Paintings With Soul

  Opening Reception:  Saturday, July 27th, 4-6pm Exhibition: July 27th - August 25th   We're really excited about Mirada's newest exhibition:  WILD THINGS!  In 2009,   Mirada Fine Art   opened its doors with an artist that immediately grabbed the attention of all the new gallery’s patrons:   Jill Shwaiko . Her charming bronze critters (and oil paintings) brought smiles and laughter to all who encountered them. Her artwork is a whimsical contemporary take on ancient petroglyphs. Each figure tells a story. 15 years after joining Mirada, Jill continues to be a favorite for all those who walk through our doors. This will be Jill's first appearance in the gallery in the last five years. For this exhibition, Jill is being paired with Mirada’s newest artist,   Kimberly Santini . Kimberly is a master of capturing the allure and spirit of wildlife in an expressive and imaginative way. Her enticing wildlife paintings are unlike anything we've eve...

Cracker Jack.  16" x 20", acrylics on panel, $649. Inquiries may always come to   me . I am tempted to keep this one, but willing to allow fate to send her elsewhere, in case she's needed more by someone else. Spending time thinking about what makes my heart skip a beat, and why, so that I can incorporate it into my paintings. OKeefe (my hamster) is one of those things.

"Domino," 7-1/2" x 12," acrylics on museum quality panel, depicting a tender black and white kitten. Domino can be yours (talk about a low maintenance cat!) for $449, and that includes s&h to your door (inside the US). Please inquire to me . Also, in process photos are here . It's Time to pARTy!! So Domino, this sweet little guy, I think will make an excellent muse for this month's pARTy. What's a pARTy? Well, it's when artists work from the same reference to create work showcasing their own unique style. Domino's pARTy reference came from the website Paint My Photo - a great spot to find a little (or a lot) of inspiration. I've included the direct link to the photo , but ask that anyone participating does join the group (it's free!) and adhere to their terms of service (essentially only using their photos to make non-digital art, and the non-digital piece is their request, not mine). If you are p...

"Swishy," 18" x 24" x 1-1/2", acrylics on museum quality cradeled panel (no need to frame!), depicting an unusually still Border Collie (she's not always like this!). Reference photo used with permission from Linda Shantz  (my Derby date!). This painting can be yours for $2299, including delivery to your doorstep (inside the contiguous US) - inquire directly to moi . Oh, and there are in process photos  here. pARTy, pARTy, pARTy !!!I It's our fourth pARTY since the beginning of the year!   What's a pARTy? It's where artists use the same photo (with permission, of course) to create work. In this case, our muse is Swish , belonging to my friend Linda, who has graciously allowed us to work from her photo. (Please respect that this photo is being shared purely for the creation of artwork, and is not to be repurposed in any other way.) I take the pARTy one step further by creating a photo album on Facebook where arti...

IN PROCESS: "Dark Brown or Bay", 10" x 20" acrylics on museum quality panel depicting a dark Thoroughbred. This painting is available (when finished) for $999. In process photos are here , and purchase inquiries may come directly to me .  I didn't post much at all this week, but I've been oh-so-very-busy in the studio, shipping out sketches, creating new marketing materials, planning painting inventory, connecting with clients, doing homework, preparing for next week's workshop, creating a donation piece for The Caped Crusader's lacrosse team, and starting to monitor my Kentucky Derby fever.   This image, "Dark Brown or Bay," is this month's pARTy. What's a pARTy, you ask? It's when artists work from the same reference material to create wildly unique artwork. I've posted the reference photo here along with complete submission details. All pARTy attendees' artwork will be shared on my...

"Zen Dog," 36" x 14", acrylics on panel, depicting Zevon, a friend's newly rescued family member. This is Golden acrylics on a Raymar panel and can be yours for $2999, including s&h within the contiguous US. In process photos are on the Studio FB page . pARTy details are here . Inquires may come directly to me .  It's Long Past Time for a pARTy Have you ever attended a pARTy before? The idea is simple - someone shares the rights to one of their photographs, and challenges creatives to make artwork inspired by the photo. All of the work is then displayed collectively, for the whole world to see the variety of interpretations and possibilities resulting from the one image. Now here's the good part - Photographer  Juliet Harrison granted us permission to throw a pARTy in Zevon's honor! So here's the details: The reference photograph is here . Please respect that this photo is being shared purely for the creation of ...

it's a pARTy !! What's a pARTy, you ask? It's when a group of artists use the same reference material to create their work. In our case, it was the photo above, supplied by Linda Shantz, starring one of her Thoroughbred babies, Hugo. She invited a core group of friends to participate. Each of us work in a different style or media, and we had 24 hours to create our piece. I was so impressed with the resulting art that I offered to share it via my blog and newsletter. Here are all the Hugo's, in alphabetical order by artists' name. I hope you enjoy!! Thanks! "Klein Hugo" pencil on paper 20x23cm 260 EUROS,  inquire Sheona Hamilton Grant oil on canvas paper 8" x 10" NFS Sharon Simons Passmore "Linda's Colt" oil on copper panel, varnished 7" x 5" $325,  inquire Kathi Peters "Hugo" oil on ...