Passin' Thru

"Passin' Thru"
5"x 7" Watercolor on board

Here is my painting for this week's Different Strokes from Different Folks.

Karin challenged everyone with a rooftop landscape. While this isn't my usual subject matter, I did try it but just had to add an animal...I thought my lonely pigeon fit rather well :-)

I also made it a bit more challenging for me personally and limited myself to 3 tubes of paint: violet, yellow and cobalt green (The pigeon has a jewel drop of pure cobalt green on his neck, but you can't see it very well)

All in all, I was rather surprised at the result and might try painting it again in the future. Check out the DSDF blog to see the complete challenge and some of the really wonderful takes on this subject matter.

And now for something completely different...

"Masquerade"
5" x 5" mixed media on rag board

Here is the sort-of-Halloween-painting I have been fooling around with; a fantasy carousel pony entitled "Masquerade"

I have always doodled these little ponies and I wanted to finally try one as a little painting. This turned out to be a misture of watercolor and acrylic on rag board, which, for me, was not the best fit. I did have trouble with the smoothness of the acrylics on this surface, so I might try a smoother board or panel next time around.

I bet this would also be great to do on the computer, as a digital peice...hmmm...

This piece is at auction on Ebay. Click here to bid

'What's up Dach?'

"What's up Dach?"
4"x6" watercolor on WC paper

Here is the final painting of my little black and tan dachshund (my previous wip post showed only a portion of it). Great little breed full of character. I am mulling around with another painting idea based on this one but expanded, possibly as an entry for the Art Show at the Dog Show...we'll have to see how my initial pencils turn out.

This painting is available for purchase. Please contact me directly.

ACEO- Bulldog Sepia and Tints

SOLD
"The Beautiful Bulldog"
2.5"h x 3.5"w Original Sepia Watercolour

I thought I would try and make a little ACEO to compliment my fuller paintings. This one is from my Bulldog painting, 'MY Ball,' posted on October 7th.
It is a closely cropped facial study, but instead of doing it in full colour, I painted it as a sepia print with some tints of rose for the tongue and the muzzle. I was quite pleased with it and so you'll be seeing this technique on a regular basis :-)

WIP-Dachshund

Here is a quick peek at park of one of the little paintings I am currently working on. It will measure 4"x6" and is done in watercolour. No firm title yet, we'll see what develops as this little doxie painting nears completion :-)

Bulldog painting - "MY Ball"

"MY Ball"
5"x 5" watercolor on board

Here is the finished bulldog; I really enjoyed painting him; wonderful stature, solid and how about that wonderful grin!

A side note to this painting; some bulldog aficionados may say that this guy is a little leggy, and they would be correct, as the [English] Bulldog breed as most people know it is a shorter and square canine. But this lovely fellow was a Victorian bulldog, which is a swing in breeding going back to the taller and smaller head type.

Whichever breeding you look at, I have met both these types and they are marvelous, personable and at times (dare I say) slightly stubborn dogs who are always greatly loved by their families :-)

He is available for purchase, so please post me an email, if you're interested.

WIP-Bulldog

WIP- Bulldog
5"x 5" watercolor on board

I've been painting like a fiend >:-)

Here's something I can show you (commissions are top secret until after Christmas)...
A work in progress of a lovely bulldog-- the finished piece will be posted later on this week and he will be for sale.

I am also trying to complete some Hallowe'en art...a little different, but still with animals. If it turns out, I'll post those as well. If it doesn't, well I have to invoke my artist's privilege to never show them to anyone!

The Trail of Painted Ponies

"The Front Runner"
Comp for figurine reproduction

I have some great news to share;
This summer, I entered a "Call to Artists" put out from the Trail of Painted Ponies. The theme was the Art of Horse Racing.

Well, I'm happy to announce that my design, The Front Runner, finished "first by a nose" (yeah, we put together a bad pun) and is going to be reproduced as a figurine! I am thrilled to say the least-- the people at TOPP have been great to work with and am looking forward to seeing the process of taking a 2d design to a 3d one.

Check the full results-- first, second and third place!

The Trail of the Painted Ponies is one of the premier fine art and collectibles companies in the world, in its sixth year of crafting one of the most beloved collectibles in America. It began as a Santa Fe based public art project that invited artists to let their imaginations run wild and transform life-size fiberglass horse sculptures into wonderful original works of art. The response was overwhelming and lead to the reproduction of these originals in a smaller, collectible form.

While The Trail of Painted Ponies is well known for their collectible figurines and books, they are also dedicated to supporting the arts, education, animals and the environment. To date, The Trail of Painted Ponies has proudly raised over 1 million dollars to support many worthy non-profit organizations.

Link to how The Trail of the Painted Ponies all began
Link to the Official Site with links to the many ponies available and 'retired'