"THUNDERHEAD BABE"

"1988 SPRING SKIING"

Look at those skinny skis????

My oldest sister took this picture on top of the

Thunderhead lift while spring skiing that year. 

Love this image does anybody know who 

this is? One hot skier.

Thanks

"FISHING COWBOY"

1986 

Long Beach or maybe Seal Beach Pier

"TEXT ME"

ROUTT COUNTY FAIR

I love this image and this is the first in the series.

I'm not sure what I want yet - I have some other 

poses to consider. We'll see gotta start somewhere.

Thanks!

"PALLET - ABLE PUBLIC ART"

"SIDNEY PEAK RANCH"

The Sidney Peak ranch is known for interesting Halloween

displays as well as this patriotic wooden pallet attached to the fence.

Thanks for following! 

"BOTANIC PARK"

SINGAPORE BOTANIC PARK ORCHID GARDENER

I've started to look through my Singapore photos. Hard to 

believe that in 2000 I was still shooting with film. 

I must've shot 20 rolls. On occasion when I'm stuck I 

might give Singapore a go. We'll see. 

Thanks for following and commenting too.

"SUAVE"

1986 LONG BEACH, CA

"SINGAPORE"

"BABY IT'S HOT OUTSIDE"

I visited Singapore a number of years ago. My husband

was working there so I thought I'd hop a plane and visit.

I brought 3 books to read - I got to Tokyo having read all

my books - didn't have enough yen to buy anymore(this was before

cell phones and heavy credit card usage - hard to believe I know)

I had to endure a delayed flight - nothing to read - and then I had to get 

on another flight just about as long as the first.

Meanwhile, we were all stuck in a huge holding tank - so when they 

announced the plane was boarding there was total chaos.

The airline attendant didn't call seat rows 

it was literally a free for all.

If these passengers could've brought their chickens 

they would've. An experience like no other. Sit where ever you like.

I got to Singapore - where it is against the law to chew gum

it's true - and it was 104 degrees(on a cool day).

What was I thinking??????!!!!!!!!!!

I lived through it but did'nt want to get on a flight home 2 weeks later.

To this day a flight to Paris is nothing in comparison. 

Got home and there were raccoons in my house due to the cat door.

The cats were gone - my house was a mess and my cat sitter

was mortified to say the least. I guess I had to pay her anyway.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Thanks a bunch

"DAISY" SOLD

"20 MILE ROAD"SOLD

I have so many cow portraits I really didn't need another 

but I love to paint them. This one is available - let me know

if you need a cow on your wall. 

Cherries are all available too 

might make a nice present for someone.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Thanks for following I hope you enjoyed this 

weeks installment. It's nice to mix it up.

Have a great weekend and thanks for following.

"JACK----"

"RABBIT"

OK - so one of my followers mentioned a jack rabbit

and I thought painting a jack rabbit would be fun and challenging.

Well that's putting it mildly. 

 I've only seen 3 jack rabbits in my life and they don't stick around

long for any kind of photo op. 

I've been busy painting and wiping - painting and wiping. 

It's been a no go, frustrating time for sure.

We went away for 3 weeks and when I got back all

hell broke loose. Well that's another story. 

I'm back and I'll try to get it together!

Thanks for following and waiting.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE SALE"

"DECORATION DAY"

Memorial Day was first observed in 1868

when it was called Decoration Day

A day set aside to honor the

600,000 U.S. men and women who died in the Civil War.

Millions more have served since

 and many have made the ultimate sacrifice.

"GRACIE PUMPKIN"

GEORGI'S MOM

Gracie was the best mom - can you tell?

What a sweet dog. 

Georgi takes after her in every way - well maybe not the ears.

Gracie now lives in Alaska.

thanks

"REVIEW"

I liked having the review photo as a post. Every time I fill

my display board I'm going to post the board so you can

see the progress and sizes. 

Thanks for following and being so patient. 

"PETEY"

WILD THING

Petey was my cat, he had no tail, he was wild but

I loved him anyway. He was special - I remember the

vet telling me he may have a balance problem(no tail)

but this cat could climb the skinniest 

branch and sit on that branch for hours. 

Balance was not a problem.

 He had to wear a bell because he was such a killer

but he knew how to silence the bell with all that fur. 

I have graduated to dogs for companions

 I can put out the bird feeders - oh joy!

"BUDDY"

BEST CAT EVER

This is my kitty. She's no longer around but what a cat.

I got her in Long Beach - thanks to Cynthia

moved her at least 4 times and she adapted to 

any situation. She even climbed an aluminum ladder

to the second story in our house because we had no staircase

at the time. I have a picture of her on the ladder coming up to

bed while it's snowing. She was soft and not needy in any way.

Independent to the core. 

Thanks for following.

"BLU"

I never painted a siamese cat so I thought it was time. 

It's not easy all that brown - kind of like painting a black dog.

Thanks for following!

"IF DOGS COULD FLY"

Thanks for hanging in there!

"BANDIT"

I needed to paint some pet samples. I keep giving them

away therefore,  I don't have any to display at Paws n'  Claws.

This dog is the Famous Steamboat Springs Escape Artist.

He escapes his yard, he escapes the pound you just can't

keep him home. I think he's pretty clever I don't think his

owner feels the same. It costs her 60 bucks every time

he ends up at the pound. 

MB NEEDS A BREAK

I'm also taking a break - I'm sure you need it too.

I'll post when I get STUFF finished but not every day. 

I need to clean my studio - I can't navigate the piles

HEADS UP THERE WILL

BE A HUGE FREE GARAGE EVENT AT MY 

STUDIO - FREE ART BOOKS, GARDEN BOOKS,

ART SUPPLIES, COOK BOOKS 

and what ever I feel like sharing. 

I need to lighten my load and clean my studio

I'll let you know when - probably a nice weekend in

June. Thanks and have patience for the next month

It's going to be a huge project.

"ODE TO EAKINS - PART III"

"Ed in a Single Scull"

10" X 16"

Oil on Panel by me

"Max Schmitt in a Single Scull"

1871 by Thomas Eakins

Oil on Canvas 32" X 46"

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Now do you see what got me going??!!!

The pose, the light, the city in the background.

I just couldn't resist. 

Shortly after his return from studies in Europe in July 1870, 

Eakins began to paint rowing pictures. 

The Max Schmitt rowing painting was the reason for this quest. 

Although few critical voices actively promoted Eakins' vision, 

the sheer steadiness of his quest to center his art on the 

accurate portrayal of the human figure 

won him a position in the art world.

I painted this in one day 

but it took 2 more days to finish. 

"PART II - ODE TO EAKINS"

DETAIL

DETAIL

"Eakins revolutionized art instruction. Instead of drawing from

plaster casts, he required students to draw the nude from life,

studying its motion and anatomy. The idea was ahead of its

time: when he insisted on a class of both men and women drawing

from what a newspaper called "the absolute nude,"

Eakins was fired in disgrace. Professional careers were

closed to women and blacks, he encouraged them to study art. 

One of his pupils, Henry O. Tanner(1859-1937), 

became the first important black painter and the most

successful black American artist 

before Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence."

Drawing from life is difficult, frustrating and rewarding.

Thanks for following it should become clear in part III.

"PART I - ODE TO EAKINS"

My brother sent me a photo and it triggered a memory 

of the painter Thomas Eakins. This painting will be in 3 parts

Painting dimensions 10" X 16"

Each day I'll give a little background on 

Eakins(pronounced AY kins; 1844-1916)

Quotes are taken from The Annotated Mona Lisa

"When Eakins decided to paint a crucifixion, he strapped his

model to a cross. His first concern was to get the anatomy right.

To learn anatomy, he dissected cadavers and became 

so knowledgeable on the subject he lectured to medical students. 

He plotted out the perspective of his paintings with mathematical precision."

"I hate affectation," he wrote. 

"I am learning to make solid, heavy work."

I had not thought about Eakins for years - to tell the truth he's kind of

a blip on the screen in the art world. Most of my art history books

devote a paragraph to Eakins nothing more. 

Also, I'm not comparing myself in any way to his artistic ability.

This is fun for me and I learn something new in the process.

Thanks for following!

"DEFYING GRAVITY"

"GETTING HOSED"

I left out all the traffic from my photo because 

it's not about the construction 

it's all about the pants!

6" X 9"

oil on panel

"MONTH IN REVIEW"

I like to look at my paintings as a group.

It's not like there's a theme 

 oh well - that's what keeps it interesting for ME.

This gives you some idea of what I see when I

walk into my studio in the morning. 

I wish you all the best weekend!

I'm working on something a little larger will try to have a 

post for monday.

TTFN!

Thanks for following I appreciate all the emails and observations.

"HAYDEN GRANARY"

The Hayden Granary is still functioning as it did in the early

days. "There's wisdom in the buildings, and it brings that out of 

people when they're here," Tammie Delaney said about the 

nearly 100-year-old structures. The Delaney's offer up the

example of the men who used to gather at the building for

coffee in the mornings back when it still was a working 

granary as evidence of its history as a gathering place 

and hub for Hayden.(from Steamboat Pilot Today Article)

Thanks for following!

"HAYDEN BARN"

I have to find the name of this barn. Nancy if you know send

me an email. It's on the right side of hwy 40 before you get into

Hayden.  This one is 6" X 6". I may make this larger for the 

gallery for the summer. We'll see.

Thanks - MB

"STUDY IN BLU"

"FARMERS MARKET"

This is an odd size I think it's 4" X 8"

I've wanted to paint this image for quite some time.

It was not an easy little painting.

Thanks for following.

"COFFEE STOP"SOLD

Hayden Granary Coffee stop

SOLD

"BARNUM OR BAILEY?"

This is the fat cat. He's super social and would follow you

anywhere. Hard to get a pic though cause he's either rubbing

on you or just so happy to be the center of attention.

Have a great weekend and thanks for following!

Next week could be a real mixed bag.

"B & B"

 "BARNUM OR BAILEY?"

When the cat's away - go into your neighbors house and take

some pics of their cats cause you need cat painting practice.

I can never remember if the skinny - shy one is Barnum

or Bailey - this is the shy one.

Thanks for following!

"MALTESE"

"JAZZBEAUX"

This is Meg's other special buddy. 

"SAY GOODNIGHT............"

"GRACIE"

Ok so here's the deal. I listen to the radio when I paint.

As you know radio is pretty slim pickings in Steamboat.

I have XM satellite radio and found a new station to listen to

it's called the Loft. It's a great channel and one of the DJ's 

Meg Griffin is so fantastic - I paint to her shows and get soooo

 much work done. Well anyway Gracie is one of her dogs.

So this is a thank you to Meg!

Her Irish show was fantastic today.

"SUNDAY MORNING #7"

 "DAM"

That's short for Denver Art Museum. 

I went to see the Impressionist show last fall and ended up

spending more time outside taking photos than staying inside

to view the show. The show was not what I had expected.

But I might get some fun paintings out of the day.

Thanks

As always if there is anything you want let me know!

Some days it's just too much to make a paypal button.

"SUNDAY MORNING CONT."SOLD

"Sunday Morning #6 - SUNNY BENCH"SOLD

This was another image from my Denver visit last September.

I love this guy - he set his book down for a moment

and sat soaking up the sun on a beautiful fall day.

I'm starting to get my mojo back I can feel it hope

you can too!

Thanks a bunch
6" X 9"

Oil on Panel
75.00

"FIX OR REPAIR DAILY"

"Sunday Morning #5 - Dappled Ford"

Every morning while we were at the Uke Fest last September

 I took the dogs for a walk through the neighborhood. 

Saw this great old ford and couldn't resist a photo. 

I met the owners wife she said the vehicle

was her husband's pride and joy!

Thanks for following.

5" X 7"

Oil on Panel

75.00

"CHERRY SHOT"

This is a new idea brewing. 

It should end up being a series of shot glass images. 

I just guess you'll just have to wait and see if and when it happens.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

"SUNDAY MORNING #4"

"GOING TO WORK"

You have no idea how hard it has been to get back at it.

I wiped away 5 paintings before I got anything to show.

Turns out it was extremely difficult to go from large paintings 

that were 9 square feet

 back to small 6" x 6".

Why is it always a struggle gosh I wish I knew the answer to that one.

I love this woman on her way to Perkins on Sunday morning.

The light that morning was so incredible.

Thanks for following!

"THANK YOU NOTES"

 

SUNDAY MORNING SERIES #3

OK - this gentleman parked his vintage brown Toyota Corolla

at the far end of a Denver Post office parking lot. 

He walked all the way around the parking lot 

to mail his letter but before he mailed his love letter????

 he stood there looking at the letter for quite some time. 

I love this guy - I love seeing the blue postal boxes lined up.

If you know me you know how much I love the post office

I love sending hand written letters

I love receiving hand written letters

I love paper - I love stamps

I love going to post offices all over the world when I travel 

I've had great conversations with post office men and women

I love getting a surprise in the mail

Send someone a surprise - but you may have to email them first

to get their snail mail address - it's rewarding give it a try!

Thanks to everyone for all the best wishes for my opening. 

I really appreciate all the thoughts - I keep going because

I know you're out there and you're paying attention to my 

crazy quest. Thanks for coming to my show too!

You guys rock!

I'll try my best to keep it interesting - we'll see

"YOU'RE INVITED!"

"1964"

"I SEE YOU"

30" X 30"

OIL ON CANVAS

"FINISHED HEADLIGHT"

"ANATOMY of a HEADLIGHT"

 Here's how a headlight started on the next project

This painting is 30" X 30"

I'll give it to you in 2 or three parts

I'm stretched for paintings until I hang the show

on wednesday. Hang in there.

"1949 GREEN CHEVY TRUCK"SOLD

"(c)HEVY REFLECTIONS"

36" X 36"

OIL ON CANVAS

SOLD

Thanks for waiting and have a great weekend.

1949 CHEVY TRUCK GRILL