Just a Quick Update ...

Wet paint! Just finished up another botanical of blackberries that I started when working on the hawthorn berries.

Reference photo of Maggie. She is a very striking, almost eerie-looking dog ... very wild-looking. It must be those yellow eyes. And it is hard to get a good photo of her. She rarely is still. She has settled in well though - no more disappearing shoes or slippers, and no more new holes being dug in the yard. And she comes when called, at a flat-out run. :)

My drawing, done with a grid, has been traced onto watercolor paper and ready to be worked on though I don't think I'll have time till Sunday to work on it. 

I left the horse and rider painting here ...

Since then, I have darkened the horse [still need a bit at the front end]. The rider is done, though the tack and saddle pads need  some touching up. And I am working on darkening the background - it seems to add depth to the painting overall. This is a reasonable approximation of the colors and values, though I find that the more color and depth you have in a painting, the more difficult [if not impossible] it is to capture the actual look of the work.
I am trying to savor each remaining morsel of summer, spending a lot of time outside. And I start teaching my first class this Saturday, so I've been picking up a few supplies, and giving thought to what I will do that first session. I was nervous when I found out I had 8 students, but that has passed. I think we will do washes the first class, and I will chat with each of the students to find out their art experience and class expectations.

Thank you for dropping by!!