cute little Oliver

our Thanksgiving hosts have a darling Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Oliver -- I did this little portrait of his cute face as a thank-you gift.

Painting Silver

We've painted silver a number of times in my Monday class -- generally we combine a warm color (such as burnt sienna) and a cool (a blue such as manganese).  Because of silver's reflective quality, you can include other colors to create movement and interest in the object.  The first two photos are of roses I clipped from my garden, placed in pieces I found at a consignment shop this week. If you look closely in the first, you can seemy reflection as I was taking the photo. The third photo is a close-up of a teapot I painted last year -- the colors of surrounding objects are reflected onto the silver.

Architecture

The play of light and shadow in architectural pieces is a very fun thing to paint! here is a close-up of one of the pieces on which I am working now.

ProKids auction

ProKids trains volunteers to become Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs). Each CASA volunteer is assigned to a foster child, making sure the child’s needs are met, that the child is safe, and helping each child move into a safe, permanent, and nurturing home.  It is a wonderful organization and is a United Way-funded agency.  This is a painting I donated for their auction fund-raiser over the weekend.

Sunrise over Nolin Lake

This is a commission I finished this week for a friend, who gave it to his wife for her birthday -- nice man :)  I have only painted a few landscapes, so this was very interesting for me -- especially to capture the early morning light coming over the hills.  The second and third shots are simply close-ups of sections of the finished work.  I was working only with an idea and no reference photo, so that added to the challenge!

Happy Halloween!

In celebration of the holiday, here is the jack-o-lantern I carved yesterday.  It was cold for the trick-or-treating time, but we bundled up and sat outside to hand out candy.  Many of the kids made comments such as, "awesome carving job!"  I am also posting a painting I did of a pumpkin on Japanese Yupo paper a few years ago.

Can October really be over?

Sunflowers

A friend inquired about paintings of sunflowers -- here are two that I have available right now!

Recent Paintings

Here are three newer paintings for you to see! they will be available for viewing and/or purchase at my November show.  Please scroll through my blog or click HERE to see many other samples of my artwork.

Show Upcoming in November!

hey - hope you can stop by for the show at my home, the first in Cincinnati in three years -- where does the time go? I've had two in Louisville, KY, one in Philadelphia and one in Chevy Chase, MD but not here for a long time!

G.

Note Cards of My Paintings

Here are some photos of the set of note cards I have available for sale - they make great holiday gifts! The set is made up of 2 cards of each of the 4 designs below, for a total of 8 cards printed on high-quality stock (and 8 envelopes). The set is available for 15 dollars.






































































If you are interested in ordering a set, please email me at gretchen.reifsnyder@gmail.com or click the link at the top right of my page.
Thank you!

Back home from DC

hi all -- Rob and I had a wonderful weekend trip to Chevy Chase to see our friends Ramona and Brian Gallagher, and the art show yesterday was tons of fun and a huge success! I sold twenty paintings, met lots of lovely people, and my friend Annie, I'm happy to report, absolutely loved the commission painting I did of peonies. All good!
THANKS SO MUCH to RAMONA, ANNIE and MICHELLE for hosting a great afternoon of art and friendship :)

If you need a gift for the holidays, or just like to collect and use pretty notepapers as I do, I have made four of my paintings into notecards and will post photos of the set in the next day or so - please check back. There are two each of four designs -- a set of eight cards and envelopes on high quality stock -- the set is $15.

thanks!

peace, love and art -- Gretchen

art show in DC this saturday!

hey all -- I had fully intended to post more photos but have been out straight preparing for the show. Just had a three-day workshop at the Pendleton Art Center and have two more paintings to bring with me. Also finished a large commission piece of white peonies for my friend Annie. Can't wait to show it to her this weekend!

I now have notecard sets available of my paintings. Eight cards (two each of four designs) for $15. They would make a lovely gift or you can use them yourself!

please come to the show. Would love to see you.

peace, love and art, Gretchen

November 14th Show in Chevy Chase, Maryland

Here is a sampling of completed paintings that will be available at my upcoming show. They come in various sizes, with acid-free, double-white mats included. Click on the photos below for larger views!





























































































I will have a number of small, framed paintings such as this as well. They make great gifts!














Please check back on this page soon - I will be posting more photos of available artwork. Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope to see you on November 14th in Chevy Chase!

Gretchen

Sample Paintings!

 
 
 

 

 
 

 

You can also view these paintings in a slide show on the right column.

how to dry a bun

so it looks like draping over a drying rack will keep your bunny fluffy