Out of the Shadows

Out of the Shadows ~ 6" x 6" oil on panel

Here's a change from the cows...I missed my horses! Cows are fun, but maybe I'm feeling more serious today. Horses are a lot more dignified, don't you think?

The challenge in painting this was taking my substandard reference photos and getting the look of dramatic light on them! This worked out alright, me-thinks!

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The Texas Longhorn

Tex ~ 8" x 10" oil on panel

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A friend challenged me to paint a texas longhorn cow, since I've been painting a lot of cows. I found it difficult to find a format to fit his horns! I might get my hubby to cut me a long, narrow board. I think that might look cool, too. 

I've been experimenting with thicker paint lately, and this one is pretty juicy. I used a pallet knife in sections, and scraped away to the orange ground, and built the paint up thick in other areas. I think I like the effect.

Pizzeria

Pizzeria ~ 5" x 7" oil on hardboard

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Well, now for something a little different from cows...I still love cows, don't get me wrong, and you'll be seeing more of them, but I needed a break.

This character spoke to me...he said "Paint me"...

I can't take credit for the great reference photo, other than creative license with cropping and placement of certain elements. It's from my friend, Fraser Koreluk's stash of travel photos, and he kindly gave me permission to paint it.

 I've worked in restaurant kitchens for most of my adult life, and the pose, the look of concentration, are so familiar to me. I also loved the light, and the old-town look of the stone oven.

Carmella the cow

Carmella ~ 6" x 6" oil on canvas panel

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Again, I'm having fun with complementaries. The blue and the orange are such a vibrant combination. I also decided to change things up by painting this one on an orange ground, too. It peeks through the blue, adding a neat colour vibration. I'm working on loosening up, too. This painting has thicker paint and looser brushwork. It's a challenge to see how little information you can add and still keep the painting strong. I still probably over-did it. My inclination is to get finicky with details, but I think that sometimes kills the strength of a painting.

Got Milk? ~ Cow portrait

"Got Milk?" 6" x 6" oil on canvas panel

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I'm having a bit of fun again with the complementary colour scheme, and of course, cows...Painting cows always makes me happy. They're just so endearing, that I can't help but smile while I'm painting them. This little darling had just finished nursing from her mom and had a milk must mustache, but she's not a bit concerned about it!

I'm really happy with how she turned out. I almost want to keep it for myself :)

Nevermore ~ the Raven

Nevermore ~ 6" x 6" mixed media on panel

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"...Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'" ~Edgar Allen Poe

I've long had a fascination with ravens. They seem to have an extraordinary intelligence. We had one as a pet, when I was a child. It was injured, and my father rescued it. We nursed it back to health and it actually learned to say hello, and would greet us when we approached.

Last summer I had the great fortune to witness a raven "funeral". There was a dead raven on the side of the road. As I sat on the deck, eating my lunch, a squawking, raucous murder of ravens flew up and landed in a tree just behind their fallen comrade. A lone raven separated from the group and walked a few circles around the dead one. The whole time, the others were calling noisily. Then the lone raven flew back to the tree. With that, they fell silent, and as if on cue, quietly flew away with a rush of wings.

The moment left me with goosebumps and a little breathless, for what was clearly an homage to their fallen friend.

I wanted this painting to have a bit of an otherworldly feeling. I have long doodled spirals, and I went into this painting intentionally trying to call my intuitive creative spirit instead of being purely representational and the spirals appeared.

 I put paint on and wiped it off. I sprayed water on it and let it drip. I put bubble wrap in the wet paint, and played with metallics. The swirls are actually painted in metallic cold. The background is acrylic paint and the raven is in oils.

Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean

6" x 6" oil on panel

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This painting was done as part of one of the Daily Paintworks challenges, called the "Limited Movie Star" challenge. The challenge was to only use five values, and only use blue, purple and white to paint the picture.

When I was a teenager, I LOVED James Dean. I had a photo book of his biography and would draw him over and over :) So when I saw the challenge I knew exactly who I would paint.

It was a fun little challenge. Who knows, maybe I should paint more "blue" movie stars...what do you think?

Dressage

Dressage ~ 7" x 9" oil on panel

I finally feel like I'm back in the swing of painting again! Yay! 

I'd had too much time off...too much time relaxing. Not a bad thing, I just felt like I forgot how to paint a little. How do I hold the brush again? How much paint do I mix up? What's the complementary of orange? Lol!

At any rate, I'm on a roll now. I really had fun with this one. I slopped the paint on with wild abandon:) (Well, only the background, but I really like the texture of the built up paint. It's really nice and juicy.

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