Third View from the Drive

"Third View from the Drive"  (pastel, 8x10 inches)  sold

This was a commission of sorts from a client who had bought "Second View from the Drive" a year or two ago from an art festival. Her daughter liked it so much she wanted one similar, so I simply worked again from the same photo. I made a point not to look at the first painting, so that this one could have a distinctively different style (since my landscapes are kind of all over the place when it comes to technique!)

"Second View from the Drive" was a workshop demo and had larger, bolder strokes.

"Second View from the Drive" pastel, 8x10, sold

Ok, so you're wondering, what was the first View from the Drive? Here it is, a little plein air piece from 2009:

"View From the Drive" pastel, 5x7, sold

And what drive was that?
My driveway, I mean! The first View was looking out to the lot across the street (which now has fence and an outbuilding stuck between those trees) on a very misty drizzly day. I stood in my driveway while painting it.
The Second (and Third) View is part of the empty lot next to us in the early morning light. Alas, these two were not plein air, but from the same photo (taken from the driveway.)

photo of next door lot

Luckily, this lot still looks much the same. It has a huge concrete water tank a little bit to the left of this tree, smack dab in the middle of the lot, which seems to discourage anyone from building there.

I'll be on my way to Little Rock in the morning, for my 4-day workshop next week. So I might not post again until Monday. Have a great weekend, y'all!

F is for Flamingo

"F is for Flamingo"  (pastel, 10x10)  click here to bid

I probably have enough flamingo photos to paint nothing but flamingos for a couple years. It still took me a while to find just the right shot. Of course, there had to be sunlight. But flamingo legs bore me... they're just so long! I liked being able to fit the important parts of this fellow into a square.

If you've just stumbled into my Animal Alphabet Series, you can see the intro and a brief explanation on my A is for Angelfish post.

Here are some flamingo progress shots:

I thought this was done, but ended up scuffling over the background birds with some cooler greens and violets before I scanned it. See the finished painting again below (more accurate color as well.)

Thanks for watching! Please share!






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Adzuki

"Adzuki" (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid (coming soon)

I'm preparing this week for next week's workshop in Little Rock. A good summer road trip and my first 4-day workshop! I'm so looking forward to it!

Meanwhile, some progress shots of Adzuki:

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Ranch Road #20

"Ranch Road #20" (pastel, 8x8 inches)  sold
This is my favorite landscape scene to paint. It's from a photo I took years ago at some park somewhere, and it's frequently one of my workshop demos because it's got elements that are easy to push and pull into any dimension. I can't even remember how many times I've painted this scene, but here are a few of them:

"Park Trail #12" 8x6 sold

"Park Trail #26" 6x8 sold

"Ranch Road #15" 6x8 sold

"Ranch Road #19" 6x6 sold

Here's the photo...

photo

Don Keely

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

I was researching donkeys today, and found some interesting facts. Did you know the donkey's favorite pastime is rolling? This one's hair do looks like he just got up from a good romp!

Here are some progress shots:

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E is for Elephant

"E is for Elephant"  (pastel, 10x10 inches)  click here to bid

Of course, E had to be elephant since I've never painted an elephant before! This baby was at the Albuquerque zoo in 2011 when I was in town for that year's Pastel Convention. It's from quite a poor quality photo taken at a long zoom and then cropped, but it was the light that caught me anyway!

If you've just stumbled upon my Animal Alphabet Series, you can read more about it on my "A is for Angelfish" post!

Progress shots of this baby:

 Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Bhoora

"Bhoora" (pastel, 8x8 inches)  click here to bid

The Brahman is a cattle that originates in India, so I searched their languages for a name for this one.  "Bhoora" means gray in Hindi, and I like how it sounds.

(7/20/16 Update: just found out Bhoora means brown! Oh well, maybe should use something besides Google Translate next time!)

Here are some progress shots:

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8x10 Commissioned Pencil Portrait

A Pencil Portrait commission (Conte pencil and pastel pencil, 10x8 inches) sold

I've been working on a couple of portrait commissions today, so thought I'd post one. This is not today's. I never post the current one until the gift is given, so as not to spoil the surprise! But this is one that I actually have progress shots for, so I thought it might be interesting to post...

You can see more samples of my pencil portraits, along with ordering information on my drawings website: www.ritakirkmandrawings.com
Now is a perfect time to order to avoid the Christmas rush!

Thanks, and please share! :)

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