisters do but the little one (typical female) believes in her little girl mind that she's equal (hey it's her brother) and even bosses her brother around telling him what to do like a “little mother” sometimes. But, the big brother is old enough to know the reality - he's so much older and knows a truer reality – however he loves the little sister so he respectfully “plays along” on her level yet notice the protective hand he carefully places on little sister’s shoulder.

Grandmonther's Whites

This was my first painting using only a palette knife. Where I grew up, on a farm in rural Iowa, my grandmother and mother hung their laundry out to dry on the clothes line just like this one. The days were happy. The sky was wide and bright, bright blue just like this painting portrays. The women from this rural, German farming community were gleefully cheerful while working from sun up to sun down at their chores – often singing and humming while they worked. Everything was always white washed clean and the sheets were laundered often and hung out to dry giving them a crisp, honeysuckle sort of a smell. When I see this painting, I can smell fresh mowed alfalfa and a clean breeze blowing from the north and my heart aches to be with my mom and grandma in the country hanging the sheets once again.