Bling

I decided to call this painting "Bling" because I almost didn't add the sparkly hangy bits, and am so glad I did! This is a Marwari horse at an Indian horse fair from an image taken by photographer Manu Sharma and used with his permission. The painting is 6X6 in soft pastels (Nupastels, Caran de Ache, Rembrandts, Mount Visions, Senneliers, maybe even a Unison or two) on PastelMat:





"Bling" is now framed, pics and PayPal button coming soon!

Rare plein air

With little time available lately for painting I thought I'd share another older painting. This is from October 2012 on a camping trip in Comb Wash, Utah:

"Campsite Cottonwood"

NFS

 

I started painting in August of 2012, so this is with a few months of experience under my belt. We had our horses with us and were there to ride, but I was coming off a cold and then my husband got it, far worse than what I had had. So, there was some down time and I took advantage of it and did a few small paintings from our campsite, just south of highway 95. This one is approximately 5" X 7".  So far I have done very little in the way of plein air, but I did enjoy how it was like a meditation of place, and how it stays with me, how it looked, how it felt. I miss being there so much, plans are in the works to spend more time there soon, after we have caught up with our sculpture business work :) I can hardly wait, it always feels like a part of me waits there for my return.

Sunflower

I've been busy with my sculpting and haven't had any time to paint since the first of the year, so I thought I'd share some older paintings. This one is from last fall, my first flower attempt and I am thrilled with how it turned out. My next attempt did not fare so well. This is a 6X6 on, I think, UArt pastel paper:

"Sunflower"

Not for Sale

Gemsbok

My Christmas gift to myself was painting this gemsbok that seemed to paint itself. I wish they all went together so well! The photo for this was a free stock photo taken by Andre Moritz on Dreamstime.com:

With so many excellent quality images on Dreamstime I should never run out of reference for any subject, some are only a few $$$ for the license. Since I am currently into close up crops I came up with something I liked for it's design properties, paying attention to the negative spaces.

 

NFS

Bongo

Here is the next painting in my series of 6X6 horned animal crops. I had some fun with this guy and decided to push the colors a little more, I must be getting more confident. Reference for this was provided by http://lormet-images.deviantart.com. 

 SOLD

Lord Derby Eland

After my failed landscape attempt I returned to a subject I usually have success with, hooved animals. I rely heavily on photos shared by others who allow artists to use them for paintings, especially for exotic animals. I love where I live, but the nearest eland is a days drive away, if they have any at the Denver Zoo. For those who aren't familiar with the eland, it is the largest antelope, much like the moose is the largest deer. The male Lord Derby Eland can be almost 6 feet tall at the withers and weigh 2,200 lbs! That is the size of a large bull of the bovine variety. In some parts of the world elands have been somewhat domesticated for both meat and milk, as they can thrive on forage that cattle can not do well on.

Here is the original reference photo, provided by salsolastock.deviantart.com:





To get my crop I set my cropping tool for a square, since that is the format of the painting I want to do, and move the square around until I get something that looks good to me. I try to find something interesting with a strong design element including both the subject and negative spaces.

Here is the painting, in progress and finished:

SOLD

This painting sold to someone on the artist website WetCanvas where I had posted it for critiques. It made me realize that it might be time to offer these paintings via an auction format. The next painting is a bongo, and I'll be trying out a simple auction idea right here on the blog, either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Frustration

I am supposed to be working on my sculpture, but these pastels keep calling to me. I thought I'd try another landscape in a larger size, 9X12. I wanted to see if I could apply what I had learned to something larger and to a landscape. Once again I selected a photo that seemed simple enough to me, only to find it is not so simple. The reference for this painting came from the WetCanvas reference image library, by member Carlanna:

Simple, right? I am sure some of you are thinking "that is not simple at all" and some of you could knock out a painting of this in one afternoon. I thought I was one of you, haha!

The sketch/value study using NuPastel #305:

First layers of color, still feeling pretty confident:

After getting some constructive feedback I tried to make the clouds feel more airy by softening the edges and adding some sky color in. I will admit, I was beginning to feel defeated:

The next day I gave myself one hour to do what I could and then move on to something I could have success with. I also ordered some more pastels, which arrived yesterday, and I think I have enough lighter  colors that I could  do more with subtle gradations on this, when I feel inspired to work on it more.

There are things I like about it. I love my sky color, and the upward sweep of the clouds. To me I feel like I am looking up when I look at the top third of the painting. I left the bottoms of the clouds too sharp because my timer I had set for one hour went off and I was tired of working on it. It is hanging in the living room for now. It was good for me to do this, it was humbling and it made me realize, again, how much there is to learn.