One from the new collection of ‘ville dyr’

 

Super excited about the feeling of this bear!

I love the moody nature of this painting!

All I needed was to get beyond the ugly 

I’m not feeling a thing at this point

Things start out with a good idea

This will be a collection of ‘ville dyr’ wild animals in Norwegian that I am currently working on. Digging deep into my Nordic roots because I do love bears and forest animals. Only a few brown Eurasia bears live in the north of Norway. Polar bears live in Norway but off an island in the north. Red foxes are everywhere but arctic foxes are in the north. And I cannot forget the moose! Moose road signs are everywhere. Still I have yet to witness one. These are only a few of the wilds that will be a part of the series. So excited 🇳🇴

From sloppy copy to final tuxedo cat portrait

Sloppy Copy Pencil Sketch

Starring Trixie!

The nearly finished portrait

Vintage Swiss Made Caran Dache pencils

Tiny 6"x6" practice painting!

Happy New Year! To start the new year off I felt it was about time to paint TRIXIE the sassy tuxedo kitty cat from the lovely nordic neighborhood in Norway. I have been drawing small thumbnail sketches on hot press watercolor 4"x6" paper which is absolutely bokehlicious- new word using Bokeh from photography that refers to the soft buttery background of an image. This paper has that feel and I could probably use other mediums to test it out but for now the vintage Caron Dasche color pencils from the past works well. I love my pencils and it was about time to resurrect them and bring them back to life. Step 2 was to actually paint on a surface-so the tiny 6" x 6" practice painting on canvas board turned out just how I imagined with loads of texture from a repurposed painting from the past. I find that the more layers that are added the more interesting the look I am aiming for. The 3rd step in this process was to paint on these ready to hang ALSO repurposed round wall art decor pieces with a sturdy metal ring for hanging that I found at a super bargain! They originally had some word art that said-'too old for that sh*t' or probably more like 'home sweet home'-so instead I sanded, gessoed and painted with acrylics a traditional like pet portrait of her-again there is texture and interest and mystery in her eyes-what in the wild wild world of sports is her brain thinking? What cats do best-not much-but enough to bring me daily joy. 

Just making some things in 2025 and letting other people see it

The Gallery wall AFTER

Bear Night Christmas Ornament

Bear Bright Christmas Ornament

Snow Bear Christmas Ornament

Brown Bear Christmas Ornament

Black Bear Christmas Ornament

My Teddy Bear Ornament 

The Gallery wall BEFORE

The Gallery wall AFTER

Swapped a black console for a white one and tucked the ornaments in-between

As you can see I finally painted the studio wall chalky black by Glidden Diamond 'Black Magic" in eggshell finish. Before the makeover, there was seriously nothing going on here on this sad end of the studio room. Simply dull and full of ridiculous art and home storage which is now organized mostly. So here is my inspiration story-One of my favorite shopping event stores of all time ever since I can remember in Omaha Nebraska was a unique gift shop/art gallery called 'The Afternoon" at a still to this day thriving mall- 'Westroads'. Unfortunately, "The Afternoon" closed its doors in 2020, but my memories are still pretty vivid. It was dark and moody (black painted walls!) with floor to ceiling gift and art pieces for sale, kitchen gadgets, decor, books, greeting cards, Christmas decorations and TOYS! You really lost yourself while browsing for neato stuff. It was magical. My sister Christmas gifted me about 30 years ago a crystal cat dish made in Japan from this charming boutique that I still possess (Thank you Kay!). I actually do own a couple of tchotchkes believe it or not-and this one should make its way to the gallery soon because it is a cat after all. So truly the vibe of this lovely store is where I was going with my own personal gallery look. My pieces of art (all of these are original acrylic paintings-except for the 2 bottom right cat art pieces that are digitally drawn-available in my Etsy shop!) are mostly cohesive as they are either animals and flowers or rather animals in flowers with some wild animals thrown in along with the "wild" flowers with a couple of halloween ghosts with a similar color palette-pinks-naturally. It's a group of smalls so I can make the bigs next year. This is my artist gallery wall-not a group show wall-(all works of art are available for sale on my website!) 2026 will be a very cohesive body of work as I plan to be working A LOT. The "Black Magic" paint color is fitting yeah? 

It's a bit over stuffed with my current art pieces which is just how I like it for now. 

Orzo appreciates it as well.

Feeling grateful

 

At Melissa's Home, Weston NE, 2020

At Lucy's Home, Omaha NE, 2015

Back in the spring of 2005 after my husband died I had an opportunity to take a road trip 

with Leia, my 10 yo daughter, mother in law Nina and sister in law Annette and naturally the small lap dog furby my blonde Pom to the lovely state of South Dakota to get away for a long weekend to soak in some much needed nature and wildlife. It was an easy trip and as close to the Colorado mountains as we could get and also for us all to witness buffalo herds in the safety of our car. That was a moment. 

Getting to know James side of the family more, to bond and to have those memories tucked in my brain is truly a blessing. 

For every family gathering since then up until last thanksgiving I could always count on Annette to be right by my side at the big girl table with a plate of the best meal chatting and learning about ourselves doing dumb things, our sisters, kids and of course her beautiful grandkids. 

Both of us were unfortunate young widows in our lives and had so much in common. 

I will miss this the most. 

She was another sister I never knew I always wanted. 

Thank you Annette ❤️❤️❤️

October stuff I’m working on plus the all new 2026 Dogs calendar!

 

DIGITAL black/brown bear...

TRADITIONAL brown bear...

2026 DESK calendar!

New 2026 dogs large wall calendar!

Tuxedo cat Trixie lives in moms garden Norway 2025

 

Spunky Trixie kitty cat is living her best cat life in mom’s garden in Norway. Adopted last October, the first couple of months she was an indoor cat, walked around on a leash, and soon by springtime, was trusting enough to run free in mom’s garden. Her tracker says she stays close within the cozy garden and an occasional neighbors perfectly manicured lawn watching the robotic mower. She has not murdered any birds yet that we know of. Instead she will spend just hours watching the Nordic finches, magpies, blackbirds and crows. (Idea for a series of paintings!) She also partakes in short walks around the block with us. Is fully aware of the car danger and then turns around to the protection of moms garden. I played cat toys with her the entire ten days I spent with my family. My Norwegian home has not had an animal in the home for over 30 years! It is fantastic therapy for her! So I insisted mom spend her mornings and evenings playing on the floor with her silly catnip toys to build the bond. This trip forced me to document with videos more than still images which is a first for me being the photographer and I have a video project in the works coming soon not on this blog-videos do not flow or upload well here so it will be added to my channel on YouTube instead!

Nebraska, cats, dogs and ghosts-making stuff to sell!

Space dog design for Tshirt, tote and sticker available soon!

Irl portlandia doggie dog

Nebraska bird migration keychain design 

Sloppy copy of the western meadowlark and crane bird Nebraska design 

Day ghost in blue garden 5x5 wooden panel with possible frame

Ghost cats Halloween ornaments available soon!

Ghost porch decor 

Day ghost in pink garden 5x5 acrylic painting on wood panel

 

Halloween in July-prepping for the season!

Spooky in the garden painting on wood panels 

Spooky in the woods on canvas panels 

Michael’s art shop has all the trendy Halloweens

Pink and black palette 💗🖤

Green and black palette💚🖤

Bath and body is trending pinks💗

And ghosts👻

Green and black palette is hot🔥