Cokolada

 

"Cokolada" (pastel, 7x5 inches) $265

 

I finished this one today here at the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. 

I'm really getting low on the black/brown cow names. "Cokolata" means "chocolate" in Slovenian.

Here's the underpainting right before the black primer went on, and a shot about halfway through the pastel:

Braithwaite

"Braithwaite" (pastel, 6x6inches) $265

I'm here at the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, which goes on through Sunday in Ann Arbor, MI. Find me in booth 145 on Washington! I'm trying to be good and work on some little paintings while I'm out here. This is from earlier today.

(The sun was at just the right angle to my board when I was done, and I caught the finished shot showing the little shadows from the pastel texture. Wow! I might try that instead of scanning from now on, at least for the small stuff.)

This image is one that I had composed a while back, and had the underpainting ready for the pastel. It's one of my daring compositional attempts, with the eye in the exact center of the painting. I like when I can "break a rule" and still get the other lines, angles and shapes in an image to lay themselves out in a strong way!

Here are a few progress shots and how Braithwaite looks in his frame:

The Photo:

This was the only pic I had of the underpainting. It shows three layers of the gold primer, which gets darker on each application. The terra cotta and the black primers went on next. You can kind of see the finished underpainting under the pastel in the next shot...

Who, Me?

"Who, Me?" (pastel, 10x8 inches) $400

This one will be with me at the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 20-23, 2017. Find me in booth #145 on Washington Street!

The Bovines

"The Bovines" (pastel, 35x48 inches) $6900

Well, here it is, the largest painting I've ever done! I've had this on my mind for years, ever since I took the reference photo, which I haven't edited in any way except for some color enhancement. These cows were a hoot! A large mixed herd on a beautiful sunny afternoon on the way to Victoria TX. The Brahman on the left was an attention hog and wanted to be the star of the show. She kept following me down the fence line, with her four friends trailing along. These five were the friendliest of the entire herd. They were so photogenic I was happy to let them monopolize the entire photo shoot.

the photo

Here are just a few of the many progress shots:

 Well, one small edit: I decided the flipped back ear was ambiguous, so re-painted it frontwards...

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Twin Fawns II

"Twin Fawns II" (pastel, 18x18 inches) $1290

Another one for the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 20-23, 2017. Find me in booth #145 on Washington Street!

These fawns are part of the neighborhood family of deer that regularly hang out in the lot next door. I get a lot of good shots out my studio window. The first "Twin Fawns", from 2012, was from a photo I took at a petting zoo somewhere.

"Twin Fawns" (pastel, 17x10

The first painting was from one photo, just cropped. I composed today's painting with this older one in mind, from two separate photos. I liked the opposing lines of sight with the two subjects. Here are some progress shots of Twin Fawns II:

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An American Heritage

"An American Heritage"  (pastel, 36x24 inches) $3500

My second-largest new work for the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 20-23, 2017. (Find me in booth #145 on Washington Street!)

This beauty is from a photo I took in Yellowstone National Park a few years ago. The bison own that place, and are not afraid of anything!

I have an amusing story to tell with this painting, about (not) listening to my own teachings. In the progress shots below you might notice that the bison's left ear (on the right when viewing her) seems to be incomplete or even missing. Because the photo was the same way I actually hadn't noticed this. Probably the cow had been twitching her ear back when the photo was snapped. I finally noticed this when I had completely assembled the scan and was about to post. The painting was already at the framer!

Well, after debating with myself and a couple of neutral observers about whether I should just leave it be, I finally had to chew myself out for ignoring my own advice about "blindly following the photo" and "if there's something in the photo that is ambiguous, DON'T paint it that way! It will be ambiguous in the painting as well!"

So I went to my framer in the morning with a handful of pastels and put in the left ear! (Then came home and edited the photo of the painted ear into the image file.) Whew! The price of being a perfectionist.

Here are some earlier progress shots. Other than the missing ear, the bison was one of those rare, flowing, 'easy" paintings!

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Ebonita

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

This darling little lamb is from a breeder of show lambs, mikejonasclublambs.com, who's ranch is just a few minutes from my home and conveniently on the way to anywhere northwest of me. When I stopped outside the fence to get some pictures last month, Mike was there in his field and graciously let me in to get a closer viewpoint. What a bonus!
This baby was only a few days old, I think he said.

Ebonita will will be with me at the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 20-23, 2017. Find me in booth #145 on Washington Street!

Some progress shots:

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