Fawn

"Fawn"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

Another unimaginative name to go with "Buck" and "Doe". At least I'm being consistent.

This is an example of how sometimes a very low contrast photo can be instantly 'auto-leveled' in Photoshop to make for a beautiful painting reference. Below is my original photo:

 It was a drizzly, gray afternoon. But thanks to Adobe Photoshop, one click of auto levels, and I was able to crop out this lovely pose!

Just about any photo editing software will do the same; maybe not with one click, but adjusting contrast and color is what it does.

.

Plum

"Plum"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

This pretty lady had such expressive eyes.

See below for some progress shots:

.

Spike

"Spike"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

I think this one's actually a girl, but I still wouldn't want to make her mad.

.

Phthalo

"Phthalo"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

So named because of his color of course. Such a deep black he had phthalo highlights.

Also, he looks like he's saying "Phth.."

Did you know that black cows have tongues that are a blueish gray?

.

Grandpa Tex

"Grandpa Tex"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

First I named him "Tex" because of the great state of Texas on his forehead (that was helped along with just a little bit of artistic license.)

Then I though "...But that's such a great name I might want to use it on a larger painting someday." So I added the nickname "Grandpa" as a prefix because of his white 'beard'. Never mind the fact that this calf is not old enough to have any offspring, let alone grandcalves. It's quirky and I like it.

.

King's Guard accepted to IAPS Master Circle Exhibit

"King's Guard"  (pastel, 8x6 inches)  $1150

Well, I've run out of new small paintings again, and have been delayed getting back to the studio by annoying things like sales tax computation (due quarterly on the 20th, that meant today!) and other obligations of life. But hopefully by later this week I'll have a few more new posts at 'ya!

Meanwhile today I got some great news I want to share: "King's Guard", which recently got back from the PSA (Pastel Society of America) show in New York followed by the Butler Institute Invitational in Ohio, was just accepted into the IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) Master Circle Exhibit, which will be coming up in June during the Tenth Biennial Convention in Albuquerque, NM. This fellow will be a well-traveled gentleman by the time he sells!

.

Chip

"Chip" (pastel, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid

Chip (as in "Chocolate...") is an offspring of Gilberta, yesterday's post. The young Barbados sheep are quite darker that the adults.

.

Gilberta

"Gilberta"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

Well, tax day has come and gone, finally! I'm still recovering.

I just learned this is a Barbados sheep. A handsome family of them live across the street from my son's high school. I didn't really know what it was when I painted it. So I asked my husband (who usually knows everything) "Is this a goat or a sheep?" And he told me.

I usually can recognize a goat that looks goat-like or a sheep that looks sheep-like (sheepish?) but I have to admit that sometimes some of them seem rather similar (in the way of llamas and alpacas, which I know are not goats or sheep, but they do look similar to each other.) So tonight I decided to Google it, and found this helpful webpage: sheep101.info/sheepandgoats.html.

.

.

Ghloe

"Ghloe"  (pastel, 7x5 inches) click here to bid

Another demo from last weekend's workshop. I snuck this one in on Sunday afternoon when not many were watching!

.

Maple

"Maple"  (pastel, 6x6 inches)  sold

Another demo from last weekend. Here are a couple shots during the demo:

The workshop was fabulous! 12 talented artists, though the lone man who signed up had to leave after Saturday, and another lady packed up before we got out to take our group shot on Sunday... here we are in front of the Main ARTery (LOVE that name!) in Ulysses, Kansas.

Here are the lovely ladies who stayed to the very end and showed off their art from the weekend! (Sorry for catching some of the blinks and odd expressions!)

Buck

"Buck" (pastel, 8x6 inches) click here to bid

Well, another day gone and I'll be late to bed again. Time really does speed up with age I think. I've just begun to get the workshop photos in my computer but  none are sized yet for uploading.

So here's "Buck", another who lives in the woods of our neighborhood. I like to think of him as "Doe"s mate.

.

Ranch Road #19

"Ranch Road #19"  (pastel, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid

Wonderful workshop in Kansas over the weekend! Got home last night. I don't know where today went except I had another demo in San Antonio this evening and coming home there was road construction! Highway SINGLE LANE! Ugh.
It's way past my bedtime.
Here's my lone landscape from the weekend to tide you over. Hopefully tomorrow will give me more time on the computer.

.

Lemony

"Lemony"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  sold

There was a delicious greenish tint in the reflected light on this one.

See progression below:

.

Freya

"Freya"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  sold

I thought this one looked like a pretty Viking lady.

Below is the reference photo with the underpainting:

I've used the gold, terra cotta and black primers.
.

Ewenice

"Ewenice"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  sold

You can tell by her expression that Ewenice is a nice ewe!

Here's a progression (ignore the various exposures)