What beautiful roses I have been blessed with this year!  As I lie on my chaise lounge and look at my roses, I see the sun dancing on their petals.  I chose the two that caught my fancy and painted them with much delight.

This painting will be in a virtual juried show, Jas 17, Belmararts.com, 5/16-6/18/22.  The virtual reception and announcement of prize winners will be May 16,2021 at 5pm.

There is nothing more magical than a special dream.  I dreamt I was standing before a shimmering gold tree that was whirring with hummingbirds. My first thought was to reach for my camera. But in the dream, I didn't have my camera or my phone.  So I just stared at the tree, deciding to internalize what I saw.  Living truly in the moment.  When I woke up, the image was still with me, so I painted it. I like to analyze my dreams.  I can't come up for a reason for this one, except that it was a beautiful gift, and something I can return to whenever I want to feel that kind of bliss again.

This painting will be part of a virtual Exhibit: MEMORIAL MONUMENT MOVEMENT, March 24/2021- June 24/2021.  This is an International Show inspired by the Black Lives Movement.  It will be on Instagram @artagainstracism_org.  I am deeply honored as I was told my painting was selected from 1,000 entries. Let's hope things change in our country so the need for such paintings will become extinct!

All flowers are special and I love to paint them.  But these pink tulips were something else!  Outside, freezing temps and snow,snow,snow. Inside, these Valentine tulips which actually glowed.  I love pink and green, and the green vase embraced the pink tulips.  Of course,I was inspired to paint them, and this Oil, 20" X 20" is the result.

I love trees. I love to breathe in their smell and hug them.  I appreciate that they show us what season it is, and are always beautiful, even in Winter.  But I have learned so much more from the book, THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES, by Peter Wolleben.  Trees take care of one another.  If a tree needs nurture, it extends its branches to the neighboring tree, who responds with loving embrace.  That's what's happening in this painting. The tree on the left is my favorite tree, that I hug in every season. It is old and weary and it is reaching toward the tree on the right, which reciprocates in kind.  This is how we should all treat each other.  What a wonderful world it would be!

I find deer so inspiring.  Something wonderful has happened lately.  When I walk my dog, Snowball, around dusk, we see deer and the deer see us.  Snowball doesn't bark.  All is still. In that stillness I feel something magnificent pass between the deer and me.  There is something greater than the petty differences that keep people apart.  There is something greater, which I feel, in the presence of deer.

Sylvester, the Tuxedo Cat, adopted our backyard and garage several years ago.  He has become my muse (see the Sylvester page on this website).  He tolerates my presence in the backyard, as he suns himself and gives himself a bath.  He lets me take his photo. But he is a free agent who doesn't usually linger very long.
This idyll was interrupted when Snowball, the West Highland Terrier, came into our family.  We adopted him, and I love him like a son (see the Snowball page on this website).  He is sweet as pie and wouldn't hurt a fly, but he is a dog and a Westie at that, so he is very territorial.  He loves our backyard because it has many wild spots where he can dig and do a ton of smelling.  He's a regular detective when it comes to smelling.
He and Sylvester always seemed to be in the backyard at different times.  Sylvester had probably learned Snowball's schedule and stayed clear.
This beautiful summer day I was on my chaise lounge reading a favorite Alexander McCall Smith novel (Isabel Dalhousie, THE GEOMETRY OF HOLDING HANDS).  I was getting lost in her philosophical musings and how we should all treat each other with respect, when I heard a strange whirring sound.  The air around me seemed to change.
I looked up to see Snowball, now a fierce Highland Warrior, chasing the startled Sylvester around in ever narrowing circles.  Then with one swift leap, Sylvester jumped the fence, leaving little Snowball, who can't even manage to jump on our bed, in the
dust.
They're brothers, but like Cain and Abel they haven't learned to get along!
Anyway, they both are an inspiration to me, and this is their first painting together. Acrylic, 24" H X 24" W

Hubert and Kalisa were a famous lion couple at the LA Zoo.  They were famous for being in love with each other.  They met at the Zoo in 2014.  They grew old together, (age 21). They should have been allowed to go into that sweet sunset together.  Unfortunately, they were not allowed to die naturally. This breaks my heart.  But hopefully, they will be remembered in the wonderful photographs taken of the two of them, and in my painting.  Oil, 20"H X 24" W.  I wanted to capture their being part of something greater than themselves, as those who are lucky to grow old together, in a long happy marriage, know so well.

These 4 paintings are in a Juried Virtual Exhibit at Colors of Humanity Gallery "Botanicals 2020" www.colorofhumanitygallery.com August1-August 31, 2020