Available at Dana Gallery

June 16, 2011 – September 1, 2011

This painting is in the Icons of the West Exhibition. The artists have been asked to create their own interpretation of a Western Icon, be it horses, cowboys, western landscapes, native American themes of the old west as well as visions of the new west. This is the first in what we hope to grow into a nationally recognized and anticipated event drawing art collectors from the region and the nation to Missoula. We wish to continue to demonstrate that we are a major presence in the art scene.

Available at Kneeland Gallery

Painting the illusion of a glass vase can be challenging for the artist, however recreating a ‘blown glass’ vessel in paint is even more complex. Collecting unique vases and objects along the way is one of the fun parts of being a still life painter. I bought the vase in this photo at the Sun Valley Arts and Crafts Festival many years ago. This delicate, hand-blown glass vase has been sitting on my shelf, gathering dust, for all these years. To read more about the process of this painting, please read: On My Easel #2: The Challenge of Painting the Illusion of Blown Glass

Available at Kneeland Gallery

Images of the Southwest remain in my mind from my childhood years in Arizona. Raven’s are intelligent birds and are often thought to be oracles in charge of find fair winds on your journey.

Available at Kneeland Gallery

I live in a winter wonderland and love it, but I must confess to having moments where I find myself longing for and reminiscing about the warmer days of summer. This painting, “Western Summer”, depicts just that. I chose to paint the quintessential sunflower, who’s cheery blossoms reminds of us warmer days. The colorful Western Tanager songbird’s coloring echo that of the sunflowers. You might like to read a bit more about the process of this painting, On My Easel #4: Painting Sunflowers

Available at Kneeland Gallery

When I returned home after a recent trip to Australia, I was very inspired to paint cockatoos. These beautiful large parrots are as common as an ordinary American Robin. In the wild, they become rather tame and allowed me to get close to them.

Available at Kneeland Gallery

http://www.finearttips.com/2011/02/on-my-easel-3-from-lemons-to-lemonade/

This old Italian pitcher has been collecting dust on my kitchen self, when one day, those decorative lemons on the vessel just seemed to jump out at me. I dusted off the pitcher, and ran off to the grocery store and bought some lemons with the concept and title already in mind, “Lemons to Lemonade”. To read more about the story behind this painting, please read: On My Easel #3: From Lemons to Lemonade

SOLD

The magpie is one of the only year round birds that frequent my yard during the cold Idaho winters. Although they are rather aggressive birds, I admire their intelligence, courage and survival skills. “Picking Up the Pieces” reflects their tenacity.

SOLD at Kneeland Gallery

SOLD

at Gardner Colby Gallery

I am happy to announce that “Rainbow’s Bend” was selected to be a part of this year’s Western Regional Exhibition & Sale is being held at the beautiful Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming beginning Saturday, October 9 through Wednesday, November 10, 2010. This painting is for sale!

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

The colorful plummage of this parrot inspired me. To me they are colorful like a rainbow. The pose also reminded me of the bend of a rainbow, hence the name! I just returned from Australia where I saw these parrots in the wild!

Summer is coming to an end here in the Idaho mountains. The hummingbirds will be heading to warmer climates soon, the aspen leaves will be turning golden and the flowers will be gone til next spring. This little still life painting  will remind the viewer of warmer days…:-)

Lori McNee © 2010