Aspen (A Cat Commission)

"Aspen" (pastel, 12x9 inches) sold

Aspen is a recent sweet kitty commission. The client had sent me several photos over weeks of deciding which one to use and what size etc. We finally decide on this photo:

original photo

I enhanced and cropped in Photoshop:

adjusted photo

See more pet portrait samples and pricing on my website RitaKirkman.com.

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Elouise

"Elouise" (pastel, 10x8 inches) sold

August's Second Saturday reception at the Carriage House Gallery we had a 3-Artist show and I did a demo!

I had this lovely heifer under-painted from the week before...

...and decided to pastel her for my Saturday demo.

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Moora

"Moora" (pastel, 6x6 inches) $265 framed

I've had soooo much going on lately, between getting my kids back to their respective universities, helping with the website for the Carriage House Gallery (final tweaks still in progress) and nailing down the dates for my various extra workshops in Australia next August (Excited!!!) Not to mention a few miscellaneous other things like finding a new dentist, starting some new covers for my display panels and refinishing a sweet little old table to get my desktop computer off the dusty floor (that's still not done yet either!)

I thought August would be my "slow" month, so I threw a bunch of tasks into it and now it hasn't been a slow month at all... But I have been painting some and I'll be posting more in the next few days and catching up too on a few pieces from earlier that I haven't had time to post yet.

Here is "Moora" who I painted yesterday at the Carriage House Gallery. She will be with me at the Midland Septemberfest Art Festival September 7-8, 2019. Hope to see you there!

Eight or Nine Sheep awarded in PSC Show!

"Eight or Nine Sheep" (pastel, 15x30 inches) sold

I'm excited to brag that two of my paintings are included in the Pastel Society of Colorado online show, Chroma, right now! And Eight or Nine Sheep has an Honorable Mention! (Only ten paintings were awarded, out of 86 paintings in the show.) A big thank you to Awards Judge Dawn Emerson.

My other painting included is my recent Renaissance portrait, "Persephone".

"Persephone" (pastel, 8x6 inches) $1150

The show is online August 16-October 16, 2019.

See the show here!

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Through the Trees

"Through the Trees" (pastel, 8x8 inches) sold

One of my landscape demos from last month's Pastel Retreat and Workshop at the Abbey of the Hills in South Dakota. This was from a photo I took on the Abbey grounds while on an evening walk.

Here I decided the foreground was not dark enough, so I wiped off the pastel and added more terra cotta primer. For a description of my materials in my under-paintings, see this post. :)

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Sweet Daisy

"Sweet Daisy" (pastel, 6x6 inches) sold

Another of my demos from last month's South Dakota workshop at the Abbey of the Hills.

This calf had such a sweet face, we titled the painting Sweet Daisy. But I suspect from the anatomy (wide forehead, thick shoulders and back) that this is likely a bull calf. Oh well, he's still sweet!

The under-painting and photo...

Ezra (and the South Dakota workshop)

"Ezra" (pastel, 12x12 inches) sold

This sun-touched donkey was my opening demo for my workshop last month at the Abbey of the Hills in South Dakota.

This was as far as the morning demo got, then I finished Ezra (named by her buyer, one of my students) later in the week.

Here's my fantastic talented group of students. It was a great time and I hope to arrange another 5-day Pastel Workshop Retreat at the Abbey again in a year or two!

Sign up for my E-news to stay informed of new workshops!

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Twilight Road

"Twilight Road" (pastel, 9x12 inches) $475

The one landscape I actually finished from Kim Casebeer's workshop a couple weeks ago. Watching her was a real treat! Her color shifts are so subtle and her skies are luscious. I learned a lot!

I'll be adding this one to my display at the Carriage House Gallery in Boerne TX, to help represent my work for our August show Celebrate Creative Diversity, along with the work of Linda Chalberg and Donald Darst. Reception is this Saturday, August 10, 2019. Read more about it here!

Hope to see you!

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