In The Mood

Appropriate that painting the snow was the order of the day for this painting. Woke up to lots of the *white stuff* outside, putting me in the mood so to speak.

I used mixtures of a tiny bit of burnt sienna, with cerulean blue, paynes gray, white and some pthalo blue to try and capture the texture of the snow. In the process of painting the snow, I had to paint over the grass that I had indicated in the underpainting. Not a problem though, as I can still see where most of those brushstrokes are. The grass had to be started on the right hand side, using burnt sienna, raw sienna, naples and some paynes gray. This grass needed to be well underway, as the dog's body is overlapping it. I try to plan the spacial planes before actually applying paint.

Misty's face, ears and chest were also worked on during today as well. I'm at that horrible stage of nothing being resolved with lots of painting still to come before anything looks remotely finished. Just lots of brushstrokes, one after the other, painting whether I'm in the mood, or not.

Change of Pace - Misty

On to another commission. this one is of a German Wire Hair pointer pup, Misty. Like all my other commissions a looming deadline, is needed to boot me to the easel and get to work. Sorely in need of a change, like so many other aspects of my life, this piece was begging to be done in acrylics and not my usual oils. The last acrylic to sit on my easel was Spruce Baby (see sidebar for image) I had forgotten how nice it can be to work in acrylic. the fast drying time, and flexible application techniques is a huge attraction at this point. I cannot afford to be waiting for it to dry between applications not wanting to leave it to the last minute. Christmas IS coming!

This one is on a 12 X 16" MDF panel gessoed with about 3 coats of Daniel Smith gray gesso. I had forgotten how much I love this surface. Originally I thought the panel was an inch too wide for the drawing, so left the right hand edge blank so a carpenter friend could cut it off for me. after much consideration, it was decided it best to leave it alone, so I painted in the undertones of the grass right to the edge.

I am using matte medium on this one to stabilize the transparent glazes. In the past I used gloss medium. I'm not sure what motivated me to switch to matte, it just seems right this time. Payne's gray is the colour of choice for the under painting. The plan is to use a very limited grayed down palette of Payne's gray, burnt sienna, titanium white and raw sienna with some Naples yellow thrown in the mix.

A Double Header

The Wolfe Cabin is done and I'm doin' the happy dance! One more commission out of the way. One step closer to autonomy and freedom to paint what I want. Now to let it dry, varnish it, photograph it, frame it and its a done deal. Contact the client, and its off to a new home.

Momentum rolling, I also delivered a different painting to another client who had paid me an advance in 2007 for a painting. More specifically, *the painting* I wanted to keep for myself. I had total freedom, no requirements, no expectations, no deadline. In the beginning I struggled with this idea of no restrictions. Then one day as I was laying on my couch looking up at a painting I had been reluctant to sell, it became clear that it was the *one* that he must have. It fit all the criteria. It was the right size, right price range, and it was one I wanted for myself.

I delivered it last night, filled with some trepidation. What if he didn't like it? What if it wasn't what he expected? I was secretly hoping he didn't want it, then I could keep it above my couch for me to selfishly admire. He loved it! We celebrated the hanging of "Mutual Support" with a few drinks, and much talk about the creative spirit that musicians and visual artists share. It felt good to let go of this one.

Upon leaving I was feeling a bit sad, and asked that he give my *favourite* a good home. He promised he would. Driving home, the sadness turned to a feeling of release, and joy. My favourite painting was hanging in a new home over a lovely fireplace, and it was then I felt great!! A double header on the art front! On to the next one to liberate me.

Calendar Girl

Time ticks on...I'm stuck, too many things to do. Never enough time to do them all. Most of all I seem unable to motivate myself to finish the Wolfe Cabin or to work on anything that remotely resembles artwork.

Here it is November already, and I have hardly finished anything of substance. I am so hard on myself, always judging myself harshly, distracted by *other* things. Things like two cats, a horse, and a very high maintenance whippet Austin whom I cook for now. His allergies were preventing him from thriving on any commercially made dog food, veterinary quality or not. House maintenance, yard maintenance, and all the business end of the art business all take their chunk 'o time outta me. All these things require time, energy and organization. Without my daytimer, I'm lost!

I have become focused on the time passing far too fast. Deadlines past, upcoming deadlines, I forget to celebrate my successes...like having my painting "A Good Tail Wind" winning a spot on the American Academy of Equine Art's (AAEA) 2009 Calendar contest! http://aaea.net/. I can now combine my time management with a celebration of seeing my work on a quality calendar.

"Snow Way?!..."

Tackled the snow...one would think that it would be easy for me to paint snow, having lived on the cold Canadian Prairies my whole life. This is not necessarily so with snow. Snow is not really white. It is comprised of many colour, least of all white! The colour of snow is largely dependant on the time of day, and how sunny it is.

Judging by the strong shadows in the reference photo, I can conclude that the photo must have been taken in the late afternoon or early morning. I recall seeing the most incredibly cool shadows and warm highlights on snow during these times. Taking the little old reference photo, a mere 3 X 3" in size and starting to lose its colour because of its age, I took the liberty of drawing from my memory the beautiful colours of snow.

I added tinted oranges and yellows to the highlights in the snow. Transitional areas from light to shadow, have warm to cool pinks. Wet on wet seemed to work best over the underpainting of blue-violet, then softly blending with a sable brush, juxtiposing it with the more obvious brushwork in the pathway. I want this layer to dry before going into the snow once more to build up the highlights, and push back the shadows more with some glazes of cool blue.

Maybe I'll finally be able to put this painting to rest and finish it before the snow actually flies! I better hurry. It's minus 5 outside.

The Wolfe Cabin progresses

After the third session of working on the cabin, I was finding it time comsuming and frustrating to get the lines and vanishing points all worked out. The cabin was looking like it was going to blow down in a strong wind storm! Note to self! Never drink copious amounts of coffee and try to freehand straight lines, even with a maul stick! I felt like an alchoholic with a serious case of the DT's!

So out came the straight edge to help my shakiness, and the cabin was starting to become structurally sound again. The windows were wrong in size and shape and they had to corrected, but with oils I had to be patient, let it dry then tackle the corrections. I chose to paint this piece on masonite so I could get the tiny details, and smooth lines of the building. I was soon bored with all these details, so what next? Must push on...my motivation was waning fast.

Trees seemed like a good option to get me interested again with all their randomness, so trees I painted. I had most fun painting the sky and the sky holes in the trees. Yellows, pinks, and blues all made their way into the sky, overlayed onto the underpainting. Res N Gel was the favoured medium of the day, making the colours juicy and semi transparent.

Then back to the details. The railings, motion sensor lights, window trim, stairs, and the metal chimney. Most important, the chimney HAS to be in the painting! This metal tube somehow holds sentiment for the client...my motivation is waning further, daily life distractions keeping me from working on the piece. Now what? I decide to *dangle the carrot* in front of me. I tape the cheque for payment for the painting onto my easel!!

I discover I am not motivated by money.

The Wolfe Cabin

The Wolfe Cabin, long gone, mowed down to make way for a new and improved mansion on Lake Windermere, B.C., is being *rebuilt* in a painting. Fond memories were made for the Wolfe family in this little cabin. Memories of swimming, laying in the sand, and campfires long into the night. Winter offered skating and warming by the woodburning stove. Now it is gone. All that remains of the Wolfe Cabin is a small 12 X 14" frame, handmade with the wood from its wooden exterior, embellished with some of the original lichen that grew on it. This little frame is going to house the finished painting.

Commissioned by an investment firm, this is a retirement gift for Kevin, a long time client of mine. I originally painted a portrait of his cat Tabitha more than 25 years ago. I found my original reference photos of Tabitha and my plan is to sit her in one of the the windows of the finished piece, as a little surprise for Kevin.

Working on this piece is a nice change for me, from painting horses, and western scenes. I started this piece in late August. I took my french easel outside onto my deck in the backyard to work, enjoying the fresh air and getting into the *cabin* groove as a refreshing change. The attached image is the end result of this first, semi-plein aire painting.