She was always awkward in family photos (my latest sheep painting!)

 

"She was always awkward in family photos" (pastel, 30x30 inches) $4500

This painting had been in the works since April after my two other large sheep paintings sold from my solo show! I guess I might become known as the "sheep lady" instead of the "cow lady" lol!

Watch a 5 minute speed demo of this painting Here! It includes a short intro explaining my thought process for the composition and how I made it. Some closeup details also in that link!

Hay! It's What's For Lunch.

 

"Hay! It's What's For Lunch." (pastel, 36x36 inches) $6200 

I'd been sold out of large paintings for more than a year. I'm so thankful my friend and Director of the ARTS for Rural Texas invited me to have a solo exhibition this spring. With only three months to prepare, it was the exact kick in the butt I needed after the sluggishness of 2020.

This long overdue new Longhorn painting was years in the making! Started as a partial underpainting demo at a Large Project Workshop in Kansas three summers ago, I was finally motivated to finish it.

Watch a quick little still progression video HERE!

This painting will be my centerpiece for my Solo Exhibition, Kindred Spirits, at the ARTS for Rural Texas in Fayetteville, March 27 - May 29, 2021. Opening Reception March 27, 5-7pm.

 

"Two o'clock has come and gone."

 

"Two o'clock has come and gone" (pastel, 36x36 inches) sold

This painting will be one of two showcased large works for my Solo Exhibition, Kindred Spirits, at the ARTS for Rural Texas in Fayetteville, March 27 - May 29, 2021. Opening Reception March 27, 5-7pm.

Here it is condensed into a 3 minute slide show for your enjoyment! With a lullaby to ease you into a restful night.

Become a Patron and watch the video of how I edited the underpainting, and my thoughts on the composition!

"Cousins" won Best of Show at APS

 "Cousins" (pastel, 32x32 inches) $14,000

I'm beyond thrilled to announce that my weeks of labor on this, my newest large figurative painting, has paid off big time with a Best of Show win at the Austin Pastel Society Annual Juried Member Exhibition 2021 Celebrating Pastels! A huge thank you to show judge and juror Karen Margulis for her inspired decisions. She has curated a beautiful show. Congratulations to all of the winners and all of the accepted entrants. I love the Austin Pastel Society. It hold a dear place in my heart as the first pastel society I ever joined and the sheer talent of the members keeps getting better and better!

The exhibit is showing at the Austin Fine Art Gallery, 2805 Bee Cave Rd, Suite 430, Austin, TX. Feb 6 - March 31, 2021. You can also view the show online on the APS Flickr page HERE (the "2021 AJME Juried Set") A new album will soon be uploaded for the award winners.

This painting for me is about the blurred lines between past, present and future. The focus is on the lovely young girl with an aura of Vermeer in her unselfconsciously classic pose. The past is echoed again in the curve of the antique sofa. But the clothing (not to mention the Nintendo 3DS) declare this scene undeniably modern. The future is in the gaze of this girl who is now (along with her cousin and brother) already a young adult.

I couldn't find a way to fit all of that into one title, so it's just "Cousins." The girl with the gaze is Samantha, my husband's niece. The other girl is our daughter Audrey, next to Adam, Samantha's brother. The reference was composed from several photos taken on a Christmas visit a few years ago.

Their dog, Chico, was added for balance. ;)

Here are some closer views:

Here is an 8 minute slide show of the many progress shots and some short video clips of the process of painting Cousins:

For a $10 pledge you can watch an hour of live underpainting progress HERE, full of conversation and descriptions of my photo editing and much of my thought process behind the composition, along with a little history of my underpainting method.

Fuchsia

"Fuchsia" (pastel, 6x6 inches) click here to bid or buy

One of my last little leftover paintings from my summer workshops. This mama, some kind of horned Hereford mix, was one of my triple-demo from Gastonia NC in July.

I'm focusing now on my next workshop, in Ulysses, KS, Sept 13-15, which will be all about working LARGE! You can learn more about composing a "WOW" of a showstopper with careful planning and an eye on the design... Click the flyer below for more details, and contact Tracy at mainarterykansas@gmail.com to register!

Begonia

"Begonia" (pastel, 6x6 inches) click here to bid or buy (coming soon)

One of my triple-demo from my workshop in VA last month. I just love the medium-brown cows; they have such great options for shadow and highlight colors!

Here are a couple of progress shots:

I'm currently working on a new LARGE painting, to advertise my Large Project Workshop in KS next month. Here's a sneak peek at the under-painting... I'll be starting on the pastel today!

Read more about my "Large Project" workshop on my workshop page here!
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Diva Bovina

"Diva Bovina" (pastel, 24x36 inches) sold

This one was a special request commission for a good friend and client, who saw another artist's "cow on sofa" painting and wanted my own version. Since she's from Wisconsin, she requested a Holstein. I had just one good photo of a reclining Holstein in my files, and it was lying in the woods under dappled light. Since I love a challenge, and when it comes to lighting my subjects I must be logical, I had to include the dappled light... and the woods!

I call her Diva Bovina, which means Cow Goddess in Latin.

See some progress shots below, starting with my original photo and Photoshopped composition:

the cow in the woods (my friend said "polled please!")

my final composition

The sofa was 'borrowed' from the web, with the color and design changed to protect its identity. What I was looking for in a sofa was the light from above, and this one worked perfectly.

I get my drawing down on gatorboard which is primed with a single layer of my gold colored pastel primer mix, which is Golden (brand) Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold fluid acrylic color mixed into Golden Fine Pumice Gel at about a 1/4 (color/gel) ratio.
I usually build up more layers of the gold mixture to start my underpainting, but with more complex and large images, I like to start it with a terra cotta color which is the Art Spectrum (brand) Pastel Primer.

This helps me see the main pattern of the image better, and then I can build up the lighter and mid-values of the underpainting from that point.

When an animal has a considerable amount of black fur, I'll also use some of the black Art Spectrum primer.

Oops, I had almost forgotten the hooves! They were hidden in the grass from my photo, but when I referenced several other cow pics to find good reference and drew them in, I decided I didn't like the front hoof pointing downward to the corner, so I re-drew the front leg tucked under (which involved more additional references, but somehow I got it looking all right.)

At this point, the grasses got way overworked and fussy...

So... I wiped them all off and started over!

That's better. I'm calling it done!

"Diva Bovina" framed

Thanks for watching! If you liked this large project, consider signing up for my "Large Project" workshop in Ulysses, KS in September! (All mediums welcome!) Or if you know someone who would enjoy it, please share the info! Click the flyer below, or visit my website workshop page at RitaKirkman.com.

A Future Promise

"A Future Promise" (pastel, 36x46 inches) $6700

Here it is, the showstopper I've been working on all week. These two are mother and daughter, and belong to a good friend who is fortunate to have the most beautiful Longhorns I've ever met! And unbelievably, I caught this pair posed just like this for my photo! They were fated to be painted.

A Future Promise will be at the Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival, this weekend April 18-22. Find me on Main in booth #518. Hope to see you there!

Here are just a few progress shots:

I decided that mama, who's numerous faint spots I had calmed down in the painting, needed a few more prominent spots to balance her daughter's.

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Big Daddy

"Big Daddy" (pastel, 36x36 inches) $5180

Big Daddy is sort of a sequel to last year's Big Mama. He's my newest big show stopper for the Bayou City Art Festival in downtown Houston, this weekend October 14-15, 2017. Find me in booth 612 on Bagby Street. Come on out and support the recovery of Houston!

Some progress shots of Big Daddy:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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