What's On My Easel ..........Sue Galos

a few new animals as a respite

2011-12-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

Once I finished those abstracts, I had 2 commisions, a bday present and a xmas card to create.
here they are

commission #1
a trio of spaniels - the ones on the left & right are departed
watercolour10 x 16

a xmas present - had some trouble with the photos so painted 2 and forgot to take a photo of the second before they were picked up
watercolour, 8 x 10
,

and then the birthday present - 10 x 14, watercolour - "crooner cat" for Leo

last, my Xmas card - my cat sitting in my garland also 10 x 12

continuation of a theme

2011-11-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Prayers

I decided that my original concept have merit for continued exploration. This time I wanted to enhance the stained glass effect of my original drawing so I used heavy black lines to break up the picture plane. I also kept these vertical as another contrast to the 1st series.
here are the 3 results

this one is 21 x 34 acrylic on canvas

16 x 30 acrylic on canvas

16 x 30 acrylic on terraskin

and another one

2011-10-31T12:38:00.001-07:00

This is another one in the series I'm doing but it's a huge departure in terms of the colour. I am and have been struggling with it all week - it might be close to resolved now so I will let it sit for a few days and see how I feel then.

24 x 48 acrylic on canvas

continuing the series

2011-10-22T09:18:00.001-07:00

2 more

and continuing the series ....

2011-10-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

This is the next one - 24" x 48" Golden acrylics and gels
Again I find myself wanting to stop here ... not really convinced that it's finished but will let it rest for now.

some revisions and titling problems

2011-10-12T14:36:00.001-07:00

The more I kept looking at the vertical painting I posted last, the less I liked the purple! Today I tried some over painting with blue - didn't work; orange - ugly; Payne's grey - didn't work and finally burnt umber with a touch of black to deepen it. This time I think it's better - still letting it sit.

I also worked on this second one to resolve composition issues - I had split the bottom area into 4 fairly equal sized areas - merged 2 and like it better.

Now to the naming/titling of these! I have been feeling really energetic and high on life so all these paintings share that connection. I have been tossing around the following title ideas:

Dances with a Brush
Brush Dances
Dancing with Life
Brushes with Life

These would be a series numbered from 1 to however many I get done! I hate coming up with titles!!!
Any suggestions?

a very unusual last few months!

2011-10-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, after the rains cleared and I got back to golf .... health issues interfered and I ended up in hospital for emergency surgery! 3 weeks in hospital were followed by another 3 weeks gaining back some strength - not the weight though - that was the good part - lost 24 lbs and am keeping it off.
Interestingly, I became quite energized and started several canvases. I do have a large commitment for the spring so it's a good thing I seem to be inspired.

the next 2 paintings are complete and await titles .... groan - the hard part.

this one is 27" square, acrylics, pastels and gel mediums

24' x 30"; same materials

and now shots of my studio with the rest of the prepped canvases.

No 2 in the series

2011-05-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to re work the second one - the colours just didn't work - too peach/beige
I added further texture mediums and tinted it with white gesso. I had already decided that the colours I wanted were copper and turquoise so once everything settled - including the rain therefore no golf - I went back to work on this. I am liking it so far but will let it sit for a few days before I sign & varnish it.

continuation of a theme

2011-04-29T11:12:00.001-07:00

This all started because I have a beautiful piece of glass hanging in my family room window. The shapes and lines have always intrigued me so I did a somewhat loose sketch of it - planning on using it as a springboard for a painting.
I often work on top of previous paintings that I am not fond of and that's how the first one evolved. (posted Tuesday)

the glass piece & the sketch

the second one - today

I wanted to continue working with the original layout and see what moods variations of colour
would give me. I had wanted to do warm red/browns & coppers with turquoise
accents, so to start (this was very blue underneath) I put in some of the colours very wet! I decided it was too messy - particularly since the original painting still showed - so I used watered down gesso to calm it - instead I got this muted combo and now I'm somewhat baffled!
Another issue is that I was so far into the doing of it, that it didn't occur to me to change the composition!!!

and to add to the confusion - I have 2 more set up - vertical comps this time

2 done - I think!

2011-04-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

I think the both of these are resolved, but now I will wait to see what my critique buddys Lauren & Patty have to say about that ...... lol

I took them outside to photograph - it is really bright and sunny today - amazing how they look different in sunlight. Now the top one looks just a bit garish ........

another begining

2011-04-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

22" square acrylic on canvas

Another square canvas that I needed to revise - I added some linear texture elements; wiped back most of the under colour with thinned gesso & nickle azo gold and added some compose blue to highlight the linear bits. Now it needs to sit for a bit while I analyze the current condition. Already the large bluish top left is bothering me.

new take on a previous start

2011-04-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

22" square, acrylic on paper

I had started a loose macro of a double hibiscus about a year ago and pulled it out again last week - needing inspiration. I decided to add some strong linear contrasts after reading Jan Sitt's book titled "TEXTURECOLORFEELING". I had some subtle textures going on already and wanted to see what increasing the darks would do. Now I'm letting it season - I might increase the hue saturation on some of the petals eventually - but I will let it sit for a bit.

very happy client!

2011-04-08T09:02:00.001-07:00

finished!

2011-04-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

the client is satisfied and so Emma is done. Turns out she wanted the name off to the right side - so another scrub and change. Good thing this paper could handle it!
Finished portrait; 9 x 11 watercolour on Fabriano Artistico 140lb

chchch changes ......

2011-04-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

After the client viewed the progress photo, she had some changes to suggest
- smaller, greyer nose - I think the grey is okay - but I couldn't get it too seem lighter and smaller
- close up the mouth & lighten it up
- no tags
- some apricot notes on the body
- add her name at the bottom
changes made - we'll see if she approves

next steps

2011-04-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

I worked a bit more on the areas I had mention - added the dog tags; changed their positioning; added and altered the background - the client asked for beige/rose - I will need her take on this before it counts as done.

I will have to take a good look at it since it looks a lot more pink/warm then I thought ..... hmmm

the beige dog

2011-04-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is Emma so far - I'm having a bit of trouble keeping her light - her mom wants a beige/rose background and I'm afraid she will disappear.
I still need to complete the nose, refine the eyes, paint her collar and tone down some of the values on the left.
I probably will mute the tags too - don't want them to be in conflict with the eyes.
So - did I get the smile?

next on the easel ....

2011-04-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's time to get back to pets. I have a new commission for a cockapoo named Emma who died recently and I hope to have tomorrow to get going on her. My favorite pose is not the one the owner picked. Not surprisingly she wants an upbeat look - a smiling Emma - so I will do a composite of the different photos I have to work with.

this is Emma in my favorite pose - she looks adorable here

This is the smile I will use

and this will be the pose

fine art america

2011-03-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have joined a very large group of artists on Fine Art America after some discussion with my friends Lauren and Patty. They have a really large visitor base and so I hope to get some exposure for my work there. So far I've opened 3 galleries: Pet Portraits (naturally), Abstracts and Land & Water.
Pop over and have a look and let me know what you think.

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/sue-galos.html

and now... my Zentangles

2011-03-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

First - the link to the originators of the name ( but not the activity - which has been around FOREVER!):
The Zentangle® art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

I did my first one starting with their suggested method and then reverted back to my usual doodle style from yesterday's post. I kept the square format for the first 3, but can sense that I would start deviating - but that's the fun of it.

A friend of mine, Karen Pasqualucci, also does this line doodle but turns them into figures and whimsical creatures. She calls hers "Zendoodles" and has a book out on Amazon:

It's really wonderful to see design concepts in action - and trending!!

Old turning into new

2011-03-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

When I was still an active classroom teacher, our art program had a very intense grade 9 course. All the students worked in an 8" x 11" hard covered sketch book through the full semester. Since I only taught the nines occasionally (this class was about 12 years ago) I found it helpful to follow along in my own book - working with them when I had the time. Design was a major component of this course and we always chose to start with line. They would develop a cover design in coloured line, an inside cover design in black pen and at least 2 other exercises later on.
My local art enthusiasts meet on Wednesdays in the winter to do a variety of interesting activities and I decided to check out their meeting this up coming week. They are going to create "Zentangles": structured, contained doodles. I was curious so I Googled the name and discovered the following information:
"The term 'Zentangle' was coined by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas when, one day, Maria described her experience, as she created her art, as "feeling timeless, free and engendering a sense of deep well-being". Rick recognised that she was in a meditative state and so Zentangles were born."

It's interesting how creative minds seem to stumble upon similar ideology all over the world at similar times.

The following designs are mine and were created in the late 1990's.

Book Cover

Inside cover design

Split Person line work

and Doodlebug

I kept my book and I think most of the students still have theirs - many years later.

January - came & went!

2011-02-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

Boy, January seemed to fly by. I did some painting, some golf swing improvement and some torture of eager painters. I had a group of 4 ladies come to my house for 3 sessions on acrylic technique. I'm afraid I got a bit overly enthusiastic and threw a lot more at them then is probably wise seeing as they are all beginners.
They enjoyed the sessions and some of us will continue to meet later in February since naturally, I had them start 6!! and they still need to finish 5 of these. I wasn't smart enough to take progress photos as they worked - but I will try to get some when we meet up again in mid February.

I completed one painting for February's show at the Lawton Gallery, the theme of which is "Seeing Red".
I titled this "contemplation of Hue", 22 x 32 acrylic on paper, attached to canvas

Max is done

2010-12-27T20:25:00.001-08:00

okay - here is Max in all his glory
I know I posted a progress yesterday .... so where did it disappear too?
Shawn saw it too!!
oh well

one more puppy

2010-12-23T09:55:00.001-08:00

This is Max - I'm having trouble choosing the pose so I have turned it over to the client to pick.
He is really very cute.

one more for xmas ....

2010-12-13T12:24:00.001-08:00

This last kitty is my xmas present to my sister in law, Ruth. His name is "Sam I Am".
He is not quite finished - the background is wet and once it dries I need to clean up some
edges, but he went much quicker and easier then the previous black and white girl.

Oooh! our first winter storm!

2010-12-13T12:06:00.001-08:00

So the weather outside is dreary ........ this is what we woke up to today. All the buses are canceled including city buses and most of the highways in and out of town are closed too.
Last weekend the storm hit London and now it was our turn. Fortunately for us, London was much worse.
The first 2 photos are out thru the bedroom window and the last ones are thru the front door - the snowman is Pat - my dh.
, ,
,
the cats are smarter then we are - they know what to do in this weather ......

,

A tribute to Rosie

2010-12-10T14:05:00.001-08:00

Rosie is finished! She was more difficult than I expected - the pose probably - the foreshortened body gave me conniptions and since I really couldn't see her back end, I had to fake it. The client is happy so that's means she is done!

6 x 11 watercolour

black & white

2010-12-05T18:17:00.001-08:00

I have 2 black & white tuxedo cats to do next. The first one is Rosie and I'm having a really tough time with her. She is gone and this is a present for her dad, but the only photo I have shortens her body and doesn't give a clear view of her paws. The client also would like her to look a bit plumper then in the photo - it was from her last days and she is pretty thin.

I think I may have to start her over - this is were I'm at. I have resorted to white gouache to try to corret the paws. Now her cheeks are lopsided ... and I'm trying to have her vanish into the background somewhat .....

water baby nearing done too!

2010-12-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

This one is almost done now - I'm waiting for the background to dry so I can evaluate the water drips from the ball - I think I will need to touch those up still but I will wait and see.

1 more done, 2 to go

2010-12-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Just as I finished Angel, I got a call regarding another commission - so I keep on keeping on......
This one needs minor adjustments on her back - so that her fur is the same colour - got orangey on me and I didn't notice until I had it up on my monitor - funny how that works. The I'll need to tackle the background - haven't decided if I'm going to do water as in the photo or something more ambiguous.

I'm satisfied with Angel and just need to get her framed. The client saw her before the background went in and was pleased! Yipee for me!

Next on the easel ....

2010-11-30T13:30:00.001-08:00

I have done quite a bit on these two so far.
This golden girl caused me a bit of headache - I inadvertently shortened her torso - the leg is too high! I need to make sure it looks plausible and then I can finish her head. She is standing in water - her favorite place - that will be the last challenge on this portrait.

Angel has different challenges for me; all that curly hair!! Not only that but she is a gray blue dog ....... hmmmmm. After I took a look at this photo on my screen, I realized that I've shortened her nose - sigh ......
I'm trying to decide how much more info I'm going to add - the collar will be there, then I will have to decide on background. I've sent an SOS to My buddies Lauren & Patty to ask for suggestions.

Fortunately, I'm ahead of schedule so I can relax, although I had a call from another potential client this afternoon.

Two down, 3 to go

2010-11-28T18:45:00.001-08:00

Bandit is finished - chose the yellow again because his eyes are yellow. Mom of Bandit is very pleased!

Fergus also has a happy mom who will be picking this up tomorrow afternoon!
I don't know how visible the last few corrections are, but I posted her again - feels more finished once I've done this.

progress steps

2010-11-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

Here is the sketch of Angel - I've enhanced the pencil so you can see it - I will have to soften her eye so she looks shy not grumpy.
She will be 10 x 14 finished and I will take care of the matting & framing for the client. It has a home on a wall with 2 other paintings so we are matching frame size & style.

The first wash of colour is on Bandit. I'm using Payne's gray at this point to keep the changes of value even in hue. Once I have established a bit more of the form, I intend to wash a brownish gray over her - probably a mix of burnt sienna & ultramarine. I'll decide what to do about those extra drips later - maybe I'll add some rather than remove these.

I washed in a yellow background to pop Fergus - although I don't think she needs much popping! The miskit has been removed and I'm decideing my next steps. I will soften some of the edges of the white bits and maybe remove some pigment in places to create a wider range of tones in her wiskers.

thank goodness - NOT black

2010-11-26T13:38:00.001-08:00

Yippee, the new commission is a gray Portuguese water dog named Angel.
Here is her photo - I'll post progress when I get to her.

getting into miskit!

2010-11-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

Today was the day to get started on the first 2 commissions I had - I sat the show in the Gallery in the Grove
from 11am to 2pm and since it was very quiet (2 guests) I had time to paint. I got a fair bit done on Fergus and I think I will set her aside to work a bit on Bandit next - her eyes are not the same size right now! Tomorrow I am taking photos of another black dog - yet another xmas present.

Fergus" or Fergie 8 x 10

Bandit - 8 x 11

Since both animals have a lot of black and Fergus has all those white whiskers, I decided to mask out a lot of them using miskit - I don't usually like working this way because when the miskit is removed, the white is quite harsh so I will need to be very patient at the finish.

nothing done!

2010-11-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

I got up at 8:30 (that's early for me these days) intending to do all kinds of stuff - have 3 commissions to do and I thought I'd check out a few things first ..... I updated this site - a little cosmetic repair - then I wandered over to Lauren's blog; from there to her facebook page and found this: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html which then led to http://www.stumbleupon.com/home/ which somehow led to several hours of further stumbling!
Anyway - now I'm into mid afternoon, so I guess I better start - I have one sketched and 2 to go.

Bandit - sketch done

Fergus - next

Mastiff - waiting for a better photo from client

more small ones

2010-11-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

I created several more 5 x 7 and matted them to fit an 11 x 14 standard frame. They make great gift items at a reasonable price.The mat is white with a black edge along the cut and the whole thing is in a poly bag. I priced these at $45 to make them and if you are interested, contact me at suegalos@yahoo.com.

"Dance #1"

"Circle Dance"

"The beginning of so many things"

"Dance #2"

"Sails Away" (shown in mat and poly bag)

small jems

2010-11-10T09:55:00.001-08:00

On the advice of my buddy Lauren, I worked up a collection of small pieces (5 x 7) to has some different price points for my next show. These also work well as warm ups - although I end up putting in a fair bit of time into them. This first batch was done in the style I learned from Bob Burrifge: heavy viscosity paints and negative painting.

Girl's week out!

2010-11-08T13:57:00.002-08:00

Patty Henderson and I drove up to Honor Mi to visit our buddy, Lauren Everett-Finn at the end of September. We spent a week painting, eating & drinking .....and, needless to say - a good time was had by all.
We visited many local sites to do plein aire paintings & sketches. Below are the ones I did.

These are all done in my moleskin watercolour sketch pad.

Girl's week out!

2010-11-08T13:57:00.001-08:00

I've been a bad girl!

2010-11-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

I have lots of paintings to post - I have been too lazy to get on the site and update. Sometimes trying to orchestrate my thoughts is more trouble then I care to deal with. LOL It's been a very busy 2 months; studio tours; vacation up @ Port Severn - me painting, guys fishing; vacation at Honor Mi with Patty & Lauren (we did a stack of plein aire pieces) and a 60th bday!!!

First in line are the 3 paintings I finished in September - just in time for the Studio Tours. I don't think I needed to rush to get work done; it was a fairly sparse attendance at my studio. I will return tomorrow to post the next group - pleine aire in Honor.

These are all 18 x 24, acrylic on canvas. The 2 bouquets have been adjusted after Lauren, Patty and I had a 3 way skype critique yesterday - I might not have quite succeeded in correcting the flaws. Bouquet 1 needed some warm tones through the central area to tie everything together - I think that it works now. Bouquet 2 needed something to tie the 3 circles together - a rectangular window was suggested and I ended up deciding on the round one in the background - not sure if this one is successful.

something for the fisherman

bouquet 2

bouquet 1

dilemma & resolution

2010-08-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is one I created as part of a show by a photographer friend of mine. He invited several artists to pose for him, while working on a painting which was later to be included in the show with the portrait of the artist. This is were I ended up - doesn't resemble the photo he is showing beside the work!!

24 x 36 acrylic on canvas

this is the photo and the start of the painting

in progress

2010-07-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

today I did a bit more work on the 3 long canvases
I need to decide which direction to take them in. Although it's fairly obscure in the one, all 3 are based on figures from the life drawing I did last winter. They all have a shelf liner block out on them - were the paint is sort of resisting - and I have added the first glaze/wash of acrylic. I use Golden products because I really value the transparency I get with them. I had laid in some splashes (slightly controlled) of GAC 500 before both the shelf liner and the paint. These are visible as lighter areas on the canvas - so 2 kinds of resist on the go.

madness takes control!

2010-07-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Whew! I finally have some time to paint again. I spent most of May & June (when not golfing that is) working on our local Studio Tour. I am the chairperson; web designer and brochure creator by default AND let me assure you - that won't happen again!!! With 24 artists on the tour, you would think some of them would have time to do some of the work - ha! I always was a dreamer.
The results of my work can be seen at http://www.sarniastudiotour.com/

Yesterday I started 4 new pieces - one was a sheet on which I had started to scribble some ideas - I sort of flowed into it. The result is very different from my usual work. I got into stencils and stamping to create value and movement. It isn't complete but I'm letting it sit for a day or so before going on. I might turn it around and decide on a different orientation before it is finished.
16 x 22 acrylic on paper

I have 2 animal portraits to do soon as well - but they can wait.

The other 3 pieces are the gesso print with masked out windows ... look back a bit to see what I'm talking about.
The 3rd one is one step further along. I decided to base these on some figure studies I had from a year or so ago - hopefully the figure will end up just "subtly" there.
these are 16 x 22 acrylic on canvas

Introducing Lexie & Penny

2010-04-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have been laying low for the last couple of weeks. I still can't get inspired to do anything else - but at least this time I had a commission to work on. The photos for this pair of pups were pretty obscure - lots of glare from the flash - so I had to look at references on line to get accurate ideas of the eyes and colouring of these 2. At the end, the client is thrilled so it was all worth it.

inspired

2010-03-26T09:36:00.001-07:00

I've been painting very little this entire winter .... just couldn't get enthused or inspired. My buddy Lauren posted a cool painting the other day and that got me going. I was reminded of the intrigue caused by transparent layers and started this one with watercolours. Layers of Gac and glazes in acrylic brought it to this point. I'm going to let it sit for a bit while I think about the composition. It is out of balance and the largest circle/globe needs tonal work.
12" x 21" on 140 lb w/c paper.

My best boy

2010-01-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

I finally got to this painting of Larry and maybe because it was a memorial - he looks a bit pensive and much softer then my previous versions of him.
10" x 13"

Sienna & Bacchus

2009-12-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

the last 2 for Xmas
these were fun - Sienna is in my favorite colour combo and Bacchus
was just fun - hair guy isn't he?

Finishing up ended harder then expected because my oldest boy Larry (11 years old only), died of a heart attack Friday afternoon. While I had trouble sitting down and getting at it, the painting of Bacchus was actually cathartic since I was completely focused on the mission.

I will paint another portrait of Larry in a few weeks - I have an excellent photo to work from .....

and another .... meet Mister

2009-12-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

This guy is a commission for a friend - Mister is a sweety, although a big boy.
His colouring gave me troubles - this is the second version and it's ready for delivery.
He is the usual 8"x10" watercolour on Fabriano 140 lb paper.

I just received another 2 commissions of dogs so I'm madly drawing away!

aren't I pretty?

2009-11-29T07:03:00.000-08:00

I did this pup for our local Xmas show - the photo came from a reference library on Wetcanvas, an art website I belong to so I don't have info on this pup - but he/she sure is cute! I haven't decided whether it needs a background yet.

boxer

2009-11-27T16:28:00.000-08:00

This guy was fun to paint - now I have to decide if he needs a background

stella

2009-11-22T16:53:00.001-08:00

this white pup was such a breeze after the headaches of the black lab
So - 2 pups in 2 days - day and a half for the lab; a short afternoon for Stella!

black lab, Yogi

2009-11-22T16:47:00.001-08:00

and I thought white animals where tough!!

This black lab changed my mind on that. I spent a lot of time trying to make the darks darker, until they were finally lifting with every stroke I took. Then came the headache with the background. I tried a blue - brown mix; my favorite. Unfortunately that was too close in value to the dog so I tried scrubbing it out!! Not happening - some of my pigment choices were staining, to my chagrin. I tried to wash a brown/sienna over the blues - very strong, so washed that back as much as I could. Next step: thinned gesso to tone down the background - finally success, although I may still put more white into the background - the browns keep lifting inot the white - whew!

shepherd?

2009-11-17T14:13:00.001-08:00

I don't know the details (sex or breed or name) of this pup. Another commission for Tracy - waiting to see if it is done.

8 1/2 x 10 watercolour on arches 140lb

golden for Tracy

2009-11-16T13:24:00.001-08:00

I got this fellow nearly finished today - had coniptions because he was becoming VERY yellow.
then the background refused to behave - I wanted it to be a soft contrast from dog to background
with some lost and found edges .....
I still need to improve the rounding of his (our) right temple and also lose some of that hard edge on that cheek as well.
Along the way I made some interesting discoveries about the staining cproperties of some of my colours!!
Either I need to learn which is which (fat chance there) or do a whole new palette with non staining - correcting is much easier with those .... = l

Molly finished

2009-11-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

Molly's mom was kind enough to send me a photo of the painting when it arrived - I naturally forgot to take one myself! My only excuse is that I am still brain damaged from this #$%$# cold 3 weeks later

She is darker and brighter in real life - in the photo she is in a plastic sleeve thingy

xmas cards

2009-11-10T17:51:00.000-08:00

I am getting ready for a local art event called "First Friday". The downtown galleries hold their openings on the first Friday of every month and one of my friends asked me to participate in a Xmas show for the first Friday in December. I needed to get a couple of paintings, with cards of the same image ready for this show.I got these 2 ready and now all I have to do is get cards printed and the larger one framed! Whew!

Acrylic on Canvas
16" x 8"
Silent Night

Acrylic on Canvas
22"x32"
Sleeping spirits

Molly in progress

2009-11-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

This pup is in progress - needs the chest resolved before I get to the background -I might be making her too brown - will have to ask the client.
9 x 12

okay - bigger is DEFINITELY easier

2009-10-31T13:47:00.001-07:00

This guy is a commission I'm working on - he is 10x12 and SO much easier to do then poor itty bitty Maggie was. She was 9" square, and with the whole body there - she seemed tiny to me.
I still have to decide what I want to do with the background; and his right (viewer's) cheek needs a bit of adjustment.

Maggy complete!

2009-10-28T19:39:00.001-07:00

well she doesn't look whiter to me but she does have more pop!

catching up!

2009-10-24T13:06:00.001-07:00

I finally got down to doing all the things I had left on a pile over the summer. First, I started my commission of "Maggie", a white little girl; my first white pet!!
It still needs work - I have to figure out how to make her seem more believably white rather then grey - I plan on increasing the values in the background, hoping to have her read as white once I'm done. I'm satisfied with the likeness and character I've captured so far.

My next big job is to update my records of the paintings I've done over the last bit. I have them all on my computer, but I've found that I need a hard copy record as well - keeps them in chronological order.
I'm also busily creating an account on Yessy - an art sales site: http://www.yessy.com/ It looks to be a well organized set up with a modest yearly fee - $59 with 100% of your sales coming to you.It looks worth a try.

Tomorrow I hope to finish Maggie and start my next commission, Mac. I'll keep you updated as much as I can.

golf season is ending .....

2009-10-11T09:02:00.001-07:00

I became a golfing addict this summer - not that I'm very good at it, but it is fun and good exercise - hopefully it will keep my cholesterol levels in good enough control to please my doctor. I have adult onset diabetis and watching cholesterol is included in the control of blood sugar. I am border line with both - so that diet and exercise will keep me pill free.
My handicap is very bad - 48 - but I am hoping to improve. My goal this summer was to break 120 - which I did 3 times - so there is hope! I was playing anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week - always 18, always walking. Boy is my ass in shape!
The down side of all this healthy stuff was that my feet got sore as hell!!! And - I needed a nap most afternoons lololol.
The only painting I've done as a result is a bit of plein aire sketching in Northern Ontario - Gloucester Pool area near Georgian Bay.
We had a cool week but the area is beautiful.
These are done in my moleskin sketch/paint pad - 5" x 8".

I did do a couple of animals to keep in practise - a close up of a kitty and a sketch of a pup which I will later paint........

I am almost ready to start my commission for Tracy - cute white doggie for her mum ... shhhhh

SNOOP

2009-06-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to painting the second orange boy. I was away from the paintbrush for too long and so this one is stiffer - but he IS a more serious boy then his brother Pi. I had a lot of trouble from the start. The colours wouldn't behave and were difficult to move to create value. I started with quinacrodone sienna which settled very flat and even - not an effect I care for so I switched to burnt sienna and quin gold for my major oranges. The background gave me the willies as well. I wanted some burgandy in it since in real life he was sitting on a burgandy leather chair with a denim cushion. The burgandy didn't give me the effect I wanted so I went over it with ultra blue and burnt sienna - the paint wasn't dry enough and so I got some odd blossoms - urgh! As you can see, it's still wet! When it dries completely, I will look at touching up some of the worst of the bleeds - particularly the one on the left above the cushion.

10 x 13 watercolour

Pi - short for pirate

2009-05-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my pet for this week. Pi is the smaller of my 2 orange boys - he is a coy young thing - doesn't like to be held, but really likes other types attention. I took a photo of him in his kitty condo and used it as the reference for this painting. The orange colour of his fur gave me fits trying to match it as did the white jaw and chin. His irises should be dark/black but I sort of liked this paler look and left them as is. When I took the photo, they reflected the flash and showed up as yellow!!
I'm really enjoying these animal portraits - it is fun to challenge myself with each new one.
10 x 10 w/c on 140lb fabriano

Heather's Mac

2009-05-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

My first dog is my friend's springer spaniel, Mac. He was napping in the sun.

1o x 9 w/c on 140 arches

Iggy's turn

2009-04-30T14:30:00.001-07:00

10 x 12 watercolour
I think this does it for my practice of cats. I'll have to find some photos of dogs next.

second version

2009-04-28T11:19:00.001-07:00

Larry too, on hot press paper (really smooth) different expression.
9 x 10

Practise session

2009-04-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

9 x 12 watercolour on Arches 140lb paper
I thought I might try animal portraits to display at our fall studio tours. This handsome boy is my oldest kitty - Larry.

A Floral My Way

2009-04-08T09:13:00.001-07:00

I was inspired to try my hand at a floral in this newish style I've been working with. As expected, it turned out full of motion and colour, although I was trying for a subdued effect. Hmm! I guess I just can't fight my current muse.

This is 22" x 22", on hot press w/c paper that has been gessoed and had applications of GAC between layers of acrylic pigment.

I'm going to try another in which I don't have pencil lines showing! I found them distracting but didn't think about that until way past time to remove them! (rolling eyes icon here!)

Cycles 5 - done (I think) = )

2009-04-01T13:04:00.001-07:00

here is were it ended up after further play ...

cycles 5 - in progress

2009-03-29T12:36:00.001-07:00

this is were it started

This is were it is right now

22 x 22 on paper using fluid acrylics and various media - glass bead gel, gesso and gac 500
I'm not quite sure were to go next - the diagonal division between the larger circles is bothersome so I have posted it on the CWF for some suggestions. Any ideas?

and starts keep going .....

2009-03-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

Here are the previous group, primped and finished - ready to go! I have entered these in an "online" exhibition and am waiting to hear about the results. Now I will look around for other juried shows that might suit my style and enter those - it's time!

This afternoon I meet with the local group of painting enthusiasts. These are the people I demonstrate for occasionally They are mostly interested in representational work so I don't usually show them my abstract pieces. I will take along some of my "beginnings" so that I have something to work on. The one below on the left needs serious thought!! On the left: waterfall (?) 9 x 12; on the right cyles 5 (maybe) 11 x 11.

I don't take large pieces to work on because I get interrupted frequently for advice on works by the others in the group - it's tough to keep a mental flow going so small pieces are easier to work with.

another play result - in progress

2009-02-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

This is just a beginning - full sheet watercolour paper - using acrylics and texturing devices: saran, bubble wrap, wax paper and plastic mat. Now I need to sort out shapes and balance the textures. Also, this will need a value plan to create movement thru the piece. The inspiration was Pat Dew's video "Creative Discoveries in Watermedia".

play days

2009-02-23T19:25:00.001-08:00

This is 12x 12 acrylic on paper which I will later mount on canvas. Another for the "cycles" group - this started with a gessoed surface and texture stamps with further work on the circles so that there are both positive and negative shapes flowing through the whole.

cycles 3

2009-02-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

Another in the "cycles" series I've fallen into, this one took a bit longer to resolve but I'm fairly satisfied with it now. It had been sitting since Monday and I went back to it at 10:30 last night just to think but instead a "what if I try ...?" moment turned into a resolution! Yah!

"cycles" continued

2009-02-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

I started another 4 paintings based on the one from last week. I kept to the 12" square format but altered the starting surfaces. Some had gesso on them already and I added wax scribble/line to all 4. I laid the colours in, in a circular pattern and enhanced them with textures. When the washes dried, I randomly used GAC over the top of the colour and when that dried - bumped up the contrast with darker colours. This one is a success!

play time

2009-02-08T12:04:00.000-08:00

I was finishing up some of the earlier paintings I've posted and decided I wanted to play a bit. Having just been on the CWMF site, I was thinking about the various experiments I had done in Mary Todd Beam's workshops.
This is acrylic and wax crayon on 11" x 11" watercolour paper.
I stamped some various textures into this as I worked. I had intended to do some graphite lines as well - had started then decided to erase some - low and behold, the wax lines re emerged! They had become very subdued after the paint and stamping. I'm letting it sit for a bit to see if I think it needs anything more.

fun!

2009-02-08T12:02:00.001-08:00

I was playing with my computer (iMac) and its' photo booth - there are all sorts of options for ways to play with your image - you take a photo of yourself! Andy Warhol would enjoy these.

again with the flowers

2009-02-07T11:38:00.001-08:00

another not so spontaneous attemp at loose flora - this one did NOT flow off the brush - it took about 8 hours to get it to this point and I still am not totally thrilled with it - but at least I'm painting!
16 x 20 acrylic on canvas

paint drying activity

2009-01-29T13:26:00.001-08:00

I was alternating between on 2 large canvases and needed to let them both dry. I decided to do an impromptu floral inspired by Lauren's from January 20th (artwork and art play) I got so engrossed with the flowers that my composition got rather lop sided - the upper left shows the ghosts that I had to subdue - the poor pot was definitely going to tip over!!

16 x 20 canvas panel and fluid acrylics

in progress

2009-01-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

This is one I'm still working through. The linear quality was my motive but now I'm looking at the values and textures. Not sure where it will end up.

sacred vessels

2009-01-26T12:20:00.001-08:00

I did these as demonstrations of a layering technique that uses a mono print, layers of Gac 100, washes/glazes of Golden fluids and a masking technique. They are 7 1/2" x 11" on watercolour paper. These were fun to do and let me play with different container shapes.

new beginings

2009-01-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

My friend Patti and I are playing Scrabble online and in between - running off to paint :-)
We have more snow again - this year it has built up to about this much and then melted completely, three times now.

I have finished the "jug" painting and also think this one is close - I'll give it a couple of days.
16 x 20; gel medium and glass bead gel and Golden fluids

I was going for the feel of flotsam in the water, washing onto the beach

playing

2009-01-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

I recently was asked to make a presentation on gels and pastes to a local group. I created several samples and when I was putting things in order after the presentation, this one caught my eye - I added colour and texture and here it is! The label was for the presentation and still shows.
7 x 11 acrylics

jug continued

2009-01-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

I let this sit for the last few weeks while I thought about what I wanted to do - I decided to deepen the values and also minimize the semi circle @ the bottom - better now - not sure yet if it's done, I'll sit and think about it some more

still life with jug

2008-12-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

I have stopped painting trees!! and started this still life from a photo that Pat (my husband) took in France - it is a fabulous photo that really doesn't need translating into paint, but he requested this effort - so here is my version. It isn't quite done - I need to let it ferment for a bit so I can see where I want to go next.

16 x 20 fluid acrylics

2008-11-27T06:36:00.000-08:00

November has been a rough month for me. Right off the bat, I had an unbelievable case of the flu. After 4 weeks, I think I'm finally recovering. Then to really make my life miserable, my hard drive crashed - total burial! - and naturally, I hadn't backed it up. My iMac was one week past the warranty period so since it was my own dollar, I decided to upgrade the memory and hard drive. I just now finished reloading all the software. I had saved my painting photos so I only lost everything else!! lucky me! Today is the first time I've been able to post here in the last 2 weeks because I had no way to get at my photos til I reinstalled everything.

During the month of flu I worked on small paintings of trees - they were easy to do without major compositional issues and were fun as well.

The first few were done with reds - autumnal colours, then I switched to blues, greens and violets, going for that soft moonlit or spring feel.

Fall Colours 1
12 x 12

Spring Trees 1
9 x 12

Trees in Moonlight 1
8 x 16

Yellow series

2008-10-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

The violet I had been using left me in need of a change, these next pieces focused on yellow as the primary colour

they are 12" square

I worked with a compositional focus again - overlapping frames (not a favorite)

this one was based on curves

and ... another diagonal

Workshop Results

2008-10-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

Whoops! Here it is a month later and I am just finally checking in. In the intervening time I went to a workshop in Northern Wisconsin with my buddy Lauren. The instructor was Bob Burridge - an excellent teacher! If you ever get an opportunity to take one of his workshops - DO!
I found his routine really enlightening - who would have thought that after painting for a few years, I really didn't have one.
The rest of my delinquency was a result of life catching up with me once we returned home. Appointments and the flu ate up the next 2 weeks - then when I thought I was finally in the clear, Pat ( dh) went through the kidney stone passage!
Oh well - I can show you some of the work from workshop.

One assignment/challenge was to work with colours you didn't care for; or combinations with that colour as the primary/main focus. I choose violet - I still really hate violet - and these are three of the results.
10 x 11 acrylic on paper

we also were working with different compositional arrangements in each painting - this one was basically the golden section

this one uses the cruciform

this one uses a diagonal composition

The Last Day

2008-09-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

We drove up to the peninsula to paint this day. The first stop at around 10:30 am was a winery that has a spectacular view out over the bay, They were kind enough to permit our incursions - with a time limit - they were expecting a tour group at 1pm.

This is 6 x 11, on 300 lb Fabriano hp. Looking at it now I think I may go back and deepen some of the darks, other than that - this one was fun.
In the afternoon we drove out to the tip of the penisula and found a shady spot (for a change) to paint. You could see a wide panorama of shallow, rock filled lowland with an inlet and land forms beyond on the one side. In the other direction the treed shoreline was set against a backdrop of water, islands and mainland. I tried this view first with much fuss and bother - not permanent pen again! I never learn; so a second attempt in pencil.

My last effort was much more satisfying. I had started it by masking out some of the rocks, then had set it aside to dry. I washed in some sky and foreground before I set it aside. After removing the masking - I know - why did I use it at all? - I finished the painting at home.

2008-09-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 18th 2008

This morning found us trekking up a 1 1/2 mile hill to get to this view - peace and beauty! The first painting was done on a 300 lb hot press fabriano - a paper I am getting quite fond of. The paint moves well and the surface tolerates a fair bit of abuse.

I decided to do a second quick study in my moleskin sketch book - not satisfied with either painting - but the site made it all worth while.

In the afternoon we explored a bit and found this lighthouse at Port Betsie. I chose a close up view, which got tighter then I like, so after it was completed - I did a quick sketch from a bit further away. The tree was sketched facing in the opposite direction. I will probably wash some colour into both of these sketches.

2008-09-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, Wednesday September 24

The morning was beautiful and the view was spectacular. Again I went for an ink and wash, but this time my ink wasn't waterproof!! I went with it and did a value study instead. Maybe someone is trying to tell me to give up on the whole ink thing!
I turned around and liked the perspective of the walkway and trees and decided to do a sketch and wash of that. A bit more than I had planned on - too much ambiguity in the greenery, but not everything need be a masterpiece. I enjoyed the challenge of the vertical format and might revisit this image again in a full painting.

In the afternoon we found another spot further along the park. This time I opted for a closer look at a stand of trees. There were a LOT of tourists passing through all day; many made comments on our painting venture, not always kind.

2008-09-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Bear Dunes, Peterson Road area (I think)

That first afternoon (I think) we went to this quiet beach - no one else around!
I wanted to do an ink and wash, but grabbed the wrong pen - decided to finish it anyway. It was the full width of the little moleskin watercolour book I had with me - 5" x 16" - and to make matters interesting, I opened to the center of the book, thinking I could avoid page edges in the middle. What was I thinking? These aren't going to be framed!

2008-09-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since I've posted, and in the interim I traveled up to the Traverse City area in Norther Michigan for a week of plein air painting with two of my buddies. It was spectacular weather and I had a lot of fun.
These first two pieces are from the Platt river area. The salmon were running and the fishing was fierce.

number 3

2008-08-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today was not a day to play outside - grey and drizzly - so I pulled this out again. I had started several of these and have been working them up one at a time. This one has fluid acrylics as the base, with some gesso to tone a few areas. I have been working on the transitions in value and am creating passages from one area to another. Once I had it on the screen I saw several spots that need adjustment. The center area is a bit too predictable - will do some more tomorrow.

another angle

2008-08-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

My calico, Iggy - sleeping again but from a different angle.

still playing

2008-08-27T10:35:00.001-07:00

This one is my calico lady, also asleep on the deck chair - do cats ever do anything else? Ive created cards of this image as well.

cat days

2008-08-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

My boy Larry, doing his favorite thing......... I did several kitty sketches of this guy attempting to capture his smile - even with his eyes closed, I think this one did.
It is a 5 1/4 " square ink and wash that I have printed up as cards.

Guarding Angel

2008-08-23T08:56:00.001-07:00

I bought this cement dragon at a garden show and have him sitting on the deck railing. He is cement coloured but when I did my pen and wash, I couldn't resist giving him floral tones, he is after all, guarding my garden!
He is 5 1/4" square, done in archival pen and watercolour washes on archival paper.

Kettle Flowers

2008-08-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

At one point I was working on doing a painting or sketch a day. This is one from a friend's garden. I had gone over for a pool side visit on a REALLY hot, muggy day and brought my painting stuff along. The pot was an old cast iron kettle that she now plants annuals in every spring.
It is 5 1/4" square, in pen and watercolour wash. I have had it printed up as a card and am giving her the original for Xmas.