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.
Complete blog here.

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!