I have recently been painting a number of things, both for the classes I just finished as well as just for fun on my own. Two of these paintings I did for my 30 days of painting. Both of them I used for inspiration and practice for my 6 week art class. One of which I made into a bigger, more finished painting. The last one I did as a large finished painting.

I have also learned how to create a watermark for my online images. Adding art to anything online means to some extend it is available to be stolen as well. I am hoping this will reduce the ability to do so at least a little bit.

The first, I love how the mountains look when the clouds are low and you can see mountain peaks above the clouds. I hadn’t done the clouds, or even a misty look like that before, so this was my practice piece. Later on in class we did a misty lake with fall colors behind it. But this was my favorite one. Probably because I had more time to paint it, and it wasn’t painted upside down, which is how I usually paint when I’m teaching a class.

On a side note, drawing upside down and painting upside down can sometimes help you create a better picture. There is a whole course about drawing on the right side of the brain, it’s a good way to learn how to draw, especially if you don’t think you can. I have tried many of those exercises and they are fun and surprisingly accurate when I’m done. It’s a good brain workout.

The second picture was inspired by one of my students who wanted to paint a moose. I have painted a number of moose, but all from photos I took out my windows or door as moose have wandered through our property. I didn’t really think any of them were the right look, so I scoured Pixabay, which offers free to use reference photos, and found one of a moose in Denali National Park.

I painted it once as one of my 30 minute practice paintings and decided it wouldn’t be too hard so I took it to class and we painted it there. We didn’t have a chance to finish more than just the moose in class, and I didn’t get the moose completely done there anyway, but it seemed to be looking alright so I took it home and finished it. I really like how it turned out, so I’ve added it to my stack to digitize for cards, prints, etc.

When I paint finished pieces at home I almost always painting large scale, at least 11×15 inches or bigger. I hadn’t done anything like that for a couple of months because of my classes, so about 2 weeks ago I decided I needed to do a bigger painting. I had found a picture of a red Grosbeak bird that frequents Alaska bird feeders in the winter. I loved the bright red against the bluish, wintery background.

I finished the bird a couple of days ago and loved how it turned out. This one has been digitized and will also be added to my collection for making prints, note cards, mugs, towels, and so much more!

None of these have been added to my website yet, but I will get them on there hopefully soon. I need to revamp my store front so it’s a bit better organized. But in the mean time, if you’re in Alaska, I will have them at the next 2 markets that I will do in person, as well as at Meadow Lakes Market in Meadow Lakes.