Going to the Dogs!

Well, this year is opening with a blast:-D

I just got news about my entries for this year's Art Show at the Dog Show exhibition.
I have had three works accepted and am thrilled!

These will be displayed amoung 3 different location in Wichita, Kansas, between March 3rd thru April 11th. I will post more details soon, but now its off to the framers!

Going "to the Dogs" are:

"What's up Dach?"
4"x6" Watercolor


"My Ball"
5"x5" Watercolor


"Soulful"
5"x5" Colored Pencil on PastelMat

Cavalier Portrait

"Kiss Me Kate"
Miniature Watercolor Portrait, Approx. 2.5" across

Here is another Christmas special...I know everyone who loses a pet says this, but this girl was definitely taken from our family far, far too soon. (Pennies shown for scale)

DSDF End of the Year Portrait Challenge

"Dave"
Approx. 5"h x 8" w, watercolor on board

Reference for "Dave"

Here is my painting for Karin Jurick's DSDF end of the Year Portrait Challenge. I chickened out last year, but was determined to take part for 2009. Karin got a huge response this year and it is very interesting to see the final pieces. Make sure you check it out!

My entry is done in watercolor and I really tried to use looser strokes and concentrate more on warm vs. cool colour to get my form. It was relaxing to do, probably because it isn't a commission and there wasn't the pressure to make it look exactly like someone. I pretty happy with the result :-)

And here's wishing everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2010!!!

And now for something completely different...

"Walleye Strike"
12"h x 16"w Watercolor and Colored Pencil

Not my usual subject matter for sure, but doing this fish commission has given me a new respect for all those artist specializing in this genre. Fish have a lot of parts, fins, and gills and so on, and you have to depict it correctly because really serious fishermen know the difference!

And this was a commission for a serious fisherman; I needed to paint a walleye, going after a specific lure that has been a personal fav this fisherman for ages (hence the paint chips all over it!)

It turned out fairly well, and all were very happy with the finished piece.

I have tried to include a few steps of the process below. I did use Friskit to mask out the fish and painted the background first. After taking these pictures, I did enlarge and darken the 'black' spot at the bottom end of the dorsal fin, which is a typical walleye marking, along with the white spot on the tip of the tail.

Dog Portrait - "Terry"

"Terry"
Watercolor and Colored Pencil, 8"wx11"h

Well the feasting is over, the prezzies unwrapped and the long afternoon naps taken, time to get back to doing some work!

Remember my "nose" post earlier this month? Well, here is the rest of "Terry"

Hope everyone is having/had a wonderful holiday!!

Dear Santa....

I hope everyone out there is reaching their Christmas finishing line! I am working on my final portrait, and will have a few to show once the season is over.

In the meantime, here's what's on my Christmas List....in the future...


Almost 5 week-old blue picardy spaniel pups at Brighthope Kennels. We had a lovely visit, but I wasn't able to sneak one out under my coat--Vicki kept on counting them all to make sure none were missing!!!

More Painted Ponies

The Trail of Painted Ponies had a special call to artists this month; to design a pony to be painted and auctioned off at the the 2010American Heart Association's Heart Ball in Washington,D.C. The theme was "Horses and Hearts" and "Take the Reins for Heart"

I submitted 2 designs;
One was a very whimsical, decorative pony entitled "Pony of Hearts"
Taking inspiration from carousel horses, but heavy on the hearts, I also gave a nod to the Native aspect of the Trail of Painted Ponies and embellished the saddlecloth with small iconic ponies.

The other was a more emotional piece, entitled "My Pony Reigns in my Heart"
This piece featured memorable horses / breeds that inspire us with their courage, bravery, persistence, willingness to help and partnership. There were so many great horses to choose from, but I narrowed it down to: the Thoroughbred (featuring Ruffian),the American Quarter Horse, the Polo Pony, the Show Jumper (and on opposite side) the lovable, kids' first pony, the Arabian, the Service Horse, working with Riding for the Disabled groups and Brigadier, a mount on the Toronto Police Force who was killed by a hit and run driver while on duty (Check out photographer Anne de Haas' great tribute to him).



The winning artist and figurine will be published on the TOPP website after Christmas.

In the meantime, my pony The Front Runner, is now available for pre-order. It is being offered as a Winter 2010 Figurine and as a collectible Autographed Figurine (Limited edition of 75). The actual ponies will arrive sometime in March and I can't wait!

The Nose Knows?

I promise I HAVE been working...although it may not seem so by looking at this blog!

I have a couple of commissions on the table right now and have just finished up a special project (Hopefully I can report more on that one by the end of the week).

And why the nose you might ask? Well, to prove that I have been drawing and painting, I have posted a portion of my most recent commission work, and unveiling the entire piece has to wait until after Christmas!

Kitten Candy

"Kitten Candy"
5"w x 5"h
Colored Pencil on Pastelmat paper

This is the second of my whimsical Christmas still life. A little brighter, this ginger kitten is all decked out in her best green dress for Christmas, (as long as she doesn't get Candy Cane all over it!)

Kitten Candy is up for auction on Ebay!

"A Prezzie for Lizzie"

"A Prezzie for Lizzie"
5"w x 5"h
Colored Pencil on Pastelmat paper

Here is one of my whimsical Christmas still life completed.

She is beige-grey bunny dressed for Christmas in a mixture of dark browns, olive greens and reds with a touch of yellow thrown in.

This is colored pencil on Pastelmat, again just loving that surface for my pencils :-)

Miss Lizzie is up for auction on Ebay!

WIP - Christmas Cuties

Between Christmas commissions, I took a break and sketch out a couple of toy animals. These Christmas cuties will be finished off with color pencil on Pastelmat paper, similar to my previous Teddy bears. Hopefully, I can post the finished pieces by this weekend!

Relisting

As my artwork decorates my studio and I only have so much space, I will be auctioning more pieces as we head into the Christmas Shopping season. I am posting two coloured pencil paintings, both done on Fisher paper.
If you are interested, please click on the link to go to my Ebay auction page. Thanks!

"SOULFUL"

5.25" x 5.25" Coloured Pencil on Pastelmat.
Sells with neutral mat and is ready to frame (8"x 8" frame) or be custom framed.

This is a FIVE day auction. To view auction, click here.





"SIESTA"

4"x6" Coloured Pencil on Pastelmat
Sells with neutral mat and is ready to frame ( 5"x 7" or 8"x 10" frame) or be custom framed.

This is a FIVE day auction. To view auction, click here.

Girl Power!

Photo: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images-StlToday

No painting to post today; I've been out working for the last week and am playing catch up at my easel; however, I did take out time to watch one or two of the Breeders Cup races yesterday and am so glad I did! One of the most amazing races I have ever seen was the final race, The Classic.

The undefeated mare Zenyatta, was pitted against the boys and boy-o-boy did she show them!

The race itself was one that movie script writers would have trouble topping :-)
This big, lovely girl readies herself for the race with a strange hoof-pawing dance before each race. One of the commentators described it as pilates for horses.
A California-based girl, she is bold and full of herself and she loves her people.
The rest of the field is a stellar cast of racing's best boys including the Kentucky Derby winner, The Arlington Million Winner, and a host of European Champions.

Going into the gate, Zenyatta had some loading problems, changing her mind about cooperating at the last minute (such a girl!) She eventually goes in and then the field has to wait for Quality Road, who, quite simply, freaks out at the gate, kicking and bucking and eventually is scratched and is withdrawn.

From there the horses break, and Zenyatta is caught unprepared and breaks on the wrong lead, settling into last place, about 10 lengths behind the leaders. (For those that don't know what a wrong lead is, simply put, it is starting out on the wrong foot.)

Jockey Mike Smith settles her down and changes leads. Nothing happens for the first half leg the race then Zenyatta joins the party. Just after the half mile mark, Zenyatta shifts into gear and starts to cruise by the boys, picking them off one by one. Then, just before hitting the homestretch, Mike takes her outside the field and she just motors home.
Seriously, she was like a big old caddy smoothly passing a bunch of jockeys on Vespas (sorry boys)!
The power of this girl!

Anyway, don't believe me? Watch it for yourself (Zenyatta is a big dark horse with a yellow saddle cloth and the jockey is in Teal and link silks w/ a teal cap)

Yes, definitely the most exciting 2 minutes in sports. And that's my lengthy commentary for today :-D
I'll be back tomorrow with a lot less words and more paintings!!

Zenyatta "Pilate's" photo courtesy of Smile Politely Blog

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