More Mowing

6" x 6" oil on panel
$75.00 + $10. s/h
contact me if interestd

It's really helpful to me to paint the same subject several times. The shapes seem easier when repeated often. And, goats are just big shapes.

Mow, Mow, Mow Your Goat

6" x 6' oil on panel
$75.00 + $10. s/h
please contact me if interested

Each year 500 goats are brought in to Bear Creek Park from Wyoming to eat noxious weeds, especially California thistle. Goats have a stomach system that easily digests thistles. A temporary fence is put up, 2 sheep dogs herd and watch the goats, people are entertained. The weeds disappear, the ground is turned over by hooves, natural fertilizer is spread, and no chemicals are used. A great situation for all!

I wiped out this piece 2 times before I started painting, because it looked so silly. Finally I decided it wasn't my drawing skills, but the goats themselves that are silly looking. Their mouths turn up, they appear to be constantly smiling, even while they're chewing. They're always happy looking.


This is a small portion of the herd. I did not think up this clever title; I have to give credit to the local newspaper.

El Burrito

6" x 8" oil on panel
$75.00 + $10. s/h
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I wasn't sure if this was a mule, donkey or burro. So, I got out the old Webster's Dictionary and looked them all up. To teach you what I've learned:
burro: A donkey, esp, a small one used as a pack animal.
donkey: 1. The ass. 2. A stupid or obstinate fellow.
ass: Any of several quadrupeds smaller than the horse, and having shorter mane, shorter hair on the tail, and longer ears.
mule: A hybrid between the horse and the ass; esp. the offspring of a male ass and the mare.

So, this confused me even more. He's small, so he may be a burro or a donkey. He looks like he has horse in him, so he may be a mule. He seems stupid and obstinate, so he may be an ass.


We were driving home from fishing and he was walking around enjoying the afternoon, all by himself. When we stopped to look at him, he walked right up to the window.

For Vincent

16" x 20" oil on stretched canvas
$495.00 + $10. s/h
contact me if interested

This is my submission for Michelle Burnett's Following the Master's blog. When I taught middle school I often did units on famous artists. Van Gogh was one of my favorites. I would read "Camille and the Sunflowers" to my students and we would discuss many of the social issues in the book. In the story Vincent had very few friends; but, he was friends with the postman and his son. The son was very upset because the people in the village were mean to Vincent and threw rocks at him. Additionally, no one bought his paintings. Many great conversations developed with my 12 year olds about how Van Gogh's life might have been different if people could have accepted him with all of his illnesses, and how wealthy the ancestors of his patrons might be today.

Lower Gold Camp Road

11" x 14" oil on stretched canvas
$245.00 + $10. s/h
SOLD

This view is about a 30 minute easy walk from our back gate through Bear Creek Park trails. Or, in my case, a 5 minute drive around the north side of the park to a pull off on the side of Lower Gold Camp Road. As sometimes happens, the oranges and reds in the photo are just a little stronger than in my painting.

October Trees

6" x 6" oil on panel
SOLD

This is another piece from last month's colors. September and October are beautiful in Colorado. November is an in between month; both color and season wise. It's no longer fall, but not yet winter. The colors are muted and subtle. For me, this month is a time to finish unfinished pieces, work from studies and photos, and get back to still lifes.

Morning in the Park

11" x 14" oil on stretched canvas
$245.00 + $10. s/h
contact me if interested

Once again, this is Bear Creek Park, next to our house. This is from a photo taken on an early morning walk several weeks ago. I've done several pieces from those references. The lighting, colors, mood (I've decided mood means the mood of the artist!) were all perfect that day.

The rusts/reds are a little stronger and blues a little darker in this photo than in the painting. I encounter this off and on and haven't quite figured out how to adjust it.

This bike path was built a few years ago. It meanders in a circuitous path around our side of the park. In the summer there is a community race every Wednesday evening, and several very large regional races on set weekends. We joke that we don't need to spend the money for a trip to Europe to see the Tour do France, that we can sit on our deck and watch bike races for free!