Monday, August 10, 2015

Goblet, Napkin, and Vine

Going through my inventory, I find that I never posted this one on the blog! I completed it last September, then life must have gotten busy.


The green goblet had been in the studio for a long time, waiting to take center stage in a painting. The drawing behind it is one of a grape vine I did on location in the south of France a few years ago. Now to pour the wine!

Goblet, Napkin, and Vine

11 x 14
Oil on linen panel

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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

At the cabin, time and materials abound








Highbush Cranberry, watercolor,
12 x 16

It's berry season in the South Central Alaskan woods! This Highbush Cranberry is tart but flavorful, and full of bright red juice. I cut these samples a few hundred yards from my studio cabin.









Rosehips, watercolor, 10 x 7

The rose blossoms are gone, now here is the fruit, with leaves already showing signs of approaching autumn. Another specimen from around the cabin.






Amanita, watercolor and ink, 10 x 7

Here is an Amanita mushroom, with some of the forest richness attached. Not edible unless you want to go through a long process of leaching out the toxins, but a bright note in the forest. Another sign of summer waning, there were several just off the footpaths around the cabin.



Robin's Nest, pastel pencil, charcoal, and graphite, 12 x 16

The robin built her nest in the eaves of the studio cabin. Once the chicks were fledged, we took it down, as it was precariously balanced. The egg turned up on a footpath about 10 minutes away, probably part of a different nest. I love nests. This one has an orderly architecture of mud and dried grasses.



Black Cap Chickadee Nest with Eggs, silverpoint on prepared paper, 9 x 12

This specimen is from outside our house in Anchorage. We found it fallen from a tree, eggs all quite cold and some broken. In order to use them as models, I had to blow out their contents, difficult with an egg the size of the small joint of my little finger, but I managed it. The nest and eggs were delicate and light, perfect for a rendering in silverpoint.


For more information, and to find out about purchasing any of these pieces, please contact me at