Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Blaze

"Blaze" (pastel, 6x4 inches)  click here to bid

This might be my only little auction painting this month. Have not yet finished the kitchen grout, or this giant box of last year's receipts. And I still have some modifications to make to the rodeo booth. So what's been slowing me down (besides age)? Yesterday I composed a new large sheep painting, and 3 days ago I composed a new portrait of my daughter from an older photo and some new reference shots of draped fabric. I've even got titles already. Now to decide which one to paint next and get to it before the excitement fades!

Meanwhile, got some progress shots of this rooster:






Monday, January 18, 2016

Fairy Rose

"Fairy Rose"  (pastel, 9x12 inches) $1350

I've been hibernating this month, getting bogged down with paperwork and household chores, and kind of getting depressed from the painting withdrawal symptoms (...and from the paperwork and household chores...) So I need to give a huge Thank You to my friend and fellow pasteler Gail Sibley, who had me write a guest post for her blog, How To Pastel, for January. Well, she posted it early this morning, and suddenly I realized I'd better get something good (and recent) on my own blog just in case I get residual visitors from hers after reading my article. (Read it Here!)

So I popped into the studio and warmed up with a little rooster (which I'll post tomorrow) then brought this one down from the shelf and was determined to finish it! (Started it at the same time as "Familiar".)

I've not yet decided what to do with her yet. Likely will be the Austin Pastel Society annual juried exhibit, but that entry's not due until the 31st, and Pastel Society of the West Coast is due in two days! Hmmm, decisions, decisions...

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Bella and Fuzz

"Bella and Fuzz" (pastel, 13x15 inches) sold

One of my tasks for January; this was a commission for my friend Len, who was my airbrush manager way back in my Six Flags days. Ok, technically it was a deal of a trade for park tickets, but don't be thinking I give this good of a trade for just anybody. Only for old friends who have amazingly awesome pics of their amazingly adorable pets!

Here are some progress shots:
Who could resist this photo?!

the underpainting







Thanks for watching! Please share!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Munchkin

"Munchkin"  (pastel, 8x10 inches)  click here to bid

Finally giving this one a chance on auction after the hubbub of the last two months...

See some progress shots:






Sunday, January 3, 2016

Black Coat - a pivotal piece

"Black Coat"  (pastel, 32x32 inches)  $5100

I recently discovered that this, one of my favorite paintings, that has made the circuit of galleries and shows over the years and has yet to find the right buyer, has never been blogged or Facebooked by me! I don't know how that happened. Possibly because I painted it in 2009, two years before my sudden increase in social media marketing.

Secretly, I'm pleased this one has never sold, because if ever there was a work that deserves to be in a retrospective exhibit of my work twenty years from now, this one is it! Aside from being the first daringly different composition in my then fledgling cow series, it's also the first painting that I used various colors of pastel primers to create somewhat of an 'underpainting' for the pastel -- something I do now with all of my work as a much more developed technique, and it all began with this one.

The base coat was the Art Spectrum pastel primer in terra cotta, which I had been using as my favorite surface under all my work for a couple of years. But when faced with such a very white calf, and such a very black calf, my innate 'lazyness' kick-started my brain into finding a way to avoid building up those extreme values with only the pastel...
So after drawing the basic outlines, I brushed on the black and the white primers (also Art Spectrum brand) over the areas that would be primarily the brightest white and darkest black in the painting.

 When I discovered how well this simplified my pastel application in the painting process, I was hooked for good!!




As an aside, the composition of my most recent large cow painting, "Castor and Pollux" from October 2015, was rather largely influenced by my enjoyment of Black Coat, even after all these years. (...It's my preferred opinion that Black Coat was ahead of it's time...)

Thanks for reading! Please share!