About Me

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I have been creating things since I was old enough to hold a pencil, a crayon or a needle. You may be surprised what you find here.

Monday, November 29, 2010

A cousin and her horse and a contest


This is one of my earlier paintings, it is my cousin and her miniature horse. What you can't see, and couldn't in the reference photo either, is that she is on her knees.

We went to a family reunion on her island. Her husband is a lobsterman in Maine, and his family owns a small island in Penobscot Bay. They have built a small house there where they spend their summers with the dogs and two miniature horses that have the run of the island.

The family reunion was a great time, everyone brought food and soda, and they supplied all the lobster you could eat. Transportation was by lobster boat and everyone had a wonderful time. The horses added an interesting note to the day. You had to carefully guard your food from them as they were happy to come and eat off your plate if they could get away with it. It was the hardest for the little kids, as they couldn't hold the food out of the way. But even they enjoyed the challenge and the adults were there to help make sure the little ones did have the opportunity to eat.

The painting brings back memories of a great day spent with family. My family is very large and fairly spread out, so it's rare that we have the opportunity to get together, and it's been years and years since everyone has been together. Even at this event, lots of folks were not able to make it.

Since we just had Thanksgiving, and thanksgiving is a time for family and friends, I thought it was a wonderful time to share this painting of a happy family memory.

Now for the contest part of the blog.

I am going to give away one of my paintings to someone who reads this blog. All you need to do is to sign up as a follower (current followers will also be included). I will put all of the names in a bowl, we will draw the name on New Years Day.

Also, I am going to start taking commissions for pet portraits in the spring, so if this is something you are interested, please be sure to let me know.

Monday, November 15, 2010

The King of Cats



When I mentioned the King of Cats, you probably thought of a lion or a tiger. Spooky, named because we adopted him in October and he is a Halloween cat, is the most regal cat in our household. He knows his place in the universe, and that is ruler of all that he can see. He shows it in his every move. This pose is typical...look at me, aren't I just the cat's meow?

When the sun shines on his coat, you can see the expresso coffee color that is the underside of his fur.

This is a large painting, 18"x24", practically life size. Spooky is a good sized cat, with very large claws. He really is the King of Cats!

On a side note, the window on this painting is really straight, blame me for doing a lousy job of cropping the photo.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A time for giving thanks


In the U.S., November is a time where we give thanks for our bounties, and so many of us have many. I am thankful that I have everything I need in life, even if I don't have everything I want. I am also thankful that I know the difference between the two.

Today's offering is a Thanksgiving still life which I must quickly point out is a study of a much better painting called "Copper Pitcher and Apples and Mums" by Jane Puerini. Hers is so much better, it glows with life. I have never seen the original, it was a Thanksgiving card sent by our insurance company and one of my favorites over the year. It was the first one I have ever been inspired to copy.

I really enjoyed working on this painting. It came together fairly quickly on an 8"x10" canvas board. Trying to capture the reflections was challenging as was getting a real copper color to come through. I don't often do studies, although they are a great way to learn. I hope, if Jane Puerini sees this, she won't be too insulted that I copied her work. And Jane, if you do drop by, rest assured on the back of the canvas you are credited and this work will never be for sale. I did it solely for me.

So fellow artists-how do you feel about others using your works to create studies? I'd really like to hear from you.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Jackie



It seems that painting animals is my forte. When I paint a dog or a cat, it comes out far better than if I paint a scene, a still life or people.

This dog is named Jackie. She belongs to a friend of mine and last April, she almost lost her. We were in Atlanta working an event, and poor Jackie was at home in Colorado and got deathly ill. Her poor owner, nearly 2000 miles away was beside herself with worry. Who wouldn't be? Fortunately, in the end Jackie got better. But this is the life of people with pets. They get sick. They can't tell us what's wrong and the worst of all, no matter how much we love them, we generally outlive them.

Jackie's mom was kind enough to let me download a photo of her, and this painting is the result. I hope she likes it. I think she should have it while Jackie is still alive, don't you?