SUSAN'S . . . PLAYING AGAIN!

SUNSET SWIRL 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8"square white archival matte, glass + gold leaf frame The clouds formed as a whip while swirling through the night. They snapped through the colorful layers beginning with subtle blues to the pale greens and pinks. Downward they spiraled to the blazing yellow and oranges which halted the swirl above the dark land.

A GLORIOUS DAY 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8"square white archival matte, glass + gold leaf frame SOLD The sun shone and the sky was so very blue. The white clouds were ever so grand in the expansive sky. I feel as if I could fly. What a glorious day!

SLIVER OF ORANGE 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8" square archival white matte, glass + gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping The colors of the sky became subdued a s dusk fell. Yet there was a dash of yellow and a sliver of vibrant orange .... a glow in the night!

MORNING PASTRY 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel $150 + $15 insured priority shipping Okey the weekend is here! Going to kick-back and have a large cup of coffee and a pastry this morning. Join me?

PINK CASCADE OF CLOUDS 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel SOLD - PRIVATE COLLECTOR I stood transfixed as I marveled at the sight..... pink voluminous clouds rolling, tumbling, cascading down. What a dance of colors!

HIDDEN BEAUTY 25" h x 17"w (image) $2,300 Only three days remaining to see Pastel Society of New Mexico's Signature Members Exhibit. The show ends June 27th and is on view at Millicent Rogers Art Museum , Taos, New Mexico. There are 40 exceptional paintings by 40 national pastelists and all work is for sale.

SHADOWED DOOR 6"h x 4"w pastel $195 + $15 insured priority shipping The sun was hot. And the brightness cast a white line onto the beaten path. Obscured in the shadows is a door. Where does it lead?

2 LIGHTS 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 2 Paths found 2 hearts... and the days, months, years rolled bye. Sadly now one light is dim, b ut the hearts are eternal.

INDIGO NIGHT 4"h x 6"w pastel $195 + $15 insured priority shipping The night crept in as the sun dropped..... and then the colors exploded!

EXPANSIVE SKY 4"h x 6"w pastel $195 + $15 insured priority shipping The rain fell intermittently throughout the day. At one small point of time, the sun peeked out while a huge, brilliant cloud flew across the sky. And the sky blazed with colors.

BARRIERS, PROTECTED HEART, HOLE IN MY HEART Okey, as you can see these are dolls and not girls. But not just ordinary dolls - oh no! There are deconstructed / reconstructed baby dolls. I started with used baby dolls which I dismembered (sorry everyone, but that's true). And these little girls were made by use of found slabs of wood, wire, a balsa box, tree bark, fabric, tail reflectors and rusted tin cans. Each is an unique piece of art that hangs on the wall. The three pictured are part of the collection in my exhibit Frayed, at San Diego's Ray Street Custom Framing + Gallery . The art can be viewed Tuesday through Saturdays from 11AM - 6PM. Additional information is provided on their site. Hope you stop bye for every doll needs love!

LILIES + PADS 10"h x 8"w, pastel SOLD! And now the bud has bloomed.

SHRINE + SCREAM fabric, hand-print, acrylic, wood + gold leaf SOLD - PRIVATE COLLECTOR At times I play with my art and attempt to go outside of the box. Not only is it to push out of my comfort zone, yet find it is also an extended means for self-expression that I am unable to achieve with my pastels. The premise of Frayed is that there is a sliver of hope on the horizon during catastrophic times. I feel this is so true today with many experiencing rough times. Life seems bleak for many people are unemployed, loosing homes or facing medical traumas. How many times have you heard - It could be worse or Someone always has it worse than you - which I have found never did cheer me up one bit. So instead I sit and play. And I find building with my hands is very soothing. Shrine is a pencil and acrylic portrait embellished with gold leaf on tri-fold wooden panels. It is mounted on a raw slab of wood with a cross of 2 sticks wired together. Scream is a hand-made sheer dress, with a 2-...

LILY BUDS + PADS 8"h x 10"w SOLD - PRIVATE COLLECTOR Time for a break from skies. And I find lilies are always a soothing topic. Unless it's a very well-groomed water lily pond (and yes, there are a few of those around), the pads cascade and overlap each other. I really enjoy the wild patterns of the jumbled mess! Every once in awhile a new bud pops out - like a breathe of fresh air - and only a matter of time before it blooms. A bit of beauty amongst the tangled mess. Similar to life... yes?

CLOUDS ARE CRYING 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8" square archival white matte, glass + gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping Have you ever notice a rainfall where the sky is still a vibrant blue yet it's raining? When I was at the Petrified Forest National Park last September as an Artist-in-Residence, this happened frequently. I would be out painting furiously and suddenly a low layer of black clouds would roll in and the rain would pour. I would have loved to stay there and continue painting, but rain sure plays havoc with soft pastels. A scene that's a bit eerie, but a beautiful sight!

A PURPLE NIGHT 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8"square archival white matte, glass + gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping My daughter and granddaughter have been visiting, but my time has been limited with some pressing obligations. But today was a delight! Such a wonderful lazy day. We did go for a hike in the mountains, where of course, I constantly looked up. (Tripped a few times, but did so much better!) The clouds were white and billowy with a very blue sky. And here I've painted a purple sunset, for now is the time to wind down. Sadly all good things come to an end.

2 + A HOLE 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8" square white archival matte, glass + gold leaf frame PRIVATE COLLECTOR It's been a long week getting everything together for the opening of Frayed , so decided I needed a sweet treat to chill out. Nothing like a frosted donut which is always so yummy! When I was young my Mother used to make homemade donuts, which is indescribable. At that time my sister and 3 brothers fought over the "holes", which were a perfect one-bite affair that always melted in our mouths. Those were the days!

2 TURQUOISE DOORS 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8" square archival white matte,, glass + gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping Back in March I posted a few petite pastels of Taos Pueblo. And that is where we're traveling once again today! The Pueblo's colors are always so vibrant in the bright sun, which casts long shadows to every nook and cranny. One of the most predominate color is turquoise. One can find it on door frames, window trim and of course precious stones in their jewelry. And you will find an immense blanket of turquoise if you look up to the sky.

CHAIN OF PINK CLOUDS 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8"white archival matte, glass + gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping You may be asking about now, where's the beach? Fair question. This setting is at Boulder Beach of the Lake Mead National Recreational Center. There is ring of mountains that back-drop the beach area, which is such a wonderful meld. They are a distance away, yet a wonderful contrast to the lake setting. This particular evening a heavy mass of clouds in the sky took on a strange hue. Immediately below and wedged above the mountains, were a chain of pink clouds that felt like they stretched for an infinite length. Strange colors and a strange formation - so interesting!

BARRIERS mixed doll's body parts, wood, wire, pencil, tree bark, car reflectors $225 The opening on Saturday is rapidly approaching and think I've harnessed all those body parts on my dolls of art. A few people have commented they thought my dolls were scary. And someone said they would call it my therapy (Hi Kelley!). Know what? I just love playing with found materials and seeing what I can create. Almost like playing dress-up with dolls or building model airplanes, yet starting from scratch. And for the faint of heart, I'm also having a wonderful selection of my pastel sunsets. So please don't forget the show is at Ray Street Custom Framing & Gallery at 3807 Ray St, San Diego. Additional info can be obtained at http://raystreetcustomframing.com . Hope to see you there!

BLUE SWEEP 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8" square archival white matte, glass + gold leaf frame SOLD - PRIVATE COLLECTOR San Diego has been experiencing June Gloom and boy, is it gloomy out there! So what a better pick-me-up than to create a sunny, blue sky? I've wrote before about my affinity for skies. Love them! They transport me mentally to another place and time. I have also wanted to travel, yet unfortunately it doesn't work out with my tiny pocketbook. But the skies - now they let me escape. Fly with me...

Great honor to be included as one of the founding members of a new site, Daily Painters Originals ! Please check out the site at http://dailypainteroriginals.com/ . It's a wonderful one-stop-shop to see and buy some of the best daily paintings from International Artists!

HOVERING NIGHT CLOUDS 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8" square archival white matte, glass + gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping As night falls the clouds roll in. The colors are magnificient with just a suggestion of houses on the horizon.

BABY DOLLS, THREAD, WOOD + WIRE The body parts are flying, so say good-bye as the pieces fly off to heaven. Truly believe I'm creating memorable pieces of art, so please forgive me for the masacre. Also included will be pastel sunsets of all sizes. All of this destruction is for my show, Frayed , opening June 10th at Ray Street Custom Framing + Gallery in San Diego. The reception is on Saturday, the 12th from 6 - 9PM in conjunction with Ray-at-Night.

OMINOUS CLOUD 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8" square archival white matte, glass + gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping One day the sky was heavy with a thick layer of clouds after an earlier rain storm. The drops had evaporated and the day was still. The sun was preparing to set, which intensified the darkness of the clouds and they moved with a swift fury. The sight took my breath away.

WINDOW + A CLOUD 4 1/2" X 4 1/2" pastel 8" square white archival matte, glass and gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping The sky was so blue and the sun extremely bright today, as I spent much of the day outside. As time passed, I begun to reminisce of Taos Pueblo. Taos was one of my favorite locations to visit when I lived in Albuquerque. The contrast of the adobe buildings against the blue sky was always visually exhilarating. There's such a dark richness in the brown color of an adobe, yet so many other colors were apparent upon closer scrutiny. And the organic shape of the walls emanated an Earthy feel. But above all, I felt a comforting unification between the Earth and the blue sky as I stood in awe in front of the Pueblo.

SHADOWED ADOBE 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pastel 8" square white archival matte, glass + gold leaf frame $150 + $15 insured priority shipping A bit different from my skies huh? I've been running a lot - so much more than normal - so decided to veer in a different direction. Perhaps I'm seeking a bit of solitude and searching for a quiet corner to escape? Shadows are good places to hide and I found a little adobe alcove that will do the trick, so sneaking off. Bye!

SUNSET MOUNTAIN 4 1/2" X 4 1/2" pastel 8" square archival white matte, glass + gold leaf frame SOLD - PRIVATE COLLECTOR Noticed with the onset of evening the sky isn't dark, yet not light and has a hazy, filtered appearance? The time is twilight... half day and half night. Such a challenge since sunsets have so many characteristics. Their colors alter with altitude, weather conditions and time of the sun's descent. So many factors, for so many visual stunning opportunities. But above all, a sunset denotes the time for dreams.