Tag Archives: dog

Mar 9 – Sadness and Acceptance

March 10th, 2010 | Posted in Elin Pendleton

Many of you have noticed the sporadic emails in the last few weeks, and for that I sincerely apologize. I’d hoped to share with you the finished polo ponies, but in utter amazement, I cannot FIND the painting! In the chaos of doing a major studio cleanout, I put it “somewhere safe”. Have you ever done that?

But today I am very sad for having to put down my companion of eighteen years–Qso, the German Pinscher–shown here with Pesto the studio cat.

Pets connect us to our past, living lives of scant more than a decade, and linking us to events and people from earlier times. As they age, we see our own lives (compressed) of youth, prime and then, if we are lucky, and if the animal is as well, we carry them through their old age, giving them the gift of care and a final exit with dignity and sadness.

So today’s message is one of communication to all animal lovers out there, those of us who have lost a beloved pet, and to all who share with me the sharp pain of the memory of their last days.

Animals have a prescience and acceptance of death that we humans can only envy. She told me it was time, and her passing was peaceful. I have always said that if we lose a pet, we have a hole in our heart waiting to be filled by an eager newcomer, whose future may be uncertain if we stay within our pain of loss. I am not sure when that achy place will be filled, but fill it will.

So, beloved Qso, I sent you to the Rainbow Bridge today as my last gift to you, and buried you just outside the studio door where you’ll always be in my thoughts, and nearby. Safe journey, my companion. My heart is heavy tonight.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

©Copyright 2009 by Elin Pendleton. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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A new foot forward

March 9th, 2010 | Posted in Judy Wood

Another entertaining week on a number of fronts. The good weather has held on, with snow melting fast, so there is lots of water (and mud, depending where you are) underfoot with much more yet to come. I saw a flock of newly returned Canada geese in the field en route to Ebon stables last week, which seemed early to me, but is a definite marker of the changing seasons. I’ve been gathering up supplies for a couple of new art directions (one that will involve my photos, and one of an entirely different sort) and trying to research what to do and how to do it, a process I always enjoy. When and if I get anywhere with either of these directions, you’ll be the first to know.
One other thing of note in my personal realm was the installation of our new dishwasher. I’ve lost track of how old the previous one actually was. It was in declining health for a number of years, although it did get the job done, more or less. Many of the support prongs on the shelves had rusted out and were gone, the thing made a huge amount of noise (it did from the get-go so that wasn’t new), and the door seal had gone so that at several points during any given cycle it would release greater or lesser amounts of water onto the kitchen floor. Usually I would remember to place a bath-towel in a strategic location to contain the flood, but not always. Since I’d generally way rather spend money on things like new lenses, camera bodies, saddles, or almost anything other than household appliances, we put up with it for a long time, but new kitchen flooring has finally risen to the top of the list, and no way was I going to get new flooring while the dishwasher was still spewing water. So the short version is we now have a roomy, flexible, energy efficient, and blessedly silent dishwasher. Next stop, kitchen flooring!

Shot one was taken last week when I went to deliver some photos and have a visit with my Paint breeder friend. For once, I wasn’t out stalking the horses at her place, rather was very taken up with her interesting pack of dogs, especially young Gus, the star of shot one. He is about a year and a half old now, and has grown—a lot–since I last saw him when he was only a few weeks old. He is a Boxer-Brazillian Mastiff cross, and if I hadn’t been informed of the Boxer part, I wouldn’t have guessed it by looking at him. He favours the Mastiff side of his heritage in both looks and in his low-key approach to life, although there were a few tell-tale Boxer moves that I detected in the way he interacts with visitors and with the other dogs.


The next day I carried on with photo ops, this time with my more usual equine subject matter. I had heard from a couple of sources that there was a breeder of Friesian horses newly located in the district. Since this is one of the ultimate “artist” breeds for me, I was of course very interested in getting a chance to get them in front of my camera. With my new camera equipment and the weather finally consistently bland, I thought now would be a good time to start my collection of photos of these horses. I called the owner who was most accommodating and willing to share her horses and her time, and spent a very happy couple of hours out there on Saturday afternoon. Bonus for me was that in addition to her Friesians, she has a Gypsy cob stallion and a collection of Clydesdale mares, since she is branching off into breeding Drum horses as well as Friesians. Couldn’t be a better set-up from my point of view. Shot two shows her Friesian stallion in full flight in his pasture.
Shot three shows the mare herd (and one gelding mixed in for good measure). The Friesians are leading the way, followed by the “big girls”. It was interesting to note the self-imposed segregation of the two breeds, with the Friesians being quite unwilling to mix on an equal (orany) basis with the heavy horses, preferring as they do to stay in their own breed group with minimal interaction.

Shot four shows the two stallions play fighting. They are both very well-socialized young fellows, and have no problem sharing their large fenced area. The mares are quite far away from the boys in the pasture set-up, so they won’t feel the need to compete with each other for attention from the ladies. I’m always pleased to see stallions allowed to live like normal horses, and not confined and treated like dangerous beasts as can sometimes be the case.

Shot five takes us somewhere else entirely, which is to my feet in their new “Five finger” Vibram barefoot shoes. These have recently come to my attention, and when my daughter bought a pair that I could try on, I was quite taken with the whole concept. I’ve always enjoyed the barefoot feel, but never liked the grit my feet picked up (that could get me into vacuum cleaner stories, but I’ll spare you) or having chilly feet in winter. These provide a good work-around for those concerns, and are supposedly ergonomically very good as walking/running shoes. For any who have met me in real life, you’ll recall I’m the farthest thing imaginable from a runner (I’m built for comfort, not for speed) but I think these will be just the ticket for house wear, yard wear and for walking the dogs. Definitely *not* barn shoes, though!!

©Copyright 2009 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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It’s March!

March 2nd, 2010 | Posted in Judy Wood

A new month, and for the moment it really feels as if winter is giving way. We’ve been getting temperatures up to the freezing level by day, and not too terribly cold at night. I keep forgetting to plug in the block heater on the car and it still starts the next day. The sun is higher in the sky and our hours of daylight noticeably longer. The snow is in retreat, and things just generally feel kind of hopeful. I know we will likely get a few setbacks between now and “real” Saskatchewan spring, which is usually a few weeks sandwiched in sometime in mid to late April, but for the moment I’m enjoying the process. I’m even contemplating switching over to lighter weight blankets for the horse and dogs. Mind you, I’m not going to put the heavier winter ones away for a while, just in case. March and April can be trying months here, since it really seems like it should be a lot nicer a lot faster than is usually the case, but we’ll take whatever little breaks we get and be happy for them.
We had a house-guest for a few days last week in the form of Mogo the mini-Dachshund. He is a pretty regular visitor at our “dog bed and breakfast”, and as you can tell from shot one, he settles in pretty comfortably on the couch (a forbidden zone for our own large dogs) and keeps an eye on the passing scene out the living room window. He and our grand-dog Arrow often coincide in their visits, and when they both go home, reducing the pack from four dogs to our own two, it seems like not that many dogs at all!
My husband went on a birding outing last week with one of his friends. He commented when he got home about the number of ravens they had seen by a riverbank area on the western edges of the city as they were returning home. I quizzed him about the location and time of day, and vowed to make a pilgrimage myself in hopes of photos. I hit the jackpot yesterday afternoon when I was able to view and photograph about a dozen ravens, plus various other species that were in the area. For the most part the ravens were a little far off, even for my new longer lens, but one seemed to be delegated to keep an eye on me and it would overfly where I was standing with the camera about every five minutes or so. The lighting yesterday was a bit marginal for the lens I had, and I want to have another go in brighter light. Today was a super day, with good lighting, but when I went over to the site in late morning, there wasn’t a single raven to be seen. They must all be foraging at the dump (conveniently nearby) for much of the day, so when I go back (I hope tomorrow) I’ll try for the late afternoon again. I’m up against migration patterns here as the crows will likely be back in a few weeks, and the ravens will be departing for parts north, so I have a limited window of opportunity. Next winter I’ll check this site a lot sooner and see if they are back again.
While I was waiting for the ravens to come a bit closer, I was aware of something coming in on my left, and got this shot of the passerby. I knew it was some kind of hawk or falcon, but didn’t know what sort. Jim (birder husband) says it is a Gyrfalcon . A beautiful bird, very calm and focussed in its fly-past. Small birds generally flee in panic and consternation when a predator of this sort appears in the area, but the large and formidable ravens and the gyrfalcon appear to have a “mutual exclusion” pact and just ignored each other completely. There was also a small flock of robins at this site that had wintered over–no migrating robins will be here for a couple of months yet.
A friend and I met at the barn today to turn our horses out together for a roll and run without blankets and as a photo op for me. Alpac turned out to be the one with the most ambition once they got going. Indy ran around a bit but was overall content just standing around watching. This is kind of funny since Alpac will be twenty this year (getting up there as horses go) and Indy is still a “single digits” youngster, so their roles really should have been reversed. Shot four is one of Alpac from today. Backgrounds aren’t as pretty as when the snow was deeper and fresher, but a lot better than it will be when it turns into a sea of mud and disgusting other “organic matter” that has built up over the winter. There are actually a few bonuses to frozen and snow-covered ground!
Shot five is of a cute young fellow I met at the barn today. There is a new boarder who was out checking on her filly, and as they were getting ready to leave, they made a comment about the dogs in their car. Of course I had to know what kind, and then I had to see them and get a few shots. The female is a French bulldog, and the male (pictured here) is a French bulldog/pug cross. What a cute pair! Visiting dogs are not allowed out of their vehicles at the barn, so they were on orders to stay in the back of the Jeep and not jump out to greet me, which was very hard for them to do, although they both achieved it. That’s why this young fellow looks a little put-upon in this shot. He really wanted to jump out and say hello! I hope to get more chances to photograph this pair in future.

©Copyright 2009 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Getting closer—

February 23rd, 2010 | Posted in Judy Wood

I had an interesting and ultimately pricey revelation this past week, on the “getting closer” theme of today’s post. Grandson Mark (with me days during the school break) and I went on a photo shoot at the zoo since the weather was quite reasonable and he wanted to try out his “new” lens and camera combo. In truth the lens was a quite venerable (but good) zoom that I had abandoned a couple of years ago, and the camera body (new to him) is my sadly abused Nikon D200, the one I have worked almost to death. Since the old zoom he was using didn’t work on the previous cast-off digital he got from me, this was his first outing with the “big” lens. It was also the first time ever that we were standing side by side taking essentially the same shots and both with zoom lenses.
I downloaded my photos when we got home, and they were about the usual. Then I thought I’d see how his looked. Big mistake!! I had forgotten how much closer you could zoom in with the old lens. It’s a 70-300 zoom (which on a digital SLR actually brings you even closer than the stated top end) while my fancy new zoom tops out at 200. Of course it is a much “faster” lens and has superior features, but darn it, I was jealous of his extra zoom power with the old lens.
What to do? My first thought was “I want that lens back” but really, I couldn’t go there as I had given it to him and he was so thrilled with it. Next step was to start researching what I could get in the way of a new lens. I knew I wasn’t going to be getting a 300 zoom with the same fast capacity as my 200, as I’d priced them out when I bought the 200 and at that time the 300 zoom lens was not only $5000 but so long I wasn’t sure about hand-holding it effectively. I kept coming across good reviews of a Nikon 70-300 lens that wasn’t particularly fast but that had uniformly good reviews on a number of photo sites, wasn’t heavy or enormously long, and was a relatively reasonable price. Even better, when I emailed my contact at the camera store I frequent, it turned out that not only was the price better than I was expecting, but it was on sale, hence an even better bargain. Need I go on to say that I am now the happy owner of this lens?
On to the photos. You’ll notice a change in format here (if you have wandered by this blog before). My husband suggested this might be more user friendly than my previous way of having all the text on top and the photos on the bottom. In truth, when I first started this blog a couple of years back, the “old” method was how it initially presented itself and I was too frightened by the technology to try to mess with it. Then I forgot about the whole thing until Jim mentioned it last week, so this time I’m trying for a more “integrated” approach and so far I seem to have a grip on it. I guess the only question now is whether the text that goes with each picture should be above or below it. My instinct is to put the text below the shot it belongs to, but if anyone out there thinks differently, feel free to make suggestions.
Shot one, unlike most of today’s, was not taken at the zoo, although some people who visit my house might beg to differ. This is my grand-dog Arrow, ready to be let in the back door after her visit to the yard. Most of the other dogs, resident and visitors, bark to let me know they want in. Arrow just rises up on her back legs and stares intently, often a futile effort since I’m not usually in the kitchen which is where this door is located. She got lucky the day of this shot as I was right on the spot, although she had to wait for me to find a camera and get my shot first. And no, she doesn’t end up staring forever if I’m not right on hand. She will eventually bark if she needs to.
Shot two is from the “revelation” shoot that Mark and I did together last week. This is as close as I could zoom in with the 200 upper limit lens.

This shot is one I got today with the 300 zoom. Lion is in the same location, as was I. You can see how much closer in this lens gets. I won’t get into the details of trying to shoot between the wires on enclosures at the zoo, an ongoing vexation that has to be worked around, not always in a satisfactory fashion.


I’m always entertained by magpies, and there were a pair of them working around these sheep?goats? today. I have a feeling they are some sort of European wild sheep, but didn’t note the name so I can’t say for sure. Actually now that I think about it the ram was definitely sheep-looking in the horn department. I watched this particular sheep and magpie for quite a while. The magpie was very busily doing something around and under the sheep, which stood like a statue the whole while, not moving a muscle. Eventually one of the magpies perched briefly on a sheep, but I was in the midst of relocating my position as that happened and couldn’t get focussed quickly enough to get that shot.

This is the “now for something completely different” shot of the day. I’ve been creating unicorns for the past while on an intermittent basis. I was sorting through a bunch of my horse shots for another project when I came across this Gypsy cob foal shot from last spring, and thought how cute he’d be as a unicorn foal, so here he is. I’m still working on this image and it will likely evolve a bit yet, but this is where he’s at for the moment.
I’m off to watch the figure skating at the Olympics now. Go, Canada!

©Copyright 2009 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Taxi. New drawing of canine pup.

February 14th, 2010 | Posted in Sheona Hamilton-Grant
Taxi
Graphite on Paper. 28×21 cm
SOLD
Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved.

Taxi is little and full of fun and bounce. She settles down once and a while and when she does these are the wee eyes that peek up at you full of innocence and sincerity.

This portrait was done in December and a delivered over mince pies and Xmas cheer.

Will be taking the next few days off to spend Carnaval with my familly. The idea of being amoungst mad crazy costumes is strangely very alluring. So it’s one great big Helau from me (German festive cry at this time of year).

Back soon with streamers and confetti in my hair !!!!

©Copyright 2009 by Sheona Hamilton-Grant. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Hammish

February 11th, 2010 | Posted in Catherin McMillan


Hammish
Meet Hammish he is my latest acrylic commission.  14″ x 18″ on 1″ thick gallery wrapped canvas.  I just loved his 2 different coloured eyes and gentle expression.  Thanks Amy for commissioning me to immortalise Hammish for you.

If you would like to commission a portrait of your own drop me an email: catherin@animalarthouse.com for an obligation free quote.
Catherin http://www.animalarthouse.com/

©Copyright 2009 by Catherin McMillan. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Noah

February 11th, 2010 | Posted in Judy Johnson


This past summer we visited some new friends in upstate New York and stayed overnight. That evening there was a full moon which we watched rise over their rolling hay pasture overlooking the old barn and farm house. It got darker and darker but we could always see their energetic American Eskimo running after large sticks. The moon, the woods and pastures, deer, and the easy company of new friends made it a night I will always remember.
5×7 watercolor original -NFS
5×7 print $10

©Copyright 2009 by Judy Johnson. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Feb 6 – Finished the Acrylic "Dog Walkers"

February 8th, 2010 | Posted in Elin Pendleton

Compare this image with my last posting, and you’ll se some VERY important changes, but those changes might not even be noticeable at first glance. That’s the beauty of the artist’s eye–the subtleties that we are aware of because of our training, years of comparing and contrasting what we want versus what is already on that flat surface. The changes just HAD to be done. I still think this one should have gotten into the Art Show at the Dog Show, but when they are “show” people, perhaps they ahve a different outlook on dogs in general My paintings of the shelter cast offs didn’t receive merit there, however YOUR response to that series made my day. So art shows are one good venue for exposure, but ought not be the end-all-be-all for measuring one’s artistic competence.

I’m going to share with you the source material for the second painting (the acrylic) that’s in the new DVD coming out “Misty Light and Overcast Days” in the Colorful Painting Series. Since this one has acrylic paint on it, too, I have had to drop the “Oil” out of the title! It is a composite (roughly assembled in Photoshop) of a 100% wolf that belongs to an acquaintance. Three images of the same wolf makes for an interesting composition, and you can bet I’ll be adding to and changing it for good “painterly” execution. It’s going to be on a 16 x 20 linen canvas.

On other fronts, I’ve shared with you news of moving, my horses and dogs, and many aspects of my life. So perhaps you would like to know the most recent. Tonight (Saturday evening) I’m home solo yet again, which will be an ever-increasing condition due to my spouse’s declaration of having been and needing to love more than one female. While I have been adjusting to these “discoveries”, I realize I am living in a “murky, complex, bizarre chaos” of an artistic life. There is nothing ordinary about the full life of an artist, and I am coming to realize that many choices I have made will never be “ordinary”. Fraught with the magnitude of this side-swipe to my daily existence, I have positioned myself as an observer/bystander as these events unfold while I weigh my options.

Yes, that’s why I was erratic in posting for the last couple months. Even the death of my mother (April 7-8, 2006, blog) didn’t interrupt my painting. This did. Please withhold your comments as my strength comes from standing on a three-point solid base of focus, commitment and optimism. If I think I can lean on folks, I become unbalanced and off that base of strength. Not good, at least not right now. Know that I’m doing well, and continue to cope as things progress.

I am looking forward with great optimism to the workshop next weekend, the painting demonstration for Hemet next Wednesday, and the upcoming workshops in Georgia and Florida this April/May. And my heart swells with real affection I have for people (like you) who have been there for me for these almost FIVE YEARS!!! My goodness, time flies.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

©Copyright 2009 by Elin Pendleton. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Amoire – Pop Art Pup

February 5th, 2010 | Posted in Catherin McMillan

Amoire

Amoire is a 10″ x 12″ pop art pup Christmas commission and a girl with loads of character.  Just loved her big tongue that seems to want to lick your face right off.

If you’d like to commission a pop art pup portrait for yourself then drop me an email:

catherin@animalarthouse.com

cheers
Catherin

©Copyright 2009 by Catherin McMillan. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Gone to the dogs

February 5th, 2010 | Posted in Judy Johnson

Back to some fun with watercolor dog portraits- this handsome Golden Retriever walked by my booth at “Woofstock”, a dog friendly event put on by the SPCA of Southwest Michigan this past summer. I have a lot of resource material from that day, everyone was proud of their dog(s) and the parade was all day long.  Watch for more pup paintings!
5×7 watercolor, $60, a portion of the profits benefit SPCA of SWMI.

©Copyright 2009 by Judy Johnson. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Finnegan, new canine drawing

February 4th, 2010 | Posted in Sheona Hamilton-Grant
Finn
Pencil on Paper, 18×14 cm
Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved.
SOLD

This is Finnegan.
Finn is an Australian Cattle Dog mix.
Finni (as he is affectionately referred to) lives in Michigan with Kimberly Santini and her family.
I met Finn (cyberly) a few years ago and knew so little about him.
Finni is one heck of a character.

His Mum’s words draw a great picture:

“He’s a dear guy with a strong affinity for frisbee, snowflake and raindrop herding, and good neck rubs. Evan learned to read with him – they still snuggle together every night reading comic books or listening to music (Finni likes Green Day and Lady Gaga).
He takes squirrel patrol duties very seriously and also excels at yard work (picking up sticks and other debris alongside the kids). He sings along with “Happy Birthday” and the Michigan State Fight Song . He’s a great snuggler with the boys, moving from bed to bed during the night (he’d probably sleep with Annie, too, if he could figure out how to get up the ladder into her loft!).
He’s also learned to pick up the boys’ stinky laundry and put it in the hamper – however, we began discouraging that when we found him sneaking socks out and stashing them for a later retrieval (and treat).
He’s just a genuinely willing guy, eager to do whatever you ask at a moment’s notice. A quick learner with boundless amounts of energy.
Our household would be very dull without that crazy scrabble of nails on the floor, followed by that goofy face asking to be brought along for a ride…”

Finni’s portrait is on it’s way to his home … I wonder what he’ll make of it?

©Copyright 2009 by Sheona Hamilton-Grant. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Corgi Power – commissioned dog oil painting portrait

February 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Debbie Grayson Lincoln

8 X 10 Commissioned Dog Portrait oil on canvas
SOLD to a Texas collector
contact me for YOUR dog’s painting!
Georgia, the Border Collie-Wanna-Be is part Corgi, and one of her best friends is Max, a Bembroke Welsh Corgi who has the absolute best personality for a short dog. Max belongs to Tessa, and Tessa has a sister who has two Corgis. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s getting the above painting for her birthday in March, via sister Tessa (who assures me that she DOESN’T go to my blog!)

I’m not near as familiar with dog painting as I am horses, but I am learning. I tried once to paint my little dog Kibble (blond Pomeranian) and I failed miserably. Maybe I am ready to try again…..
Email me if you have a special dog who needs to be immortalized in paint! debbiegraysonlincoln@yahoo.com
Joshua 21:45
Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

©Copyright 2009 by Debbie Grayson Lincoln. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Yuri – Second One Hour Painting

February 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Karen Baker Thumm

“Yuri” 8×10 inch oil on canvas board

Man On A Mission will soon be going to a new home, but for now he is drying on the studio wall and waiting to be varnished.

Doing these one hour paintings definitely qualifies for going outside one’s comfort zone. But even after just one successful painting (at least for me), it has fired me up to do more and learn more. It isn’t about creating a good painting so much as it’s about challenging yourself and learning things you might not otherwise in the process.

Today I tackled a second one hour painting, and this time I managed to finish it in one hour fifteen minutes, using those same #8 brushes which are about 3/4 inches wide. They are a real challenge for getting any kind of detail, let me tell you! And the purpose of doing these little paintings is to get away from thinking detail too much and concentrate on composition, values, and all the rest of the “big picture” elements in painting.

This dog is Yuri, a German Shepherd who belongs to the people who board my horse. He is big, rambunctious and friendly. He’s also very handsome. I caught him in a rare moment of quiet for the photograph from which I worked for the painting.

I’m fairly pleased with this painting as well. These one hour paintings could become addictive, and I’m already looking forward to doing the next one.

©Copyright 2009 by Karen Baker Thumm. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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More Dogs!

February 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Alecia Underhill

Cheerio , oil on gessoboard, 8 x 8 in.

This week’s painting is a study of Cheerio. I captured a moment of contemplation, as she lay on her bed in the living room, with winter sunlight pouring in. Her eyes, with the little brown eyebrow points have so much expression in them. I can hear her sighing in this one. She really wants to chase Pixel, but has decided to behave herself for the moment.

The Cell-Phone Dog , oil on gessoboard, 5 x 7 in. $75.

Also just off the easel is this little yellow lab study. This dog works for the state prison system, and is trained to sniff out cell-phones. She has that lovely, gentle lab face. This little painting is for sale. If you are interested in purchasing her, please contact me.

©Copyright 2009 by Alecia Underhill. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Dressage Horse Watercolor, Dogs & Landscapes

February 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Deborah O'Sullivan


I have to apologize for my blogging lapses. My little Apple laptop is not recovering from it’s kernal panic attacks. I loose everything that I am working on when it crashes. There will be a new laptop in my future.
Art show deadlines have been keeping me busy and I have several pieces that I am completing. I have about 6 paintings I am working on plus a daily plein air. So I am busy, busy, busy again. I am going to be doing a little studio sale on Ebay in the next week so keep an eye out. I’ll post info here and I will send out the info in a newsletter. You can have the latest info delivered right to your mailbox. Sign up here… Newsletter

The above image is a fun piece that I am working on. I am playing with this one and seeing where the water and pigment takes me when I push it around the paper. The eyes are in the initial glazing stage so they have a scarey mask-like appearance. It still amazes me how these paintings develop with each glaze. Sometimes I think they will never work out and then all of a sudden they start to throw a shape. This is painted on a quarter sheet (14 x 10 1/2) on Arches 300 lb, hot press paper. This is a super heavy, thick paper with a lovely smooth feel. Just wonderful for pushing paint around.

Still on the easel in my Newfoundland puppy. Starting to push those darks now. She is in the very blue stage! Many of my black dogs start out this way! Getting there!


Since the computer seems to be cooperating I will go ahead and post 2 plein airs that I did. En Plein Air means that they were painted on the spot and not from photos.
The first is a painting of our barn done from the driveway from our house. It was SUPER cold out and the painting water was icing up! But I did get to use my new Cheap Joe’s Field Easel! This is a 7 x 10.

This second one is quite large. It meaures 14 x 12 (or there about) and was painted during a break when we had torrential rains that washed away the snow! This is a tree that sits next to my driveway. There is something about this one that I really like.

I don’t want to push my luck and have a computer melt down! So signing off here! As always your comments are always appreciated! Have a great day!

Deborah

©Copyright 2009 by Deborah O’Sullivan. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Jan 29 – Signed but not finished

January 30th, 2010 | Posted in Elin Pendleton

I signed it, but it isn’t finished yet. However it really has that “feel” I was seeking when I picked up the brushes. Do you see the strong triangular design, with the black lab on the left anchoring that corner? An overlay of this image would show the many diagonals that work to repeat and support the structure of this work.

I really like it at this point, but it truly is not finished. I had pressure on me to use this image for entering the Art Show at the Dog Show, and it was summarily rejected. I entered it more because of what I KNOW it will become, rather than as a finished piece. But judges are arbitrary, subjective and totally in control of the shape of an art show, so I don’t take that rejection personally. Sometimes that’s just where the chips fall.

Below is the image with tension-creating diagonals for you. To me, this angled tension with so many lines sets the stage for excitement in this dog walker composition. Horizontal and verticals are static, lines that lean are tension-filled and exciting. Note the two vertical signposts in the upper left corner, effectively stopping the convergence of the snow lines off the edge of the canvas. “That’s design, baaaybe!”

After I finish up both this one and the backlit Lab (which DID get accepted to the show), I’ll share with you the second painting for the upcoming DVD on misty and overcast lighting–in stages, of course!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE. (Still some slots!!!)
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

©Copyright 2009 by Elin Pendleton. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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Shameless trumpet blowing…

January 29th, 2010 | Posted in Sheona Hamilton-Grant
“Complicity”Graphite on paper, 37×26 cm

copyright Sheona Hamilton-Grant

Please forgive me should this sound off key: not the world’s best trumpeter…

Two of my three entries have been accepted to this year’s Art Show at the Dog Show.
It’s tremendous news which has brought one beaming smile to a winter trodden morale.

“Tall Grace”

Graphite on paper, 39×22 cm

copyright Sheona Hamilton-Grant

Complicity and Tall Grace will be packing their bags (or rather packed into a crate) and flying off to the other side of the water, to Kansas.
Yipee!

©Copyright 2009 by Sheona Hamilton-Grant. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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“Man On A Mission”

January 27th, 2010 | Posted in Karen Baker Thumm


“Man On A Mission” 8×10 oil painting on canvas board

I had an email from my mentor recently. “You need to do some one hour paintings! Use big brushes and heavy paint”.

I must admit that this assignment was thoroughly intimidating because I’m a very slow, careful painter, but I knew it would be an excellent exercise to “loosen me up”. For my first attempt, I chose a foal photo, but decided that it was too complex an image for my first one hour painting. So, I found this simple photo of Spinner, a Jack Russell Terrier who belongs to a friend and sometimes riding instructor.

Yesterday I forced myself into the studio, and this was the result. I used a #12 bristle flat to apply a tone to the canvas and then used #8 synthetic flats to draw and paint the dog and the background. I cheated a little by using a round bristle for some of the small details, but that was it. I managed to do the dog in one hour but then spent another hour applying the background and fussing over the dog. I probably could easily have stretched the time into another 2-3 hours to refine everything but resisted the urge and put down the brushes.

I’m supposed to do a couple of these per week and already have a German Shepherd picked out to do next. It’s quite a departure from my usual cautious and detailed style and requires real discipline to resist the urge to pick, pick, pick at the painting. Now I’m looking forward to doing the next one.

I don’t think I’m in any danger of becoming a “loose woman”, but you never know.

©Copyright 2009 by Karen Baker Thumm. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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