Day 13 of 21-in-31: "Park Trail #59"

 

Painting #13 of 21-in-31, "Park Trail #59" (pastel 6x12 inches)

I made the underpainting for this one in Lyn Asselta's workshop earlier this year, and never finished it. I liked the underpainting so I tried to play nice with what was there. It was a dark, mostly blue, underpainting, different than what I'm used to, on UArt sanded paper. But I liked the drips and patterns. I used my reference photo very loosely, along with another painting I had done years ago of the same scene. I left both as thumbnails on my tablet so i couldn't get distracted by details. It was still a struggle to stop while this was so loose!
But I couldn't resist tweaking the background lights after signing it and adding  some little red flowers to the foreground.

My color choices were determined by the frame I might want to put it in. I made sure to add some warm greens and bits of warm gold (and was able to use my precious Roche metallic gold pastel!)

See a quick speed video of "Park Trail #59" here!

Day 12 of 21-in-31: Radcliff

 

Day 12 of 21-in-31: "Radcliff" (pastel, 8x8 inches) Bid or buy for a limited time on DailyPaintworks

This little bull calf was so cute standing there, I wanted to give him a full body portrait instead of just a head shot.

Enjoy this GIF and progress pics!

Day 11 of 21-in-31: Coby

 

Day 11 of 21-in-31: "Coby" (pastel, 10x10 inches)

For my 11th painting of my 21-in-31 challenge for May, I thought it was a good time for a nice backlit young Hereford steer.

Bid on or buy this painting unframed for a limited time at Dailypaintworks.

Enjoy this 3-minute speed video of the painting process!

#10 of 21-in-31: Dior

 "Dior" (pastel, 7x5 inches) bid or buy here

I named her Dior because she reminds me of the black and white gemstone called Diorite. Plus, she just looks so elegant. She really did have those shaped eyebrows! I met this heifer at a friend's ranch while up in Minnesota last fall.

I had fun with my mark-making on this one, and used a relatively limited palette.

Enjoy this video montage of the painting of Dior!

Day 9 of 21-in-31: Camilly

 

Day 9 of 21-in-31: "Camilly" (pastel, 6x4 inches) bid or buy here

I pasteled this darling baby camel the same day as Moofasa and Mimoo. Finally posting her! I had her underpainted since February, but didn't get to finish her then. She was the last little underpainting I had left over from the February batch.
I saw this baby at the Minneapolis Zoo last fall.

See progress pics and reference photos here!

Day 8 of 21-in-31: "Mimoo"

 

Here's Day 8 of 21-in-31: "Mimoo" (pastel, 7x5 inches), the little cousin of Day 7's "Moofasa"! They were both with me at the Boerne Art Waddle yesterday.

See progress pics here!

Day 7 of 21-in-31: Moofasa

 

I've been afraid of slipping behind in my goal of 21-in-31 this month, so I marathoned 3 little pastelings yesterday of some little underpaintings I got done on Wednesday. Here is Day 7 of 21-in-31 "Moofasa" (pastel, 7x5 inches). He'll be with me this Saturday at the Boerne Art Waddle. map here. Stop by the Carriage House Gallery booth on the creek if you're in the area!

Tomorrow I'll post Mimoo, his little cousin, who will also be there!

See a quick GIF here!

Newborn II

 

Day 6 of 21-in-31: "Newborn II" (pastel, 11x14 inches) $590 framed

I started this one just last night as a Virtual Open Studio demo, and  finished it today. I'll be taking this one to Boerne for the Art Waddle this Saturday May 14th. I'm calling it "Newborn II" because I painted "Newborn" from the same photo shoot of a mama doe who had given birth in the  backyard of a friend down the street from me. She called me over and we  took pics out her kitchen window!

Enjoy this quick speed video of "Newborn II"!

Two More Birds on a Wire

 

"Two More Birds on a Wire" (pastel, 8x10 inches)... my 4th painting in my 21-in-31 goal for May!

Bid or buy this painting for a limited time at DailyPaintworks

I really enjoyed painting these birds. I felt it was a bit of a different style from my usual, maybe you can't tell, but it just felt like it to me. More painterly somehow. But as I said during the VOS, I let the painting sit for a few days and when I went back, I saw that indeed, it was done! So I signed it.

 

Muses and Buddies can watch the real-time painting process in Episode 100 here! 

 

See a quick speed video here!

Mother's Day Rose

 

"Mother's Day Rose" (pastel, 8x6 inches) bid or buy

Happy Mother's Day! Here's a fresh rose (painting, that is) for you on this lovely day!
Also to be my painting #3 of my 21-in-31 goal for May!
See a quick GIF here!

Izzy

 

Painting #1 of 21 - "Izzy" (pastel, 8x10 inches, from client photo) is the star of my Virtual Open Studio from April 13, but I'm going to count him as my first painting of my self-imposed 21-in-31 in May anyway, because he hasn't been posted yet and that fits my lenient "rules"!

I'm catching up with editing my VOS videos from last month (and a new Patreon Index page, coming soon!) and then I'll be painting some new stuff for the rest of my challenge!

Moo-tastic Muses and Bunny Buddies on my Patreon can watch the full length video of Izzy's painting here!

Meanwhile, enjoy this quick and fun speed video!

Park Trail #58

 

Here's the other little landscape from the "Walk in the Park" Paint-Along last month. "Park Trail #58" (pastel, 8x8 inches) (bid or buy) In contrast to "Park Tail #57," posted yesterday, this one had no underpainting. Instead I worked it up directly on a mid-toned gray-ish Pastel Premier paper. The interesting thing is I used pretty much the same pastels for both paintings! What a difference the surface color makes!

Moo-tastic Muses and Bunny Buddies on my Patreon page can watch and paint along to the complete Paint-Along video here!

Enjoy this quick GIF of Park Trail #58 😎

Park Trail #57

 

Wow, I had forgotten to post the Park Trails from the "Walk in the Park" Paint-Along in April! Oops! So here's "Park Trail #57" (pastel, 6x8 inches) (bid or buy) the first of two I did for the paint-along. This one I underpainted in the same manner as most of my paintings; with the gold and terra cotta acrylic-based primers. You can really see the warmth shining through the cooler greens and blues. We added wildflowers (bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes were my choice) just to celebrate springtime.

Tomorrow I'll post "Park Trail #58" which has a totally different color look!

Moo-tastic Muses and Bunny Buddies on my Patreon page can watch and paint along to the complete Paint-Along video here!

Enjoy this speed video of Park Trail #57's process!

Sunday

Finally! For your enjoyment, here's a little speed video of last months' Paint-Along Cute Calf, named "Sunday" (pastel, 8x8 inches) bid or buy here

You can enjoy the actual paint-along here for a $10 pledge on my Patreon page!

Mr. "Smith" goes to The Woodlands too!

 

Here's another favorite picked up from the gallery I just got out of. "Smith" (pastel, 10x10 inches) A classy Braford bull (Hereford Brahman mix.. I just found that out today!) I just love that little strip of late afternoon sunlight on his face... my favorite kind of light.

I painted him just before the pandemic, during one of the festivals where I do caricatures. I would sometimes take underpaintings along to pastel during slow times. (With my then-new Heilman sketchbox and Richeson pastels that I bought at the 2019 IAPS convention!)

Smith is with me at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival this weekend, April 9&10. (If you're in the area, find me in booth 404 by the Watercolor Terrace in the center of things!)

See progress pics here!

Chic Chick

 

"Chic Chick" (pastel, 6x4 inches)

Here's another one of my little favorites that was languishing in a gallery all through the pandemic. "Chic Chick" is finally home with me and will be with me at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival this weekend, hopefully to find her forever home. (If you're in the area, find me in booth 404 by the Watercolor Terrace!)

I love this one so much I had her as my Facebook business profile pic for a long while there! Enjoy this fun GIF and progress pics!

"The best paintings are sometimes the simplest."

Little Fish

 

"Little Fish" (pastel, 4x6 inches)

 Yay! My "Little Fish" painting has been accepted as one of the 100 creative works to be "caught" at the famous VIP "Art Dash" Party on April 8, the night before The Woodlands Waterway Art Festival (just north of Houston, TX.) Get your tickets here!  

This FUN fundraiser benefits The Woodlands Arts Council Student Art Scholarship program. Afterwards, enjoy the festival (April 9&10) and find me in booth 404 near the Watercolor Terrace!

See a quick GIF here!

T is for Tiger

 

"T is for Tiger" (pastel, 12x12)

Among the few paintings I picked up from a gallery last month, this is one of my favorites from my Alphabet Series. I started the series a few years back to get myself out of a painting slump. It worked, as the series is still not complete!

I was really happy with the looseness I was able to achieve with this tiger. I really don't know why he hasn't sold yet, when the Lion and the Meerkat and the Dolphin and the Hippo and many others (even the Quail!) all sold pretty quickly. But that's to my benefit now, because I can take this Tiger to The Woodlands Waterway Art Fest next weekend (near Houston TX.) If you're in the area be sure to stop by, I'll be in booth 404 by the Water Color Terrace near the center of things!

Enjoy these progress pics of "T is for Tiger"!

C is for Cheetah

 On my way back from Florida, I stopped and pulled my work out of the only other gallery I was still in besides my partnership in the Carriage House Gallery in Boerne. Nothing had sold there in quite a while. I know, there was the pandemic, but still. Stuff was still moving (a bit) in Boerne during that time.
So I feel some relief to have one less thing to keep track of, and now I feel like showing off some of the pieces I picked up from there, some of them have aged well!
This is "C is for Cheetah"  (pastel, 20x10 inches, $800 framed) one of the largest paintings in my still unfinished Animal Alphabet Series of 2016. I felt this needed a fairly decent size in order to do justice to the spots.
It also might very well be the ONLY pastel cheetah.   I.  Ever.  Paint.
...Ever.
(OMG, those spots! I don't know how all those wildlife artists do it!)
My favorite part was the reflected light under the chin.
Enjoy this quick GIF and the attached progress photos I dug up from my files.
An alphabet series is a great way to break yourself out of a rut! This worked for me, as evidenced by the fact that I dropped it at "T is for Tiger" (..which I'll post soon!) One of these years I might continue the series and get it done!
What things have you done to get out of a creative rut?

Golden

 

"Golden"  (pastel, 12x9 inches) $1350

Painted in 2017, this is the fourth or fifth portrait I've done using the toned underpainting technique with the gold and terra cotta primers, and it's sill the most successful with my ultimate goal of  letting much of the underpainting "speak" along with the pastel. I think my favorite part is the reflected light under her chin. That's all underpainting and no pastel!

This was one of the merchants at the Texas Renaissance Festival during the daily parade. I love the parade for catching all kinds of excellent pics!

"Golden" is just now beyond her competition age (most competitions require works less than 4 years old) so it's time to bring her out to the art festivals! She'll be with me this weekend at the Naples Downtown Art Show. If you're in the area, find me in booth 222 on 5th ave between 4th and 5th streets.

See progress pics and read more about my process here!

Sunset Silhouette

 

"Sunset Silhouette" (pastel, 18x18 inches) $1290 framed

It's been almost exactly a year since I first posted this one. This young Longhorn was painted for my solo exhibition in March of 2021. He hasn't found his forever home yet, so I'm able to bring him to the Naples Downtown Art Show this weekend! Find me in booth 222, on 5th ave between 3rd and 4th streets.

Read more about this painting and see progress pics on the original post here!

Audrey with Flowers at Seven

 

This week I'll be sharing a few of my favorite paintings that I'll have with me at the Naples Downtown Art Show this weekend. This is "Audrey With Flowers at Seven" (pastel, 26x20 inches) Painted in 2011-2012, it has a long history and many awards. Read all about it and see the reference photo here!

Seeking Social Sheep

 "Seeking Social Sheep" (pastel, 30x40 inches) $6000 framed

It's done!! I've been way overdue for another large painting, and had been eager to get going on this one for months, all sorts of other things getting in the way.... but finally, with an art fest coming up, I really really HAD to get it done! This new sheep painting will be with me at the Naples Downtown Art Show, March 19&20, in Naples Florida. If you're in the area, come see me in booth 222.

See some progress pics here!

Morning Meditation

 

"Morning Meditation" (pastel, 10x17 inches) $590 framed

This was started in the first day of the Lyn Asselta workshop I took this weekend. I highly recommend her workshop! She's an excellent and challenging instructor. Instead of teaching the 'how' of painting, she teaches the 'why'. Or specifically, how to learn to understand 'why' we paint something. Of course I had a difficult time because most of my 'why's are because "it's pretty and someone might want to buy it." 😂

And hopefully that will be true of this sunrise, which will be with me at the Naples Downtown Art Show, coming soon March 19 & 20! Find me in booth 222 on 5th Ave between 3rd and 4th Streets.

See a quick GIF here!

Day 28 of 28: "Sunlit Glade"

 

"Sunlit Glade" (pastel, 5x5 inches) $250 framed

Here's one of my landscapes from my workshop in Rockport last week. I really struggled with this one, but at least my students said they appreciated seeing me struggle and figuring out what to do about it.

See how I fixed it here!

Day 27 of 28: "Zebby"

Day 27 of 28: "Zebby" (pastel, 7x5 inches) Available unframed for a limited time, $235. Price  includes US shipping.
 

This was the other painting in my workshop triple-demo that i finished this past Thursday.

See a couple of progress pics here!

Day 26 of 28: "Ozetta"

 

Day 26 of 28: "Ozetta" (pastel, 6x4 inches) This painting is available unframed for a limited time. Price includes US shipping.

In my workshops I have what I call my triple-demo, when I underpaint three small paintings in the morning, and pastel a couple of them after lunch. This little ostrich was one of today's triple-demo.

See a quick GIF here!

Day 25 of 28: "Park Trail #56"

 

Day 25 of 28: "Park Trail #56" (pastel, 6x8 inches) bid or buy

This was a painting hanging around in my studio that I just discovered had never been posted! I vaguely recall painting it as a workshop demo a while back, maybe last fall. Anyway, I love it when this happens because now I can claim it for my February 28-in-28! (Ok maybe I'm stretching the rules a bit, but you haven't seen this one before so it's all good!)

I'm in the midst of my workshop in Rockport right now. Stay tuned tomorrow for one of my demos here!

Day 24 of 28: "Moo Mime"

 

Day 24 of 28: "Moo Mime" (formerly Moomime) pastel, 6x6 inches. bid or buy

Moomime was a cute little white face calf I painted years ago, and it never sold. Personally I suspect it was because of the atypical off-centeredness, with the left ear cropped. Also, on further study, the values were not quite right in the face. So it's been hanging in my studio waiting for me to fix it. I needed a quick painting right before heading out to my Rockport workshop, so I decided to tackle this.

I decided what she needed was a back-tilt to that ear to get it away from the frame edge, some better shadow values in the face, and maybe a few other tweaks.
So I searched my photo files for some dark tilted ears on cows, and used a few to reference how Moomime's ear might look in that position. I also thinned her down a bit, and of course corrected the face shadow values. Then I had fun adding some colors not seen in the photo!

To celebrate her rebirth, I've slightly edited her name to "Moo Mime" (I always thought her face looked like mime makeup 🙂)

Enjoy these progress pics showing how I gave Moo Mime a makeover!

And, see a few of the original, pre-makeover progress pics here.

Day 23 of 28: "Lovey Dove"

 

Day 23 of 28: "Lovey Dove" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

The star of my February Paint-Along! I think we had a record number of participants actually painting along. Here's a collage of the doves that were sent to me afterwards... what a beautiful bevy of birds!
To see what paint-along I've got coming next, visit ritakirkman.com/workshops!

See a quick GIF here!

Day 22 of 28: "Scaredy Bird"

 

Day 22 of 28: "Scaredy Bird" (pastel, 8x6 inches) bid or buy

Here's another little house wren (maybe the same one as "Little Wren in Sunlight" from Day 17) running along the sidewalk. Birds are so funny on their feet.
I will have this one, and most of my other available little dailies, with me at my Rockport TX workshop this week, for my usual "show and sell" to the students. So be forewarned, the auctions may be ended without notice if there are no bids!

See a quick speed video here!

Day 21 of 28: "Chloe, Pretty in Pink"

Day 21 of 28: "Chloe, Pretty in Pink" (pastel, 10x8 inches) sold

Yet another cute doggy commission from my best client with sisters who seem to have lots of dogs! This makes 3 or 4 this winter that I've done for her and/or her sisters. Besides this one, there was "Callie and Cooper", "Krissy with Flowers" and "Jade and Liza". I love it when the clients send such great pics to work from!

See a quick video here!

Day 20 of 28: "Murdoch"

 

Day 20 of 28: "Murdoch" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

Another handsome Black Baldy, this one in early morning light. Yum, that little sliver of light on his face was my favorite part!

See a quick speed video here!

Day 19 of 28: "Lyra"

 

"Lyra" (pastel, 10x10 inches) $390 unframed for a limited time.

 I have several medium sized works planned in this month of paintings (10x10 is "medium" for me!) I managed to get this one half done yesterday and finished today. As the works get larger, the strokes must get larger and looser. I'm pretty happy with this one. But I have painted her twice before from the same pic and I've always loved how the light looks... 

See progress pics and the reference photos here!

Day 18 of 28: "Mugsy"

 

Day 18 of 28: "Mugsy" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

Whenever I get back into cow-painting mode, I always love the whiteface cows (or Black Baldies as they're sometimes called) best. They're a mix of Hereford and Angus, and they just seem to have the most expressive faces!

See a quick montage here!

Day 17 of 28: "Little Wren in Sunlight"

 

"Little Wren in Sunlight" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

Someone asked me to paint more birds on wires, and while I was looking through my bird photos I found some cute little wrens on sidewalks, so I added this one to my batch!

Click here to see a quick speed video of this painting's process!

Day 16 of 28: "Harkin"

 

"Harkin" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

I named this young Red Angus calf Harkin, which means "red" in Gaelic. I'm really having to dig deep for titles these days!

Enjoy this quick GIF!

Day 15 of 28: "Nio"

 

Day 15 of 28: "Nio" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

Nio is a young Pygmy goat. I have a gazillion pics of his parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and friends belonging to a friend of mine. They're so much fun to visit in the springtime. All that silly jumping and bleating.

See progress pics here!

Day 14 of 28: "Cora"

 

Day 14 of 28: "Cora" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

I've decided I'm not tired of cows yet 🙂. Herefords have such lovely colors!

Enjoy these progress pics!

Day 13 of 28: "Gerty"

Day 13 of 28: "Gerty" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

Gerty is the star of my Zoom demo this morning for the Pastel Society of Central Florida. They wanted to see a sheep, so I found this lovely sunlit angle on this ewe's face in my "good sheep" image folder.

I'll be sending the full-length demo video to the PSCF, and maybe they'll put it on their website. If they share it anywhere I'll be sure to post a link! 

Meanwhile, enjoy this quick GIF of the main progress points of the painting. 

I actually got as far as the 5th image in the morning demo, but I wasn't satisfied with the overall darkness of the painting, nor the disproportionate variance in the shadow values on the sheep. So afterwards, I took a good look and decided it was mostly the background that was too dark. So I wiped it all out, used gesso to lighten parts, and re-primed in gold. It took some experimentation (and more tweaks on the face!) before I was satisfied.

Day 12 of 28: "Tulips and Pot"

 

Day 12 of 28: "Tulips and Pot" (pastel over watercolor, 6x6 inches) bid or buy here

This was my replacement for missing out of recording "Spring Garden 2" from Tuesday's VOS. It's painted the same way, with a watercolor underpainting on Arches w/c paper.
The real time creation of this little landscape will be available to Patrons on my Patreon page soon, but meanwhile everyone can enjoy this little speed video!

Day 11 of 28: "A Sunny Walk"

 

"A Sunny Walk" (5x5, pastel over watercolor on UArt) bid or buy

This little painting will be the feature of my VOS video Episode 90, Part 2. Part 1 is another little garden landscape that I painted to replace the actual VOS Episode 90 (in which I painted "Spring Garden 2") which, due to technical difficulties, did not actually get recorded!

So I had some fun with watercolor underpainting for a couple days. I really like this image. I clearly remember taking the reference photo on a walk in some gardens somewhere. The happy daisies shooting up and casting long shadows... All around me were beautiful sights, but sometimes you just have to look where you're walking or you might miss something sweet!

Enjoy these progress pics!

Day 10 of 28: "Spring Garden 2"

Day 10 of 28: "Spring Garden 2" (pastel over watercolor, 6x6 inches)

This was a re-paint of a sold painting from 2012 that a client fell in love with. The original of this little landscape was one small part of a photo reference that I had posted way back in 2012 on DailyPaintworks as "The Cropping Challenge". Read all about my adventures with this challenge and the other paintings I did, here!

Day 9 of 28: "Swan Goose"

 

Day 9 of 28: "Swan Goose" (pastel, 8x6 inches) bid or buy

I had to make this neck slightly shorter than my reference photo in order to fit in an 8x6, and so I wanted to do some research to make sure it would still look right this way. I also wanted to find out if this was a goose or a swan. Well, guess what? It's a Swan Goose! No wonder it kinda looks like a swan and a goose. I also found out that the neck is fine at this length. I guess sometimes they stretch it up more.

Enjoy this quick speed video!

Day 8 of 28: "Sammy"

 

"Sammy" (pastel, 6x6 inches) bid or buy

I'm still just keeping up with these 28 paintings day by day. One of these days I hope for a good long day in the studio so I can get a couple extras done to give myself some breathing room! 'Cause you know Daily Painters don't really paint every day; that's just a myth. 😆

Enjoy this speed video of Sammy's painting progress... (recorded smoothly with my Samsung camera app!)

Day 7 of 28: "Glitch"

 

"Glitch" (pastel, 7x5 inches) bid or buy

I named this cow for my experiences today with a favorite video app that had been working just fine for many months. Today, it looked like it was recording, it behaved as if it was recording, but it evidently decided to not actually be recording, as the videos I thought I was capturing were nowhere to be found. My tech manager son said it has something to do with closed source apps that never update. Oh well, chalk another one up to experience. 🤪

Enjoy these few pics I took of the underpainting steps, and for tomorrow's painting progress I'll use the native Samsung camera app (as soon as I learn all the pro video settings!)