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Feb
29
Painting Landscapes … Without Horses!
Filed Under Carrie Lewis | Leave a Comment
One of my great delights in working at the Carriage Factory Gallery is hosting workshops of all types. This weekend, Kansas City artist Kim Casebeer is teaching a two-day workshop on landscape painting for oil painters and pastelists.
Kim and her students have filled the gallery with the smell of paint and delightful images of the landscape! It is a great way to see the works of artists using pastels as well as oils. I am not versed in pastels so it is especially interesting to see how this dry medium is used.
Of course, the sounds of artists working upstairs does produce a certain wistful longing to be painting, as well. And painting landscapes again!
The focus of my work for the last several weeks has been horse portraits (which have suddenly become popular) and creating a collection of new works for inclusion in the Grand National Rodeo Western Art Show & Sale in April in San Francisco. That work has been so time consuming that I have had very little time to practice the art of landscape painting.
A couple of experimental aceos is about all I have had time for these days, as a matter of fact. Two in particular.
The one shown here is the first of those. With this one, I am working from a previous compositional idea and seeing how I can layer individual transparent colors to achieve a realistic color. I started with Azo Red, which was scrubbed onto triple-gessoed Crescent museum quality mat board. The shapes are deliberately vague because I want to also try creating the look of slanting light and thick trees without actually painting the sort of detail I usually paint. It will be interesting to see how that goes!
The second aceo is more traditional for me. I used Titanium White and Ivory Black to paint this half tone scene using a photo as reference. This time around, I am going for detail as well as experimenting with layering. The focal point of this experiment is to see what sort of color I can achieve with a process based on the four-color printing process.
I’m not sure how that will go, either, but greens have been such a challenge all of my painting life that I am not above trying any idea that comes to mind!
Whatever happens, most of the fun lies in the journey, not the destination. I suppose the journey is why I keep marking up new canvases!
©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
Feb
29
The Wolf Visit
Filed Under Judy Wood | Leave a Comment
I had to make an unplanned trip to my small animal vet today with one of my two elderly cats. She’s been in recovery mode from a suspected bladder infection and has been doing pretty well, but she took a bit of a turn for the worse and I was lucky enough to be able to get her in to be seen right away. Blood work is in process, plus I have pills and various strategies to get us through the weekend until we can (I hope) get a clearer picture of where she’s at.
Bottom line, she’s seventeen and things aren’t working all that well, but she is by and large comfortable and contented, her coat is good, she isn’t in pain, and I’m hoping she can be with us a while longer.While we were in the examining room, my vet inquired how my wolf photo shoot had gone. I was in there with one or other of the cats for her general physical just before I went on that shoot. I figure now is as good a time as any for that story, plus now that the weather is a bit warmer but we still have snow on the ground, my camera finger is getting itchy to go visit the wolves again.
Mark (10 YO grandson) and I went on this trip during his school break between Christmas and New Year’s. We had been trying to set this up since early November, but between the weather and various intervening events in everyone’s lives, it just didn’t happen. It was a bit colder than I prefer the day we went, but I was determined that we were going to get there. Almost didn’t happen.
First of all, Skylar (owner of the wolf sanctuary/education centre that was our destination) decided it would be simpler all round if we got to the nearest town on the highway, then phoned her for directions to the feeder road to her place and she would meet us there and guide us in. Sounded good in theory. We got to Duck Lake (about an hour and a bit north of where we live) and phoned. All was well, we should take the designated turn to the right, follow the ups and downs and twists and turns until we saw her truck and we’d be good to go. Of course this seemed so simple that it didn’t occur to me to ask for a rough estimate of how far we should go before we could expect to see the truck. It was very overcast and by then had started to snow, but we carried on down the road. And carried on. And carried on. By the time we had driven for over twenty minutes I was beginning to wonder about all this, but since we definitely hadn’t seen her (or any other) truck, I kept going.
After about another fifteen minutes, in diminishing light and increasing snow, we came to a highway. I *knew* that couldn’t be right and thought somehow we had gone in a big circle and were back on the highway we had started from. I was on the verge of hanging another right and starting over again, when a rare moment of good judgment said I should try phoning Skylar. Luckily she picked up, and informed me we were now on a totally different highway and should definitely *not* go on it. We needed to turn around and come back. The reason she was in the house to answer the phone rather than on the road meeting us was that when she tried to unlock the gate off their well-protected property, the key had broken off in the lock and she and the truck were trapped inside their fencing. We got instructions on how far back to come (almost all the way!!) and that we should look for the road that said “no through road” and proceed from there. Mark had by this time announced several times that he thought that’s where we should have gone in the first place, but I generally don’t go down those roads unless I’m specifically told to. Finally we got to the property where Skylar was still wrestling unsuccessfully with the lock. Mark and I climbed the gate and got into Skylar’s vehicle for the rest of the trip in and we were finally at our destination.
Skylar has a number of wolves of various species at her place. She is licensed to own them and her whole existence is bound up in their care and in working for the species. She has an extensive working knowledge of wolves in general, and her wolves in particular, and is very protective of them. We were lucky enough to be able to go into the large pens with several of the wolves, observe them, “sing” with them in a group howl, and learn about them.
We started with the Arctic wolves, Dharma (separated out at that time from the others for “female” reasons), and Northern Lights Legend, the adult male, who was in with Eco, the young female. Then we went to visit Tibet, who is of mixed wolf species heritage, and who has very definite ideas about who can and can’t enter her enclosure. I didn’t pass the test, but Mark went in with Skylar and passed a bit of time with her. Then we went to see Paradox the female timber wolf, but by this time we had been sitting in the snow (you have to stay low to the ground when in with the wolves to avoid stressing them) for over two hours, were cold, and were losing the light. I didn’t get to meet Eclipse, the black wolf, nor to see any of the wolf crosses that I believe Skylar has.
Three photos today: the first one shows Mark keeping down low and trying to coax Legend into coming closer. Skylar was close by and supervising the whole while. I was a bit farther away due to the big lens on my camera, as usual, but was also in the enclosure with them. It’s hard to tell how *big* this wolf is in these shots, but he is (if I recall correctly) 160 lbs, and at one point when Skylar and Mark were sitting side by side and Legend sat beside Skylar, I realized just how darn large this wolf is! Shot number two is Legend on his own, and number three is one that I made into more of an art shot by doing a layering effect.
Skylar’s website is http://www.wolfechovalley.com/ for any who would like to check it out and learn more about the wolves. Skylar, if you’re reading this, how does sometime in March sound??
And by the way, Skylar isn’t still trapped on her property with the wolves. Her husband had another gate key, and she just had to wait until he returned from the city at the end of the day.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
Feb
29
A Taxing Week
Filed Under Karen Baker Thumm | Leave a Comment
For over a week now I’ve been working on tax issues and tax reports, all very left brain activities for an artist with poor math skills. It might seem odd for such a person to be “bookkeeper” for a business, but trust me, that’s better than leaving it all to my husband who absolutely hates paperwork and anything having to do with taxes. So, I took on the job in order to keep us out of debtor’s prison or at least in economic solvency. And of course, I have to do it all for my art business, too.
Doing the annual art sales tax form was particularly challenging this year because I had to refund a portrait deposit last year on which I’d paid sales tax in 2006. Because I owed less in sales tax this year than the refund in sales tax would be, I spent the better part of two days trying to fill out the form in various ways to get the figures to come out “correctly”. No dice! So, in desperation I called the state and was told that I would have to file an amended form for 2006 rather than include the refund on the 2007 form. I dutifully proceeded to do just that only to discover that the refund would only amount to $1.89 because of the discount I got that year for filing on time. I figured that the state would probably spend upwards of $50 to refund me that dollar eighty nine, and realized that cash strapped Michigan needed the money more than I do. I didn’t file the amended report.
Don’t you just love tax season?
So, after dutifully rushing to the post office to mail the tax reports by the deadline, I switched to Right Brain mode and did some work on the portrait of Bard. Earlier in the week I had toned the canvas a really nice neutral gray using Torrit Gray from Gamblin. It’s a gray that Gamblin makes once a year from all the leftover pigment of that year’s paint production. For those of you non artists, mixing all the colors together is one way of producing a very nice gray. Every batch of Torrit Gray, according to Gamblin, is slightly different because it’s made up of different proportions of pigments.
By yesterday the canvas was dry, so I proceeded to enlarge the drawing and prepare to trace it onto the canvas. That’s when I realized that the canvas was badly warped and wobbled on the desktop like a teeter totter. I could get a whole finger under one corner with room to spare! Not only was the whole frame warped out of alignment, but one of the stretcher bars was also warped. This would definitely not do since the canvas would be impossible to fit into a frame properly. And, of course, I didn’t have another one of the same size which means that Bard will have to wait until I can get another canvas. But, I did decide to use this canvas for testing colors for Bard and such and went ahead and traced the drawing onto it.
By the time a new canvas arrives, I should be about done preparing our income tax stuff to send to the accountant, and then I can give Bard the concentration that he deserves and my right brain craves.
Don’t you just love tax season?
I’ve attached a detail from one of my last pastel horse portraits just so I have some art to show you today.
©Copyright 2008 by Karen Baker Thumm. See original post here.
Feb
29
I’ll post my panel from this project as a work in progress. I’m not totally finished yet, but it’s close. I’ll post the finished version, when it’s complete. At least you can see the idea, and how it’s coming along, and that it will come along…I didn’t know there for a while!
You can see I started by drawing the picture in with my paint brush and some dark colored brown paint. I really struggled with the colors. I wanted so badly to use colors I’m in the habit of using, and paint in my usual slapdash style.
If I had done that, I would have lost the original colors and design of the panel, so I had to continuously rein myself in. I think it shows as this is still very rough and stilted looking. At one point, I painted the animals and man in white, so I could start over again!
Robert told me to put it aside for a few days, then look at it again, and I’ll know how to polish it off. I’m going to take his good advice.
When you go into the Bob Marshall, from the trail head at Swift Dam, west of Dupuyer, Mt., you’ll go through the Gorge and cross a rock slide. This panel “felt” like that trail to me as there are places for a short distance, where you feel you’re hanging onto the side of the mountain, just trusting your animals to get you safely across. You can see the water far below, so I let the green swatch at the bottom “represent” the water.
My rocks are more like the rocks near Gibson Dam on the road by Sawmill Flats, (West of Augusta, Mt) but hey, this doesn’t have to be a “real” place. I just wanted it to represent a real place.
All in all, these panels are a great challenge and a way to make your mind think about what you’re doing. I’m having a great time with this.
Donna Ridgway
Email Me if you have questions, or want to inquire about purchasing a painting.
Remember, you can find horse art, Western art, Mule and Donkey art
wildlife art, cow art, and animal paintings, for sale on my website.
©Copyright 2008 by Donna Ridgway. See original post here.
Feb
28
February 28, 2008
Filed Under Carrie Lewis | Leave a Comment
Another reminder of the approach of spring. These little lovelies are a batch of crocus beside the front porch. They have pushed their way up through the ground clutter of the past winter and were basking in the sun when I got home this afternoon.
Nearby are some equally brave and determined grape hyacinths. Spring cannot be too far away!
Neither can the Grand National Rodeo Western Art Show & Sale. This afternoon, I dropped off the last of the paintings to be framed and picked up four small landscapes with horses that might be making the trip to San Francisco in a few short weeks. There is nothing like a good frame and professional fitting to make a painting look truly complete!
A local show has been scheduled around the Grand National Rodeo. My church family has been so supportive in this endeavor from the beginning, that it was only right to reward them with a sneak preview of the collection that will be going to San Francisco.
In addition to those pieces, however, the show will include all of the paintings, old and new, currently in my possession. I have only just begun to assemble that collection, but it looks like a good show. Be watching for more information on that.
Work also continues in the studio. The portrait I started this week is progressing nicely with only a few hiccups here and there.
Another portrait, however, is going to give me a run for the money. I have very strong feeling that I will get lots of good drawing practice on this one as I try to work out some conformational and informational problems!
©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
Feb
28
Donkey’s Eating Candy
Filed Under Donna Ridgway | Leave a Comment
My mom was a good donkey grandma! She bought them the licking candy things. At first they didn’t know how to use them! I had to go get some molasses and once the licks were covered with that a few times, the donkeys started right in working away. It’s so cute to watch them as their eyes glaze over and they look like they’re in slobber heaven!
On the art note, the panel I received is driving me quite crazy. I’ve spent a solid three days painting and repainting, trying to make it look right without losing what was on it at the beginning. But it’s coming along and I should be able to show it to you before long.
Donna
Email Me if you have questions, or want to inquire about purchasing a painting.
Remember, you can find horse art, Western art, Mule and Donkey art
wildlife art, cow art, and animal paintings, for sale on my website.
©Copyright 2008 by Donna Ridgway. See original post here.
Feb
28
“A Distinguished Gentleman (Harley),” 14″ x 24″, commissioned harlequine great dane dog portrait, in acrylic on gallery stretched canvas. The above image is the painting almost completed.
Harley has inspired several paintings already (see “The Red Collar” at http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/canvases_available_for_purchase.html). He is delightful and handsome and one of the most engaging models I’ve worked with to date.
I am certain that I will paint him again.
But meanwhile I need to put the finishing touches on the above piece. I see a few tweaks I want to make, and more will crop up in the days to come. I like to live with a painting for a little before I deliver it to the client, and make certain I haven’t missed a single detail.
Now it’s onto the next portrait - a big red dog. I bet Amos (a de Bordeaux Mastiff) could give Clifford a solid run for his money!
Kimberly Kelly Santini
www.turtledovedesigns.com
distinctive pet portraits
& 4-legged paintings
www.paintingadogaday.com
come. sit. stay.
enjoy the art.
Founding member of the Canine Art Guild
www.canineartguild.com
the gateway to canine art on the web
©Copyright 2008 by Kimberly Kelly Santini. See original post here.
Feb
28
When All Else Fails…
Filed Under Linda Shantz | Leave a Comment
Post baby photos!
The poor blog hit a bit of a dry spell there! I admit I haven’t done much artwork in the last week. Besides an increase in the horse workload, I’ve been laid low by the first cold I’ve had in ages. I just don’t get sick, so when I did (does that make sense??) I found it very frustrating! Can you say, grumpy? Naturally, the horses still have to be tended to, no rest for the, ah, average horse person, shall we say. Doesn’t matter, I couldn’t really sleep anyway! I think the worst is behind me, finally. I’m blaming this on my trip to OVC with the new filly. In my post-foaling sleep-deprived state I was an easy target for the evil bugs that lurk the halls of the University of Guelph! That may very well be the last time I was sick, back when I was a student. The filly, at least, is doing great, being as cute as she could possibly be and antagonizing her poor mother!
So today, no artwork, but a couple of photos of this year’s crop taken last weekend (before I started to feel really horrible!). Hopefully I’ll get back to some painting soon!
©Copyright 2008 by Linda Shantz. See original post here.
Feb
27
Painting Using an Under Painting
Filed Under Carrie Lewis | Leave a Comment
My favorite technique for painting is a technique of developing an under painting in half-tones, over which color is applied in a series of transparent glazes or opaque color. This technique is based on the process used by Johannes Vermeer, Rubens and other classical era artists.
I began exploring this process in 2003 and 2004, after having grown dissatisfied with the way my portraits and paintings were turning out. While I still have a lot to learn about developing under paintings and creating glazes, I can say with confidence that most of the work I now produce has a higher degree of luminosity and ‘glow’ than most of the work I produced in previous years.
The first step in this process is to develop a fairly detailed drawing. I do not draw out every hair, but do attempt to make certain features are correctly drawn and placed. Composition is also a major consideration for non-portrait paintings and for landscapes.
The drawing is then transferred to canvas and painting begins with just two colors. Most of the time, I use Burnt Umber and Titanium White for a dark, reddish base color or Raw Umber and Titanium White for a slightly more blue base color.
The first painting session (see “Beginning a New Portrait“) consists of doing a basic block in of values and shapes over the entire painting. For smaller paintings such as the one referenced here, that requires two or three sessions in a single day.
The painting I am using as an illustration here is larger (18″x14″) on stretched canvas) and most sessions required only one painting day, while others did take up two days. (first photo)
That work is allowed to dry completely. Most of the time that is over night, since earth tones dry fairly quickly, but I generally wait for at least 24 full hours.
The next step builds on the previous step, as does each subsequent step. The range of values (lights and darks) are gradually widened and detail is built. (second photo)
When the under painting is fully and properly developed, it should look like a completely finished painting, but in half tones. (last photo)
The finished under painting, which may have taken anywhere from one week for small paintings to three or four weeks for large, complicated compositions, is then set aside to dry for two full weeks, depending on how much white was used and how much, if any, medium was used.
I use very little solvents or mediums at this stage of the painting, preferring the look and feel of straight paint. If I need to improve paint flow at the beginning, a little bit of turpentine works wonders. Toward the end of the under painting, I may add Linseed oil or Walnut oil (depending on the brand of paint being used) to improve paint flow and to allow the painting of fine detail.
The beauty of this method to me as an artist is that it gives me ample opportunity to continue fine-tuning paintings throughout the under painting. It is very easy to make adjustments to the drawing or to move things around if necessary without having to worry about covering up color.
It also removes the necessity of working out detail and color at the same time.
Perhaps the best advantage, however, is that it breaks the painting process up into two favorite parts: details and color!
This painting was completed in 2004 and is titled “Running Free - AL Firestorm”. It is an original oil on stretched canvas.
Later: Applying color!
©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
Feb
26
Glory of Horses Mural project.
Filed Under Donna Ridgway | Leave a Comment
It would be quite logical for you to ask, What the heck is this?!!
But it’s the panel I’m going to paint for the Glory of Horses mural. I’ve got to keep true to the values and colors on this canvas, to 20% to keep my panel true to the “Mother Image” as this is part of a whole. When the panel is finished, it must also reflect the theme of the Glory of Horses. Am I crazy to tackle something like this?
If you see something in this image, let me know, but I’ll tell you now, I have the image I’m going to paint set in my mind. My Robert helped me to see it, and I’m going to paint what he described. I had an idea, but I liked his better, even though it will take me a while longer to paint as he’s not daunted by details! I’ll not show this panel until it’s finished…
There are other mural projects and I’m going to be part of the Equine mural there also.
Donna Ridgway
PS, Thanks for stopping by to see my blog.
Email Me if you have questions, or want to inquire about purchasing a painting.
Remember, you can find horse art, wildlife art, cow art, and animal paintings, for sale on my website.
Mule and Donkey art
©Copyright 2008 by Donna Ridgway. See original post here.
Feb
25
Beginning A New Portrait
Filed Under Carrie Lewis | 1 Comment
Well, I chickened out!
Last Friday, I shared a new painting I had just started and that I intended to paint using a complementary under painting method I first learned with colored pencils. The painting in question was a commissioned portrait. Last Friday, I had painted the background area magenta and the horse blue.
Since then, I have been having second thoughts. Yes; rich, vibrant colors were possible with this method, but didn’t complements also gray each other? Did I really want to ‘gray down’ the rich bay of this horse’s shining coat?
The bottom line came this morning when I checked the canvas and it was still as fresh and workable as it was when I painted it last Friday. If I continued with this route, I would have to wait at least a week, possibly two, before the paint was dry.
The decision was immediate. Save this canvas for another project and take up another 11×14 canvas and do a traditional under painting in earth tones.
So that’s what I did. In spite of taking what initially looked like a backward step, the painting progressed nicely throughout the day and was fully blocked in. There is still work to do. The background is complete, but the horse is lacking some vital highlights and the details of eyes, muzzle and ears need further development.
©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
Feb
25
Grocery shopping
Filed Under Judy Wood | Leave a Comment
I was finally forced out to buy groceries yet again today. Seems like I’m *always* heading out the door to buy groceries. I don’t understand how that works, since there are only two of us living in this house and we don’t consume vast amounts of food, but we more often than not seem to be out of a variety of key products. I try to convince myself that as long as we have coffee, toilet paper and dog and cat food we can get by, but this generally doesn’t go over too well, although the dogs and cats seem to feel it’s perfectly OK.
I have switched venues in the past year to shopping at our local Co-op grocery store. The Co-operative farmer’s movement is something whose history I don’t know as well as I should, being a Saskatchewan resident lo these many years, but it evolved out of the need for rural people (in the earlier part of the last century, that was the bulk of the population) to work together in a co-operative fashion in order to survive. The heritage of those early days of group economic activity lives on in Co-op grocery stores, gas stations, and a number of other thriving commercial enterprises.
When my kids were little, I shopped at the nearest Co-op grocery store regularly. Then at one point there was a rather protracted labour strike and I stopped going, more out of fear of confrontation than from any high moral stance, and I got out of the habit of turning east at the critical intersection, and didn’t go to the Co-op for about two decades.
I am not a happy shopper for any products other than art/camera supplies and at tack stores, and finally the stress and irritation engendered by the other grocery chains in the area drove me back to the Co-op. I was pleasantly surprised by the relative calm of this store, the adequate but manageable size, and the exceptional quality of all food categories on offer, especially the produce. The other customers seemed a lot more civilized, as well. The local big box low-cost option next door to “my” Co-op seems more like roller derby with grocery carts than anything else, and I can’t say this is a sport I ever wanted to indulge in.
The only complaint I have about the Co-op, in fact, was brought home to me today when I had to endure the sound effects yet again. As you are poking through the broccolli and feeling the avocados, minding your own business and in your own little bubble, it’s a bit of a shock when suddenly a loud and startling cackling of disturbed chickens breaks out overhead, followed by the plaintive lowing of cattle. This is repeated at odd and unpredictable intervals until you have fled to the relative safety of the area east of the freezers. Interestingly, that’s the direction you have to go to buy the actual meat products of those poor creatures you had to listen to over in produce. I guess they figure that listening to the last words of various chickens and cows might have an effect on sales in the meat department. As it turns out, I *don’t* buy any meat products at the Co-op, mostly because I feel badly about eating other sentient beings. I still do it, in moderation, but I only buy from people whose farms I have been to and who I know give their animals a good quality of life before they meet their inevitable end. It seems like the least a person can do, plus you have the satisfaction of knowing where your food money is ending up, and of getting a premium quality product at the same time.
When I hear the chicken audio loop at the Co-op, I often think about the many chicken photos I have taken over the years. I have a great fondness for chicken shots, although finding visually interesting chickens living a natural lifestyle can sometimes be a challenge. Most of the chickens I’ve had access to have been located on horse farms that I have gone to for horse photo shoots. After I’ve done all the shots of the high-end Warmbloods or whatever the particular establishment boasts in the way of horses, I’ll usually ask if it’s OK if I go in with the chickens to get some photos. Luckily my clients tend to be fairly accepting of my sometimes inexplicable (to them) enthusiasms. One of my “regular” flocks has now gone to the great coop in the sky, not to be replaced, but I was lucky to find a new, numerous and varied flock including Bantam chickens, ducks, and geese, at one of my recent horse photo locations. I look forward to revisiting them in the future and adding to my ongoing collection.
The first photo today is a fairly old one–from my film camera days. It’s a shot I’ve always really liked, and was just a lucky grab shot one day when I was at the zoo with my grandson a number of years ago. They have a small flock of roosters and chickens that wander around at large on the grounds, along with an excessive number of peacocks. This rooster had gone up into the evergreen tree for a bit of a sit, and the sun was streaming in on him. In this version I have scanned the original print and played a bit in Photoshop for a painterly effect.
The second shot is one I call “Sunday Walk”. This was the flock I used to photograph fairly regularly that is no longer with us. They were mostly “little red hens” with a few splashy roosters. I’m clueless as to chicken breeds, so although I believe the hens were Rhode Island reds, I certainly wouldn’t argue if someone told me otherwise.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
Feb
25
Snoopy!
Filed Under Linda Shantz | Leave a Comment
“Seeker’s Magic Pine” (Snoopy)
12 x 9″ Pencil
©Copyright 2008 by Linda Shantz. See original post here.
Feb
23
ACEO Horses!
Filed Under Carrie Lewis | Leave a Comment
Original aceo horse paintings are now available for purchase through my web site at www.carrie-lewis.com.
The collection includes the most recent painting, “Gallop #1 2008, Merlin” (shown at left) and a selection of aceo horse paintings from 2007, when I averaged painted one new original landscape painting every painting day.
Images include feature studies, paintings of the horse as landscape and more traditional compositions. The collection will be updated as new aceo horses are finished.
While visiting my web site, I invite you to also check out collections of landscape paintings, small format paintings and colored pencil horses.
©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
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