Keeping Busy

I'd love to dedicate a different room in my house to each medium I'm working in.  One would be my pastel studio.  One room would be dedicated to watercolor paints.  Another would be for my oils and all the supplies that go with it etc etc.  It sure would make life a bit easier than trying to do everything in one room.  I'm lucky to have a large L-shaped desk but rarely get to see the top of it.  I know the easy solution would be to only use one medium, two at the most but then which do I give up?

I've been commissioned to paint this sweet dog in the colorful, whimsical style that I've been doing but who can resist the chance to "practice" with my pan pastels first.

These are just a few of the paintings I've recently done. I am especially having fun with the colorful dogs which I've painted with watercolor onto  cradled, gessoed wood panels.  Often the varnishing process takes me as long to do as the painting has.

The Other Hand

The day after my last post I tripped, fell and broke my right humerus up into the shoulder.  How life can change in a second.  One minute I am mailing off a commissioned painting, the next I am trying to get up from the concrete sidewalk with the aid of one arm.  A trip to the ER, X-rays and a simple, undersized sling and I'm sent home.  Well, not actually home as we were in the very early days of a three month vacation.

My plans were to spend the summer months painting and attending about a dozen plays which we already had tickets.  I have new found sympathy for people who have broken bones, especially on their dominant side.  I haven't felt pain like that in a long time.  I also never realized just how much I use my right hand and arm.  We are waiting to see if it heals with the warning that a shoulder replacement is on the horizon.

What was I to do all summer I asked as I sat staring at my art materials.  I couldn't sign an X with my left hand, how in the world was I to paint.  Oh well, I had nothing to lose so I thought why not and I started to paint the wild red poppies I was seeing all around this area.  I won't kid you, I felt very spastic and the going was very slow but it was a heck of a lot better than sitting and feeling sorry for myself.  I painted almost every day eventually trying my hand at painting dogs.  I have to admit, I amazed myself.

Here are a few of my "other hand" paintings.  I don't necessarily recommend breaking your arm but there is something very satisfying about doing something you never thought you'd be able to do.

I admit I love painting faces!

I have to admit that although I can paint almost anything, I absolutely love painting faces.  This summer my goal is to do a painting every day.  Yes, I mean do the whole painting from start to finish. By not taking my time, it encourages me to just get down only what I need to say.  When I take more time, my brushes get smaller and I put in more and more detail and often I overwork my painting.  Not that detail is bad but I am attempting to stretch myself and, hopefully, in the process take my art to the next level.

Painting Dogs and Having a Ball!

Who knew that I'd enjoy painting dogs so much.  Our own dog crossed over early in 1993 and we never got another dog so getting to paint pet portraits is second to having a live dog in my studio.

In my opinion, a painting seems to bring the person or animal to life even more than a photograph does.  The paintings I've been doing lately have mostly been for people who's pet has passed on or is soon expected to so being able to do this for them really makes me feel good.

These are a few of my latest works.

Going to the Dogs!

Someone recently asked me if I ever painted dogs.  Actually I have painted a few and posted those early ones early on in my blog.  Their question got me to asking why I hadn't painted any dogs recently and I had no good answer so set out to change that.  Since I started out as a watercolor artist, I got out my watercolor palette, dusted it off (well not actually) and looked through my reference files for dog photos since our dog long since passed.  The more I painted, the more I enjoyed it.  I even threw in one painting of my grand kitten, Scooter, done with oil.   Gosh they were sure fun to do and I realized that I've always said I love to paint anything with a face and yes, dogs have faces.  Now if I could only enjoy blogging as much as I do painting, maybe I would blog more often.  One can hope.

Let's Make Faces

I have discovered I have a passion for faces.  I love human faces, animal faces, flowers or rock faces or the face of a mountain.  I love them all but especially the human face.  Each face holds a myriad of stories and emotions and through my paintings, I hope to catch a small glimpse into those stories.

Unlike photos that fade with time or computer hard drives that store our many digital photos yet eventually crash or get replaced by newer and better technology, I hope that my paintings may long outlive me and so the stories behind the faces get to live on, too.

Here is a small sampling of some of the faces I've been painting.  Is there someone you would like to have a painting of?

Leaving the nest.

It was very hard for me to let some of my first paintings go to other homes.  Although most artists love seeing the red tag that marks a painting sold, it can also be like seeing your children grow up and leave the nest.  So much energy goes into a painting that there is a feeling of emptiness when they are sold or gifted to someone else.

Today I'm traveling down through memory lane recalling some of the paintings that are now in new homes.  Some have recently left and others have been gone for a while.  What helps ease the pain of separation is knowing these paintings are hopefully bringing others happiness.

Here are just some of my "children" that have left the nest.