American Bulldogs

Wow!  It's been a year since I blogged anything.  And what a busy year it has been, we sold our home in New Hampshire, packed up nearly 30 years of stuff and moved 1000 miles to upstate South Carolina.  Selling, buying, moving out and moving in is quite an enterprise and not for the faint of heart.  But we did it and are in a really good place.  Life if starting to get back to normal, and although I have been painting (quite a lot actually), I haven't been very good at sharing.  That (hopefully) ends now.

Oil on stretched canvas16"x20"SOLD

American Bulldogs was a commissioned piece that arrived on my doorstep last October. Someone I had met in 2011 and shared a business card with, contacted me and needed this before Thanksgiving.  It was to be a gift for her nephew, a 3 time Iraqi war vet, who served as an EMT.  He is home now, thankfully, but does suffer from PTSD.  These dogs and cooking serve as his therapy.  What an honor to paint these happy delightful creatures.

I am happy to report that the end product was very well received and is hanging in a place of honor in his home.

Can I paint something for you?  If so, just contact me at PetPortraitsbyWendy@gmail.com.

FAT SQUIRREL

This fat squirrel was too irresistible not to paint.

Oil on canvas panel
11"x14"
$75

If you are interested in this or any painting shown on this blog, please contact me. PayPal is accepted.

Wolf

Oil on canvas panel

11"x14"

$50 (unframed)

This painting was done several years ago but I have always loved it.  It was the first animal painting that I ever did.  I used a photo from a calendar as a reference.  The photo (from 1991) is long gone.

If you wish to purchase this or any of my paintings, please contact me through the comments section of this blog.  Any communications around purchases will remain private.

Brett, the Brittany Spaniel

Brett

12"x16"

Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

NFS

Brett was a rescued Brittany Spaniel who gave a family a lot of joy during his time here on this earth  Even though he may have had a rough start to his life, his final years were filled with love, hugs, long walks and lots of cookies.

If you have a special pet that you would like to commemorate with a lasting portrait, please feel free to contact me.

Owls Head Light

Owls Head Light

16"x20"

Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

$150 Framed

Another painting from our visit to Maine this past fall.  If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please contact me through the comments section of this blog.

West Quoddy Light

West Quoddy Light

16"x20"

Oil on gallery wrap canvas

$150 framed

If you are interested in this painting, please feel free to contact me through the comments section of the blog.  I am working on setting up PayPal as a means of payment for your convenience.

Pemaquid Lighthouse

Pemaquid Lighthouse

22"x28"

Oil on stretched canvas

$750

This painting has been keeping me busy in the studio for the past few weeks.  It's been a lot of fun painting it, although I will admit that the the white fence, lighthouse and buildings had me really worried about how to bring out the details and still capture the essence of the scene.  I am really happy with how it came out.  And it looks even better in person.

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please feel free to contact me through this blog using the comment field.  Comments are not automatically published, so it will be a secure communication.

TOBOR

"TOBOR"

18"x24"

Oil on canvas panel

SOLD

This commissioned painting was a birthday surprise.  The person who commissioned the painting sent me a photo of himself with the dog, but didn't realize that he would be included in the painting.  But who was going to support the dog, I asked?

I would love to do a pet commission for you.  Drop me a note and we can discuss specifics.  

Picking Time 1

"Pickin' Time" a study

5"x7"

Oil on canvas panel

$45.00

This painting was a study for a much larger painting, but I am very pleased with how it turned out.  Hope you like it too.  If you are interested in purchasing it, please contact me at petportraitsbywendy at gmail.com.

Chipmunk

"Chipmunk"

5"x7" oil on hardboard

$35.00

Captured this little fellow by luring him with sunflower seeds one summer afternoon.  With a tripod and zoom lense, I got a few good shots.  Have wanted to paint him for sometime.

If you are interested in purchasing this, please contact me at petportraitsbywendy at gmail.com.

Joe - a pet potrait

"Joe"

8"x10"

Oil on canvas panel

SOLD

Joe is an adorable little Bichon Frise who lives in Florida. 

If you are interested in having a portrait done of your pet, please contact me at petportraitsbywendy at gmail.com.  Prices are very reasonable, starting as low as $50 for a small portrait.  No payment is due until you receive a jpeg and approve the final portrait.

Curtis Island Lighthouse

Curtis Island Lighthouse

11"x14"

Oil on canvas panel

Curtis Island Lighthouse is just one of the many lighthouses we saw from the decks of the "Grace Bailey" last August.  I am enjoying painting many of the terrific photos that I took on that trip.  Look for more soon.

Lines Secured

"Lines Secured"

24"x30" on stretched canvas

Oil

Last summer we took a dream vacation on the two masted schooner "Grace Bailey".  I took lots of photos and am now turning many of them into paintings.  On the cruise, the passengers are able to volunteer as part of the crew.  Each morning raising the sails is part of the drill.  Once the sails are raised, the lines need to be coiled and secured for the day.  Raising the sails is hard work, but lots of fun.  Coiling the lines properly also takes a bit of practice. 



Tower Hill Pond

Last spring I took a long walk around Tower Hill Pond with my husband.  He took along his fishing rod, I took my camera..  The result, a great memory of that day created in oils.

A day at the Lake

Yesterday was a great day.  Our whole department was invited to spend the day at our bosses island retreat as part of a team building day.  I took the opportunity to take my easel and paints.

This painting was created in about an hour over the course of the day.  It was challenging on many levels. One, I never paint buildings (all those angles defeat me). Two, I had an audience';  Granted they were generous and kind. And three, I was trying water soluble oils for the first time ever, not that this was a challenge in itself, but I was working with just six colors, three primaries, white, black and sap green.  The most limited pallet I have ever worked with.

At the end of the day, I declared it done and gave it to our host as a thank you for his generosity.  Not too bad for my fourth time out doing plein air.

54 Donald Street-work continues

Continueing to work on this painting.  Refining areas, adding and changing as I go, trying to find a look that pleases me.  And of course, lots of help from the cats and helpful comments from hubby.

Dessie, my youngest cat, decided to investigate what I was doing and managed to walk through the ultramarine blue paint.  This started a catch the cat chase, which was made more difficult by the fact that having stuff in her back paw was spooking her and she didn't want to be caught, she just wanted to get away from it all.

We finally caught her, and hubby held her while I a) cleaned the paint off the floors so that they other cats wouldn't walk in it, b) covered my pallet with paper towels to avoid the same fate with the other cats while cleaning Dessies paw and finally c) cleaned Dessies paw using brush cleaning soap, paper towels and warm water.  I have to hand it to her, for a cat that is often teeth and claws when she isn't getting her own way, she was very calm and let me really scrub between her toes for nearly five minutes.  Although her white paws have a light blue tint, I think we got enough off she won't get sick.

As you can see, I have added the day lilies, highlighted the bush on one side, and the ivy on the other.  I also completely redid the roses and are, at the moment, the feature I am happiest with.  Out shopping the other day, I found some miniature brushes on sale for half price at the Hobby Lobby.  They saved my roses, I was really getting frustrated with them before.  I have even done more work on them since this shot was taken.

I am changing the color of the chair from teal to yellow, it will need more work, but I am happier with this color.  I really like yellow and don't mind having a lot of it in this painting. The wood area in the background has been enhanced, adding groove lines, texture and brightened with a glaze made of burnt sienna and cadmium yellow light. 

What I plan to do before I finish, at least at the moment, is to complete the chair, work more on the geraniums and day lilies in the front. Maybe work more on the gazing ball, not sure about that yet.  Haven't decided if I need to add more of something above the chair in the empty area or not.  It's a busy painting but perhaps a garden sign or something would be a nice touch.  Any thoughts?

To compare both versions go to WIP.

"Squeaker"

Last January on a business trip to St. Louis, I had the misfortune of getting very ill on the morning I was to fly home. An angel by the name of Kerry, whom I had met less than 72 hours earlier, became my salvation.

At first, she just offered to wait with me for the shuttle to the airport. When it became obvious that I was in no condition to fly, she got me checked back into a room, made sure I had emergency contacts and changed my airline reservations (on her credit card).

When I was once again able to think like a normal human being, I made sure she was reimbursed and heartily thanked for her kindness. But under the circumstances, I wanted to do more. So I asked her if I could paint something for her. She gave me two options, a landscape and this mountain lion, both involve precious memories for her.

Kerry, if you feel that this accurately represents "Squeaker", once it dries, I will pack it up and send it your way. Bless you for being the kind of person who steps up to help someone in need.

"Fast" Eddie Watkins

First a disclaimer: I did not paint this painting.

This weekend my husband, thinking that I had no cash on me, invited me to join him on a trip to the transfer station. Our transfer station has a 'second chance store' where locals donate stuff they no longer want but think someone else might. I'm not sure who actually gets the money from the transactions that occur here (not the folks that drop stuff off, that much I know). I like to browse this 'store' because you never know what you might find. These days I am looking for frames that I can use on my paintings. I have bought several frames from him in the past and saved a bundle on framing.

This was a particularly nice frame for an 18"x24" canvas. The fellow wanted $20, I had $18 - we made a deal and the whole thing went into the back of the car.

As per my usual practice, I look at who signed the art and look them up on -line. The artists of the paintings I have bought from here in the past have had no presence on line that I could find, so I had no compunctions about getting rid of the artwork in one form or another. I have been known to save the stretcher bars or gesso over and re-use the canvas for practice.

This time, I discovered I had purchased a piece of art with a great story. "Fast" Eddie Watkins was a notorious bank robber who was on the FBI's most wanted list for a period of time. He took up painting in prison. You can read his story here.

So now I have a painting with a wonderful story, and it looks like it will remain in it's frame and hang someplace in my home as a conversation piece. Don't you just love a good find?

Grandson

Wow! It's been a while since I posted, life is very busy at my day job through the first of June, but I will try to post more often.

A while back I decided to paint portraits of two of my grandchildren and give them to their parents for Christmas. I was very pleased with the painting of 'the boy', and couldn't wait to start on 'the girl'. I really felt I nailed it here and couldn't wait to hear what his parents thought.

The other portrait, which I will post a bit later was much more of a struggle. I just couldn't seem to get there, but time ran out and they had to be finished, framed, wrapped and shipped if I wanted to make the holiday.

On Christmas morning I called to get a reaction. Both Mom and Dad thought that I had captured 'the girl' perfectly, but they thought I didn't quite get 'the boy'. Which only shows how difficult portraits really are. People don't see people they love with their eyes alone, they see them with their heart. And so to capture someone's essence in paint, you need to be able to see them through someone else's eyes.

Jenny

This is our youngest grand-daughter, Jenny. We don't see her very often as she lives quite far away. This painting was done using one of her school photos. I love how happy she looks.

I painted a series of portraits of all the grand kids a couple of years ago. I will be posting them here in the next few weeks, while I am working on a new painting.

Generally, I am a direct painter, I don't do under painting, and frequently mix and blend the colors right on the canvas. The painting I am working on right now will be done in stages similar to those of the old masters.

I'll let you know how it goes...