Happy Halloween 2026

 5x7 oil on gessoboard

This decoration sits in my living room and I kept admiring how pretty it was in the late afternoon light. Why not paint it?!

Here's the underpainting I did (in oils) the first day.

The next three images were photographed as I painted the following day.

This isn't really a lesson on how to paint. This is simply showing you how I painted this one.

I had the plans all laid out that first day, so I just worked across the pumpkin bit by bit, making it pop realistically to keep up my excitement. I usually add highlights and such later but I was impatient to see what it was going to look like. This little painting was for fun and for me. The next morning I worked on finishing the leaves. It was good for me to have the deadline of a holiday to meet. 

This one was focused and fast.

Thanks for stopping by! 

My Babygirl's Official Bridal Portrait

 16 x 20 oil on gessoboard

This was a challenge! Primarily because the reference material for the background and the one for the bride were two different lighting situations. AGH!!! You can read a little more and see the photos and 8x10 practice piece I did by clicking HERE. I posted that one back in April.

Here is the first step on the larger canvas:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4

Step 5 - Worked on her face. It is a portrait after all. 

Step 6 - I really had to start thinking about this mixed up lighting situation. 

The sun is behind her so she should really be in shadow.

Step 6 - Afraid I went too dark, I added a bit of a greenish blue tint to her dress.

Step 7 - Worked on background detail, and fought more with the color of her dress.

I also painted a very thin layer of very pale blue over the trees in the background, then, lifted it off a bit with a soft cloth. It gave the painting a bit more atmosphere and set the background further back.

At this point I even signed it and wondered if it was done. 

But no. I layered one more thin layer of the nearly white paint into the trees - 

pushing the background back just a teensy bit more.

I have shared 8 steps here but there were probably more like 16. Sometimes I would work just a little, get frustrated, and move to something else, and some days I dug in and got a lot done. 

I have to say I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Boy and His Puppy

 10 x 13 watercolor on Arches 300 lb paper

Super happy with this one! My watercolors are usually like all my other pieces - too rigid and a lot of attention to detail. But, this time I managed to back off and let the paint do its thing. Not easy. Not for me anyway.

As I've mentioned before, I'm doing a lot of playing this month. I've gotten back to drawing basics, and also experimenting with the paints and supplies I have on hand that I don't pay enough attention to. Watercolor is one of those supplies. 

Here are a few of my playtime experiments:

Here I applied masking fluid, with a palette knife,  to a 5"x7" piece of watercolor paper, .

Then, using a very wet brush, dabbed in some color and sprinkled on some chunky salt. 

(I was pulling out all the stops!)

Once it all dried, I removed the masking fluid. I'm sorry I don't have the photo before I started drawing on it, but here's what happened when I pulled out a photo of my grandson, that I had recently received, and started laying down some color with my old Prismacolor Art Stix. I don't think they're still available, but Prismacolor pencils would give the same result.

In the end I had this 5x7 study. With all this wonderful experience, I decided to do a "real" one. 

So once again I got out the masking fluid and palette knife, but this time I started with a light pencil drawing on heavy Arches watercolor paper, and before using the palette knife technique, I applied the liquid mask, with a small brush, to areas of highlight where I wanted to maintain the white of the paper. After all the masking fluid was dry, I laid in watercolor, using a very wet technique, in colors more in line with the image. Here is what it looked like when the masking fluid was removed.

Below -  I was getting excited!

Here I was super excited and very afraid of messing it up. I didn't want to over-do and lose the freshness and flow of the watercolor! The problem was, I didn't feel he had enough contrast in his face. Oh no! If I was gonna mess up it was gonna be the face. I let it sit for an extra day while I built some courage.

The finished piece is at the top. The face isn't perfect, but I managed to not tighten up terribly. I definitely had a lot of fun doing this and can imagine more watercolors coming up in my future.

Thanks for stopping by!

Time to play!

 

Abstract #1 -  12"x12" modeling paste and acrylic on canvas.

Friday was my last day at New Madison Public Library where I've worked, part time, for the last 8 1/2 years. It is a lovely library with lovely women who became my friends and I would say I'll miss them all terribly, but I enjoy reading (a lot) so I'll be a regular patron and see them frequently. Win - win.

I now have extra hours in my week to pursue art, and this first month I plan to do a lot of playing. This is the first official piece by Tracy Onoz the retired lady. An artist who plays. 

I watched a few videos on Instagram that showed artists using modeling paste and wanted to get my hands dirty too. 

Step one: I applied strips of tape (artist's tape or painter's tape) in a simple grid pattern and around the edges. (tip - paint white acrylic or gesso over the edges of the tape so that when you move on to the next step the color does not bleed under the tape).

Step two: I added a bit of acrylic paint to some modeling paste just to give it some color but you can stick with just white modeling paste if you prefer. I applied a thick layer of the concoction to the canvas, stuck my fingers in, and swirled them around. Swirled my fingers around in circles like I was three years old!

Step three: I very carefully removed the tape when I was done swirling. I would imagine it's very difficult to remove the tape after the hot mess of modeling paste has dried. When I pulled up the tape, it didn't look like such a hot mess. It looked cool like this:

Steps 4, 5, 6, and however far I was going to take it, were just about coloring the swirls. 

I threw some paint around with a brush, a sponge, my fingers etc. Just . . . PLAYED!

I used acrylic paints, but I would imagine you can experiment with all kinds of materials.

Remember, I'm a novice at this, but I did read that you can put oil paints over modeling paste, you just can't put modeling paste over oil paints.

Added burnt umber paint around the squares.

Pulled in more of the burnt umber into the squares. Also, Iworked in some more dark green paint -watered down so that it flowed, and dabbed at it, while still wet, with a paper towel.

Then, I threw in some more flecks and details to get the image at the top. Is it done? Heck, I don't know. I thought it was done when I added the burnt umber around the edges. I was wrong. Haha! I watch videos of other people doing abstracts and always wonder how they know when to keep going and when to stop. I'm assuming I'll figure that out for myself at some point. I've got a lot more playing ahead of me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Snow Day Memories

 Snow Day 7 x 10" pastel

I'm currently reading a book titled "The Midnight Train" by Matt Haig. With no spoilers, it is about an old man who dies and boards a train to eternity. During the trip he views the passing of his life outside the train windows. The train stops at pivotal moments during his life where he can examine them more closely. I'm enjoying it very much, but there was one sentence that I appreciated so much, I had to stop and write it down: "Doesn't the mundane starch of reality always turn to sugar with memory." Goodness that struck home! You don't aways comprehend the happiest moments or times of your life until they are reflected upon.

I was on vacation recently with family and was thinking how I couldn't wait to get home to journal about it and review the photos. It's as if, even though I try to "be present" (and I think I do a pretty good job of that), I can't fully process how wonderful it all is until a can take that time to reflect - let it become sugar. 

This piece is from a photo taken more than 20 years ago. It's a beautiful memory that has become more beautiful with time. My kids are grown. We don't get snowfalls like this very often anymore. Life speeds by - like a train. When it is my turn to board that train, I hope it stops here. I will soak up the joy of my babies and throw myself down into the snow and make a snow angel and bask in the blessings that my life has been so full of. How sweet is that?!

Speaking on the piece itself, I haven't done a pastel for a very long time - years actually. But I was just in the mood and pastels are a quick medium. Here are the steps:

I did a small pencil sketch first then switched to Nupastels and pastel pencils on colored pastel paper. 

The last thing I did was tone down the snow a bit. Didn't want it to be quite so brilliant of a blue.

I'm not sure how much time I invested, but each step was less than an hour.

Thanks for stopping by!

Waterfall at Lake Cumberland

 Waterfall at Lake Cumberland 16x22" oils

This one has been in progress for 26 years! haha! I started it 26 years ago after a big family vacation on a houseboat at Lake Cumberland. This one holds a lot of great memories. It was our first evening on the lake and we were looking for a place to pull over to tie up for the night. We kept checking little inlets and agreeing "this is fine, just pull over." The holdout was, I believe, my brother-in-law who wanted to keep on looking. We ended up at this beautiful waterfall. (The heron was inserted from another photo). 

I started it 26 years ago, and it has just been pinned up on my studio wall this whole time waiting for me to decide I had enough experience to finish it. Below is what it has looked like all this time. You may not see a big difference, but I do! Haha! I finished the heron, made the water splashier, gave a bit more depth to the background, and hit the rock with a palette knife to give it more texture.  Woo hoo! DONE!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Swans

Swans - oils 12 x 22"

My most recent piece and some of the steps:

I started on a clayboard surface with a yellow ochre wash. I think it's more difficult to start on white and if you're not too heavy handed with paints (as I tend to be), some of the warmth can shine through.

The neck of the big swan was just a bit too long so I shortened it a bit.

For me, the water was the most challenging part. I think I did a decent job with it.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Tara

 Tara 11 x 14 oil painting

Goodness, this one was a long time coming. This is my niece who got married last June in Jamaica.

I started this piece on June 17th of 2025 and finally finished it May 14th 2026. I had pieced together a few different photographs, and some of the background I had to just figure out without reference.

I would work on it for a few sessions, get excited about it, hit a snag, put it away for a couple months, and then try again.

I won't share all 16 steps but here are a few:

6-17-25

6-30-25

I wanted more ocean in the background.

7-28-25

This is where I was happy that the portrait part would work out. Like with the bridal portrait of my daughter that I posted in April, that's a pretty tiny face!

1-12-26

I wasn't liking the landscape area on the left so I painted most of it out. Also, started a bit of the greenery on the right.

2-23-26

Then, I went for a more dramatic sky. 

There had been quite a few afternoon storms while we were there, so the choice was valid. haha!

After a few more months and more detail, I finished!

I'm always going to second guess myself on whether or not I should have darkened the sky.

Alas, the problems of being an artist.

Thanks for stopping by!

Drinks on the House!

8"x12" oils on canvas paper.

I set up the photo for this back in January of 2023.

You may be thinking, Wow! I bet that was a fun day!

Sorry to disappoint, but it was all an illusion of colored water with a little oat-milk

for the creamy looking drinks, some real fruit added for good measure, and

I also used some photos of drinks I pulled from the internet.

Not one drop of alcohol was consumed (don't think I'm opposed to a good cocktail), but the next day I had to call sick into work with what felt like the worst hangover I've ever had. Hmmmm. Weird. 

Power of suggestion????

Anyway, after I recovered, the first stab at a painting looked like this:

I did it on canvas paper because it was just a fun study.

I wasn't happy with the balance of color - warm colors on the left, cool on the right. 

So, I just chopped the right side off and blacked out a couple of the cocktails. 

In February of the same year I had gotten this far, experimenting with color in the background for energy.

I decided I didn't like it. I was done.

Recently, I've been going through old projects. Either throwing them away, or working it out. 

I decided to save this one. Not one of my finest - but finished.

Thanks for stopping by!