Blue Heron

5x7  I was in the mood for painting a small, fast one, and I had fun with this!

Spring Park

18x24 

I have painted various scenes from this park several times.  Spring Park is incredibly peaceful and pretty.  I tried to make the feeling of tranquility and the sense of quiet come through in this painting.

Ann James Award

On Friday, I was honored and thrilled to receive the Ann James Award for Best Pastel Portrait/Figure Painting at the St. Augustine Art Association's annual juried Portrait and Figure Show for this painting "Striker"!

This same night I was also awarded an Honorable Mention for "Guard Tower" at the AGOP Creative Compulsions juried exhibition at Avondale Artworks in Avondale (Jacksonville).  What a fantastic way to start the new year!!

Poinsettias in Bloom

5x7  Painted for this year's Christmas card.

"Guard Tower--Castillo de San Marcos"

18x12

This is still one of my favorite places.  I never get tired of St. Augustine.  When my youngest son was about 3, he started to call this place the "mountain" because the fort sits up on a high enough hill that it's great fun for the kids to run (and roll) down.  He still asks me if we can go to "the mountain" pretty much every time we go to St. Augustine.

November in Spring Park

12x9

I had a fun day yesterday plein air painting with the newly formed First Coast Pastel Society.  The day started sunny and suddenly turned cloudy and rainy, but it was fun.  This day reiterated what I already knew to be true--plein air painting is hard!  Well, hard for me, anyway.  I tend to take a long time with each painting, focusing on details, and when I try to go fast I get frustrated and unhappy with the results.  This painting spent a very long time in the "ugly stage" and I almost abandoned it, but I'm glad I stuck with it.  Towards the end of the day it finally started to come together and look the way I wanted it to!

It was interesting to see every artist's unique style--not just in the finished paintings but in the whole process.  Some were able to complete beautiful paintings in a short amount of time--just getting it all "in there" with vibrant colors and gestural strokes of the pastels... and then there was me... but it really was fun and and I hope to participate in plein air groups more often.  And hey, completing a painting in one day is a huge accomplishment for me!

October in St. Augustine

11x14

(This painting received an Honorable Mention at the AGOP "Through the Looking Glass" juried exhibition.)

When I visit my favorite city, I can’t help but wonder what it was like to live there before all of the tourists, gift shops, and trolleys.  The Spanish Quarter is the area’s “living history museum” and it is the one place where you can easily imagine what life was like back then.  As in many areas of St. Augustine, it is beautiful.  It’s full of tall oak trees, interesting old buildings, and it has been kept in an authentic condition.  It feels a bit like stepping back in time.  But what I especially love about it is the feeling of peacefulness that comes over me when I am there. 

My life is usually very hectic.  I’m the mother of 3 children who are in 3 different schools and who all are involved in sports and activities.  There are days when I’m needed to be in 3 different places at once.  I wouldn’t trade any of this, but there are times when I long for a quiet place (did I mention I also have 4 dogs?) and this painting represents that place where time slows down, all is quiet and peaceful, and I can just sort of take a deep breath and relax.    We all need that now and then!