Center Of His Own Attention

24x36" oil on canvas

If it's Thursday it must be Print Day. On Thursdays I am featuring paintings that sold while the paint was still wet. The pieces that were snatched up the minute they were posted. But no worries, I have made them available as prints.

I have partnered up with Imagekind to offer some of my most popular paintings as prints: big prints and little prints, prints on canvas and framed prints--all at very reasonable (ie: gift-giving) prices. I have been very impressed with the quality of the prints I have ordered from Imagekind and I think you will too. From now until Christmas, I will be featuring one painting every week-now available as a print. If you'd like to see all that are available hop on over to my Imagekind Gallery.

Three Wise Guys, #2

30x24" oil on canvas, sold

Another version of the Three Wise Men. Slightly irreverent but oh, well...maybe next year I'll paint their wives: The Three Wise Women. I'm guessing they'd skip the frankincense and myrrh and bring a casserole instead. Just sayin'.

Hop on over to my website to see more of my paintings and if you're interested in gift-size pieces for the holidays, check out my online store. Ho Ho Ho!

Three Wise Guys #1

12x16" oil on canvas, SOLD

aka: The Three Wise Men. Just a little twisted holiday humor. I have a weird fascination with the Wise Men...I like to paint a new version every year. Tomorrow's post: The Wise Guys #2.

In the meantime, the angel ornaments are flying out the door. If you are considering purchasing one (or a family of angels) now's the time. Stop by my blog for a detailed description and the ever-easy Buy Now button. Each one is hand-painted by yours truly and sells for $25. 'Tis the season!

Three Wise Guys #2

30x24" oil on canvas, available 

Three Wise Guys...aka: The Three Wise Men. Same deal. Just a little twisted holiday humor... 

$2320 + 22.50 shipping

Out of the Vault: Diamond Boys

20x16" oil on canvas

Oy vey! I ventured out today into the world of cheesy Christmas presents, blaring Christmas music and cranky consumers trying to be cheerful in spite of it all. Complete mind-numbing overload. Next year, I'm thinkin' Hanukkah is the way to go. Spread it out a little...seems like a good idea to me.

I'm pulling some festive favorites out of the vault this week; can't seem to get to my daily paintings between the designated Santa duties and preparing for my January show. Note to self: never, never plan an exhibition that hangs a week after Christmas. Geez! Going sideways tonight...

Elfin Burnout

5x5" oil on canvas, SOLD
Symptoms of "Elfin Burnout" include, but are not limited to: forgetting where that really great hiding place is where you hid the perfect gifts, seriously considering the virtues of wrapping all gifts in newspaper (it's green) or plastic bags from Target (hey, they have that festive red and white design), finding yourself counting the days until Dec 26 (not the 25th) and telling your daughter, when she asks what you really want for Christmas, a long nap. And meaning it.

Marvin And Teensy

8x6" oil on canvas, SOLD

Is it just me or is the Holiday Hoopla turned up full blast? I know I'm getting a little wiggy already. Not good. As I cross-reference my calendars (yes, an absolutely necessary survival skill) I see that I have two Holiday coffees to attend, two more Christmas parties (one at my house), my daughter's Sweet Sixteen party (23 hormonal teenagers), two more carpool turns, three doctor/dentist appointments, four more birthdays thrown in and just in case, I'm not having enough fun, my Mom is coming to visit for a week. I'm just a little tense. Can't imagine how I'm going to paint...ho, ho, ho!

Guardian Angel Of Wavering Sanity

10x8" oil on canvas, SOLD

Have I mentioned that I went to Catholic School? Most of my pre-college days were spent under the tutelage of the glorious Sisters of Charity. I have very fond memories of the etchings in my bible history textbook from those days. Scary, actually. Ask me someday about the poor folks that didn't make it to heaven. Enough to scare the hell out of a little kid. Anyway, rather than use my brain cells to memorize the history of the bible, I spent a lot of time thinking about the pictures (a visual learner). I was always stumped by the angel's halos. How did they stay on? With bobby pins? Velcro? What? I prayed for the answer. Years later, I had a fabulous professor of Art History that described this particular style of angelic headwear as "Pie-Pan Halos". I love that. Still not sure how they stay on but at least they have a really great name.

Christmas Angel Of Commerce

8x10" oil on canvas, SOLD

I'm just a tad bit overwhelmed with the whole Christmas thing this year. The past few years I have been finished with the shopping by Halloween. (I know, I know...a little over the top.) But this year I've been so busy with painting that December 1 rolled around and I realized that Santa was MIA. What followed was not a pretty sight...gnashing of teeth, biting of knuckles and plenty of whining. But in the end I decided to put on my big girl panties and shop! I learned that you can cram all your Christmas shopping into one five hour online extravaganza. Just grit your teeth and click. Now let's give thanks to the Saints Of Free Shipping.

Frosty The Snow Dude

6x8" oil on canvas, SOLD

My friend, Eve, said I should definitely paint Frosty for my Christmas series. So here he is, Eve. I had to really think about it, though. I have a serious "fear of cute."

Three Wise Guys, #1

12x16" oil on canvas, SOLD

Three Wise Guys...aka: The Three Wise Men. Same deal. Just a little twisted holiday humor...

Frederick And The 4 Santas

18x26" oil on canvas panels, contact me for purchase info

OK, so am I crazy or what? It's not like I have so much spare time that I'm just looking for fun projects to fill my days. But this project was so creative and challenging, I just couldn't pass it up. This is my version of a Christmas tree done for the San Diego Art Institute. It is actually four Santa paintings in a tree shape with a feather bird nest on top (that's Frederick, the bird). It will be on exhibit and available for purchase along with other artists' versions of Holiday Trees during the upcoming December Nights in Balboa Park on December 7 and 8. Ho, ho ho!

Rudy Seriously Considers Going AWOL

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

Talk about pressure. Rudolf has the weight of the world on his shoulders on Christmas Eve. Enough to make any self-respecting reindeer consider going south for the holidays.

Woodland Elf

8x6" oil on canvas, SOLD

‘Twas a month before Christmas
And all ‘round my house
My sketchbooks are full.
There’s paint on my blouse.
I’m making a list
And checking it twice,
Wondering how in the world
I’ll ever survive.
There’s presents to buy and merry to make.
Big trees to trim and cookies to bake.
In the back of my mind
I know I’ll get it all done.
(The spiked apple cider will make it more fun.)
But if the truth be told,
(And usually it ain’t),
I’d rather hide out in my studio,
Just me and my paint!

Partridge Looking For A Pear Tree

8x6" oil on canvas, SOLD
The American Heritage dictionary defines partridge as "Any of several plump-bodied Old World game birds, especially of the genera Perdix and Alectoris, related to the pheasants and grouse." So there you have it. Plump-bodied and sitting in a pear tree. Go figure! In any case, this is my first of holiday themed paintings. Not your usual Santas and pretty angels. But my slightly twisted take on the Christmas frenzy. Ho ho ho!