Daisy

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

Well, got ALL my summer commissions done, yay! But the past few days I've been working on 2 new Renaissance portraits for some competition deadlines fast approaching. One is done and just entered today. I won't post it until it gets in.. ;) The other one's almost halfway done and not sure yet if it will be ready for the next deadline... but then there's always a different deadline in a week or two...

Meanwhile, I had to loosen myself up with this little deer today in the midst of several edits to the Ren port. This was from of a bunch of underpaintings that I still have left since July, before my two out of state workshops! I'm looking forward to getting more of them done this weekend!

Skimming the Surface

"Skimming the Surface"  (oil, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid

My last remaining gull oil from 2012. Thought I'd go ahead and give it another shot on auction after all this time, since I managed to part with two other gulls recently that way! ;) We'll see...

This one's also unframed.

BlueEyes (and New Life By Cropping)

"BlueEyes"  (pastel, 6x8 inches)  click here to bid

Here's another older piece I found in my studio, that I've given a new life by cropping! This (originally 10x8) painting had languished in a gallery years ago because (I believe now) of an ambiguous front leg which was hugging the tree in the bottom part of the painting. I knew the leg might have looked a little big because, well, it's a big cat, and the camera had foreshortened the angle a bit and since the leg was closer... Well, combined with some oddness with how the shoulder joint was bent, it garnered some confused comments. So I pulled it out and it ended up in the stack of 'old' stuff after reusing the frame for something else.

But I always loved these eyes! And the back-light across the top of this fluff-ball, and the languorous pose. So today when a friend saw it in my studio stack of 'olds' and I was explaining to her the story of the odd leg, I said "I should just chop it off." ... Hey!

And so I did! It's a much a better painting now. It even improved the composition.. Just goes to show that sometimes amputation is what a painting needs.

(You can see the past life of this painting "Up the Tree Again" on this blog post from 2012.)

Pimento

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

Almost done with ALL my summer commissions, but I just HAD to take a side-trip today and whip this little one out. Back to my 'roots' of the little cow portrait and it was pure, mindless joy!

Ahhhh.

AND... Progress shots! :)

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Wave Tripping

"Wave Tripping"  (oil, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid

Yay! Two major commissions are done :) but I can't show them off until Christmas :( So I'm on to the other two slightly easier commissions, and meanwhile, here's one more of the gulls I have left from the 2012 series.

Knee Deep

"Knee Deep"  (oil, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid

Since the recent gull painting got a good share of attention, I thought I'd take the opportunity to re-post this one from my original mini-series of gulls in 2012. This one and a couple others are all that's left, and they get tricky to sell at art fairs because they're so different from the rest of my current work (and they're not pastel...)

This one fell out of it's floater frame and I haven't had the time to stick it back, so I've letting it have another shot in the auctions, unframed. :)

Itchy Gull

"Itchy Gull"  (oil, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid

My oil demo from the "Why Paint Small" workshop earlier this month in Valentine, Nebraska. I first did a 'grisaille' underpainting with burnt umber. Starting with a wash of a medium tone, then lifting out the lights and laying in the darks. This dried overnight and I painted the colors the next day. There might have been a video of this one, but I haven't got my hands on it yet. Meanwhile check out this gull post from 2012, showing my process for oil painting.

Itchy Gull is a bit looser but I blame that on it being only my second oil painting in almost 2 years, plus I was trying to talk at the same time, lol!

Away from the Overlook

"Away from the Overlook"  (oil, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid

Here's a better image of my one plein air painting in Nebraska. From last weekend after judging the Sand Painters Art Guild show in Valentine. Many of the Sand Painters group are devoted plein air artists and I so admire the dedication that takes, so I was excited to join a few of them on Friday evening. We drove up to a beautiful overlook with several views of the valley below. I found it all a bit overwhelming... so much information! So I settled on the simpler view of the pines, facing away from the overlooks. I do believe this is my first oil plein air. It was hard! All that getting situated and mixing paint, while the gorgeous cloud patterns that first attracted me disappear and the light fades! Arg!

I posted a couple shots from that evening on FB a few days ago, but here they are for you blog followers!

the scene

chasing the light

my improvised 'easel-free' setup

I know you're going to ask: I don't remember where I got the chair. I think I ordered it online somewhere, years ago from one of the art supply stores.. Just Google "chair bag cart with wheels" ;)

Fuzz Ball (and the Nebraska workshop)

"Fuzz Ball"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  sold

This was the first of my demos at the workshop last weekend for the Sand Painter's Art Guild in Valentine, NE. This was a cutie I had painted before and really enjoyed, so I figured it would make a fun and interesting demo. (See "Duckling in the Light")

The workshop had 20 amazing attendees, all were eager to learn and had great progress and intelligent questions. Held at the Cherry County Fair, we were surrounded by the excellent artwork of League member show, which I judged, and my own work (they said "bring a bunch!") The quilt show and award-winning vegetables helped fill the other side of the room. Yum.

See LOADS more photos on my FB page, shared from the Sand Painter's member posts!

Road Sketch #34

"Road Sketch #34" (pastel, 5x7 inches)

One of my demos from the CA workshop. I cropped and color adjusted a pic from the morning drive on the Thursday before when my friend Michele took me a winding scenic route through some hills to the coast. Landscape not being my strong area, this painting went through its own winding visual progressions before I finally had to cut myself off! Then I went back and softened everything afterwards in an attempt to disguise the overworked-ness. (If that's not a word, it aught to be!)

It's not too bad now, I guess, but I've done better. (I should do a whole month of landscapes soon to get myself back in the swing of it!)

I hit the road tomorrow for my "Why Paint Small?" workshop in Valentine Nebraska next weekend. I'm heading out early since I'm pretty sure I want to stop in Fort Worth and see the current special exhibit at the Kimbell on my way! Road Trip!! :D

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Mophead

"Mophead"  (pastel, 6x6 inches)  sold

What do I post when there's no time to paint? I find something that sold before I could post it! This is from my last busy batch in July. I painted it for a new friend I met at IAPS who loves my sheep paintings and who generously shared her rented house with me during the convention in June.

Here are some progress shots:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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