Last year I sent a painting of Daddy to Cesar’s Burbank office; his staff put it on display and told me later that Cesar liked it very much. I hope it brings them a little bit of joy, now that Daddy is gone.

Such sweet, sad eyes.

The pros of this unseasonably good weather:

• I can send the kids outdoors All Day.
• There’s better lighting in my studio for painting.
• Everyone’s in a good mood.
• Days seem longer.

The cons:

• You can see every cobweb and window smudge that has gone unnoticed through the winter.
• The discovery of these cobwebs and smudges tends to interfere with my making of art. (Can’t paint ’til house is clean. I’m crazy like that.)

My daughter and I had a coffee/hot chocolate date Friday morning at the park. We took photos of the river and some geese that will probably end up as a painting someday. My husband was downright shocked that I actually took initiative to go outside, but here’s the proof.

She always wants to have her photo taken on these steps.

We saw some geese. I think I'll paint them.

We also saw the Wienermobile, which is less artistic and more Americana.

I took advantage of the time the kids spent outdoors and finished a slew of paintings. One is so cute, but I can’t show you because it’s a gift and I can’t spoil the surprise. Here are a couple of others that I finished up.

Title: Katie

Completed: February 20, 2010

Soundtrack: Grease

Beverage: Banrock Station Shiraz-Cab

Title: Westin

Completed: February 21, 2010

Soundtrack: Grease

Beverage: Starbucks iced mocha

Next week I’m painting a Tibetan Spaniel puppy, oh my god, so cute. And a catamaran. After that, I’m all caught up and will just sit around and eat bon-bons and wait for the universe to send me more puppies to paint.

In my 20s I competed in hunters on Robin, the horse I was born to ride. But even at those big shows, despite the steely nerves and the $300 riding pants, I was just one of those girls who loves horses.

This painting was commissioned by the rider’s mom. Abigail is a member of a collegiate equestrian team, and her mom sent me this photo along with many other beautiful images of Abigail and Lynard in competition. The show photos are full of action, stylish gear and even a sequin or two; but Abigail’s mom was partial to this photo most of all.

I get it. And so does every girl who’s ever sat on her horse, in the sun and brisk air, and felt right with the world.

She even kind of looks like me.

Title: Abigail & Lynard

Completed: February 19, 2010

Soundtrack: Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster

Beverage: Covey Run 2006 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Well, in our 13 years of marriage we’ve learned one thing – you’re never really settled, are you? Not really. There’s school, and work, and different jobs. Apartments, more apartments, cross-country moves, babies.

The kind of nomadic, unsettled life that is more suited to cats, really, than to dogs.

The painting below is the first of the Mini Portrait series that I announced last week. Her name’s not Satchel, but she’s a beauty.

Title: Athena

Completed: February 17, 2010

Soundtrack: Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole, Facing Future

Beverage: Diet Cherry Coke

Send coffee.

Some of the paintings I’m working on are gifts that people have ordered for special occasions. That means I can’t post them anywhere publicly until they’ve been, well, gifted. I learned that lesson the hard way.

Here’s one that I just finished for a delightful customer; as far as I can tell, all parties involved are aware of its existence so I can show you, too. As many of my paintings are, this is a memorial to her dog Mia (right) who is pictured with another dog of theirs, Ralf. I hope to also paint some of their puppies in the future and they’ve sent me some very cute pics. I mean, who doesn’t love puppies?

Title: Ralf and Mia

Completed: February 15, 2010

Soundtrack: k.d. lang, All You Can Eat

Beverage: Diet Coke

The result of my work is this 20×26″ memorial to her pup, Brody. I don’t often get to work on paintings this large, but I loved it and hope to do more of them. In the meantime, please click over to Nikki Jeske’s site at Design Coyote and check out her mad design skills. My new website is coming soon and I promise it will blow your hair back.

Title: Brody

Completed: February 13, 2010

Soundtrack: Aaron Copland and Boston Symphony Orchestra

Beverage: Assorted caffeine and cocktails

Thank goodness for Google, because I think that’s how most people are finding me here at the blog when they are turned away from my portfolio site by nasty error messages.

But, rather than dwelling on the horrible horror that is my (now former) web hosting company, I’m very excited to announce that I’m working on a brand new site with the talented Nikki at Design Coyote. The design is super cool and I can’t wait to show you.

The cool part is that we are doing it as a trade and I am painting her a huge portrait of her dog Brody. So huge in fact, that I might have to paint it on the floor because it doesn’t fit on my desk.

See? It's huge!

I guess I could clear off my desk, but I would have to rearrange and reorganize, and then I’d get side-tracked and I wouldn’t get any painting done at all.