Eeny, Meeny, Miney Mo

8x6" oil on canvas SOLD

Remember when you were a kid and this is how you made decisions? If only it were that easy now...maybe rock, paper, scissors?

This is an attempt at making the background a bit more important in the painting. It's where all the secrets are hidden, all the weird stuff that's going on in my head while I'm painting. Pretty scary, huh? And here's one of those tiny bits of data my brain tries so desperately to hold onto: Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo was a song by Billie Holiday. (Hope my link works so you can listen to Billie).OK, there. I can let that little fun fact float away and make room for something equally as important...

Flipside

24x36" oil on canvas  

Here's another oldie but goodie--truly one of my favorites. It sold long ago and is part of a wonderful collection of Southern California contemporary artists' paintings. I've always been so proud to be included in that collection! Anyway, this painting is among the few pieces that I have released for prints, available through my ImageKind Gallery. 

On another note, I am putting the finishing touches on my new Fairy Tale series and getting ready to hang the show on October 6. I'm always amazed at all the little details involved in getting ready for an exhibit. Jeez! I need a secretary. And a nap. Probably both.

Thanks for hanging in there with me and I promise you will start seeing the new paintings here very soon!

Small Stuff, a whimsical mother and child portrait in oil

6x8" oil on canvas SOLD

How many times have we heard, "Don't sweat the small stuff."? Like we have a choice, right? Well, I guess you can decide if you're going to get all whipped up over running out of peanut butter or arriving at the movie 10 minutes late when you love the previews almost as much as the movie itself. But when it comes to the offspring I sweat every little dagnabit thing. Am I alone here or what? Really. My name is Brenda and I'm a worrier. So this is my little homage to those of us that still worry about the small stuff--even when the small stuff towers over you and pats the top of your head! Worry on, mama!

Don't forget to visit my website to see my large format oil paintings!

Hanky Panky

12x16" oil on canvas

Check out my ImageKind gallery for this painting and several others that are now available as prints. You can choose from different sizes, paper or canvas and framed or unframed.

And I promise that very soon I will be posting new work. I have five brand new large paintings (36x24") based on Fairy Tales; Rapunzel, Little Miss Muffett, Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk and Four And Twenty Blackbirds and then eight small sized individual portraits of Snow White's uh...Little People (politically correct, of course). And, yes, there's eight...there had to be a woman keeping all those little guys in line! And, in my opinion, Snow just wasn't all that dependable. These are all for my upcoming solo show in October. Can't wait to post them!

Stop by my website sometime to see my large format paintings and to get the latest on upcoming exhibits.

Imaginary Friends

18x24" oil on canvas

This week I am featuring some of my all time personal favorite paintings. A little walk down Memory Lane for me (and maybe you, too). Most of the pieces that I am posting are long sold...however, prints of this piece and several others are available in my ImageKind Gallery. It's really a great option if you missed out on the original painting but would like to have a high quality print. You can choose from prints on paper or canvas, framed or unframed and many different sizes. And the prices start at around 30 bucks for a small size print on paper. Not bad. So stop by ImageKind to take a peek at my oldies but goodies print gallery.

Tweet L. D.

8x6" oil on canvas SOLD

Earlier this week, I sold one of my favorite paintings, FeatherBrain, to a collector in Washington D. C. It's funny how some paintings just feel close to the heart and are tough to send off to their new home (even though I know FeatherBrain will be surrounded by several other of my paintings). So I decided to paint another little guy with a funny hat and a bird perched right on top. Inspiration courtesy of FeatherBrain.

Visit my website to see more of my paintings.

A Spot Of Bother In The Garden

36x24" oil on canvas

Although the original painting of Adam and Eve has long been sold, you can get high quality giclee prints at ImageKind. I have several pieces available in my ImageKind gallery, mostly paintings that previously sold. And you can choose your preferred size and the option to frame. So if you missed out on one of your favorite paintings it might just be available as a print!

Carol And Lionel: Party Animals

8x10" oil on canvas, SOLD

I have been "power painting" for days now, gearing up for ArtWalk this weekend. I'm feeling just a little delirious tonight...blame it on the turpentine or maybe it's the blinding light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know. But I'm almost there! Come see me at ArtWalk Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27, 12 to 6 both days. I'll have 40 original paintings, prints and my book, About Face. Hope to see you there!

Peacenik

8x6" oil on canvas, available HERE

One of my favorite quotes seems just perfect with this painting:

"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room." --Anita Koddick

Tootin' My Own Horn

8x10" oil on canvas, SOLD

OK, not real comfortable with this but.....gotta do it: YAY!!! WOO HOO!! SOOO COOL!! Today I was interviewed by the editor of Art Calendar Magazine. She is writing an article about yours truly to be featured in the May issue!! OK, breathe........I feel better now. More to come....

Ramon's Secret Sauce

8x6" oil on canvas, SOLD

Once upon a time I worked in a Polynesian restaurant while I was attending school. Ramon, the bartender could whip up the most amazing tropical cocktails, the likes of which I have not experienced since. When my mother visited that year from the midwest (a far cry from anything tropical) I planned a special dinner at the restaurant for my Mom, complete with a Hawaiian lei and, you guessed it, one of Ramon's fancy-schmancy drinks. Well, my mother never made it to dinner. The restaurant started spinning and teriyaki chicken didn't sound very appealing. An innocent victim of Ramon's Secret Sauce.

Pea Bea And Jaye

Two 8x6" oil on canvas, SOLD

Here's my diptych! These two belong just belong together. They are distant cousins to Flipside, a large painting I did last year. It's hanging in the "Opposites Attract" Show in Houston right now. And these two are hanging (around) in my studio!

Jaye, Part B

8x6" oil on canvas, available on MY WEBSITE

OK, here's the second half of my diptych. Yesterday was the first half and tomorrow I will post the whole enchilada (or sandwich, in this case). If you can't wait until tomorrow you can see it on my website. Lately, I have received many really sweet and flattering emails/comments about my paintings and I want to thank each and every one of you. I read them all and sometimes I'm not as quick about answering as I want to be....ahhh, the wonder/frustration of art in the cyberworld. I find it just mind boggling that, today alone, I've had visitors to this very blog from Singapore, Finland, Canada, Slovakia, Italy, Dubai, Paris, New York and Eden Prairie, Minnesota. (OK, I can't think about that too much or I'll get a stomach ache.) But it is so wonderful that my artwork can be seen all over the world. It's also really scary that my artwork can be seen all over the world. For me, it's all about the journey and sometimes on this journey I make a painting that I'm truly proud of. And there are plenty of other days where the painting is just plain pitiful. But, good or bad, every painting is part of the journey. And it's so nice to have my own cheering section lining my path.

Pea Bea, Part A

8x6" oil on canvas, available on MY WEBSITE

This is the first half of a diptych. I'll post the second half tomorrow but if you just can't wait you can take a peek at my website. It will be posted there in my "Little" Gallery. Any idea what the title of the second painting will be? Go on--take a guess. Look at this title (that's a clue).

Bird Whisperer

8x6" oil on canvas, available HERE

Tonight it's all about the picture. Too tired to string the words together...

Cedric Suffers From Balloonophobia

8x6" oil on canvas, SOLD

You know that feeling when you're just waiting for the balloon to pop? The one that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck? And you feel all jumpy? I hate that feeling. So does Cedric. We both have a severe case of balloonophobia.

Brain Vapors

16x12" oil on canvas, SOLD

This wacky little painting just got into the juried Regional Show at The San Diego Art Institute! Woo-Hoo! The artist's reception is February 29, 6-8pm. If you are in this neck of the woods, do drop by. In addition to some inspirational contemporary art there is always quite a spread of tasty snacks. Open to the public. Tomorrow I will post a second painting that was juried into the 1 Foot show, running simultaneously. And wait a minute, there's more...tomorrow's painting won the Juror's Choice award. Tune in tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, if you're wondering what Brain Vapors means...it's just a polite way of saying "Brain Farts". Somethin' new every day...

Pinkie And Topper Collide

8x10" oil on canvas, available in MY EBAY STORE

Sometimes the best way to get two faces on a canvas is to overlap them. When I do a painting like this I end up thinking how communication could be so much more efficient if we could just plug our brains into each other and let the neurons do the talking...

Love In The Air

6x8" oil on canvas, SOLD

This painting is actually a study done from a larger piece I'm working on of Adam and Eve and that hissy little snake in the Garden of Eden. Kind of backwards. Usually you do small studies for a large piece to work out the kinks before you commit to a huge canvas. But I love the way Adam and Eve are turning out and wanted to play around more with the whole eye contact, love at first sight idea. Of course, on the larger canvas there's room for a lot more detail so it is much more conceptual. But this little piece gave me an excuse to visit the Garden of Eden again, minus the slimey reptiles. I'll post Adam and Eve as soon as they are photographed.

Copycat

8x6" oil on canvas, SOLD

...or "Stop breathing my air!" Dedicated to the brave and unwavering parental units on the front lines of sibling warfare. Every single day. This, too, shall pass.