Happy New Year

It's winter now, but I was thinking about spring. I remembered all the beautiful olive trees in the Galilee (Israel) on one of our trips there. I designed this from 4 different photos.  There had been a lot of winter rain so water was running between the trees. Oil painting, 11" X 14" on stretched canvas.

I was playing with leftover colors on my palette. This cat study was inspired by a sculpture seen in Joseph, Oregon.  I don't know if I'll finish it or make a larger one. It was just a fun project.

Happy 2019 to all.  I'm enjoying the mild winter in Boise after so many hard winters in New England.  The foothills (small mountains around Boise) are covered with snow, but the city streets are all clear. We've been able to walk around some of the parks and on the greenbelt (along the Boise River) with our dog since there is no snow and ice on those. I'm looking forward to 2019. We hope to take a trip to Alaska in June. I'll have lots of subjects to paint then!

I'm not taking any formal art classes now, but still studying from books and DVDs. There is so much to learn and my poor brain does not remember it all.   I  just decide on a subject, draw out a composition and try painting it, attempting to remember some of the principles learned earlier. Some succeed, others fail. It's o.k.  I look at all the failures as learning experiences.