Happy New Year!

Cimarron Alpenglow 15" x 30" oil on panel

Her Sweet Happiness 14" x 14" oil on linen panel

Space Traveler 8" x 8" oil on panel

 Greetings! It's been too long since you've heard from me here! I've recently deleted both FB and Instagram, deciding ultimately that both platforms have become too politicized for me.  It was a somewhat difficult decision since it started out to be such a great way to keep in touch with family and friends and I've had some success in marketing my art business that way. Unfortunately, it has become a source of  anxiety in my life and I've decided that to concentrate more on my blog/website and email list.  (please email me privately to join my email list where I regularly let my patrons know what's going on in my art business/shows/sales etc) 

Kind of a diverse group of paintings but these are some personal ones for me, and so I'd like to share them with you here on my blog.The marvelous view that I've translated into an oil painting of the Cimarron Mountain Range is mine from my living room sliding glass door.  This view reminds me daily how fortunate I am that I'm able to live in such a glorious place.  It changes with every hour, as the sun comes up from behind those mountains, illuminates first the trees and landscape in the foreground, then ultimately the alpenglow appears on them for a very few precious minutes at the end of the day.  My intention is to have painted the range in every season!  

The old woman in the second painting above is my sweet Oma! (german for grandmother)  She had this sweet parakeet that she called  her "Schnookie".  The bird had a cage, but he was mostly free to fly around the house and even drank soup from Oma's kitchen table where she warned him not to "burn his schnabel!" (beak)  My eldest sister took the photo reference when she lived with my grandmother in Brooklyn in around 1978.  I've entered this one in an upcoming California Art Club exhibit.  I hope the jurors find this couple as captivating as I do!

The lower image is going to be entered in another California Art Club exhibit, "Mars: An Artistic Mission"  My son, AJ is the subject.  He was my choice for a "fictional future space traveler" because he's always had such a fascination with and a healthy respect for space.  Using him as a subject however was a bit challenging because of our distance; AJ lives in Queens New York, and I'm here in Colorado!  At my request, AJ sent me photos that would match the lighting and position of the helmet reference I had in mind for the painting.  I imagined a future where young people would travel regularly within our galaxy and they might even keep momentos (stickers) from places they've traveled on their helmets. (the way people in the early to mid 1900's used to commemorate their travels with "luggage stickers") In "reality", on February 18, 2021, the Mars 2020 spacecraft-Perseverance-will land at Jezero Crater on the red planet!

I hope you enjoyed this little peak into the Tin Cabin Studio.  Ideas of future posts are already flooding my mind!  Stay tuned for more!