Messick's Icehouse

Oil on Canvas, 1992

This is a real icehouse which still is in production today. It is located in Salisbury, Maryland, where the artist spent her preteen years before moving with her family to California and then to Florida. She was compelled to paint this building after revisiting the area for a family reunion and feeling that it represented a past era in the town and society as well.

Onions

Oil on Canvas, 1991

Showing the organic, natural side of life. Being a lover of natural things, Toni picked these vegetables to represent in a still life as they related to her love of cooking Italian food and the rich flavor that onions and garlic give to recipes and to life!

Shasta Daisy

Oil on Canvas, 1993

One of the artist's passions is gardening, and flower gardening gives her great joy and allows her to surround herself with the natural beauty of many different varieties of blooms. This Shasta was one of the daisies she grew herself and it was a pride and joy.

Ghosts of Relatives Past

Oil on Canvas, 1992

This church is located in a small town outside of Salisbury, Maryland, called Allen. It is so small that it is not even on most maps. The area is home to many relatives of the artist and her family is extensive. This composition reflects the artist's love for horses and her reverence of the 200 year old church which watches over relatives long past.

And They're Off

Oil on Canvas

Again the artist shows her love of horses in this action moment of the racehorses breaking out of the starting gate. This experience is personal to Toni as she was a groom at Calder Racetrack for several years where she worked for other trainers and tended her own racehorses. Among her duties was the job of exercising the horses which sometimes entailed breaking the horses out of the gate.

BeeKeeper

Oil on Canvas, 1993

Painted in memory of her father, Robert Anderson, and shows one of his many professions, of which he mastered all. His passing at the age of 60 was a great loss to Toni and her family. A vital strength in her life, he inspired her to achieve and to appreciate the simple pleasures in life.