And the Winner Is.....

 Touching, my painting of two leopards has won the

Best Realism Award 

at the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society 

2026 Best of America Show 

held in Sheridan WY at Ballards Fine Art Gallery September 1 - 26. 

 

 I was very excited to hear the news. In addition to the recognition it was a further surprise to hear the award comes with two generous sponsors.

 

General Pencil has donated a cash award.

www.GeneralPencil.com

Check out their wide array of products. They have how-to books, sketching kits, master soap (which I use every day to clean my oil paint brushes), colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, and of course, a wide selection of premium pencils.

Thank you General Pencil for your cash award.

 

M. Graham donated paints. EIGHTEEN premium oil paints!

 https://mgraham.com/

(Note: I used their titanium white sunflower oil in the winning painting, and in all my paintings.)

Rather than all the usual "suspects," Judy at M. Graham had curated a unique selection for my award. What a thrill to try some new paints, some of which I had never heard of. Azo green, dioxazine purple, and nickel azo yellow. I am also particularly interested to try their cerulean blue and ultramarine blue and compare them to my Rembrandt blues.

Thank you M. Graham for your exciting award. 

 

 

 

 

 

Painting Finished

 

Yellow-Headed Blackbird - Williams Lake

16.5" x 10"

Original Oil by Linda Besse 

 

 

 

Cattails

 

 

Cattails can be used as a handy pointing device. The darkest one is pointing toward the breast of the yellow-headed blackbird. I was careful with its placement. Too close and one could imagine it piercing the bird. Too far away and the pointing would be lost.

 

 

 

A new painting

 During the summer I work on commissions. I find it a good time before I start painting for my winter shows.

 

Here is the start of one.

  Yellow-headed blackbirds are one of the more striking birds we have here in the Pacific Northwest. It is always a treat to see them around our lakes and streams during the nesting season.

 

  This may look like a simple composition. In many ways it is. A loose background, a hint of near-ish cattails and grasses in the lower left, and the foreground grasses and cattails.

  However, it is the placement of each cattail and grass blade which is important. Making this a vertical painting is helping to further the story of the long cattails and also illustrates a common position the yellow-headed blackbird takes when singing.

 

 

 

 

 

Finished - Painting #1000

 Yes! My 1000th painting is finished. 

This post is a continuation of the post on May 8, 2026. I needed the underpainting of the foreground grasses to dry before I could add the grasses in sunlight. In the meantime I completed the five paintings for my 2026 Sea, Sand, and Shore Collection at the Louisa Gould Gallery on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

 

Here is painting #1000.

 

 

Touching

Original oil by Linda Besse

24" X 36" 

 

 

 

 

Finished

 

Old Friends

Original Oil by Linda Besse

32" X 44"  

 

 

 

Furled Sails

 

It's amazing how much time it takes to paint furled sails. One would think since it is a much smaller area than an open sail it'd be a breeze. But, to make the wrapped sail feel like cloth takes a lot of care to build the creases caused by the ropes and ties around the sail.