I Can't Believe I've Been Working on a Sketch of Geese for the Last Two Hours

All evening, I have been playing with composition, format, and then refining the sketch. I think this will do. It will probably be about 9 x 14 inches when finished. I'm keen to start as I have some interesting ideas I'd like to try for the background.
I also spent 2 hours in the rain this afternoon, removing the old electric wire from His Highness's paddock, then trimming any interfering branches, and finally re-wiring the entire area. It seems to be working, as His Nibs was making his dragon-breathing sounds when I went out to feed him dinner. I don't like electric fencing, but I like even less the damage horses can do if left to their own devices.
That's it for tonight. I'm working in the office tomorrow, and quite looking forward to the change.

It's Growing on Me

I've spent some time this morning, playing with this, and I must admit I am liking it - or maybe I just like playing with the colors like a jigsaw puzzle.
It wasn't raining when I started, and I thought I could do some painting, and then have some play time with Bruno. But it's really coming down, so I'll probably just take him for a walk. And definitely visit the hardware store to pick up some electric fencing. His Imperial Nooginess has seen fit to start chewing on the fences with a vengeance. He hadn't been bad until this last winter, when he decided to take up professional wood-chewing. ACK!! So I'll have to re-do the topline of the fence to discourage him.

The culprit yesterday, in the glorious sunshine. He loved being without a blanket, and had a good roll  on the ground. Life is GOOD!

I also took some photos of this old house, not far from where I live. I find it fascinating; it's so wonderfully decrepit. People still live on the property, if not in the house itself, though I do see lights inside at night. I think it would make a great "haunted house" painting.

Some Experimenting and Some Plodding Along ...

I like the background. I wanted to stay away from dark, so I did a few w/w washes, then the final one, which I did w/w, dropping lines of pink and blue and encouraging them to flow vertically.

However, I am not thrilled with the leaves, which look seriously over-worked. I'm not sure if I'll finish this.

Buddy is coming along well, but oh-so-slowly!


It must be Spring fever. I feel the need to experiment more, with techniques and subjects.  It is beautiful out - mild and sunny. And I think I hear the call of the horse!!! I've painted for over an hour this morning, and I need to get outside!

As I Was Trying to Get a Photo ....

Taking my time with this

Shayna, the new kid in the house

She would NOT stand still for a second. I'm lucky to have taken this shot.

Letting me know how excited she is to see me.

And Abby came out, too.


I opened the front door to take an outdoor-light photo of the painting. The slider to the main house opened, and two dogs came screaming out!!! I yelled "NO", grabbed the painting from the ground, and then it was OK. I did not want the new [and VERY exuberant] dog to tap-dance all over Buddy's portrait.
Anyway, I may not be posting quite as frequently as I have been lately. It's going to be a slow and careful process with Buddy's portrait. Also, the weather has improved, and I am spending much more time outside with Bruno ... YAY!!!
The new girl is Shayna, a rescue from the Chilliwack animal rescue. She is about 2 years old, extremely friendly and loving, and full of life and energy. She loves to come in and visit when my door is open, and gobble up all the cat food. Needless to say, the cat is NOT overly impressed!
So, that's the latest from the Farm. Hope to hear from you!

Win Some ... Lose Some

The hibiscus turned out quite well. I am not sure about the brooding background, but it is a good  foil for the  light flower.

The aeonium was an interesting challenge. A bit more forethought on my part would have been good.  I painted the background first, and got swept away by creating soft, graded washes. The dark would have been better on the bottom half. Then the darker leaves would not look so out of place. 

I tried to rescue it by cropping.

If the bottom had been dark, I could have blended the shadowed leaves more readily into the background. There are a few spots I really like - all of the greens turned out well, and the one red leaf going from yellow to red to violet. My glazing proficiency improved. It was wonderful to watch the green/gold alter with applications of yellow, alizarin and violet; it certainly does increase the depth of color. So, as far as technique goes, it was time well spent. But you'd think by now I'd have learned to PLAN from beginning to end!
As always, please feel welcome to leave your comments - love them! 

An "Almost Done" and a "What Possessed Me to Start This?"

Reference

I am here.

Reference

Almost there - yellows are actually more intense in real life.


I desperately want to start riding again, but the weather is against me; it's still very wet and bone-chillingly cold.  My fingers almost froze cleaning the paddock today, so sitting in the saddle, holding the reins was definitely out. I did spend a good [and happy] hour grooming the lad though. We both enjoyed it. Then he had his backyard grass time, surrounded by a small flock of mallards.
Anyway, as always, please feel welcome to leave your comments. I love them.  ;)

Happy Clients!

Two of my friends from the horse world, Iris on the left, and Jessica. Jess came over to pick up her painting of Misty today. And Iris came along as her GPS, because Jess is almost as bad as I am with getting lost. [When we first moved here, I took over an hour getting home from school; it was 5 blocks away.]
I also gave them a bit of an incentive to rustle up more clients; I promised 1/2 price on their next painting, if they came up with a new client. They left, chatting about who would like a painting, and what they would like done next for themselves!!! :)

Iris's horse, Maddy

Another painting of Maddy.

I also gave this painting to my nephew for his birthday this week.  He loves my car paintings, bless him!