Aug 2 - Dog Painting Taking Shape Now!

As I continue to paint in the large shapes of the upside down sleeping terrier, I am very aware of the values of each of those big shapes. Notice the difference between the left front paw (in light) and the same white rear paw (in shadow). Values matter!

One subscriber asked, "How can you be sure to get accuracy without a drawing in place?" Good question! As I paint, I am judging the relationships among the various shapes. I learned from Richard Schmid while he painted a portrait from a live model in Scottsdale, that he is always doing comparisons from a known measurement. Sometimes he says it is the space between the eyes, or the diameter of one of the lenses of the wearer's glasses. For me, in this painting, I am measuring the height and length of the dog, and imaginary horizontal and vertical lines across the composition. For example, I'll imagine a line going across the tip of the leftmost paw, and then see where it intersects the other paws in the source material. I'll place the paws (as I did with the hind feet in relation to that left paw) either above or below that horizontal. This is a basic drawing skill, and one that can be learned with a good class in drawing.

For me, accuracy isn't so much about duplicating the source material, as it is about getting the "feel" of the animal and what it is doing. If it is only accuracy, then a photograph with today's modern digital tools would be "good enough". I'm an artist first.

Did you enjoy Frank's illustrations from yesterday? I hadn't seen the one with the Joker. Heath Ledger would be proud!

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July 17 - Dog Commission, Stage Two

As I start to cover this 38 x 50 inch canvas, I'm doing what I can to keep the values light and bright, (high key) so that the collectors needs will be met. It is coming along well now, almost ready to drop into the "Uglies". Those of you familiar with my DVDs will laugh along with me when I say that, because "we" know that every painting goes deep into the "Uglies" before coming out the other side!

The 8 x 10 reference photographs are mounted on each side of the painting hung next to the wall to show you the five images from which I am taking my inspiration at this time. Each dog has a characteristic "look" to it, and no two dogs are the same--thus the specificity of dog portraits, and the general blanket acceptance of cat images. I'm quite pleased with the colors and developing atmosphere right now, and will begin to tighten down and detail out after I finish the underlayment on the upper right corner. It's all being caught on digital video, too! (However, I am not talking!!!)

I'm sending a bit early, as we have plans tonight and I plan to have a couple glasses of wine! No can do and come home and paint...sigh.

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April 19 - Laying in the Background on the Commission Dog

This is where the fun begins--not with the focal point, the dog, but with the background, laying in all those interesting thin color layers, using more transparent pigments such as sap green and burnt umber. I'm starting to get those big shapes in place that will be "noodled" later on to be more interesting. Work on the dog? Nawww, not time yet!! I wait, knowing that if I get the background to look interesting, then it will be my goal to make the dog even MORE interesting. If I get the background too important at this stage, then when I go to work on the dog, everything will be screaming for attention. So I lay in the background areas, making them "nice" but not "TOO" nice! These areas you see today don't have the details yet, that also comes later, as I bring the design to a crescendo for the ultimate finish. Hmmmm, a lot like music. By the way, my muse is imaginary. My hubby would never come in scratching himself and saying I could do better!

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Tomorrow a collector from Canada is coming by for a visit--I plan tea and enjoying meeting Judy, whom I've only known through emails and shipping paintings. It will be a joyous visit to the Two Trees studio!

March 21 - Jake Finished, 12 x 16 oil commission

A good day in the studio! I finished up Jake, the Beagle mix for my friend in Georgia, and have received the approval for it. I bet you didn't notice the halo suggested in the space above his mischieveious head, eh? He was truly a character, and it was my hope that I could paint him to life for the viewer.
I'm going to have an artist friend visit me this week, Betty Billups is coming in after driving around the Southwest plein air painting and gallery shopping/visiting. During these colder, snowy months, she comes out of Idaho and either goes on painting trips, or visits the galleries carrying her work. We met during a plein air event in Chico a couple years ago, and have enjoyed a vibrant friendship ever since. This will be her first visit to the new studio, and I can hardly wait to share it with her. BJ is the one who taught me that getting up before the roosters and first light was worthwhile, since you could paint the true dawn on location. She's a signature member of the Plein Air Painters of America and a dedicated artist. We'll have loads of fun painting together this week!

March 19 - Jake, Commission for a Friend

This commission painting will develop as a lesson painting, for I want to share with you how involved I tend to get when painting for people who have loved and lost their animal friends."Jake" was a friend and companion to my friend Fay in Georgia, and went missing last year. Not much can tear at the heart of a dog lover than the thought of losing a beloved pet, and not knowing the end of the story. My first dog when I got out on my own was a Beagle mix like Jake, and when I went overseas, I asked my sister to keep him for me, as I couldn't take him with me. Living with her wasn't the best match, and she took him to the pound and didn't tell me. By the time it came out, too much time had passed, and I couldn't find him. So I know that pain of losing and not knowing. When Fay told me about Jake, and how special he was, I knew I'd have to paint him.
So this is the first pass, sketch in oils, on a 12 x 16 canvas. I am so connected to this one already--getting leaky eyes as I do it, for the memories it invokes. Thank you, Fay, for the opportunity to do this.
And now my current dog is asking me to take her for the "night walkies", so I'll sign off.

February 13 - Beginning the Whippet Painting, the Sketches

I'm starting a painting that has been in my head for about two weeks, and I sure hope it matches up with the idea of it! It is different in that the format or canvas is a three to one ratio. That is to say, the canvas will be three times as long as it is high, very unusual. However, this has to happen to convey what I feel to be important--the speed and grace of the extended reach of the dog's movement. There is a story in this one as well, as you can see a small spash on the left side indicating something has moved out of the picture, but is what the whippet is headed for. 

My Dad had a whippet named "Dido" in Hawaii in the mid 1930s, and I have two silver trophy bowls from her show career. Later in Canyon Lake, my folks had Keiki Makana, a whippet that I used to watch running free in the open flats of undeveloped land. She was greased lightening and a joy to watch with her flow and effortless movement!
Today I share the two working sketches for this larger painting, and you can see me figuring out the placement, and the values in the lower one. This will be backlit with a high attention on the water and the splashes. I'm going to love painting those beautiful dog muscles, too!