Greenery

 If the background in my leopard piece weren't complicated enough, the leaves range from very cool to very warm greens.

 

In my early paintings greens were a menace. It took forever to mix them. I'd try this combination of colors and they wouldn't work, then that combination. Finally I realized that I had to do something to feel more comfortable with green. I decided to paint a piece focusing on different shades of green.

 

Shades of Green   2001

Original oil

16" X 24" 

 

After this painting was I a master at painting greens? Hardly! But, I no longer approached them with trepidation, but rather with a sense of respect   - and a hint of challenge.

 

 

As this is my 1000th painting I am reflecting on what brought me to this point beyond the number count.

 

 

 

 

Still Building

 I'm still constructing the background. It looks pretty dull at this point so I'm eager to fill in some greenery.

 

 

 

 

Background

In each painting I usually have a part which I refer to as the "ugly stage" while working on it. I've learned to work through it with the idea that on the other side it will reflect my vision for that section of the painting. At least, that's the plan.

 

Welcome to the ugly stage.

 

The beginning of the distance background

 

 

I've started on the "bones" of the tree/brush in back of the cats. There will be filtered sunlight throughout but first I want the framework painted.

 

 

 

 

  

One Thousand!!!

 When this painting is finished it will be my 1000th painting.

For the past year I could see this number coming. After #999 was finished I had two out of town shows and a lot of time to think about what I would paint next. My obvious choice was a leopard piece, as this species has been my favorite for as long as I can remember (though all those spots can take sooooooo long to paint!)

 

A morning in-the-African-bush scene, a nighttime setting, head and chest portrait, a chiaroscuro piece? - all these ideas kept running through my head. I went back to my most successful leopard sighting trip (saw nine different cats in Kenya) for inspiration. As I went through all my reference one encounter kept drawing me - the pair of leopards the two of us and our guide saw.

 

At first we only saw a female leopard coming through the grass. Then she called out and a large male appeared. He spent the next hour wooing her with head baths, "hugs", rubbing up against her, rolling on the ground in front of her, and then they settled down in the shade together. I've painted various aspects of them together but I found new part of the story to paint with the two of them.

 

Turpentine wash with yellow ochre to seal my drawing

 

 

 

 

 

People's Choice Award

    At the NatureWorks Art Show And Sale in Tulsa, OK, March 6-8 I won the People's Choice Award. It was a wonderful surprise.

 

   My drive to my two latest shows (Safari Club International Convention in Nashville and then NatureWorks in Tulsa) took me through 13 states not counting my own. Between packing, setting up, show time, taking down and traveling, it was quite the winter trip.

 

    Of course I am always on the lookout for wildlife and our trip did not disappoint.  Sandhill cranes were migrating through the Platte River system in Nebraska and while we were there the count by the Crane Trust was up to 405,000. Our other notable creatures included a flock of thousands of snow geese, a very large coyote hunting alongside the road, a golden eagle on a carcass, bald eagles, and pronghorn antelope. Certainly plenty of inspiration for future paintings.

Snow geese

 

   Up next is an extra exciting painting because when it is finished it will be a landmark in the number of paintings I have finished. I'm working on its drawing now and in about a week I'll start posting the painting in progress.

 

Thanks for staying tuned.

 

 

Finished

 

Three Gemsbok

Original oil by Linda Besse

7.5" X 16" 

 

 

Gemsbok are my favorite African antelope. Not only do they sport swords of distinction, but their elegant coloring and their fortitude in desert lands which few animals inhabit make them for me an amazing species.

And, maybe being captain of the fencing team in college colors my opinion. 

 

 

 

Grasses

 

At this scale I see no point in painting all the individual blades of grass, and they are not the focus of the piece. I look at it as painting the essence of grass. At the end I'll throw in some blades for texture.

 

 

 

 

Going Small

 After working on a major piece, I often paint a series of smaller ones. This time it happens to coincide with upcoming shows where I like to have a variety of painting sizes for my booths.

 

One would think that after painting all the tiny beads in Bearing Good Fruit (see most recent posts), I would try and design pieces where I didn't have to use the small brushes.

 

Nope. Just about all of the paintings employ tiny strokes of paint. 

 

 One of my favorite things to do is create an expansive scene in a small format.

This piece is 7.5" x 16" 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished

 

 

Bearing Good Fruit

Original Oil painting by Linda Besse 

32" X 21"

 

 

This piece has certainly been one to "stretch my brushes." There were so many elements which were challenging because they were new to me and the whole concept of having a sepia background was a departure from what one might "usually" choose.

 

One of the joys of painting is learning new things, even after more than two decades of professionally painting. It can also be frustrating. Fortunately, after years of trying new things I've learned to embrace the challenges. Of course that doesn't mean I don't toss and turn in bed trying to figure out tomorrow's next painting step.

 

Thank you all for following my blog and the in-progress steps to finish this painting. The posts for this piece began on January 1, 2026 and I have had more views on this painting than any other I have posted.

 

May we all embrace the "new" in this New Year, expand our horizons, and bear good fruit to the world.

 

 

Almost done

 

The beading is basically finished at this point. My bead colors below the basket are darker and more muted than above.

Her earrings are painted.

My model now has fingernails and I have added some pinks and greens to to the mangoes and gave them more depth within the basket.

 

At this stage there were two important areas to finish. 

The first is her face. It read a bit plastic or frozen. While the "smile" was in her eyes, it didn't quite extend to her mouth. Some shading around her eyes and cheeks was needed and some adjustment to her lips.

 

The second area to be adjusted was the background. My original concept was to treat the background as a sepia-toned backdrop for her. I still liked that idea. Since painting her took so long (you are reading a shortened version in my blog) the background was fully dry and ready to accept a yellow ochre and raw sienna glaze with a medium.

 

Stay posted for the reveal of the completed painting. 

 

 

 

Beads! Lots of them

 

I found painting the beads a challenge, until I found an easy way to give them depth. For each color I mixed a light and a dark. I'd paint the dark of the bead and then dot the lighter color as a highlight.

(If you click on the above image and zoom in you can see what I mean.) Keep in mind these painted beads are quite a bit smaller than in real life.

 

On the collar there are two horizontal beaded bars. The actual collar has single different colored beads for the horizontal bars. A single red bead next to a white, next to a yellow, next to a ...

At this scale (the painting is 32" X 21") that would read as a jumble. I decided to take the colors from the flat rectangular piece below the collar and use those colors for the bars.

 

There were also sections of the earrings which had individual beads next to a different colored bead. I decided to match the horizontal bar colors I created.

 

 

 

 

I can't sew

Well, I can sew on a button and I have used a sewing machine once for a project a long time ago. But, the idea of making a dress or even hemming one, is daunting.

However, I can alter clothing from my model. 

 

 The first item to change on this dress were the sleeves. My model's dress had short sleeves and sleeveless is the common style among Maasai women. A cloak/blanket would be worn over the dress for warmth.

 

 The second thing to change were the wrinkles. My model was standing with her right hip forward (left as we are looking at the painting.) Her hip was more prominent and fabric folds were across her hips. I "moved" her right hip in and added more dress to her left side. The fabric folds are more modest.

 

The dress had swirls of beads in places but this distracted from the beads flowing down from the neck collar. I "removed" those beads.

 

Lastly, I painted the fabric to have more of a thick cotton look.

 

 

 

At this point I've started on the beading. I knew there was more work to do on her face but wanted to wait until all the beading was done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red!

 

With a sepia-toned background and muted colors in the basket and fruit, the red dress will stand out.

Here come the colors!

 

 

 

A tisket, a tasket, what's in the basket?

 

I didn't want an empty basket so it was time to choose something. Fruit seemed to be a good choice but which one?

My first thought was baobab fruit, an African superfruit. Though I have seen lots of baobab trees I do not have a good reference for its fruit.

But, I do have good photos of sausage trees I saw and could use its fruit. With a little bit of research I find that once roasted the sausage tree fruit is good to eat but in its raw form it is toxic to humans. I scratched that idea as I didn't want her holding a basket of poisonous fruit! 

What about mangoes? I've had some delicious mangoes in Kenya. But, when were mango trees introduced to Kenya? If it was in the 1960s or so, I'd be adding a modern element which I didn't want. Once again, research. Mango trees are presumed to have been introduced to Kenya in the 10th century. Great, ancient enough for me.

 

Now, to get some reference of mangoes. (My favorite dried mangoes from Trader Joe's would not work.) I headed to the grocery store for mangoes. Kenya has six popular mango varieties and I could turn any of my local variety in to one of them.

 

So many decisions go in to a painting. It is details, like what to put in a basket, which make trying new things interesting. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hands and Basket

 

My model has beautiful hands. When she was at my house for the photo shoot, her nails were perfectly "dressed" with a bright red nail polish. It looked wonderful on her but was not the natural vision I had for the painting. Using artistic license, I "removed" the nail polish and in a future post you will see what I came up with for her nails.

 

 

 When I was thinking of the painting I had the idea of her holding a basket. I have a number of baskets but none were authentically Kenyan. So, I ordered one. Wanting something simple, I thought this one had just enough interest but did not draw attention away from the rest of the painting.

 

 

 

 

 

More

For the highlights on her hair I used ultramarine blue and King's blue mixed with titanium white.

 

 

 The dress my model wore had short sleeves. For a more traditional Maasai look I painted her without the sleeves.

 

 

Kenyan native

My model has wonderfully warm and welcoming eyes. None of that is captured with a camera. It takes time together to see the person within.

 

 

This is just the start of the face. I worked on it throughout the painting of the piece.

 

Happy New Year!

 Wishing you the best for 2026!

 

 

As an artist I try to "stretch my brushes" by trying new techniques, colors, designs, subjects, and stories. My last painting of 2025 utilized all of these and is one of my most ambitious paintings to date. 

 

My African paintings almost exclusively feature the wildlife of this continent. But, the people of Africa are an essential part of the story. A dear friend of mine from Kenya was eager to model for this piece.

 

First I wanted to come up with a unique way to tell the story. As I tossed and turned in bed to figure out a way to frame the story it came to me. Make the background all sepia toned. It would have a timeless feeling and my model would stand out. 

 

After that decision, all I had to get was reference photos of my model. She and her fiance came up to the house for dinner. She wore just what I needed for the vision for my painting. I took some 470 reference photos outside in late afternoon light and I had the basis for the piece. I would be making changes such as removing the short sleeves of the dress, removing fingernail polish and make-up, changing the bead color in places, changing the leg stance, and other details.

 

Once I got to this point in the painting I realized the sky was more gray than I wanted for the sepia toned background. I really liked how the clouds came out so decided to continue with the painting and pull the whole sepia feeling together in the background once the painting was dry.