Beaufort

"Beaufort"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

Though this is definitely not a dairy cow, I was happy that one of my cheese names fit him so well. "Beaufort" is such a satisfyingly manly sort of name, I think. Pronounce it loudly with a Texan accent and you'll see what I mean.

Getting ready for a weekend away, and was way too busy today for progress shots (I actually forgot to take my camera to the studio, and even though it's just 50 paces behind the house, I was not in the mood to go back and get it! Ever have one of those days?)

But here's a fun bit of news about Beaufort, he's the flipped image of "Bruce" from early last year...

"Bruce" (pastel, 7x5 inches) March 2012

It's been fun to deliberately work from some photos that I've done before, and see how my style has progressed. I seem to be getting much more friendly with color, and have been sneaking in some fun, calligraphic strokes lately.

Sometimes I wonder if, when I've played out this loose, expressive phase to my content, if I'll come full circle back to a tight photo-realism, but with a deeper vitality because of my color choices... Hmmm. Who knows. I'm too busy in the present to ponder that for too long!

I have another bit of exciting news to brag about in tomorrow's post, but then I may be 'absent' over the weekend. But I'm taking a bunch of new cow photos with me to paint! So be ready for next week! Thank you all for reading, and please share my posts with your friends!

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Josie

"Josie"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

I wanted to continue the cheese names for a bit, but as this one developed, I saw just tons of colors in his coat. (Have you ever really looked at tan, brown or beige, and tried to paint it without using any tan, brown, or beige? ...Fun! ...And colorful!) So I was calling him Joseph (of the many-colored coat) before he was even finished. But when he was done, he didn't look much like a Joseph to me, more like a Josie, maybe... and now I can't get it out of my head "...Josie's on a vacation far away!..." (do those lyrics date me?)

Another bit of trivia about Josie: he (or she?) is the same calf from one of my very first mini cow portraits that started the series -- "Brown Calf", later renamed "Brynn" (Yes, when I started I actually thought I could title these cows what they were. Ha! That didn't last long.)

"Brown Calf" aka "Brynn" (pastel, 6x4 inches) from 2009

Here are some progress shots of "Josie"...

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Izzy

"Izzy"  (pastel, 8x6 inches)  click here to bid

I meant to paint a lot over the weekend. I really did mean to! But somehow I wound up taking care of loads of other business, framing, and glass-cutting, and packing, and delivering, and tons and tons of email.  I also edited a couple dozen new 5x7 cow photos in preparation for painting them. Out in my studio, however, I discovered I was out of primed 5x7 boards. Sigh. So I spent the part of today that I didn't spend running errands measuring and cutting and priming and syncing my iPad.

Izzy got chosen for today's painting because he's an 8x6, and before I got too involved with busywork, I saw that I had an 8x6 board already primed, so I set to work on his underpainting and while the primer was drying on the other boards, I got to work!

See my progress:

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Peek-a-Burro

"Peek-a-Burro"  (pastel, 12x9 inches) $350 unframed for a limited time.

I primed this painting a couple weeks ago and got most of the pastel on it last weekend in Midland, TX at the Septemberfest Art Fair. Finally finished it in the studio! I've done this fellow before, in "Head Rest" (image flipped) and this is definitely one of those shots that I wish I had several versions of. Anyway it deserved to be painted again, so I did a flip and a change of crop.

This one will be $450 when framed and is slated for the Bayou City Art Fest in Houston next month (Oct 12-13, 2013.) But for a limited time I'll offer it unframed to anyone who's desperate for it!

I also took progress shots. (Lots!)

 (Excuse the color change here - these steps I did in the studio...)

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Bandit - in the Pastel Journal Feature!

"Bandit" (pastel, 8x6 inches)  $1150

Bandit has the thrilling prestige of being the front image of an 8-page feature in the October 2013 issue of the Pastel Journal, THE magazine for pastel artists! The article (written by the talented Sarah A. Strickley) highlights my Renaissance portraits series and includes a step-by-step process of one of my portraits and a side-bar of 4 mini 'daily' cows.

I've been so excited about this for months, and bursting to tell the news. Now that the mag is out, I finally can! You can order your copy HERE! (Including an instant digital download!)

(The collectors of my Renaissance portraits "The Miller's Wife", "Bride's Maid", "Juliet", "Red Robin" and the 4 cows published "Bubba", "Buddy", "Lou Lou" and "Starry", if I've got your current address, I have a free copy for you!!)

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Brie

"Brie"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid

Brie was standing next to another white calf, and so had some interesting reflected light on her shadowed side; not the usual cool tones but more of a golden yellow. I was able to let the primer speak through the other colors in many places.

Here's Brie's photo, first the original, then with the colors pumped up in Photoshop the way I like:

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