Beau

 

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

 Here's "Beau", from VOS Episode 124 Part 2, which I finally finished. (Muses and Buddies on my Patreon can watch it here!)

See a quick speed video of "Beau" here!

#20 of 21-in-31 "Cowamel"

 

"Cowamel" (pastel, 16x8 inches) is available framed, and will be with me at the Midland Septemberfest Art Festival, Sept 9-11, 2022.

I'm finally on a roll, now that's it's almost the end of the month! That's usually the way these things go. But after #21 I really have to finish those darned donkeys!! (Maybe those can be #22? If I'm lucky..)

I'd had this cute calf partially underpainted for quite a while, so I finished it all up yesterday in front of my phone camera. I really liked the freshness of the terra cotta underpainting part, so I thought I would be able to pastel her quickly... but turns out all those subtle reflected greens and violets in the fur took a lot of attention and a really long time! Much longer than this quick speed video that my son made. 

Enjoy!

 

#13 of 21-in-31 "Hereford Mini"

 

Day #13 of 21-in-31: "Hereford Mini" (pastel, 4x4 inches) bid or buy

What a month! Only 8 more days of my challenge left, and I still have the Rooster Mini to post tomorrow. Pastel Live is almost over. I missed most of today by having to go Costco shopping (yeah the boring normal life of an artist mom...) and since our nearest Costco is 35 minutes away, it's really an all day trip.

But... we had Rana Tagliatelle Grilled White Chicken with Portobello Mushroom, and imported French cheese bread for dinner. 😋 A good trade off.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I hope to get back out to the studio, watch some more Pastel Live demos with half a brain while working on the Donkeys (yes, finally!!) Or maybe I'll be brave instead, put the Donkeys off for another few days, and paint along to Karen Margulis and Brenda Boylan ...and Lyn Diefenbach!? Oooo! That might be a good way to accomplish 3 more paintings for my month? If it doesn't take me six more days to tweak them all up to standard, lol!

Meanwhile, please enjoy this little Hereford Mini speed video! Muses and Buddies on my Patreon page can watch Episode 115 when I pasteled this half-Hereford along with the Baldy Mini, the Busy Bee Mini, and tomorrow's Rooster Mini!

#11 of 21-in-31 "Baldy Mini"

 

#11 of 21-in-31: "Baldy Mini" (pastel, 4x4 inches) bid or buy

I thought I'd mark my half-way point with a half-faced cow! This was one of the 4 little paintings I pasteled at my Virtual Open Studio on Tuesday.  

Next up will be my Pastel Live demo! Whoohoo! (Though it was pre-recorded, it will "go live" Thursday at 3:40 ET) and then I'll get to post it! What a fun week this is! 

Meanwhile, enjoy this little video of this little Baldy!

Mimzy

 

This was a sweet little commission job I just painted at my last Virtual Open Studio. Her name is "Mimzy". It suits her don't you think?  (8x8 pastel from client photo) Moo-tastic Muses and Bunny Buddies on my Patreon can watch the entire video here!

Enjoy this quick speed video!

Beach Sunrise #6

 

"Beach Sunrise #6" (pastel, 6x8 inches) bid or buy here

This was the other version of the beach sunrise I painted at Saturday's Paint-Along. This one's on UArt 800, black. I had never used the 800 before. It's VERY soft and almost like velour, but with the holding power of UArt. Nice! But I think I do prefer a bit more texture. This one was demanding lots of intricate details with pastel pencils. I almost want to work even smaller on this fine grit paper!

See progress pics here!

Beach Sunrise #5

 

"Beach Sunrise #5" (pastel, 5x7 inches) bid or buy

Here's the first beach sunrise painting from Saturday's paint-along ...well, kind of the first and last, as I underpainted it and then painted the second one (coming soon) while the underpainting dried, then finished the pastel after the second painting. This one is on white Ampersand Pastelbord with a pastel underpainting washed in with Gamsol mineral spirits. We had a lot of fun at the paint-along, and I tried some new things! I think this might be the first time I have used the white Ampersand Pastelbord. I hadn't used the colored ones in a while, and I really like the texture of it.

Enjoy this quick speed video!

Day 20 of 21-in-31: Wildflower Field #38

 

Day 20 of 21-in-31: "Wildflower Field #38" (pastel, 4x4 inches) bid or buy
Almost done with my 21-in-31 goal! This is the other little 4x4 I painted yesterday. This one is "Wildflower Field #38". There weren't really any flowers in this scene, but I felt like it was calling out for some delicate little pink blossoms!
I used almost the same pastels here that I used for yesterday's little park trail. In fact I painted them side by side.
See a quick progress video 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 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!

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!

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!

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!

28-in-28 for February - Painting #2

 

Day 2 of 28: "Penny Pickle" (pastel, 10x8 inches) sold

This adorable pup portrait was started as a demo for the Wisconsin Pastel Society last month, and finished in my Virtual Open Studio Episode 88

I always love painting pet portraits, especially when they're this cute. The client said "It's not Penny Pickle without the tongue!" so I showed a bit more of that pink appendage that was visible in the reference pic. I enjoyed playing around with the background to suggest more of a flowery outdoor feeling, while keeping the color harmony of the reference.

Human error (mine) prevented me from getting any pics of the beginning of Penny Pickle's portrait, but here are a few progress pics of the second half here!

Willow

 

"Willow" (pastel, 12x9)

Here's a quick speed video of Willow (12x9), the handsome dog commission from last month's VOS Episodes 82 and 84. Subscribe to my Patreon to watch in real time with commentary!

The photo of Willow was a lovely portrait shot, with ambient lighting... different from my usual strong sunlight, so her contrasts became more about the value patterns of her dark and light fur. And the shadows on those different values were more subtle.

I also rotated her slightly to straighten her up so that she'd fit better in the 9x12 size.

First reference photo of Willow:

and another one:

See a quick speed video here!

Sa Sa - Day 9 of 21-in-31

 

"Sa Sa" (pastel, 12x9 inches)

Yay! My client told me the names of her pets! This one is "Sa Sa". I've really enjoyed doing these dogs for her. It's been such an interesting variety of lighting from her photos.
Tomorrow I'll paint the horse, Red Red!

See a quick speed video of Sa Sa's painting process here!

Chihuahua - Day 8 of 21-in-31

 

 "Chihuahua" (pastel, 8x6 inches)

Here's the Chihuahua portrait I mentioned yesterday on the Fuzzy Puppy post. I've got two more portrait commissions for this client, and I'm hoping she gets back to me on their names so I don't have to call them "Horse" and "Golden Retriever" 😂

Click here to watch a quick speed video of this little dog's painting process!