Ted DeGrazia -1909-1982

Ted DeGrazia became one of Arizona's most prominent
painters.  He lived most of his life near Tucson and worked in his studio that he called "Gallery in the Sun".  This is where I visited his work.  He's known around the World for capturing the spirit of the Southwest and its people.  I fell in love with his face and needed to paint him in pastels.. 

Indian Girl

I saw this Indian girl when I visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  I took her picture and she looked so proud.
I believe she comes from the Hualapai Tribe.  They manage the Skywalk...Today the tribe count is about 2300 members.
Peach Springs is the tribal headquarters. where.they operate a Hotel, Restaurant and a gift shop.  The tourist industry offers them opportunity for employment..  I loved  her colorful dress wear.

BREE

I've been away for awhile because I bought a new computer and up to this moment,  I'm not sure how I got to this point so I'll continue before it goes away.. LOL.   My daughter showed me this picture of her friend's little girl and I fell in love with the photo and needed to paint her.   She had such a natural expression on her beautiful face  and of course I loved her hat.! !    Last night I returned from vacationing in Arizona and I took so many wonderful photos.  If you have never visited the "Skywalk" on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.. please add it to your bucket list.!!!

Courtney

I painted this portrait of Courtney a few years back but held on to it until my daughter said it was okay for me to post.  You see,
Courtney and a few other kids were on their way back to College during the icy winter when her car ran off the road and this beautiful young lady died at the scene.  Just recently my daughter gave Courtney's Mom this portrait and she was so appreciative..
and told me that it was beautiful and that she would forever treasure this painting..  I didn't know her, but I still feel so incredibly sad that she had to die so young..

Hyla

This precious little girl is my brother-in-laws great grandchild, Hyla.
I found the reference picture so perfect for this portrait...why is it perfect?...no teeth!  LOL.  I feel so comfortable painting this in pastels but I would like to paint this in oils someday.  I'm still experimenting with colors and blending, but would love to at least try.....A definite challenge !!

Dutch Country Road, PA

We were heading home from one of our vacations and decided to go through scenic Pennsylvania.  The reference picture was somewhere in Lancaster, PA.  Thank goodness there are still many farms and wide open land left in PA to enjoy. Unfortunately,
so many areas are being sold off to build more developments...it's
so sad!  Do we really need more homes?   I'd rather have the farms.  I guess I don't  like "change".   I really enjoyed painting this in oils.   A portrait next...

Cali

Cali is a 2  year old rescue dog that was found as a stray in the streets of California and shipped to New York because they claimed that they had too many small dogs.  We named her Cali for short!  She's a Chihuahua/Italian greyhound mix and she's a sweetheart.  She had some issues the first two weeks that she was with us but now she's a good little girl!!  Adopting from a shelter was the best thing I did because there are so many animals that need homes and lots of love!!!   She came to us already trained which was definitely a plus!  My heart melted when I first saw my little girl in the shelter ...I knew then that she found her "Forever" home.

West Virginia

The reference picture for this oil painting belongs to my Nephew
who recently vacationed in beautiful West Virginia.  I love traveling through here but I'm so happy that he was able to take this perfect shot.  Maybe someday I'll find this place and enjoy the beauty as well.  I enjoyed painting this scene. !!

Audrey

This  is a commission I did of a "young" Audrey Hepburn for a
Beauty Salon in Farmingville, N.Y.   Audrey Hepburn  was one of my all time favorite actresses who I loved so it was easy painting
her.   I remember as a teenager trying my best to look like her..LOL  ....It didn't work!!! 

Claire Beadon Carnell's MOM

Sometimes we are lucky enough to visit our fellow bloggers and see a picture that comes out and says "please paint me"!   Some time ago, I visited Claire's blog and she had posted a picture of her Mom....When a Mom passes away, part of us die with them..so needless to say, I needed to paint this portrait of her beautiful Mom for her....Claire, I hope you like this painting.
For those who have never visited Claire, you can find her lovely work on http://clairebcarnell.blogspot.com ....She does beautiful work ...many of her landscapes are from her hometown State of Pennsylvania.

Fire Island Lighthouse

A few months before Hurricane Sandy hit, I went to see the Lighthouse and took some nice reference photos for this painting.
The Fire Island Lighthouse has been closed because of some damage since last October and just re-opened on Memorial Day.
The damage was minimal but Sandy heavily damaged access routes to the site.  I enjoyed seeing the wildflowers while walking on the Boardwalk near the lighthouse.

Old woman in knitted hat

I didn't know what to paint for the "moment" ,  so I went to Morguefile.com and found this lady's face that "called" me so I had to paint her..I loved all of her "life" lines that seem to have many stories behind them.  I really like this website,  but they only supply the picture..and I always love to know the story behind the face.  I
loved the vibrant colors in this piece as well...