Proud and Proper

This is another digital painting which I did using the Procreate app and Apple Pencil on my iPad Pro. My 3 year old son sat next to me while I worked on this. He was using Art Flow on his Kindle. It's so nice to be able to create art side by side.

Proud and Proper
Procreate on iPad Pro
PRINTS AVAILABLE ON ETSY

Orange and Teal

I love these colors together. As soon as I saw this scene I knew I'd have to paint it!

Orange and Teal
8x10  ·  Oil

Oh What a SmartCar

This is another painting which I did from a photo which my friend from college took. Funny, I'm not all that into cars but I just love her car photos and they call me to paint them! I'm so lucky that she is amenable to that!

Oh What a SmartCar
8x10
Oil
FOR SALE ON ETSY
(original and prints available)

Painted with permission, from a photo taken by Vivienne Scholl.

Freedom!

This is another large one, though not nearly as large as the Sligo painting! I had so much fun painting this! I was so captured by the spirit and beauty of this horse that I was sad to finish it. I was originally going to add a cradle to this but when I was out shopping the other day I found the perfect frame! The texture of the frame runs vertically and teeters on the edge of contemporary and traditional which I love! It is also dynamic enough to put on this painting which has so much movement but doesn't have so much energy that it competes with the painting. I was so happy as I really did not want to put a small plain frame on this guy!

Until this sells, it can be found hanging in my family room!

Freedom!
18x24
Oil
For Sale On Etsy

Sligo, Ireland

This is by far the largest painting I have ever done and it took me over a year to complete. This one sat in the corner and laughed at me for at least half that that year. Other things in life took over for while and I just didn't have the time to commit to such a daunting task. I'm glad to say that it has now joined the ranks of the signed and completed!

Sligo, Ireland
30x40
Oil
FOR SALE ON ETSY

Lucas Lucas Lucas

I have truly been blessed to have met a lovely family who has a tremendous love for their dogs. This is the third portrait I have done for them and as always, it has been such a pleasure! Meet Lucas Lucas Lucas, their first family pet. It is clear that he made a lasting impression on their hearts.

Lucas Lucas Lucas
12s12
Oil

Ecuador

I love Bill Guffey's Virtual Paintout art challenge. This is the first one I've done in a while. This month was a "walk" around Ecuador via Google Map's street view. I painted the scene on a canvas panel, not my favorite painting surface as I don't generally love the rough texture. but I had a lot of fun painting this location I found with the little homes, chickens, etc.

Guayas, Ecuador
8x10
Oil
Prints Available on Etsy

Maggie

Maggie
5x7
Watercolor

Twisted

Twisted
Plein Air
Procreate App on iPad
Prints Are Available on Etsy

For a long time I have been dying to get a pochade so I can do some plein air painting. In particular I've had my eye on one of the Alla Prima boxes. They are very beautiful, hand-crafted boxes! I may still end up getting one at some point, but recently I've decided to give my iPad a shot for plein air. Why not? I already love painting on it. There are so many benefits of painting on an iPad, no mess, no lugging heavy paints, boxes, tripods, etc around.

I was up in the mountains this past weekend staying in a lovely "cabin" "camping". Why the quotes? I grew up camping, sleeping on the ground, in a tent. Luxury camping was a KOA cabin where you had to walk up the hill to use bathrooms and take a shower (a SHOWER while camping? I was bowled over the first time I heard of this). To me, if it has running water and electricity (not to mention the three stories, wrap around deck, foosball table, hot tub...) it is no longer a cabin, we now call that a house. How can one say they are camping when they are sleeping in a house? I'm not sure how but that's what we were calling it. Well, so, while "camping" in the "cabin" last weekend I spent a lot of time outdoors, and I did a few plein air paintings on my iPad in my favorite painting app, Procreate. I found this cool little twisty tree by a creek and above is the end result.

It was so peaceful up there and so nice spending 3 days without a television always running and not even wanting to have my phone on me. I'm rather sad to be back.

Hawk WIP 4 & WIP 5

Worked on the wing a bit, adding some more texture and color.

WIP 4

Then worked on the hawk's legs and feet and then the wing again, adding more color. I think I may add some more browns back in in the next round. I'm also feeling the need to do something more to the branch.

WIP 5

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Lily of the iPad

This weekend my PenGo stylus came in so I played around with that quite a lot and I love it! Now I just need to find or make a little case to carry it in so I don't lose the extra tip or scratch up my iPad when I throw it in the iPad case.

This is a painting I did over the weekend on my iPad using the PenGo and the Procreate app. I worked from a reference photo which I took a couple years ago while visiting Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA. I have looked at this photo numerous times with the intention to paint it and the iPad just seemed like the perfect place to finally do it. I do love making a mess with traditional paints but I think I equally love having the option NOT to.

Water Lily—Callaway Gardens, GA
Procreate App on iPad
Prints available on Etsy

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Flower in Oil - Final

Flower

Oil

14.75x7.75

Here is the final of this painting. I can't quite get the colors in the scan correct, the flower in the painting is actually a bit more orange but this is pretty close. I finished a portrait for James Parker's Windows to the Word blog, as soon as it dries enough I'll scan that in and post it. I also have a few paintings which are in the sketch stage, I'll try to get those scanned and posted in the next couple days as well.

Flower in Oil - Work In Progress 1

I've been working on this painting here and there for the last couple of weeks. It's another flower I photographed when I was at Callaway Gardens last summer. A good friend of mine and I were debating what kind of flower this is and we decided that it looks like an Iris. For some reason I feel it should be something more exotic than that...oh well, I guess I should have written it down. This painting is oil on gessoed poplar plywood and is 14.75"x7.75".

Horse in Oil Pastels - Finished

Horse

Oil Pastel

11x14

I did some final touches on this and added in the background. I think this is a wrap.

Horse in Oil Pastels - Work In Progress 2

I worked on some of the details. I used tortillons to blend the pastels. I'm pretty happy with the base wash I did as I'm not seeing any little specs of paper popping through like I did in my initial, pre-baby oil discovery, attempt.

Horse in Oil Pastels - Work In Progress

I love working in dry pastels but recently have been reading a lot about how toxic they are, especially when working in an area which isn't properly ventilated (guilty). So, I thought maybe I'd give oil pastels a shot. I haven't used oil pastels since high school, and I wasn't much of a fan of them then. My first attempt went horribly array and ended up a big mound of mud. Here's my second attempt which I'm much happier with. One of the reasons I'm much happier with it is that I did a google search and found that baby oil can be used as a solvent. So, armed with my baby oil, I started this painting. I started by blocking in areas of color, then I loaded a paint brush with baby oil and worked at making it into a wash. I left it to dry and when I came back I realized the hazard of baby oil...the grease stain! When I walked away this horse didn't have a halo, when I came back however...Oh well, guess I'll be putting a background in this one for sure! LOL!

Sunflower in Pastels - Final

Sunflower

8x10.5

Here's the first of what I believe will be a series of sunflower paintings. I took quite a few photos of these beautiful flowers while at Callaway Gardens and they're all screaming to be painted. I'm also currently working on a portrait which I hope to have up soon.

When to say When...(Sunflower in Pastels - Work in Progress 2)

I've worked on this some more and am trying to decide if it's time to stop or if I want to put more details into it. I think I'll set it aside and look at it again in a few days with a fresh eye.

Sunflower in Pastels - Work in Progress

This is a pastel I'm working on of a sunflower. I love flowers and took lots of photos of a wide variety this past summer during a trip to Callaway Gardens.

Different Strokes

4.25"x5.5" Pastel

This is my first submission for Karin Jurick's Different Strokes challenge. I had a lot of fun with this.