yes I've been painting lots of things- otters, cats, dogs and DONKEYS. Did I mention that I went to visit my friend Nancy at her ranch in Hastings, and got to take a ton of photos of these incredible creatures? So be prepared... there will be a few more of these!
I love the length of their faces and that tufty, rough, grey fur, and those long soft looking ears...
Oh and those EYELASHES!!!!
So sweet~
There's still time if you were hoping to have a pet painted for yourself or a friend! Get on my list asap though!
This is a sweet kitty for a friend~ the photo wasn't well lit, but I think I managed to get some life in there!
And there's still a couple spots left in this coming Saturday's Paint Your Pet class! 1:30-4!
This was a demo, maybe last week I think? For my painting class~ we were doing 10 minute paintings and talking about using limited brush strokes and I think that's what this was- Its a sweet little merimac teacup, a sage green with a creamy inside and the shape sometimes defies what your brain is telling you...
I have a couple more Paint Your Pet classes this November, and then maybe a couple in December but we'll see about that, so there is ONE this Sunday the 23rd, and one a week from this Saturday just after Thanksgiving on the 29th- you can sign up here! Right now, I am REALLY needing the meditative sweep of my paint brush to pull me into the present and stop worrying (at least for a minute) about everything...
Come paint with me!
It really is like yoga for your brain...
I just wanted to put this here so you'd be sure to see it!
PAINT YOUR PET One-Day Class Opportunities in NOVEMBER 2025!
"Come Have A Cup With Me!" This was a demo painting from my last painting class, and it was a push to my students to paint a simple still life BIG! Stacking the cups does make it a little more complicated, and I am pretty happy with how it turned out!
That white cup just glows and the brown middle mug is velvety dark, and the shadow worked out well too!
Sorry, I haven't had the kind of time lately to get things done, and Max has a sore throat and a bit of a fever so I'm distracted, and he's also supposed to be doing tech for the Roosevelt School One Act plays this week! I'm trying to find a link- Here's the address- Roosevelt High School 4029 28th Ave S, Mpls 55406 and the plays are FREE! This is 3 One-Act plays, directed and performed by students, each about 30 minutes with intermissions between each, and we'll have home-made baked goods for sale ($1 each!!!) to raise money! Duane made a HUGE batch last night of pumpkin cookies and chocolate chips and snickerdoodles!!! ALL GLUTEN FREE!
And this is Max!
This one has more muted and neutral colors than I usually use, and it is a funny size too, 10 3/4 inches by 4 3/4 inches, so it's a little under $100 bucks and I'm putting a hanging system on the back so it can hang immediately, cuz framing it might be pricey...
I love the fluid motions and that open back paw- look at all the toes!!! Do we still call them Toe Beans on wild animals?
I gotta get down to the zoo! All these are from past photos and I was hoping for some new ones! And we don't have that many days left in October!!!
I don't know exactly why I need to spell BABIE this way, but for some reason, this otter painting requires it... if you know why, please let me know! This is a sea otter, not a river otter, and I love them just the same. They do lead very different lives from their river-dwelling cousins. I wonder how each would do in the other's environment? River otters don't have the fluffy-ness of a sea otter, and that's what gives them floatability (can't think of the proper word at the moment- it'll come to me later...) and insulates them against the cold and wet. I believe river otters are also waterproof, but I don't know that they have that extra floaty- layer....
SO interesting! And that's called SCIENCE, right? Biology! SO interesting~ I wanted to study animals as a kid, be a veterinarian and work with critters all the time, but I was thrown off by the math involved. I mean, I'm happy with my life as it currently is, but what would have happened if I'd been more encouraged towards math?
Hmm. I don't think I've ever wondered that before! This is a real stream-of-consciousness kind of post, isn't it...
This is one I painted a while ago, and I didn't have time today to paint one yet! I love getting those colors on the water, light reflections against dark, pops of unexpected color... so fun!
She's one of our sea otters at the Minnesota Zoo, out towards the Northern Trail. I have to get back out there again soon!
Happy Indigenous People's Day! I love listening to the Current because they are so good at playing such a wide variety of music and they are taking advantage of today to play lots of great native pieces!
This is an otter that I painted larger at one point, and so I did a tiny version so I can try to keep painting an Otter Every Day, or Every Otter Day for the month of Otter-Tober!
Getting those little claws in and the light on her face was super fun!
Oh and there's still a few spaces open in my next Paint Love Classes at my studio in the Ivy Building in South Minneapolis! We will meet Saturday mornings for 6 weeks, 9:30-noon starting October 25th! Come join us!
I like this one! I've been really trying to catch the feel of the otters in their environment, underwater, and the color of the water is different from some of my favorite older otter paintings, where it's mostly greens and turquoises...(like this one, and this one)- water looks more lavender-grey, and I want it to look as action-y as the older ones...
I do feel like I got her cheeks and whiskers and eyes this time! I had to gesso over her eyes once to get them a better shape~ I really like how she's looking at us! It's not quite a total side-eye, but enough that you get it!
Here's anOTTER otter for you! This one was a bit trickier because the photo is blurry and stuff isn't as clear. I'm still pretty happy with it- those eyes- all that play, swooping and sliding and zipping around underwater- greens and blues and purples...
Otters are amoong my fav subjects~ in case you hadn't noticed....
This is a favorite of mine, and any time I bring it along to an art fair or exhibit, people gravitate to it. I think it's because the otter is really looking at us, there's a sense of being seen by her, of the fact that she recognizes you are another living creature like her. I love that.
I also really love the water in this one.. the abstract quality, trying to let my control go over what I think water should look like, and letting it be as I see it. That's tough, actually. Anyone who's tried to paint a paper bag knows that!
This otter was so happy to see us when we showed up at the zoo! It was just a bit after 9am and we didn't have a lot of time and I wanted some otter pics, so we hustled to the Minnesota Trail and there she was, flirting and floating and diving and just really looking at us! When they are under water like this, their eyes are SO dark and luminous- can you see the little glow in there?
I'm having fun with this!
I have a few of these cute little triangle canvases so there will be a couple more otters painted this way because I like this format. This little guy just seems to be wanting to come up and say hi~ and to let you know he thinks you're pretty awesome!
SO it looks like if I don't paint every day, I can paint every OTTER day...
Hee!
I'm loving my search through my photo archives for good otter pics! These are pretty much all the river otters in the Minnesota Zoo~ playing in their tank so I get a great underwater view. I love the ones where there's some reflections from under the water, and also the ones where the otters break the surface tension and you get to see above AND below the surface, like this one!
Yes! I'm going to attempt an OTTER-Tober painting challenge! I will paint an otter a day (or every OTTER day maybe) for the month of October! Some of these will be auctions, some will be direct sales, and you are welcomed to comment and offer me some ideas of titles and puns with otter in them!
Thanks everyone!
So every year at my school we do the Blessing of the Animals, and I paint the pets after they are blessed, along with my talented colleagues and sometimes a talented and generous student or two! This weekend was realy great! I had gessoed my paper so it was a little easier to paint on, rather that the last year when I've just used good black paper, where the acrylic just soaks into the paper with no surface glide...
So I feel much better about this batch! Ten little paintings in a bit over an hour on a Saturday morning!
Here's the first 5!
Wow! I had such a great time at LOLA this weekend! Thank you everyone who came through our studio! I know it's a walk from the front door all the way to the back where we are, and I appreciate those of you who undertook that pilgrimage to come find us in my space! We will be having another event for the holidays on Dec 6 from 11 to 5 or later, so put that on your calendars, and we will have MORE guests in the hallway!
I always appreciate it when someone wants to take my work home to live with them~ and it is especially fun when it is a piece that I love as much as I do this one!
