"Gypsy"

I was surprise when I checked my last post and it was dated July.  I have been painting(or playing), but it was a busy summer--taking care of "life's opportunities"(mostly personal).

One painting I was able to do, and am posting now, has a little story.  The title is "Gypsy", and Gypsy is my husband's youngest daughter's dog.  Jennifer rescued her from an animal shelter, not knowing how old.  Well, the years have come and gone, and Gypsy's age is showing, especially the cataracts in her eyes.  Jennifer was willing to have surgery for her, but tests showed it couldn't be done.  One day, while Jennifer was visiting for the weekend, I downloaded some pics from her camera.  I came across one in particular, zoomed in, and cropped.  Viola!!  "Gypsy".  What is great---I performed "artistic surgery" and successfully removed the cataracts!!  I am planning on giving the painting to Jennifer as a surprise, perhaps for Christmas, if I can wait that long.

Enjoy, and Smile while you Paint (it releases tension).  Learned that on the tennis court.

"Gypsy", pastel, 8"x6"

An Add-on to my previous post

I just discovered that I have not included "Moonlit Bluebonnets" in any previous post, so here it is.  I might get the hang of this one of these days!

"Moonlit Bluebonnets", 10" x 8", pastel 

Texas Wildflowers

I have been wanting to paint our Texas wildflowers for quite some time, but wasn't sure how I wanted to approach the subject.  They are definitely beautiful when you view them in batches out in a field, and the colors can be really breathtaking when they are at their fullest.  I am not a plain air nor landscape painter, plus, I thought I would like to show them up close and personal.  We really don't get to see that view point when we are driving down the road.  Neither am I a botanical artist--so, what to do?!  My first idea was "Moonlit Bluebonnets", which I have posted earlier.  My latest idea is the following pics I am posting today.  They are 6" diameter, framed 8" square.  I am trying to keep them simple and small. Not sure if this is the route I want to take, but will do a few more, to see.  I think they are small enough people can make a collection of them, I can do prints, or note cards.  They are also done in different media.  The pastel one is my favorite, so far.  Enjoy!!

"Rain Lily", graphite, 6" dia., 8" sq., framed

"Rain Lily", watercolor, 6" dia., 8" sq., framed

"Spider Wort", pastel, 6" dia., 8" sq., framed

While getting ready for an art show and sale in which I participated, in June, I realized I had not posted a photo of this painting.  It started out as a practice on values, and was done in pastel pencil.  The log hangs on my deck, and was a going away gift from a very special friend, when we left Santa Fe.  There are some very gifted wood carvers in that area.  The birds are a part of the log, but do come off.  The log has also become a haven for a bird nest, with a lot of chirping from hungary mouths.

"Checking It Out", Pastel pencil, 30" x 18"

I have now caught you up on my journey, thus far.  What's next?  My mind is whirling with ideas!!  Too many!  I have two sequels in mind for "Paint What You Love" and "Have Fun", and have started on one of them, but, that will take some time.  I am also wanting to get back to some dog paintings, plus the Texas wildflowers.  So far, I have done three wildflowers, and am keeping them small.  That will be my next post.

"Worn Traveler"

Back in 2011, when our Lantana was at their fullest, we welcomed a visitor to our back yard.  An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (derived that from my butterfly book).  Talk about a photo ham!!!  It was sooo cooperative in letting me take pictures, even up close and personal.  Either that, or it was very, very hungry!  I had a field day snapping my camera.

reference photo

One day, sometime later, I was going through my photos, trying to get inspiration for what to paint next.  I started cropping this photo, and came up with the 8" x 16" format.  I liked the way the lantana lead the eye to the butterfly.  Going through my pastel papers, I could see that the yellow/gold pastelmat would be good for the yellow/gold in the butterfly, leaving the paper to show (that's what instructors drill into your head).  So, the journey began.  Some of the leaves were changed, because I also wanted them leading the eye toward the butterfly.  The colors of the lantana were changed for more of a contrast to the green background.  There are lantanas that color.

"Worn Traveler", 8" x 16", Pastel

Framed(too much light on it)

This painting was a very good learning experience for me, and I loved doing it.  I have a lot of notes attached to cork board, above where my pastels are kept.  They are notes I've taken in class, from books, and dvds, on composition, design, etc..  I periodically go back over them, to see if I'm doing what they recommend.

"Worn Traveler" was entered in C.L.A.G.'s 2012 annual show, and received Third place in the Pastel/Drawing category.  The biggest award I received was a lady telling me her "want to be an artist" granddaughter wanted to save her money so she could buy it.

"Shhh....Baby Doll Sleeping

Sometimes while working on a painting, I take a rest from it, especially if there is a problem area, or something just isn't coming out the way I have envisioned.  During such a time, while working on "Have Fun", I decided to play with an old photo I had of my cousin, Devon, when she was little.  When I came across it, I saw a story, hence the title.  I wanted to practice my drawing, and occasionally do that when nothing else is coming to mind, as what to do next.  It slows me down and gets my creative thinking to start working.  Some parts of the drawing process, especially working on values, with a pencil, can be a little tedious.  Evidently the brain must kick in to break the monotony.  The photo was quite small(3"x3", black and white, and was taken in the 1950's), so I scanned it to my computer, cropped, and enlarged.  It needed a lot of work on the values.  Not too long after I thought I was finished, I took a colored pencil workshop with Richard Drayton.  He taught us a lot on doing values with colored pencil, using his technique.  (I loved the workshop!)  Getting my lack of confidence under control, I took it in the last day, after class, hoping he would give me some input.  He pointed out that the darkest area behind Devon should be enlarged.  Something to do with the flash.  That made a lot of difference!  Soon after, "Have Fun" got finished, and I decided to also enter my drawing of Devon in our annual show.  Sure am glad!  As was mentioned in my last blog, "Shhh...Baby Doll Sleeping" tied for 1st. Place in the Drawing/Pastel category, with "Have Fun".

reference photo

Cropped and enlarged

not too crazy about my photo

"Have Fun"

When I received 1st. Place for "Paint What You Love", a fellow artist suggested I do a series.  So, my follow up was "Have Fun"---and I did!!  I've always loved my reference photo.  Fancy, my border collie, was a very active puppy.  If you are at all familiar with border collies, you know what I mean.  Well, this one particular time I was looking at it, trying to get some ideas, and it reminded me of a pastel artist friend who always ends up with pastel all over her face when she's painting.  Then I bought the toy mouse, and of course, you have to have a cat.  Well, there are no cats here!  Fancy enjoys tantalizing and running them out of the yard.  I had never drawn nor painted one, so the research began, looking for cats in poses that would fit into my composition.  I found several for reference, for anatomy, and came up with my own color choice.  Then, my idea was first done on tracing paper, and I did change my mind several times regarding what props to use.  I set them up like I did for "Paint What You Love".  Next, I followed through with choosing a color scheme.

 reference photo

deciding on color scheme

"Have Fun", 20" x 16", Pastel on velour

"Have Fun" was entered in the 2011, C.L.A.G. annual show, and won 1st. Place in Drawing/Pastel category.  Not only did it receive 1st. Place, but my other entry, "Shhh....Baby Doll Sleeping", tied for first, with it.  I will post that next time.  Needless to say, my feet didn't touch ground the rest of the evening!  Art does have it's HIGHS!!

My First Commission Painting

In October, 2010, I actually had enough paintings to hang at our local library.  The library has set up a beautiful area for the Canyon Lake Art Guild to display the artists' works, to either sell or just show.  One of my paintings hanging was "Paint What You Love".  A lady called me one day, to ask if I would sell it, that it looked like her dog, Misty.  My answer was "no, but if I could get a print done, would she be interested?"  She wanted the original.  After I hung up, the light bulb came on, so I called her back, and asked if she would be interested in a commission piece of Misty.  She said "yes".  The adrenaline started flowing!!  What had I done?!  When it was finished and I looked back--I thoroughly enjoyed the journey!  I went to her home and took photos of Misty, which was a very fun experience.  She also sent me some via e-mail.  Several were used to accomplish the end result.  The commission was somewhat challenging, especially being my first time.  My customer wanted Misty sitting in her husband's lap, like she always does when he is watching t.v..  As you can see from the photo below, Misty had a sweater on.  Also, the husband didn't want to be in the painting(face).  Soooo--I lined all my photos up and started using both my imagination and what I was learning in animal anatomy.  You would have been able to see smoke coming out of my ears!  I was very, very happy with the final painting.  My customer was, and is, also.  I will do it again.

"Misty", Pastel, 20" x 16"

I am always hearing both sides of the story--regarding doing commission paintings.  As far as myself is concerned, prior to my "first" commission, there were both sides going through my thinking about doing one.  However, we don't know how we will like something, until we do it.  The fear of the unknown.  Will they like the finished piece?  If not, does that mean I am not a good artist?  As the saying goes--"you won't know until you try"!  Lesley Harrison just posted on her blog about doing commissions.  I highly recommend you read it.  The article is very encouraging and enlightening.

A Resource for Learning

The internet gives us such a great connection to the world outside of our "little world".  The information and resources are truly awesome and unlimited.  I thought encyclopedias were great---way back when!  One link I checked out on the Lesley Harrison site, was that of Vivien Walters(and am including her site in my "links").  Not only do I love her work, but she also does pastels on velour.  So, I contacted Vivien, via e-mail, and signed up for one of her E-Workshops.  It was exciting to be doing it from someone in the U.K., plus I didn't have to pack up my pastels and travel.  At the time, I liked her format for teaching, because the drawing was already done on the velour paper, freeing me to get to the basics.  I wanted to learn how she applied the color(pastels), and in what order.  The workshop was well worth it.  Vivien was always there to give me feedback and help.  I would love to take a workshop from her, in person.  So, here is my wolf.

"Waiting"

"Waiting", pastel, 14" x 11"

"Waiting" is a painting of one of my previous dogs, Brandy.  She had the sweetest disposition and was loved by all that knew her.  Prior to doing her, I had visited The Museum of Western Art, in Kerrville, Texas.  There was one particular artist whose work really caught my attention.  Besides being the only female artist, her works were the only pastels--and--her paintings really stood out because they were done with a black background.  It was like an "ahhhah" moment for me!  And not too much longer after that visit, while reading a book on color, I learned how more vivid colors look against black.  A beautiful contrast.  So, I did a few paintings with this in mind.  I loved the contrast and colors, but need to change their composition, so I won't post them at this time.  Then I decided to do another dog painting, and came across a snapshot of Brandy.  Will include it, because it shows you how, taking a simple photo, cropping it, plus adding an idea(i.e. technique), can produce something completely different.  I was learning to think outside of the box.  Knowledge is really powerful and exciting!!  The brain seems to pull it out of your memory just when you need it.  Keep reading and learning.  Besides that, it keeps the brain cells active--and I need all the help I can get.