"Snow Spilling"
I think I've confused my scanner and my computer with my use of color. This painting is way more brilliant in real life than it is here.

I've named this Snow Spilling because the snow has captured dominance of the landscape. It built up until it's covered the peaks and is cascading down the breaks in the cliff tops. As fall progresses, it's going to cover the foothills in a deep blanket. It will control the land until spring arrives and the snow rules no more.

This card is for sale here.
donna

"the offering 4"
Took me all day to do this little art card. In between spraying weeds and cleaning off the front deck, mopping the floors and a few other little chores. I liked the way I made the jewel glow in this one. It might not show up on a monitor, but in real life, this red gem really has a shine to it. I put white paint under the red on the top half and glazed red onto it. From there, I added some shiny acrylic glazing medium. This one glows from within.

What the heck? I'm having fun...Donna

"the offering 3"
Here's another "offering" painting. You wouldn't believe how hard these are to make. I spend more hours on them than I do a painting of a horse. There are probably 25 layers of glazes and objects in this little painting. The richness of color is wonderful when you see them in person. You almost feel like you're swimming through a universe of some kind.

I suppose I'll have to make some more....
donna

The photo above was my reference photo for the painting at the top of this post. My subject is my horse, Class. Her registered name is Crescent Lass. She's a retired race track mare.

As my paintings sometimes go, I thought I was going to do a realistic portrait of my girl...I thought I'd make the wind blowing a little harder than it is here in this photo. I got started with the paint and I was working on the horse. I thought why make her brown, I think I'll make her grey. All of a sudden I wasn't painting Class any longer. I played with the paint until I had trees behind her, snow on the ground.... I began to think about a sunrise we saw in Iowa when we were driving truck... The title came to me! I'm going to call this "Dawn of a New Day".

The nice thing about a reference photo is this. It doesn't have to tell you what to do or what the painting you make from it will become. You can let your painting be whatever your imagination wants it to be. Sometimes I have a wild imagination. I admit it. That's the fun of being able to create new worlds on paper and canvas..
donna

"the offering 2"
To be honest with you, I've never seen the attraction of abstract art until lately. Someone told me, "It doesn't have to be anything...it's what YOU see in there. Once they told me that, I started looking at a blank canvas in a whole new light. It's so funny what will influence a person and what won't. That statement influenced me a whole lot!

Doing these little abstract paintings has my mind buzzing with new ideas until I feel I'm in the middle of a cyclone! They're all bursting to come out at once. Thank goodness for ACEO's. I can turn them out as fast as I want because they're small.

When I look at the first "offering" painting I did, I had the feeling of a garden. This one almost gives me an underwater feel. Now I scream my head off when I see a snake, even though I know they're harmless. Even rattlesnakes move out of your way if they get a chance. Even though I embrace the idea of a snake, and I don't want to hurt one, I don't like them. Seeing one, will force a gut wrenching scream out of me in a second.

But here I am painting these snake like forms. I don't understand it. These forms, seem more to me, like innocent, curious little creatures, reaching out for something they want, but they're afraid to actually touch it. They might not be totally snake like, they could amorph into blob like shapes if they wanted to. They could be underwater, in a garden, in outer space.... You see how my mind is going on these creatures and where they might appear next, or what form they might take? Perhaps I'm losing it after all?

Don't worry, I won't stop painting horses. Along with my realistic horses, you might see horses beginning to show up in these wild paintings. Who knows?
donna

"the offering"
It started out as rhubarb leaves and turned into this. My paintings are taking over more and more, to become what they want to be. It's a neat process. It's like a dance. Each move you make, requires another move to counter balance the move you made before. The painting is done when it balances out? I don't know.... You'll have to figure that out for yourself.

Now to get serious about this. It started out from the rhubarb plant like I said. I then started thinking of the garden and how a garden offers up it's delightful fruits and vegetables for us to eat. From there, I began to think how God offered Jesus to the world. That's why the title of this painting is not even capitalized. It's humble, like Jesus was. And he's still free for the taking from anyone who accepts the offer.
donna

"Dappled Drafter"
I love dappled horses. There are certain times of the year, when my Class has dapples on her brown hide.

I have photos on my blog on prior pages of this draft horse and his dapples but I finally got around to doing a painting of him. He'll be in my ebay store for sale.

This horse had such a sweet, innocent look on it's face.

It sure feels good to be painting again. I don't know why I stopped for those few days except there was so much work to be done and I wanted to get at some of it.
Donna