George

"George" (pastel, 16x12 inches) $750

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!)

As of 3 days ago I'm officially done painting before I get to my northern destinations; in fact I'm already on the road! I'll be in Milwaukee by Friday for my workshop, then next week is the Ann Arbor art fair, followed by another workshop in Ann Arbor. Luckily I was very productive last week and was able to schedule several blog posts... stay tuned for at least one more before the weekend!

Here are progress shots of George:

Ray

"Ray" (pastel, 6x6 inches) sold

This one was a commission for a client who really loved Stevie, the last one I did of this sheep. He's a popular sheep and has a really cool hair do.

Here are the previous versions I've done of him:

"Stevie" (pastel, 8x8 inches, 2017, sold)

"Mophead" (pastel, 6x6 inches, 2015, sold)

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:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

.

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!

Thanks for watching! Please share!

.

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:

 Thanks for watching! Please share!

.

Carmine

"Carmine"  (pastel, 10x8 inches) $400 framed

Carmine 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!