Loi's Mural

Contact me at janetedale@gmail.com

Karen Hollingsworth has inspired me on a number of levels. Her airy windowscapes are so calming. So I tried my hand at creating that same feeling but with a rural Michigan twist.  The perfect opportunity came when a client asked me to give her tiny bathroom a more open feeling by painting a false window complete with fallow fields, an old abandoned barn, and fluttering curtains. As with all of my murals, there is a detailed bird in the foreground. Here's the finished mural.

Nite Light

6"x6" Oil on gessoed hardboard.
I have been toying for some time with the thought of offering my work as a combination of image and story.

A neighbor had a yard light that could be seen from far away. Its glow guided them to the barn to tend the horses in the early morning and late at night. I sometimes climbed out my bedroom window and stole across to their yard to watch the sparkling snowflakes that drifted down lazily in the cast light. I was mesmerized by them as one might be fascinated watching the flames lick at wood in a fireplace. Sometimes, when it was cold enough, the icy flakes would become tiny round mirrors that reflected the color of the barn and my mittens. I could raise my mittened hand on nights like this, and the flakes near it would turn bright red. Then they would go from pink to soft blue-violet as I slowly lowered my hand. When I would get too cold to enjoy the show, I would sneak into the barn to watch from a window. I'm sure they knew from the footprints that it was I who haunted their premises. If they did, they never gave away my secret. Thank you Bruce and Sue Roberts. What a delightful gift you gave me in that!

Contact me at 313-581-1342 if you are interested in purchasing this work.

Cling to the Promise

3" x 3" Oil on gessoed masonite.

This post is dedicated to a very dear friend.

When the cares we face seem to pile up like a perpetual snowfall . . . when each step forward we take seems to be countered by some past mistake so that we feel we are struggling uphill through knee-deep snow. . . when feelings of failure overwhelm and our very breathing is a chore . . . this is when we must remember that God's promise of forgiveness and restoration is like the promise of spring; the new growth that follows the hardships of winter and the first tender shoots that herald a rich harvest. This is faith. This is the hope we cling to; that no matter how badly we think we may have messed up, God promises to restore fellowship with Himself and with each other. So we cling to the memory and promise of budding life even while we struggle uphill in the barren snow.

This painting is not for sale.

Salt Shaker

I finally finished my degree program and am a certified elementary teacher. It has been my lifelong ambition to give back to the community what it gave to me; an education enriched by the personal 'outside' talents and experiences of my teachers. So to Mrs. Fuller, my sixth grade teacher who often brought her Down's Syndrome daughter on field trips . . . to Miss Kroll who saw my clownish antics as an indication that I might possess theatrical talent . . . to Mrs. Williams, the first grade teacher who helped me discover a wonderworld through reading . . . I celebrate you. You were the salt of the earth.

"Cornflower and Queen Anne's Lace" 6 1/8 x 1 1/2" oil on 3/4" hardboard. $45

I loved getting in the car. It almost always meant fishing or picking berries if Dad was driving. The trip there was as much a part of the adventure as the expidition itself. I know they're only weeds, but cornflowers and Queen Anne's lace were two of my favorite sights along the road. I grew up in that netherworld between "children are to be seen and not heard," and "children are smarter than adults." This meant that I practiced long stretches of contemplative silence punctuated by brief periods of excited chatter. Both enriched me. Had I spent all of my time engaged in chatter, I would have missed the simple beauty growing along the way. Had I no chance to speak, I would have missed the opportunity to ask about what I saw.

Edge of the Field 1 1/2 "x 6 1/8' oil on gessoed masonite

I've noticed a lot of artists lately using gessoed hardboard with a recess in the back so that they can be hung right away without a frame for a contemporary look. Perhaps one day I'll invest in the tools to make perfectly formed holes in the back of my paintings, but for now, a six dollar set of wood carving knives seemed to do the trick. In fact, I rather like the hand-hewn aspect. It is 1/2" thick, so it can stand alone on a shelf or tabletop. The image is continued on the sides, bottom, and top. This is another in the Rural Michigan series. As you can see, it is signed on both the front and back.

Sanctuary 3"x3" oil on masonite panel $45

This is quite a common scene in Michigan; one lone tree at the edge of a field, left there when the field was cleared. Farm lore has it that before the days of motorized tractors, farmers would purposely leave one shade tree somewhere along the perimeter or even smack in the middle. This way they would have shelter from the sun at midday when they stopped to eat and rest. The practice of resting under a tree at midday has fallen somewhat out of use, but the tradition of leaving a shade tree seems to have survived. Birds seem to love the arrangement. They can feed on the grain and shelter in the tree. Would that human life were so simple.

Light Show 3"x3" oil on masonite panel $45

The skies in Michigan go grey by the end of october and generally stay that way until the end of March. But Summer evenings here are often spectacular. Perhaps this is only perception. It could be that sun deprivation for a goodly part of the year produces in us an exaggerated sense of what is spectacular. If so, then it is a willing delusion.

Last Dance of Summer 3"x3" oil on masonite $45

I love to watch birds chase one another and I love open spaces. This then is a composite of two of my favorite elements.