Happy New Year!

Happy 2015!  I've had a great start to the year! Thanks to the Shain Gallery for my first sale of the year, and thanks to Coca-Cola Corp. for not only including my work in the upcoming book on the 100th year of the bottle design, but for touring two of my paintings in a year long, 15 country tour along side the work of Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and more!!  I am so thrilled to have my work included in this show!

I spent a lot of time last fall in NYC- watching football games, exploring museums and neighborhoods and spending time with my two favorite people in the world, my kids!  My plans to move there are shaping up and I am trying to sort and organize ( not my strong suit) things before the big move.  In going through my things as well as my parents household, I am struck by the things we as humans keep and the things to which we attach value.  I have started a series that reflects this.  here is one of the first paintings.

Trying to Keep It Together
oil on canvas
18" x 36"

Shain Gallery

I am so pleased to now be represented by the Shain Gallery in Charlotte, NC. 
PLease stop and say hello if you are in the area!

Pickle Juice Jars 48" x 48"

Three Ideals 48" x 60"

Shain Gallery
2823 Selwyn Avenue  Charlotte, NC  28209  
704.334.7744   
shainart@earthlink.net 
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday, 10-5

Thank you for your patience..

The last 8 months have been filled with heartache, change and turmoil, and I am so grateful for your patience as I took time off to process all the emotions and loss and change that has happened.  I am now getting back in the studio and feel more like myself again.  I am loving painting and am thankful for commissions and upcoming shows that are keeping me busy!
Here are a few new works.

Just Add Sugar 30" x 72"

Bounty 48" x 72" (commission)

Lemon and Limes 36" x 60"

Happy Thanksgiving

Sorry for not posting a lot lately, but I did want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving with wishes for all a joyful and blessed day for each of you.  Here are a couple recent paintings...a mason jar painting and one from my NYC series..

Quick Seal 36" x 60" oil on  canvas

Shoe Shine 24" x 36"

Hope to see you Sunday!!

 

Mansfield Art Center
700 Marion Ave. Mansfield, OH 44906
Hours of Operation: Tue - Sun 11am - 5pm, Closed Mon
P: 419.756.1700 F: 419.756.0860

Foundation Gallery:

Contemporary Realism | Sally Tharp | June 30 - Aug.18

Opening Reception | Sunday, June 30 | 2-4pm

A few small works and a trip to the big apple!

I have been regrouping the last few weeks and have really enjoyed working on smaller paintings.. And next week I'm off to NYC to see my 'baby' girl and celebrate her 23rd birthday with her!  Also gonna do a workshop with the amazing Max Ginsburg!  Can't wait! :)

Seltzers 8" x 8" oil on board

Adding Some Zip oil on board 8" x 8"

Daffs  10 x 8 oil on board

Deer Skull oil on board 10" x 8"

Winter Storm Warning 18" x 24"

Chocolate Milk 8" x 10" oil on board

Waiting for Spring 6" x 6" oil on board

Color Palettes

The past couple of weeks I played around with some different color palettes and really tried to focus on the color harmonies as I painted.  

For Medicinal Purposes Only 30" x 40" oil on canvas

 And, yes, more dead birds. :)

You Call I Cry 8" x 10" oil on panel

You Fall I Die 8" x 10" oil on panel

 

Facing Fifty

On Friday of this week, I turn 50 years old!.  I don't feel "50".. not even sure what that is supposed to feel like.  Most days I don't think about it, and when I do, I feel like the same awkward, outsider girl I was in high school and I certainly don't feel like a "grown up" even though I have lived this long and have raised children to adulthood.  So to record this milestone in my life, I painted a self portrait.  I wanted it to be a little naked and raw.  No makeup, no hair style, no jewelry, with the scars and wrinkles I've earned along the way.  Just me, reflecting on getting to this point in my life.

Facing Fifty oil on canvas 20" x 30"

Home Sweet Home!

What a wonderful, crazy week we have had.  A week ago today we unloaded paintings and then enjoying a nice afternoon poolside at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island.  What an incredible place, we felt so blessed to be there!  That evening I did a painting demonstration for The Wells Gallery "Art Uncorked" event in the resort.  I had a great evening talking with, and meeting people from all over the country.  Mary Ellen got the "furthest drive award" and I was so glad she came and we got to talk a bit! Thanks to Hume, Emily, Kelly and the staff of The Sanctuary for a wonderful time.  After the show, we headed north again so we could make it home for our youngest son Ty's last football game of the season Friday night. (They won!)  Saturday was a day filled with family, friends, amazing food and some Halloween fun!  We started off the day with a quick visit with our oldest daughter, Cat, who had just driven in from NYC for a wedding and my fathers' 86th birthday party.  We then went to see oldest son, Connor, at ONU for lunch, drove on to Heidelberg Univ. to see our second oldest daughter, Kaleigh, play is the high schools' district volleyball game (they lost :(.. ) and continued on to The Culinary Vegetable Institute where we changed into American Gothic zombies and enjoyed an amazing meal prepared by Executive Chef Tony Dee of Eddie Merlot's for their October Earth to Table event. On Sunday we celebrated my dad's 86th in style with family and friends and tons more good food as Chef Tony and his lovely fiance', Kacey, came and stayed a day with us before heading back to Indianapolis to finish packing to move to Chicago this week.  His parents, our dear friends, Vicky and Dave, finally made it home to Virginia Beach through Hurricane Sandy yesterday, just a day or two later than they had planned. Cat and her boyfriend, Nick, made it home Sunday evening/Monday morning deciding to ride out their second NYC hurricane in their apartment with their cats on the upper east side.  Phew! So glad everyone is home safe and sound! Such a good week, but I have to admit that I am still catching up on sleep! 
Some paintings I took to The Wells Gallery;

Front and Center oil on canvas 60" x 36"

Making Connections oil on canvas 60" x 48"

One Big Pickle oil on canvas 26" x 54"

Sound of Surf oil on canvas 48" x 60"

Saturday Morning oil on canvas 36" x 60"

Down to the wire...

I am working diligently on finishing up the last few pieces for our trip south at the end of the month.  Having said that, I was able to sneek a few days to do two smaller works that will be auctioned off at the Veggie Institute dinner, created by the amazing Chef Tony Dee, on October 27!  http://www.culinaryvegetableinstitute.com/cvi_cms/129.html  The proceeds from the monthly dinners go toward a program that teaches kids where the food and veggies they eat come from. It's a great event for a great cause!!  If you'd like to bid on these, let me know and I will pass your bid along! 

Root Veggies  16" x 16" oil on panel

Colorful Carrots 6" x 12" oil on panel

BTW, I loved painting these veggies and can't wait to do more!

Two recent paintings..

My New Year's resolution is to post more often and more images!  So I will start a day or two early with one painting that was a Christmas present, and one painting from our trip to NYC in Oct. when they had that freak snow storm!  Great photo ops there even though my husband and daughter were getting a little annoyed with all my picture taking. :)  But on the flip side, I have a whole lot that I'd like to paint from that trip... and they still love me!  It's all good!



It's Five O'clock Somewhere
12" x 9"

















Against the Wind
60" x 36"



Grandma's Things

I have been wanted to play with fairly monochromatic still life's for a while now.. I think it will help me with refining color choices and really thinking about what I want the painting to say.  I was pleased with the way this one turned out.. I am looking forward to trying more!  Have a great weekend!



"Grandma's Things"
oil on panel
16" x 20"





Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!  This year's resolution is to be far better at posting on my blog!!  I have been especially negligent these last few months!!  The problem comes when all I want to do is paint.. but I do realize that I need to take time to keep my blog and website current.  So my resolution this year is to post at LEAST once a week... (also to lose weight, exercise more, not waste time.. etc)
I had taken a few small paintings to the Brandt Roberts Gallery in Columbus and have heard that they, along with "Bottlenecked" have found new homes so I took a just completed painting down on Tuesday called "On Edge"  24 x 48"



I'm also attaching an image of a new series Ive started.. this one is titled Awakening 48" x 60" more on this series soon!!

Catching up.. Jadite 2 and The Rebel

I was in Vegas last week with my husband for a business trip.. and this week am getting ready and decorating for Halloween but wanted to post a couple of paintings that I have recently completed.. I really loved painting the jadite bowls.. but am taking a break from them and have started two smaller mason jar paintings that I hope to have done by the end of the week!  And... speaking of Jadite bowls.. I am so happy to hear from the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento that one of my paintings (That's Life) in the still life show there has sold.  Thanks to Elliott, Michelle, and Cynthia for the beautiful show you have put together!  Please take a minute to follow the link.. there are some amazing artists and wonderful works in the show!


Jadite 2 48" x 60"





The Rebel 48" x 48"



Two Openings at once!

"White rabbit, white rabbit"!  My mom has always said that first thing on the first day of every month for luck.. and today there are two events upon which I'd like to bestow that luck!  The first is the opening of the Invitational Still Life Group Show at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, CA.  There are some wonderful artists in the group and I am honored to have been invited to participate!   Below are my contributions to the show...

That's Life 48" x 48"

Red Marble 24" x 24"

And the second event is the opening of the new gallery in Columbus, The Brandt Roberts Gallery.  I am looking forward to a long and happy relationship with them!  Good luck to both galleries!
Have a great weekend!

"Shells of our Former Selves" and "Return for Deposit" paintings are headed south!

I'm so thrilled to hear that the Wells Gallery has sold "Up Front and Slightly Off Center" and has asked for more work. My friends Vicky and Dave, who were here visiting their new grandchild, were kind enough to take these paintings home to South Carolina with them, to be delivered to the Well Gallery this week! I will miss them and am wishing them safe travels!

Return for Deposit 16" x 20"

Shells of Our Former Selves 24" x 48"

It's been too long! New paintings, "Bouncing Balls" and "Life"

Sorry.. again.. for the lack of posts here! I promise I have been painting! Summer is a crazy time, but school starts tomorrow for the kids and I will have a bit more of a schedule, albeit a hectic one! I'm thrilled to tell you that I have had a painting, Michael's Marble, accepted into the National Art Encounter 2010 in Naples, FL! I won't be able to go to the opening, but I will be well represented by my great friends, Mary and Jon!

Also this past week I had my first official gallery visit by a new gallery that will be representing me. The Brandt Roberts Gallery will be opening on Oct 1, on High St. in Columbus with the grand opening on Oct. 29! We had a great time and I am looking forward to a long and successful relationship with them.

I am posting a painting that I sent to the Wells Gallery last week.. (along with "Meeting of the Minds" and "Up Front".)

Titled, "Bouncing Balls"..
36" x 60"

Two new paintings! Gettin' Steamed and Meeting of the Minds

I've been keeping very busy here.. getting back on track after the big move! I think I have figured out where most things go in the studio and am trying to get organized.. (as organized as I can be... my skills leave a bit to be desired) Just today I received my new shipment of art panels and I will be painting again through the weekend!
I am posting two larger scale paintings of the mason jars.. (I have to sneak one in here and there between the smaller still life paintings for the show in Oct.) These paintings are very different from one another but I like them both. Gettin' Steamed is really bold and strong and Meeting of the Minds is very soft and quiet.. I really want to keep Meeting of the Minds for above the bed but I paint to tell a story and I already know it so I will share it with others.
Have a great weekend!

Gettin' Steamed 40" x 50"


Meeting of the Minds 36" x 60"

Studio and Last Man Standing pics

Better late than never!! Here are two pics of the new studio... one from the inside out and the other from the outside in! I love it!! I am still settling in but painting every day too!

I am also posting a painting that I finished last month and never got to post.. with all the moving and chaos. Title "Last Man Standing" (40" x 50"), it is a painting of stacking wooden dolls/toys, these from the 50's, that are called Bill Dings... get it? Buildings?? Even though I never had them as a child, I love them and play with these guys all the time in the studio. They are still made today, but now they look more like clowns and are kinda creepy. I like the round old goofy guys like these!

Have a great weekend!

New studio, New Painting!

Sorry to have been away so long! So much going on.. all good!.. and never enough time to get to everything! For the past few weeks we have slowly made the move into my new AMAZING studio (pics soon) and just last night got the Internet hooked up there so I'm back in business! I still have a lot to move (books!!), but it will all wait until the weather cools down and my back is feeling better!!

My first painting in the new studio was of our bed.. something I walk past all day, but something about it on this particular day struck me and I snapped a picture. I titled it "the Invitation" because it looked so inviting to just crawl back in bed.

36" x 48"

I will be busy for a while painting for a still life group show in October at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, CA. I am thrilled to be a part of it and am excited to get to work!

Another still life show is in the works for 2011 in Columbus so I will be painting the summer away! I promise studio pictures soon!