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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March 20 - Jake, Oil Commission in Process

I've started to add the color fields to the painting of the dog, creating some light and dark patches both on his body and also on the grasses behind and beneath him. At this stage, I don't worry too much about proportions--yes, I know his head is too big and his rear end is too small--because I'll make those changes as I progress. Earlier I wrote to another collector that my painting process is akin to sculpting in that I find the form and accuracy by removing and adding parts, reshaping the shapes that make up the animal. No careful preliminary drawing is part of my routine!
I think it gives the work I do more of a "hand made" look, which, along with the brushy brush work, pleases me greatly.
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December 26 - Border Collie Commission Finished

A full day, painting this commission to its completion. I placed Jake on the edge of a pasture, near the line of trees that borders many green areas in Kentucky. I put the opening in front of him, showing a lighter pasture on the other side of the trees, symbolic of the hope of so many of us that our pets will have a place in Heaven where we'll meet them later on. And now you can see him looking back withe the sunlight on the forest floor ready for his footfalls.

This is an an analogous painting in color, with the dominant hue being green. You'll find the blues and violets scattered amongst the fur of the dog, and the shadowed whites. The discords are in the trees as well, can you name them? If you have Hal Reed's color wheel, you can spin it and see exactly why this painting is so easy on the eyes. I learned a lot from that wheel, which is not your usual color mixing red-is-opposite-green wheel. You can order one by googling it, although Hal is gone now. I'm quite pleased with this commission, and I hope that the folks who've watched it unfold will be as well.

Tomorrow I'm shipping paintings and DVDs, and will begin yet one more commission--this time boats! I do so love the dog, cat, people and horse paintings, tho'.