What a great Santa and a happy little girl!

Opening gifts, oh, what a fun time!  Papa, Lilli and Colin.

We had such a great Christmas with all the family at home...Todd did a quick snap shot of us, unfortunately I lost Lilli's face in it all!

Christmas 2011

My three grandchildren reading a Christmas book...Colin is not so happy as Faith and Lilli are!  I guess he wasn't thinking it was so much fun!  It was wonderful to have them all together.

Now am I just a little prejudiced or is Lilli cuter than Shirley Temple? Todd's cousin's wife, Michelle, is a fabulous photographer and this is one of her best, I think!
My sister Nancy Dean gave her this princess coat and hat. Just lovely!

Vicki's dog, Chewy

I enjoyed painting my sister's beautiful huge dog, Chewy. They found him in Italy, he was a stray who was abused by the Italians, mainly because he is so big and I imagine was looking through all the garbage bags.

Chewy is not so well now so we are all thinking about him and wishing him a return to health very soon. He is a very sweet, loving dog.

Lilli is face painting Papa, she has a butterfly on her face, not very good paint, but fun anyway!

I was thrilled that my pastel painting 'Nocturne on the Front Range' placed Third in the Capture the County Show this weekend. This pastel is 24 x 36 and is framed with museum glass...really was beautifully framed by Mike Otteman of Loveland. I took the reference photo from my car as I was just zipping through Loveland from Longmont one evening...the sunset was just beautiful and I loved the snow fields in the front.

This is one of my favorite paintings...called Winter on the Big Thompson. I have to crawl over tons of snow and when I got exactly right for the photo, my camera batteries were dead! So, I went all the way back to my car, stepping in my former footprints which were about 18" deep. I was so thrilled that I actually had two batteries in my van...and got the pictures! I have done two award winning paintings from this snowfall...what a beautiful day and a beautiful river, runs right through Loveland.

This was the sunset from our deck this weekend. Is it beautiful or what? Lucky to live in Colorado, I was shocked how cold it was in California, now I have been just soaking up the warmth and sunlight here! Love it.

Essene of Spring in National pastel Show

I am excited that my pastel painting, Essence of Spring, was chosen by Juror Richard McKinley to be in the Pastel Society of Colorado National Pastel Show, Mile High 2011. This painting is 20 x 36 and is framed with a hand made frame by Mike Otteman of Loveland.

The opening of this show is Saturday night from 5 to 7 at the Curtis Events Center in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The show is supposed to be one of the best of the year in Denver, so stop in if you have a chance. It will be open for the next four weeks.

Cottonwoods in the Snow

I am so thrilled to show this oil painting in the Plein Air Artists of Colorado Show to be held in Saks Gallery in Cherry Creek in South Denver this June and July. The opening will be June 24th from 5 to 8. This is a wonderful prestigious gallery just down the street from Cherry Creek Mall and features the most famous artists around. How exciting! I will also be demonstrating there on July 5th from 10 to 12. The show runs through July 10th so stop in if you are in Denver!

Dale and Lilli enjoying the Rio

Here are Dale and Lilli enjoying the Rio. She had a great time throwing pennies in the big fountain and asking each of us for our wish. What a character!

Here's the whole Colorado gang on Mother's Day. Todd, Liesl, Lilli, me, my sister Vicki, Dale and Vicki's husband, Neil. We just finished visiting the local brunch restaurant and are enjoying the sunshine.

Towards the Foothills

The foothills are beginning to green up and the trees are slowly leafing out, this has been a slow spring, but the flowering trees are finally in full flower.
I love all the apple, crab apple, plum and fruit trees in Fort Collins. Right now you can drive from one end to the other and see flowering trees on every street. I rarely paint the flowering trees and they seem to be pretty "spring specific" but maybe this year...!!

Norwegian winter

I received this photo from my friend Sigmund Aarseth a few weeks ago. He and his wife Ingebjorg live in this beautiful log house in Norway. I think they have had a lot of snow this year, but what a beautiful day this shows! I have been to their home a couple of times, it just reminds me of Monet's house and garden as they have built it and maintain the garden for Sigmund's gorgeous paintings. He doesn't have to walk far to see a paintable subject.

Into the Swamp, Pastel, 20 x 20

Hopefully, back at my blog! I haven't had very good luck posting because my computer (with Windows 9) became incompatible with blogger. So, I am now on my NEW computer with Windows 7 and it is compatible with everything! Why do they invent new things that are incompatible if I may ask? Wouldn't you think it would get better...and not worse with a new "upgrade"? Windows 9 seems to be incompatible with so many things, I don't know why they even bother with it. Thank goodness I hadn't "upgraded" my new computer yet, just getting used to it!
This painting, "Into the Swamp" has won an Honorable Mention at the show at the Madden Museum of Art in Denver. Very exciting! I had entered it in several shows that it wasn't accepted into, just goes to show that jurors are "incompatible" also! Whatever. It is very frustrating to be an artist these days. What I think is my best work seems like it takes so long to break into shows...am I a futurist or what? Ha.

On the Way to Steamboat over Rabbit Ears Pass

This is from one of the photos I took while leaning out of the van in the midst of a snow storm going over Rabbit Ear's Pass on the way to Steamboat Springs.
It is one of the paintings that I am showing at Art on Mountain Gallery this weekend. Come on down and see my work,I have 14 paintings, some of them new right off the easel.
I have been painting like a crazy person all this fall and I have 30 new paintings, but not all of them are presentation ready.