Tent Rocks

       Memorial Week 2018 was great!  I spent the whole week visiting my sisters in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We ate a lot, went to Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, my youngest sister got engaged, and we hiked in Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument near Santa Fe, NM.  Being inspired by this beautiful monument, I painted a view from our morning hike.  

"Tent Rocks"

Oil paint on 8" x 10" canvas board

Here is the link to this painting:

"Tent Rocks"

Roosevelt Lake, Arizona Plein Air Oil Painting

     Well it has been a while since I posted... anything!  Life got to me and now I am back and plan to become more consistent in writing more art blogs!  I have new goals, a new family member (Ari 2 years old), new religion (Nichiren Buddhist), and I feel like a different person.  I am loving life though no matter what obstacles the universe brings to me.  I find those obstacles are there to better myself.
   
     I have been a fulltime hygienist at a really cool dental office, but still make the time to paint and enjoy my hobby as an artist.  I love to challenge myself in painting, critiquing myself to always improve in my skills.  This last Labor Day holiday weekend, my parents from NM drove to Tucson, AZ to go camping with us in their RV at Roosevelt Lake, AZ.  It was a beautifully scenic drive and we even hit some rain on the way back home from the trip.  Things didn't go as planned on the trip, but nothing is perfect.  I did, however, take the time to plein air paint in the early morning while the kids were asleep!  I loved it all!  I did have to finish up detail work so the landscape didn't look so flat.

"Roosevelt Lake"  

8" x 8" oil paint on canvas board

You can check out this painting here:

"Roosevelt Lake"

Four Oranges

The heat of the summer in Tucson, Arizona keeps me from painting outdoors.  So what do I do? I paint indoors.  The back of our house brings in abundance of western light.  I decided to start a citrus series using oranges, keylimes, limes, lemons, and grapefruit.  I placed each of the fruit on a white acrylic sheet to show the reflection of the of the objects in the bright light.  This was the result of my efforts of "Four Oranges" painted in oil.

This piece was done in once sitting.  I used bold strokes using a limited palette of red, blue, yellow, orange, and white.  I enjoyed placing each orange in this impressionistic still life.  I intended for the viewer to see this still life as if he or she could literally taste the sweetness of the oranges.  Whether my intention worked or not, I'll leave that to the mind of the viewer.

Shown are some work in progress pictures of "Four Oranges".  Enjoy!

Kona Sunset

One of my favorite places to be is near or on the ocean.  This Kona Sunset oil painting was inspired from a picture taken from the last day of a babymoon trip to Hawaii with my husband.  Our last adventure during the trip was to take a boat with a group of snorkelers to watch the manta rays feed at night.  Maybe due to a full moon, the manta rays failed to show, but the sunset was of good use! 

I used a combination of warm and cool colors to add variety, drama, and movement.  It was so fun to paint this!

Phalaenopsis Orchid

Phalaenopsis orchid blooms were the inspiration for this painting. Anything nature has to offer in its beauty, I love to emulate in my own version through paints. Before I painted this piece, I photographed the orchid in a bright room to find an image to show the beautiful petals in the daylight. I really enjoyed creating this piece using realism for the orchids and an impressionistic background.

Moonlight Beach

Moonlight Beach was the inspiration for this oil painting.  Located in Encinitas, California, it is one of my favorite beaches because there are no rocks in the sand.  I painted this in plein air, or on location last summer.  Wishing I was there right now!

Flying Saucer

"Flying Saucer" is an oil painting of a blooming echinopsis cactus.  It is a magnificent flower that usually stays bloomed for a day or two.  I painted this in an impressionistic style.  I love how big and beautiful these pink flowers get, about 7 to 8 inches across!

Bee and Poppies

   Our backyard garden in 2012 was the inspiration for this oil painting.  My husband took photos of this busy bee and the beautiful poppies.  I wanted to paint it.  I felt it was a good challenge and am happy with the way it came out.

Baby Blocks

I've been experimenting with a different subject matter that I typically don't do.  This one is of a still life of baby blocks.  This oil painting has a lot of symbolism, mainly the lettering and the pictures on the blocks that I chose to use.  The letter "B" is for Bodhi, my late son; "D" is for DeSantis, his last name; "Q" is for my friend Quiauna, she was pregnant during the time I was with my son Bodhi; the number "1" for Bodhi being my first son; number "2" for Bodhi being my second child; the picture of a present also represents my son (although he is not present, he was one of the greatest gifts I had ever been fortunate to have had).

https://www.etsy.com/listing/239038767/original-oil-painting-of-baby-blocks-on?ref=shop_home_active_1

I plan to make more nursery/children room related paintings, mainly to honor my son through my creativity.

Independence of a Three Year Old Girl

She is my inspiration, my daughter, my Carli.


I have always wanted children.  When I found out my first one was a girl (the day she was born), I was extremely excited.  She was everything I dreamed for a daughter, and she still is.

Three years old is here, and halfway gone.  Her independence seems to grow with her confidence.  I can imagine several parents with daughters her age can relate.

I painted this oil painting called "Independence of a Three Year Old Girl" because I wanted to show what this girly-girl does in her room when mom is not around.  Clothes fly from her top dresser drawer to the floor in search of the "perfect" outfit.  Her kid's table chair is used as a step stool, of course.

Fortunately, I didn't have to make this scene up.  She does this almost everyday (although, I tell her not to use her chair anymore...not too safe!).