Bull Profile #1

"Bull Profile #1"  (pastel, 15" circle) 

Here's the first of several bulls I photographed at a local rodeo festival. They were moving restlessly about in their small pen, so I was able to get a lot of various angles. But even then I had a suspicion I would be wanting to do profiles soon.

I just love the floppy horns.

Here are some progress shots:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

.

No Bull! (at the Bayou City Art Festival)

"No Bull!"  (pastel, 36x36 inches)  $5000  sold

This lovely Longhorn cow is my largest pastel painting to date! I worked long hours to get this one ready for the Bayou City Art Festival in Houston, TX, this weekend (March 28-30. I am in Booth #5 near the main entrance.) I like to have at least one large show-stopper at an art fair, and since last year I sold 4 of my largest paintings (2 of them at this Memorial Park BCAF) I was due for a new one. I recently found out that the Art Glass my framer gets is in fact available larger than 32x40, so I measured the back opening of my truck, added the frame width, and said "I can make a painting 36" wide!"

So I did.

Here are just a handful of the many many shots I took during the painting process, just to show a quick progression:

the gold and terra cotta primer underpainting

here with the photo on my iPad, gives a sense of scale!

 Thanks for watching! Please share!

.

Pumpkin

"Pumpkin"  (pastel, 12" circle)  $550 framed

Pumpkin will be with me at the Bayou City Art Festival in Memorial Park, Houston, TX, this weekend March 28-30, 2014. I'll be in booth #5 near the main entrance.

Saturday's forecast for Houston: Sunny, with a high near 77. Can't beat that!!

.

Chocolat

"Chocolat" (pastel, 12" circle) $550 framed

I was able to squeeze in a couple more circle paintings before packing for the weekend. Chocolat (pronounced with a french accent) will be with me at the Bayou City Art Festival in Memorial Park, Houston, TX, this weekend March 28-30, 2014. I'll be in booth #5 near the main entrance. (I might also have some chocolates...)

.

Pennyroyal

"Pennyroyal"  (pastel, 10x10 inches)  $435 framed

Another darling deer. I had to give up on the "D" names since I had already used "Daisy" on a white calf, and this deer doesn't look anything like a daisy anyway. So I looked up some names for purple flowers.

I'm beginning to like the look of the dull, foggy, cloudy days in my reference photos, because in Photoshop this is what I can do with them:

original photo

photo - cropped and adjusted in Photoshop!

It would be fun to give a workshop sometime on Photoshop basics, although I'm no expert. I just know how to do what I do with it. And everyone there would need a computer and Photoshop, which isn't cheap...  But it would still be fun! The composing with PS is the first 'creative' step I take in every new painting's process (unless I'm working from life, which is a whole different mode...)

"Pennyroyal" will be with me at the Bayou City Art Festival in Houston's Memorial Park this weekend, March 28-30. I have booth #5, right up near the front entrance.

.

Tangled

"Tangled"  (pastel, 8x8 inches)  $325 framed

Ok, here's my other Casey Klahn workshop painting that didn't turn out too badly. I did a few improvements on it right before scanning it.

...And I just discovered I never took a photo of it earlier... oops. Well, take my word for it, it looks better now.

Tangled will be with me at the Bayou City Art Festival in Houston's Memorial Park this weekend, March 28-30. I'm in booth #5, right up near the front entrance. Stop by if you're in the area!

.

The Hanging Tree (and the Casey Klahn workshop)

"The Hanging Tree"  (pastel, 8x10 inches) $365 framed

Here's my one good painting from Casey Klahn's workshop last weekend in New Braunfels, TX. The weekend was fascinating and much more challenging than I had thought it would be.

This painting went through some little revisions after the workshop. Here's how it looked on Sunday:

(slightly blurry) Alas, I did work from a photo, not my imagination as Casey does, but the fixes I worked on it were all made up so I guess that counts!

My favorite part of the workshop was when Casey asked for a donation of an old painting for him to 'work' on resolving a new painting out of. I had brought several, as it was on his supply list for us to resolve our own old or unfinished paintings. So I practically forced a painting on him, although he did pick this one out of my stack. Click the photos below to see a short progression on how he transformed my old amateur landscape into his own colorist work!

before....                              ....and after!

.

Got Nuts? And Workshop Heads-up!

"Got Nuts?"  (pastel, 6x6 inches)  $245 framed

Another little space-filler for the Bayou City Art Fest in Houston, March 28-30. Got my booth assignment, I AM in booth #5, same as last year right up near the front! Hope the weather holds out.

Meanwhile, here are progress shots of Mr. Squirrel:

Also, my next workshop is coming up soon - April 11-13 in Ulysses, Kansas - The focus will be on exploring color. Register today!

Thanks for watching. Please share, and come see me if you're in Houston next weekend!

.

Nibbling Sibling

"Nibbling Sibling"  (pastel, 22x28)  $2600

Finally finished! Not only that, but framed as well! It's a new style of frame from the supplier, very handsome western look, lots of wood. I found I had to add lots of greens to my usual reds and golds to make the painting a good fit for the frame.

Looks good, huh?

Nibbling Sibling features the same two youngsters from Brotherly Love, with the reference photo flipped for the new one.

"Brotherly Love" pastel, 24x30 inches

One Sleepy Chick

"One Sleepy Chick"  (pastel, 6x6 inches)  $165 unframed for a limited time

Another little "small space filler" painting for the Bayou City Art Festival March 28-30.

.

Rainbow

"Rainbow"  (pastel, 8x8 inches)  $265 unframed for a limited time.

No auction on Rainbow. I'll be framing her soon to take to the Bayou City Art Fest in Houston March 28-30. (Purchase inquiries are welcome! She's $265 until I frame her, then she's $325.)

Here are the first few progress shots (until my camera battery died):

 I find that sometimes now I like to finger-blend in some colors in the early phase. I did that below with the green and blues of the shadowed side. It was just too rough covering the lighter gold of the primer.

.

Windsong

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

Doesn't she look like she's listening to the wind?

This is yesterday's painting that I finished after the Clayton J. Beck III workshop. Cool lights, warm shadows. This was much easier than it used to be. I've been doing warm light for so long. Hopefully I'll have some time to post Clayton's demo progress on my Art Journal blog soon (and maybe my own workshop efforts as well... Or maybe not.)

Meanwhile, here are progress shots of Windsong (excuse the change in color, different days, different light, different camera settings by accident) :

Thanks for watching! Please share!

.

Dizzie

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

Dizzie is one of the children of one of the cousins from earlier; maybe Darleigh or maybe Lavender or maybe even Dolly...

This is my last painting from last week. I have great things to say about the Clayton J. Beck III workshop I just took on the weekend; the bit of wisdom that he drilled into us was all about value and temperature. (I thought I knew all about that, ...ha!) Tomorrow I'll post the painting I did today, which has cool light and warm shadow, and you'll see how much I learned!

Meanwhile, here are Dizzie's progress shots: