Favorites Now and Then

Don't you think it is interesting how we all have favorite pieces that we can always live with no matter how old they are? That's the thing about art. It really just matters whether you love it. Sometimes we don't even know why. When it is our own art it could be many things--how we felt that day or at that time in our life. It could also be the comments we got from others, whether it made it into a juried show, the colors, and many other things come into play. Here are some of my favorites and the various reasons I like them.

Newer favorite paintings

Gazebo Cat with Pussywillows always reminds me of Bella, the Gazebo Cat, who would get up in the bird feeder waiting for the birds. She thought she was invisable.

The Gathering I did 2 of these at the same time and both of them were good. One got an honorable mention award, the other got into WSO (this one.) I just like it.

Tree with a View is all about a feeling--fog and blurred colors. It was juried into the Beaverton Showcase and I remember feeling very proud.

A Safer Place has never been in any big show mostly because it has gold metallic paint splattered on it which is not allowed in many shows. This one has a lot of texture and a lot of depth. It was in a juried show at the gallery and the juror actually wrote a note on a post it and left it on it saying something about how with all the texture it was pulled together very well.

Shell Vase was done at a beach house one day. It was an exercise in taking chaos and making something with it. There was a brass vase there that had an interesting shape that spoke to me. I love the complementary colors, too. I lose myself everyday in this piece as it has been on my computer desktop since creating it.

Textured Lady IV was one of a series that has evolved through time. It was actually in The Oregonian advertising my show "Looking Back at Ya!" The hair is collaged using letters from my Mother and other colored stationery letters that I purchased at an estate sale. It was my favorite piece in the show.

Older favorite paintings

Nasturtium Madness I love nasturtiums in the garden. I tend to plant a lot of them so that at the height of summer my garden looks like a jungle out there. I will always keep this piece. It represents home to me.

Abstract Poppy This was one of the first watercolor paintings that I painted over. I don't even remember what the original painting was, but it adds to the end result in an interesting way.

Fauve Banana I was living in Hawaii and had just gone to a Fauvist art exhibit at the Met in NYC and did this banana painting on a plein air field trip with my watercolor class. I immediately was taken with it. Probably because it was fresh, quick and the color is good.

Croton, I This is not a very good photo of this piece--it's rather washed out. It is the first Croton I ever painted. I LOVE CROTON... This one is very primitive and really not very well executed. I like the color and how I felt on that day. Just as I was picking up to leave, it started to sprinkle and you can see the raindrop water marks on the background. Can't get rid of this.

Do you have favorites too?