Lee from our Saturday group

I was a little late so this is just three 20 minute sessions. I had already painted Lee once so that helped me with getting the drawing down quickly. I admit to taking a few years off the guy. I just didn't have time to get detailed enough to do wrinkles. This is a pastel life size about 20 x 22.

Larger Picture of this Pig Painting

I touched it up in a few places and I am happy with it now. I've never seen a photo of a dog this close to pigs, let alone a painting. So this is a very unusual image. Many thanks to Wendy for letting me use her photo.

"Why Can't We Be Friends?"

I used a really nice photo of her Cocker Spaniel with some pigs by a friend, Wendy Gempton. I'll show the entire sequence and post a finished picture tomorrow when I can get a better picture.

Native American Indian Child No. 5

This is the fifth in a series of ten Native American Indian children. I am listing them all on eBay and they are selling well- so far they have all sold on the first listing and I haven't had to relist any. This is Yellow Flower, a member of the Kalispel Indian tribe.

Saturday Morning Portrait Group

This was done from life in three 20 minute sessions. It is 12" x 16", pastel on primered hardboard. A very durable surface: I dropped it a few times while I was working and the pastel really adheres well. Much better than it does on paper.
My favorite part was adding the pink lines to the background and in just a few spots in her hair at the very end. This was fun to paint, although our 17 year old model, Jenna, did not really appear this happy when she was sitting up there. She truly did not crack a smile once.

Assiniboin Brave

The newest painting in my series of Native Americans, this is 12" x 16" oil on canvas.

Spring Snow 8 x 10

A small plein air painting I did a few weeks ago following a snow that melted away within a few days. Snow is fun to paint because the tiny ice crystals reflect whatever appears in the environment. So here we have yellow snow, because the early morning sun reflected off the snow and created some awesome violet shadows.

Carmen 16" x 20" Oil on Canvas

This was a challenging painting due to the small size and having to fit the figure into such a small area. I am so used to painting life size or 3/4 life size that I really had to adjust my thinking for this project. Knowing it was done many many times over the centuries, especially by the old Dutch painters like Vermeer, I knew it was possible to get a good bit of detail on a 16" x 20". It was a matter of patience and letting layers dry before going over them again. Not really the way I am used to painting but I was able to make it work. The really interesting thing about this painting is the picture in the background is a passport photo of the girl's mother made to look like an old framed silver print.

Pancake Heaven 16 x 20 oil on canvas

This is a really big painting of pancakes, painted in a realistic fashion but is pop art in the sense that it is so huge it is overpowering. Everything is almost twice life size. It would look great in a Pancake House restaurant, or in any modern kitchen. Here is a link to the eBay auction.

Open Studio

Two new models this week. Lee, a gentleman in his sixties, who smiled very easily. He has a wonderful Southern accent and did his very best not to look bored. It's hard thoguh when you sit there for almost two hours and only get a break every twenty minutes.
This is a small 10" x 12" oil painting.

Ashes Takes a Break 22" x 28" oil on gallery wrap canvas

This project took me a bit longer than usual to paint. I borrowed the coat, hat and boots from the local firehouse a few weeks ago. I set them up in the corner of my studio in an interesting position but it just didn't speak to me for the longest time. I could not summon up the interest I needed to have to do a good job on the painting. Part of the problem was surely the large size of the canvas and the fact that I had failed in my last two efforts with works this size. In fact, this painting was painted over the remains of cowboy Jim, who just never quite made it to a place I felt comfortable with. That's one good thing about a painting; if you get tired of it you can quickly turn it into something else and start over with a clean slate. A painter has complete control over the canvas and the we are the masters of their destinies. This is completely the opposite of real life, of course, where you have absolutely no control over other people and circumstances. I may be over-analyzing this but to me it seems painting is a form of escapism. But if you can make money escaping from the daily realities and problems inherent in life and you really enjoy it too, why not?
This was a very hard painting to photograph. Everything wanted to turn blue and I had to really adjust the image in Photoshop to make it look as it should. I'll be giving the firemen down at the hall a framed print as a way of saying thanks.

Mrs. Harris 12x16 oil on canvas

A Productive Day

I finished the painting of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and finished the Navajo man as well. Jesus is 16 x 20 and I am hoping someone might want to buy him for their church for Easter. I'll wait to list this one until Sunday. I do want to list the Navajo man soon, perhaps tomorrow, for a ten day listing to end on a Friday. I still haven't quite figured out the best days and times to list things. Some of my paintings are purchased in the morning but I always thought it was a good policy to have auctions end in the evening. It probably does not matter. Maybe I should just put a few items into my store, although they don't sell as well because no ones knows to go the store and look.

Gethsetame continued

He appeared to be in too much pain in the first version. I wanted him to appear thoughtful and prayerful with just a hint of trepidation. I am almost there (I think). Here I have shown the painting detail in black and white to check the values- they look good.

This Year's Easter Painting

This will be a relatively simple painting of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I am not sure where it's going form here but it is going somewhere else because this is just too bland for me.