"On a 'Painted' Pony"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $10 s/h

click here to ask about purchasing this painting through Paypal

I was working on a painting for an upcoming show, getting all tight and nervous about it allo, so when I started this little painting, something in me must have been screaming "LOOSEN UP!!" It was fun to do. The horse is actually named Spirit and had the markings painted on him the day I saw him. I'm not sure what they mean, but they fit his name!

"Almost Summer" (sold)

6"x8"

Oil on Canvas-covered Panel

$100 plus $10 s/h

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Technically, the day I saw this woman reading in Lithia Park in Ashland, OR was the day before summer started. It was an unusually cool day for the area, but with the promise of hot weather to come! Lots of people out and about enjoying the weather and the park which is really beautiful. It was fun but challenging to paint this! I think reds and greens are two of the most difficult colors to work with and here they are, both in the same painting! It is hard not to wash the colors out with white to get them lighter. If anyone has a pointer on how they lighten reds and greens, I'd love to hear it!

"With a Red Bucket" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $10 s/h

click here to ask to purchase this painting through Paypal

I was attracted to the light in this scene when I did the drawing of it a week ago and wanted to try a painting of it. I'm not sure this painting is exactly what I was after, but it's a step along the way!

"Little Cowboy"

16"x20"

Oil on Gessoboar

Sold

Ta-Da!! I finished this commission! I am jumping up and down inside! Actually, there's a spot I'm going to tweak, but this is about it.

Commissions are hard for me. Just the stress of wondering if the buyer will like it, and in the case of this painting, needing to get a good likeness of the child, the horse and the car! It's an interesting process and I hope they're happy with it!

"Anticipating the Jump"

Image: 8.5"x7"

Graphite on Bristol Board

$250 includes s/h

this drawing is available through Tumalo Art Company

I was attracted to the feel of the forward movement and the light in this pose. These drawings have really been great exercises in seeing and creating values! It's almost like you can just keep going deeper and deeper into the subject and fine more variations in the values. I realized I had to finally just set a time limit and say enough!

Painting in Process

12"x12"

Oil on Panel

NFS

Like yesterday's post, I liked the little version of this so much that I wanted to do a larger one. I just wish I'd had more time to paint and get further into it today. Anyway, a little bit of painting is better than none! I'm out of town for a few days so won't be able to finish it until later next week--time to let it "steep"!

"More Water?" (sold)

12"x 9"

Oil on Board

I really enjoyed doing the small painting of this subject (June 8 post) so decided to paint a larger version for an upcoming show--and enjoyed doing this one just as much! Actually, maybe even more--this one being larger, it was nice not to have to put my glasses on to see what I was doing! Again, I used the limited palette of alizaron yellow, alizaron crimson, ultramarine blue and white. I feel like I've barely begun to see what those 4 colors can do. It was fun, too, to be painting this at the gallery where I was working today. I am a member of Tumalo Art Company, A Fine Art Collective. We moved to a new location on June 1st to the middle of a trendy shopping/dining area and are adjusting (well, I might add) to about 10-15 times the walk-in traffic that we had in our old location! Of course there are lots of browsers, but it's wonderful to talk to people about art, to hear what they are thinking and to hear their own "art-full" stories. The world needs art appreciators just as much as it needs the artists, for sure!

This painting will be included in a show I'm having there in August, so won't be for sale until then.

"Back to the Stables"

Image Size: 9"x10"

Graphite on Bristol Board
$225 includes s/h
click here to ask about purchasing this drawing through Paypal

This really IS graphite and the paper is WHITE!! I am having such a hard time photographing pencil drawings, not sure why. Anyway, I was inspired by the fun I had doing the drawing I did last week that I decided to do some more. Also, though, I am looking forward to doing a painting of this subject--there's beautiful back-lighting to work with.

Painting in Process--commission

16"x20"

Oil on Gessoboard

unfinished, NFS

Still working on this painting, It's been a challenge. Today, though, I worked on changing some values and the color in the ground. It feels like one of those that I'm just going to have to keep playing with till I get it right! I have this strange idea that I ought to be able to have something all figured out ahead of time. . .!?!

Painting in Process--commission

16"x20"

Oil on Gessoboard

NFS

I finally have made some progress on a painting I've been asked to do! It feels great to get into it. It's a challenge, though! I felt like it was important to have a good likeness of the child, and that has worked pretty well. Now, it seems like I've got myself into a position where everything else has to work around that because I sure don't want to change it!! Some of the things in the painting need to be color-accurate--like the horse and the car. I'm just not sure where this will go!

"3pm Break"

Image Size: 15"x8"

Graphite on Bristol Board

$350 includes s/h

this drawing is available through Tumalo Art Company

She started out being a painting today, but it just wasn't working, so I decided to draw. I sometimes forget just how much I love drawing!

"Around the Barrel" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

$100 plus $10 domestic s/h

click here to ask to purchase this painting through Paypal

This ended up being alot of fun to paint. The photo isn't so great, I'll have to replace this tomorrow. This painting, like many I've been working on lately, is the limited palette again. I think there's a challenge to see if I can get the color I want, or something. At any rate, I love the simplicity of using just a few colors. I appreciate the comments about yesterday's post regarding needing stronger reading glasses! Thanks! It's good to know I'm in good company!

I have been using some new brushes lately. I love it when they are fresh and hold their shape! These are Isabey Isacryl brights. I have used Winsor Newton Monarchs and Galleria brushes and really like those, but I'm thinking I may have found "my" brush! One of the catalogs I saw them in said they "wear like iron". I hope it's true!

the third beginning! (painting in process)

6"x6"

Oil on Gessoboard
unfinished

I wiped this painting off twice before I decided to crop the subject and not feel like I needed to get the whole horse and rider in! I just couldn't bring myself to paint this little tiny barrel racer, horse and barrel. . .maybe I need stronger readers. . .

"The Waitress" (sold)

8"x6"

Oil on Raymar Canvas -covered Panel

$125 includes domestic s/h

click here to ask to purchase this painting through Paypal

I've been looking at the photo I have of this woman for a long time, but never felt like I had enough information in it to be able to pull off a painting. Today, though, I just started it and I found that I didn't need anymore than what was there. In fact, it was a struggle not to put in the detail that I could see! V-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, I think I am learning to leave things out. Why does that take such a long time?! Sure does make painting fun, though. Also, I went back to the 3 colors plus white palette: alizaron crimson, alizaron yellow and ultramarine blue. It's so nice not to have to make amymore color decisions than what can be done with those!

"Golden Moment" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

$100 plus $10 s/h

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"At the Byways Cafe Counter"

16"x20"

Oil on Gessoboard

sold

The top painting is today's daily painting. I have painted this scene like three times with a different color scheme--in reds--and I've always wanted to try something different and decided to try the yellows. I actually like it much better! I will likely use this as a study for a larger painting. I used alot of my new favorite yellow "Alizaron Yellow" by Williamsburg paints.

The second painting is the finished version of the one that's been chronicled the past week or so. Good to be done! I'm pretty pleased!

"Man of Passion" (face #37 of a series of 50) sold

6"x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

The subject of this painting is a man named J. Chester Armstrong. He is a sculptor primarily of animals and begins his carving using chainsaws! I got to watch him demonstrate this last Saturday and it was really fascinating. After he gets the basic form carved with the saws, he uses a variety of tools to finish his work creating beautiful, flowing figures of animals. He is incredibly intense and passionate about his art. He is one of those sculptors who really lets the piece of wood he's using "release" the form. The photo I used as a reference had him in mid-sentence, but the feel of that expression really captured his personality for me. I am still counting those faces that I set out to do last fall! This is number 37 of 50. Once I was able to paint again, I let them go . . .but still want to finish out the 50!

Another artist I'd like to bring attention to is Dana Cooper. She found my blog the other day, then I found hers' and I am glad I did! Please visit her blog!