I have been drawn to portraits for years, so it was only natural for me to explore portraiture once I started drawing and painting.  Painting portraits of living people can be tricky, though.  Winston Churchill famously burned a commissioned oil portrait capturing his appearance in his retirement years because he hated it.  It was a good likeness, but he was wounded by how the artist viewed and portrayed him, to the point that he threw a high-quality piece of original art by a celebrated artist into a bonfire.  I like painting and drawing people, but I’ll likely do it for my own enjoyment and not on commission.  Instead, I explored the world of pet portraits about three years ago.  I can still capture faces, personality, and expression the way I see it, without wounding someone’s vanity!  Now that I have quite a few pet portraits under my belt, I’ve learned

Late last summer, I received a message from some Instagram friends I met through the Lucketts Fall & Spring Markets.  “Would you like to sell some of your original oil paintings in our space?”  I had considered getting a booth to sell some original oil paintings in antique frames, but I would get overwhelmed at all of the logistics and set the thought aside.  Maybe I will one day, but this offer gave me an opportunity to test the waters without having to fill a booth myself and be present all three days.  So, I said yes and partnered with Tim & Jodie of The Past Restored.  (You can see the finished paintings in THIS post.) I was able to finish four paintings in antique frames, and here is how they looked in their booth last fall. I actually didn’t get to see my paintings in the space in person