Pot Roast

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

Also from the Holstein feed lot, I decided to continue the slightly morbid name pattern. (Thank you to Kaye for the name suggestion!)

A few progress shots below. I was out of my studio, so used 2 printed photos (one for highlights and one for shadows) instead of my iPad. I am seriously addicted to that iPad!

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Barba Coa

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

This young lass progressed into some colorful Central American flavors, a little reminiscent of "Fiesta" but slightly less spicy.

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Quentin

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

Yes, I'm back in a short series of cows again; this one's just to throw you off and make you smile.

Here are some progress shots:

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Chuck

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

Chuck was a little bit of an experiment in ignoring color in favor of value, or more accurately, value and temperature. I basically was in a hurry, so for most choices, grabbed the closest value and temperature I could find at the moment. The grass-green toned down the warm fur on the shadowed side quite nicely. But I was most pleasantly surprised by the bright teal shadow around the eye.

Below are progress shots:

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Mignon

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

I loved the light on this Holstein. And the light in her eyes spoke of patience and caution, in contrast to the others in the herd who were all rushing the fence to get a closer look at me.

I got some progression shots while working:

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On another note, I've posted some photos on my Art Journal Blog from my weekend in Connecticut for the award reception of the Hudson Valley Art Association. Click the photo below to see!

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Stew

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

Another from the feed lot of Holsteins. Another name from my beef recipe list.

(We don't eat beef, btw. I only keep the list for title ideas...)

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Brisket

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

Another from the Kansas feed lots. One lot held nothing but Holsteins, and they were very friendly! I was amazed at the variety of patterns.

Stay tuned for more!

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Ham [Burger]

"Ham [Burger]" (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

I don't know why it took me so long to start naming some of these cows by their future prospects. Denial, maybe?

Admittedly, this name (and a few others like "Mr. T. Bone" and "Porter House") were suggested to me by some friends, and my sense of irony really likes the thought, and I probably will use the names soon (or maybe later.)

If I sound reluctant now it's because, coincidentally, right after I named this painting I started reading "Goodbye, Paris Nash" by Barbara Fletcher-Brink O'Connor. I'm getting close to the end of it and so must keep this post short! OMG! Read this book!! (But don't blame Ham [Burger] for his name - bid on him anyway!)

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Dugan

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

This one is from a batch of photos taken up in Kansas at the feed lots. Several of my next little paintings are from there. I'm running low on 'black and white' names, so I decided this one looked like a 'Dugan'.

This was done on the gold, terra cotta and black primers. Sorry, no progression shots today.

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Widow Chick

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

Here's one hot chick all dolled up in her glossy black feathers and flaming red locks. Bet she won't be a widow for long.

But she'll always wear black... 'Cause she likes it.

See progress shots below!

the gold and terra cotta primers, layered up

with the black primer added

a close-up

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Corabelle (and new award!)

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

Well, the weekend zipped past in a flash, doing caricatures out in Aransas Pass, but I did find the time to complete Corabelle on Sunday morning, and I'm happier with her than I've been with most of the ones I've tried to squeeze into some other event's downtime. I think the fact that we were under big white tents instead of having my own little red tent really helped.

The reason I didn't post her yesterday is because I opened an email from the director of the Hudson Valley Art Association, telling me that my painting "Audrey with Flowers at Seven" (pastel, 28x22) currently in the HVAA 81st Annual Juried Exhibit in Old Lyme CT, won the Art Spirit Foundation Dianne B. Bernhard Award for Excellence in Pastel. I believe this is the highest award given in the pastel category!

So I spent literally the rest of the day online, searching out the best possible travel itinerary to keep my costs as close as possible to my award amount without going over (much!) So Friday evening (6/21) I'll be at the Lyme Art Association for the HVAA show reception from 5-7pm. 

It's a beautiful show, you can see the works HERE.
If you're in the area, stop in and see the show - it's much better in person!  

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Skye

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

I feel like this one is one step closer to the looser, bolder style that I like to see myself working towards. For some odd reason, I find myself imagining working toward a future style of either hyper-realism or bold semi-abstraction. Since the bold and the loose is usually also the fast, in my time-starved life that's usually the winning direction.

"Skye" was primed a few days ago with the rest of this new batch of cows, but the pastel application for the finished painting took about 45 minutes. Anything under an hour is ideal in my books. No time for fussing or overworking or fixing mistakes (so no time for making mistakes!) Unfortunately no time for taking progress shots either.

But I really like how the gold primer was allowed to remain it's own color, in particular as reflected light on her body to the right of her face.

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Windy

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

Windy (that's "Wendy" with a southern accent) looks like she's out enjoying a windy summer day. She's having a hard time holding her ears in place.

I'll be in windy Aransas Pass, Texas this weekend doing caricatures at the Shrimporee. If you like shrimp, come on down!

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Snowy

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

I was saving this one to enter into a competition / exhibit (saving the best for last) but decided to post it and auction it instead (I can always paint another one, right?) This is the last of this batch of bunnies. I might squeeze a couple more decent photo references out of the files, but I've got some good ol' cows comin' up after this...

For your enjoyment and edification, progression pics are below!

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