Kendall and Berkley

Here, I have posted the original photograph, along with the painting I finished for my brother-in-law for xmas. These adorable puppies are Kendall (left) and Berkley.

At the time of this painting, I had yet to meet Kendall, so I concentrated most on trying to capture his body stance and personality.

In the final painting, take a look at the extra 'treats' I painted in for the boys to play with.:)

Big Skies in Montana

My sister requested that I paint her a landscape of Montana - ' Big skies and rolling hills'. So, I found a pic on the internet and came up with this landscape within a week. Since it was Montana, I tried to concentrate on the sky and making the movement be within it. I also played with several colors in the skies, yellows, pinks and purples. The final effect looked a mix of grey and blue, which I thought was nice.

Spires in Madrid

This was my first attempt at abstracting real life.

I found a photo online that was absolutely beautiful, the subject was church spires of a cathedral in Madrid, with an amazing sky behind it.

But I wanted the sky in my painting to be the subject, not the spires, so I purposefully abstracted the shape and length of the spires in my painting.

I must say that this painting is one of my favorites, simply becuase of the colors.

Mamasita's Lighthouse

So this painting was a mesh of two separate subjects. I found a lighthouse photograph that just spoke to me. But the sky in the photo was a just a plain blue, nothing special. I felt it needed color, and since I really enjoy painting skylines, I went to town. Of course, the photograph of this painting does not do it justice.

Pop's Fishin' Hole

This painting was one of my most fun. I have never encountered water before in any of my subjects, so this was a learning experience.

But I did use an acting technique on this painting, believe it or not! I 'acted' like water when I was painting it. It allowed me to become free an unrestricted.

After the oils had dried for a bit, my eye kept being drawn back to this painting. Something told me that something was missing. I attempted to draw in a fishing pole and bucket on a rock, but it did not look right.

My second attempt was for me to paint a fish jumping out of water and splashing the rocks nearby. It worked, and it ended up making the picture!