2009 Calendars, Yorkie & Chocolate Lab

The morning fog is slowly lifting from the trees, it's so beautiful - I need to capture this with watercolor...nature is always an inspiration!

A good friend had to say good-bye to her beloved Yorkie recently, and I did a portrait of her cute little mug in colored pencil and pastel -- it's nowhere close to having your companion with you, but it's a sweet reminder.

The Chocolate Lab on the left was done as a Christmas gift...what a nice surprise!

I'm happy to say that I sold out of my 2009 calendars - thank you to all of you who purchased one - the proceeds will be donated to a Pasados Animal Safe Haven. Looking for easy gifts? I always have a variety of note cards for sale if you are still looking for stocking stuffers - give set of 5, 10 or even just one! Everyone likes to get something in the mail that's not a bill!!

May the holidays bring peace - don't forget those less fortunate, both human and critter and make a pledge to volunteer over the holidays, or give blood at a local blood bank. Thank you for a great 2008! http://www.michelleamicucci.com/, amicucci06@msn.com. Michelle

This is little Riley who used to greet everyone at the local mail center. Cute little guy - I just love his underbite!

November brings thoughts of the new year, and I thought I'd put together a calendar for 2009 - proceeds from the sale will go to a 501(c)3 registered charity. If you are interested, the order form is below, or contact me via my website at http://www.michelleamicucci.com/.

I hope everyone has a safe and stress-free Thanksgiving (is it possible to have a stress-free holiday??)! Best - Michelle

Weimaraner portrait

Autumn in Colorado - very, very beautiful. We drove from Salt Lake City to Westcliffe and the aspens were fabulous - fiery yellow. Getting lots of reference photos.

This is my most recent commission - a Weimaraner named Tosca, her color changes with the light... more brown than gray, with a touch of red, a real beauty and so fun to paint!

I hope everyone is enjoying the fall colors! Don't forget to check-out my website at http://www.michelleamicucci.com/

Blue Heron in September

Greetings! Wow, September already, I just can't believe how fast this year is going by especially since I left the corporate world in April...I didn't think I could get any busier, but alas, I am! Splashing around in the studio is great fun and a sure-fire way to figure out where my weaknesses are and water continues to be one of them...making ripples look like ripples and not just a line across the paper. I seem to be gravitating more toward watercolors than oil, but maybe that will change in the winter when I'm not so distracted by my garden! :-) I'm so excited I finally have some eggplant and a couple of figs too!

I love the grace of the Blue Heron -- they look gangly and long limbed, but they are amazingly graceful, and to watch them hunt is impressive. This is a watercolor with a different perspective - this heron had just gobbled a small fish and was presumably scanning the water for the next place to hunt.

This little Harbor Seal was sunning on an outcrop of rocks in Rich Passage. I was suprised to see it since I'm generally not lucky enough to see them out of the water - I see them more often poking their heads out of the water like little periscopes...

Thank you for your comments on the paintings! If you have ideas for future pieces, let me know, Ihave so many photographs that it's sometimes hard to pick what I want to work on next! Don't forget to check-out my website at www.michelleamicucci.com as it was recently updated. Have a great month and don't forget to stop by in October to see what's new! Michelle

August already? Weather is warming up and the frenzied outdoor activities have taken hold of the summer - which means limited studio time but lots of reference photos!! I took a weeklong plein air workshop on beautiful Lummi Island - the weather mostly cooperated, although I should have packed a few more layers! Plein air is a whole new ballgame for me, no pokiness or too much detail...needless to say I have a long way to go but it was a lot of fun! This little one is "Baker Pond".

I continue to work on various birds and water-loving critters, this one is a watercolor of a Common Loon I saw off of

Bainbridge Island titled, "Solitary Swim". I get

pretty excited when I see Loons...what a treat

it was to watch this one for awhile - no luck on

hearing a call yet though. Maybe next time.

August is set to be even busier than July, but

hopefully some art will be squeezed into the

schedule somewhere!

Have a fabulous August and don't forget to

check-0ut my website at www.michelleamicucci.com. Michelle

Happy 4th of July to my American readers! Summer has come and packed a wallop...this of course coming from someone whose ideal temperature is 60! The hot weather has me retreating indoors to pant under the ceiling fan, but has nonetheless proved productive (although, watercolors dry really, really fast in this weather!). The clear weather inspired me to paint Mt Rainier (which isn't generally visible until summer). This is a view near Rich Passage on Bainbridge Island, WA., titled "Rainier Alpenglow".

Since I seem to be torturing myself by painting water, I tackled painting some of my favorite ducks - the Harlequin. These are real beauties and are readily found around Bainbridge. This one is titled "Harlequin Sentry".

And of course you cannot think of water birds without thinking of the Kingfisher! I love watching these guys, talk about skillful fishing! I'll be updating my website soon to add some new pictures, so come back and visit! Thanks for stopping by and have a safe 4th! Don't forget to keep your pets indoors and away from the fireworks!!

Ah, the liquid sunshine of the Pacific Northwest gets a lot of people down, but I love it! Plus, it keeps me out of the garden (mostly) and in the studio.

I continue to work on my rhino, but he's starting to look beleaguered so he's getting shelved for awhile along with the lion and giraffe....hopefully in a month or so I'll have a fresh perspective and will figure out how I'm going to go forward with these pieces.

The commission of 'butterflies and bamboo' has been finished, and now I'm going to start a series of bird paintings...something I've been wanting to do for some time, and continue dabbling in a few landscapes. Have a happy Summer Solstice!

Works-in-progress

It's been an interesting month, with not as much painting as I'd like, but a few successes (many, many 'opportunities to learn' too! Ouch!). The weather has been unseasonably cool and wet, which I actually really enjoy, but it's not conducive to plein air painting for me!!

I've really enjoyed working on a commission of "Chai" - what a handsome kitty this guy is, and those blue eyes!! WOW! He outta' be in pictures! Hopefully he'll be completed soon.

A few other things I've been working on...reflections in water. These are works-in-progress, and hopefully will see some "progress" soon!

Thank you for stopping by - check back in a month or so and hopefully I'll remember to have updated this page with more work - I'm dying to get back to a rhino I started awhile back. Keep painting!

Michelle Amicucci Fine Art current paintings

This space is for current paintings/studies, please see my website (http://www.michelleamicucci.com/) for existing work and contact information.

A blogger I am not, but I'm giving it a whirl so I can add "on the easel" pictures for friends and family....and not pay for the webmaster to add them to the website! This is a way for me to show people what I'm working on...generally studies of one thing or another as I learn the techniques of oil painting. Most recently, a study of a Blue Spruce and of a Birch tree. Now I'm studying water and reflections...this will be interesting!!

Taking pictures of art work will be another learning experience.

Keep painting!