Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Rex Steno and Family

oil on canvas / 20" x 16" / NFS

DPW

This portrait was commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Rex Steno for their son's birthday, now an adult in his 30's! 

The reference photo I used was from the day of his birth, his favorite photograph. I included their son's childhood treasures-his favorite storybook, Peter Pan; his favorite baseball glove and baseball; and his childhood football.

I used variations of orange and blue, complementary colors to produce vibrancy. I kept my palette warm to bring life and vitality into this portrait-the celebration of new life.

The Calm After the Storm

oil on linen on board / 6"x 6" / unframed

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I was going through a box of old maps during spring cleaning this year and found a map of the Adirondacks Mountains in Up-State New York. My fingers traced through the roads that led to the campground my family and I frequented during hot summers to get relief from the city heat. 

There it was on the map near Lake Placid...Rolland Pond. 

During one of the overcast days, we drove from Rolland Pond to to Lake Placid to watch the skaters at the Lake Placid Ice Skating Rink that was built for the 1980 Olympics. 

On our way back to the campsite, a summer rainstorm had blown through the campground. As we approached our campsite, we noticed the fly that covered one of our tents was missing. It had blown off during the storm. 

We wondered where the fly had gone. We searched through our campsite without any success. We headed for the pond in hopes of finding our fly. To our amazement, the fly was caught on one of the rocks in the pond. We were very relieved that it had not floated away.

After attaching the fly onto our tent, we sat by the pond enjoying the setting sun. 

Peach

oil on linen on board / 6" x 6" / unframed / $90

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Peach: a round, sweet fruit that has white or yellow flesh, soft yellow or pink skin, and a large, hard seed at the center; a person or thing that is liked or admired very much.

Each of us yearns to be liked, admired, and loved very much.

God loves us with an everlasting love. We can't escape Him. We're always in His thoughts...even in our worst moments He wants to know what's on our minds and hearts. He knows each of our inner workings even before we live them out. How can we ever say no to such love.

Psalm 139 says He loves us so much that a book has been written about us! Find out about His love for us and what's in His book about us. Come into a relationship with the One who created you and loves you very much.

Peach: a round, sweet fruit that has white or yellow flesh, soft yellow or pink skin, and a large, hard seed at the center; a person or thing that is liked or admired very much.

Mango On Wood Block III

oil on linen on board / 6" x 6" / unframed /$90

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Enjoy viewing Mango On Wood Block III, the third painting in my series of four mangoes.

Mango On Wood Block II

oil on linen on panel / 6" x 6" / unframed / sold

Enjoy viewing Mango On Wood Block II, the second painting in my series of four mangoes.

Mango On Wood Block I

oil on linen on panel / 6" x 6" / unframed / $90

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Mango On Wood Block I is the first in a series of paintings on the luscious mango. Not only did I have the fun of  reproducing its shimmering skin using my oil paints, but I got to eat it afterwards! It was great fun varying the pressure of my brush to achieve the mango's glow.

The biggest challenge was keeping the light and shadow on the mango separate, yet softening the transition between the light and shadow.

How did I do?

Now let's feast on some mango in my recipe, Mango Curry Quinoa!

Brass Pot with Doily, Grapes, and Oranges

oil on linen on board / 5" x 7" / unframed / sold

Many of my friends and relatives have missed my paintings with doilies. This painting is in honor of their request-thank you for your encouragement!

As with all my paintings, this was a joy to paint. I particularly, enjoyed the contrast of textures-the hardness of the brass pot, the delicate doily, the translucent grapes and orange slices, and the fading leaves.

I hope you enjoy this painting as much as I had painting it.