Dec 13 - Commission for Christmas

I'm off and running on a 24 x 18 commission to be delivered on the 16th. It is a German Shorthair named Robi, who was co-owned by a father and son, and who was tragically killed this past year.
I've owned German Shorthair Pointers, and know how loving and silly they can be, and how very "birdy". So it is fun to revisit the breed in this acrylic painting.
Here you see the rough lay-in of the structure and position of the dog, in a characteristic pose, over the underpainting which is composed mostly of Quinacradone Burnt Orange and Ultramarine Blue.
I did a small sketch from images provided by the son, and read his words on how the dog behaved. I haven't decided yet whether or not to put the dog on a familiar couch, or put smaller composite pictures in the negative space of aspects of this bird dog's life. The painting will tell me what to do when the time is ripe.
I'm also working on another commission, which needs to be sent out Monday. Busy! I'll share that one with you soon, in a couple of stages, so you can see the mountain landscape come together. I love making paintings for people that bring moments back to them! I don't think there is a better way to depict a moment in time than through a well-executed painting...so much of the artist's hand and the "life" of the moment comes through that is difficult to capture in ordinary snap shots or digital imagery.

On the Maine painting, I had several wonderful suggestions, and will be working on that one after these two commissions are put to bed. But no boats on the water...sorry!

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Dec 11 - Well on it's way - The Maine Coast lesson

Oh, drat! Somebody get me an egg timer so I can stop before I get too far along on these lessons! I just picked up my brushes and started working on the fun of painting the textures in the foreround, and look how it got away from me! I could have made three steps in this area, but the brushes and the joy in creating it captured me!
Maybe it is the Christmas spirit, but all that red and green made me enjoy the process so much.
I will tell you that the beginnings of all that texture were created with burnt umber and thalo green, deep in the shadow areas. Then with a large, 3/4" brush, I put in the major colors of the upper layers. On the right, it was a mixture of white, thalo green and sap green, and then across the middle ground it was yellow ochre added to that mix. Finally a third pass over those big blobs of color, using a small brush to create the illusion of detail.
What fun to paint this way! Brushwork, certainly, and watching the warm colors appear in the lighter areas, and yet still maintaining that feel of a slightly overcast day.
Is it finished? Not yet--no signature. I'll post it when I'm truly finished with it. What do you think I will do with it from this point? I love to hear what you're thinking!
And the colors... Go great with the bathroom! Har de har--painting to a bathroom color scheme--who woulda figured?
Next will be an 18 x 24 commission of a German Shorthair Pointer dog... in time for Christmas! Busy, busy!

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Dec. 9 - Lesson Continuing, Acrylic Maine

Oops! A day slipped away from me, but it was certainly a busy one! We opened our home and studio for a holiday gathering of friends, family and artists on Saturday, and I'm now recovered enough to write again. All the guests who were strangers mostly to one another wore name tags with their first name, their affiliation to Ron and I (Aikido, Artist, or something else) and some added an interesting fact below that. Conversations abounded as folks asked questions upon viewing the name tags. "Oh, you're a gardener! Where is your garden and how big is it?" "Endurance riding? Can you tell me about that?"

I cooked for two full days prior, and most of the food disappeared! Bruschetta, cookies, tropical fruit cake, fudge, meatballs in sauce, deviled eggs... whew. We still have beer, though.

So, on to this painting! The 16 x 24 inch format is clearly visible now with the sky, water and distant headlands painted in. Those of you boot campers (prior workshop attendees) know that this entire section was done with the cool palette, using mostly the "big three" for the sky and water. I used burnt umber and ultramarine mixed into the sky mix to create the headlands/islands out in the sea. The entire area "lays down" because of the use of the cools.
Although the canvas looks almost divided in thirds at this point (Ack! Bad design!) the weight and angulation of the lower area for the vegetation will carry the painting when I get to it. And that will be very soon!

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