A Morning TOO Beautiful Not to Share ...

Willows by the pond

Path to the barn

Field behind barn buildings

Looking back from field into paddock

His Nibs, enjoying breakfast hay

Path between my humble abode and next door

Late-blooming hollyhock

As I went down to feed His Highness this morning, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the day. I love the look of the sunrise filtering through the mist. I almost ran back to the house to get my camera, but Bruno was neighing for food! I hope you enjoy these early morning scenes as much as I did.

Amazing ... I Quite Like It ...

I think I left off here, deciding to intensify skin tones ...

The great unveiling - removing masking fluid

I re-did the water with mask, so I could get a more fluid look to the water, with the three background colors.
Afri's Nephew  10.5 x 11.5 in. / 27 x 29 cm.


When I near the end of a work, I usually start to nit-pick the life out of it. With this painting, I am pleased as it is. It's bright and happy; it totally expresses what I set out to achieve. Again and always, please let me know what you think and feel about the painting.

Catching Up ...

I started by masking what will be a spray of water, then dropped in quin. pink, quin. burnt orange and phthalo blue

I've laid in color on the skin, hair and shirt.

Just intensifying everything. Now I need to go in and get some good skin tones and shadows.
This was my morning's effort

  A BrunZ news flash ... The lad was diagnosed with arthritis in both hocks [ hind leg "knee" ] I am not surprised, as he spent at least five years at the pacer track in Cloverdale, pounding on the equivalent of cement, doing his thing as a race horse. It has left him stiff and sore, so to alleviate that condition, my vet recommended injecting both joints with a combination of hyaluronic acid and a corticosteroid. Friday evening, Mario came over, set up all the equipment for filing teeth [ also needed ], filled syringes, and gave Bruno a shot of tranquillizer. It takes effect within seconds, and B. was zonked but standing. Mario first gave the hock injections. Then we muscled his sleepy body into a sort of head-holder, propped his mouth open, and filed the teeth. When the vet was almost done, I slipped back, with a bucket of water, soap and cloth, and cleaned what you would not believe needs cleaning. Ahhh ... the glamorous life of a horse owner!
   Now the lad needs time off till Tuesday. Then I can walk [ only ] for a week, and then gradually build up our work, focussing on strengthening his back and hind end.
   While Bruno's off, I've had a bit more office time, as a dental hygienist. And I've also had more time to paint. Right now, I am working on a long-ago-promised painting of a friend's nephew. I'm really enjoying it, and that is usually an indication that it will turn out well.

Meet the Family ...

 I just realized I have painted all of Steph and John's family, at least once. So I thought it would be interesting to post the "menagerie" - sorry, collection. Well, it's family.

Paulina at 12

Paulina at 7

Paulina at 3, when she was called Chickie

Julian at14

Jules at  14 years

Jules at 16, fishing near Kelona

Julian about 8 years, at my birthday

Mom

Dad

Even the family dog, sweet Ripley

 

Steph Is Done

   I added more shadowing and color to her face. And it does NOT look as orange and purple as this, but it's the best I can do with my editing. Now I must get on to Buddy [but I am dying to get to some of the cars].

Steph ... Continued

I went over the sweater with a glaze of home-made black, w/w.
Then I gazed over her hair with mixes of alizarin crimson & quin. burnt orange

I've been going over the hair, drybrushing with an almost-black brown.

I put in a properly cropped photo, so we could see what it looks like without the distraction of the staples and paint-board.


The painting is actually a bit darker than this. And I looked at some other photos of Steph; her hair, in reality,  has more red, so that's what I did. Now I am wondering if it would improve the painting if I went in, and carefully added more depth and color to her face. to me, it looks somewhat flat right now. As always, all your comments are most welcome.

Meet the Wife of John IV - My Sister, Steph

A quirky photo of Steph ... irresistable pose

Thin washes of grisaille

Some wild background colors

More wildness

Some dark blues for depth and darkness

Work on the hair. It was here that I realized her eyes were too wide. Bring out the Magic Eraser!!!

Eyes better shape. Think I'll play with the hair next.

I've started a smaller version of Buddy as well, to work out any kinks before I do a large painting.


This is what I've been up to lately. And yes ... I am dying to get to some of those old car photos. too!

The Langley Cruise-In ... or ... NOT Your Usual Day in the Country

Phenomenal paint jobs

Cool cars

Cars like works of art

Shades of "Christine"

Beautiful grille 

Art Deco paint job

Lush interior

One of my favorites

The toy rat, coming out of the gas tank, caught my eye as we were leaving

   It was a fine, hot day in Langley today. People were out in the thousands, crowded in a few city blocks, to admire the cars. The cars, from all over North America,  were parked along the sides of several closed-off streets.
   My sister Steph came out from Vancouver for a visit, and a tour of the car show. We wandered around for almost three hours, until we were "car-ed out". And this time, she kept an eye on me; the last time we went, we got separated, as I got so absorbed in the cars and taking photos. [Good to have a caring sister.]