Ibises WIP 3 & 4

Happy Thanksgiving week!

The ibises have gained quite a bit of color and texture and I got to use my Catalyst Blade and Wedge! Fun! The only bummer is that the blade seems to be obtaining a permanent bend in the rubber part of the handle. I noticed that I'm using it in one direction 90% of the time which is clearly the cause. I'm going to have to think on what I can do about that.

WIP 3

WIP 4

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Ibises WIP 2

I worked on the ibises a bit more, here's a shot of how it looks right now.

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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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Ibises WIP 1

It's cold and I'm dreaming of warm weather and the beach! With the beach on the brain I remembered a painting which I'd planned on doing a couple of years ago of two Ibises at the ocean's edge. I sketched it out then moved it to the attic for one reason or another and had forgotten about it. I dug the poor neglected birds out over the weekend and worked on the underpainting.

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Hawk WIP3 and Halloween Photos

Happy Monday! I am not at all a fan of this turning the clocks back thing but I'm trying really hard to be a big girl about it. Having said that, only four months to go before Spring Forward happens and I rejoice again! Let the countdown begin!

I worked on the hawk a little more over the weekend and here's how the painting stands this morning.

I also have to share that I got myself one of the Princeton Catalyst Blades and one of the Wedges! I like the blade very much and haven't tried the wedge yet but how can I not love it! I opted for shape #1 (gray) for each since they have two different sized edges which I figure would offer more flexiblity. They work well for painting but I've also been using the blade as a palette knife to mix paint.

My family visited a couple weeks ago and we went to the pumpkin patch then carved pumpkins. We had a great time and I saw white pumpkins for the first time! I had no idea pumpkins could have albinism!

The Stalking Shadow.

Squash Stand

Raindrops on Pumpkins

One of many photos I took while we were lost in the corn maze

Margaritas and pumpkin carving!

The Morning After

The puppies all dressed up for halloween!

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Hawk WIP 2

I've been doing portrait work for the holidays and since that stuff can't be shared until after gifts are given, I thought I'd share a photo of the hawk. I haven't had a chance to work on him a lot but I did make a little bit of progress on the background and his head. Notice the big splotch of paint above his left leg where it seems I was doing a bit of sponge painting with my sleeve—oops! There's lot left to do yet but here he is!

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White Horse WIP

The last of the under-paintings which I started this week is this white horse. I had hoped to get another horse started as well but I have company coming and I've run out of time. Here's a very poor photo taken in low-light with my phone.

I planted some lettuce in containers on the deck a few weeks back and something kept digging in the pots. I finally decided to move them up to the area directly outside the french doors in the family room where I was hoping the dogs would keep the animals at bay. Well...not so much...

Brave little guy getting a drink with a foot in one of the pots of lettuce sprouts.
The dogs were completely unaware on the other side of the window. Hmmmm...

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Hawk WIP

Yesterday morning while i was peacefully eating my breakfast and getting ready to start my day there was a big BOOM and the street went dark! With the computer out and no way to work I had a cleaning day! All of the normal cleaning was done so it was time for the nooks and crannies, those things you don't always do like baseboards, windows, etc. I made a list and started marking things off, at the bottom of my list, I had "PAINT"!

Here are some photos of the first two stages of a hawk I'm painting. A couple weeks ago I stumbled across a photo I'd taken of this guy and knew I just had to paint him! I had hoped to work on him some more yesterday but as luck would have it the power came back on right as I was about to head for the easel.

Hawk WIP—Sketch

Hawk WIP—Underpainting

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Baby Girl Underpainting

Here is the first of a few under-paintings which I did over the past few days and are drying right now.

This sweet little girl is calling me, I can't wait for the underpainting to dry so I can work on her some more! In the meantime I have three more masonite panels to gesso so I can get my other ideas sketched out and started.

I'm planning on going to Dick Blick to pick up some clay later this week. I have had the urge to dig my hands into clay lately and I have a few ideas I'd like to try out! I wasn't sure about it at first as I don't have, or know anyone else who does have, a kiln. I thought about going the Sculpey route but clay is so much less expensive that it just doesn't make sense to get Sculpey unless I was only doing one or two small items. It turns out that there are places around which allow you to rent a shelf of a kiln so that's what I'm going to do! Crossing my fingers that I can remember enough about clay from high school and college that my items don't explode!

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Sophie!

Sophie sounds like quite a character and I was so happy to get to paint her! She seems to go just about everywhere with her people from the beach, to camping trips, to taking rides on a motorcycle! Such a little cutie who's obviously very loved!

Here are the photos of the finished portrait:

Sophie - Detail

Sophie
Oil
16x16

Below are the work in progress photos:

Underpainting

This is the wild and crazy color phase!

In this round I added more detail, lightened up the background, put some of Sophie's natural coloring in, and added more definition to her body.

Here I simplified and lightened the background up a bit, both of which makes  Sophie stand out more. I also added the final touches here and there, refining it until I was happy with it. For this phase, I leave the painting sitting where I will pass by it frequently. Each time I pass, I have an initial reaction and I may or may not see something which jumps out at me which I want to tweak. Once I get to the point where I walk by and nothing jumps out, I photograph it and sent off for approval!

Once Sophie dries, I will paint the sides, apply a certificate and hanging wire to the the back, scan it in, wrap her up and ship her to her new home!


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Major and Tula Portraits

Tula

18x18

Oil

Major

18x18

Oil

Above are a couple of portraits which I've just finished and delivered today. The puppy on top is Tula, a very sweet Rhodesian Ridgeback. On the bottom is Major, an equally sweet German Shephard.

Below are photos of the work in progress and details for each portrait:

TULA

Tula - Final

Tula - detail of eyes

Tula - detail of nose

MAJOR

Major - Final

Major - detail of eyes

Major - detail of nose

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Draft Horse - Final

Draft Horse
14x11
Oil on Masonite

Detail #1

Detail #2 - Palette Knife Strokes

A while back I posted the first stage of this painting. After completing the painting I was debating about changing a section of it so I've been staring at it for a while. I have made the decision to leave it as is. So, finally, here's the final! 


I used a combination of paint brush and palette knife in this one and am happy with the affect. It was fun to use the knife as it allowed me to apply paint in larger quantities and to blend in a different way. I will certainly be using that more in the future.

Draft Horse - Work in Progress

I simply love horses! They take my breath away. Growing up I had a horse and was forced to find it a good home when I moved to Boston after graduating from college. One of life's many tough choices. I ache to own one again, in the mean time, I'll paint them!

This is of a horse I saw during a visit to Kentucky Horse Park.

Golden Retriever - Work in Progress

I was able to work on the Golden some more this weekend. Above is the second photo I took (the first one I posted last week).

I think he's done. I'm going to stare at it for a while longer to see if there are any other tweaks I want to make. If not, I just need to sign it, paint the edges, and get the wire on the back for hanging.

I had some issues with the wire last time, I can't be the only one, or maybe I am. I switched over to using Ampersand Gessobord painting panels. I prefer them because they're a bit deeper and I don't need to prime them as they come ready to paint on. The downside is that I have to put wire on the back.

I don't know how anyone gets the eye hooks into the wood frame on these panels, it takes someone stronger than I, that's for sure! Or, maybe there's a drill involved. If I did that as a first step then I could clamp the painting panel into a vice grip...hmmm, maybe next time I'll give that a shot. In the mean time, I came up with a pretty good solution, I used a staple gun to staple the wire in place on each side then doubled it back on itself and wrapped itself, same as you'd do with the eye hooks.

I'm pleased with the results and I don't think the wire's going anywhere, so maybe I'll leave the drill on the shelf.

Golden Retriever - Work in Progress

I haven't posted a work in progress in a while as I've been side-tracked with life and, ahem, my iPad. Here's the first stage of a Golden Retriever which I started working on this past weekend.