Here She Is ... the Gold-laced Wyandotte

Pretty Lady
8.5 x 8.5 framable image
Just the chicken, the pigment and the paper. If you bought her, I would ensure she arrived safe and sound, even if Bruno and I had to do an imitation of the Pony Express to hand-deliver it!
$105.00

Here are the stages. After getting the chicken in fair order, I did a w/w background with aureolin, qui.gold and phthalo blue. In later stages, I added quin. pink to the mixture. I wanted something suggestive of leaves.

I did several glazes of the dark area behind the leaves on the shadowed side.

Then I started glazing the leaves in shadow to give some differentiation and depth. I played with the darks of the leaves, and added more detail to the feathers, and ... voila!

Thank you very much for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome.

Cackleberry-maker

I started this with a w/w wash of quin. gold, let it dry, and then did another variegated wash with quin. burnt orange and quin. violet. 

The shadows of the comb and wattles I did in a violet and orange mixture.

Then went over all with cadmium red.

I added all the details, and here she is.
I had never heard the word "cackleberry" till a few years ago, and it still makes me laugh!
The painting is nether framed nor mounted.
The framable size is 7.5 x 4.5 inches.
$75.00

This is the other hen I have started - still a WIP. I found I needed something bright to work on, to alternate with all the darks of the cocker spaniel.

As always, thank you for dropping by. Your comments are most welcome!

Horse Woes

Bruno has these small bumps spread irregularly all over the large mass of his body. They are called "protein bumps". Actually they are collagen deposits, and usually associated with some allergic reaction.

They are on the area where the saddle rests, so I'm not riding till this clears up. In Bruno's case, I think there are several possible factors involved. For one, he is on the new hay. I am sure it has a higher level of protein, so I will have to buy a lower-protein pellet mixture for his feed. Also, he is getting his winter coat. Not only have I found horses to have more sensitive skin at this time of coat change, it is still quite warm, so he may be sweating more. Mustn't forget the bugs - the flies and mosquitoes are always a problem in the summer, and sometimes a horse will get a more severe reaction to bites.
I am not sure if a bath with some soothing soap would help much, other than relieve any itchiness, and he doesn't seem to be itchy. I might get some antihistamine, and dose him with that for a few days. I have put out a call to my trainer, and will try the vet later today. For now, His Imperial Chubbiness is enjoying a break.

Thank you for visiting, and your comments are always welcome!

Krystie's Saga Continues ...

I am still playing with the darks ... 

 ... a violet-black for her face, left [in the painting] ear and body, and a blue-black for the right ear. I also did a thin black glaze over the eye in shadow. That felt a bit risky, but turned out well. More darkening to do yet, and then a background. The owner wants greens, so maybe some thin glazes suggesting stylized leaves.

Thank you for dropping by, and your comments are always welcome! 

She Is Starting to Look Like a Cocker Spaniel ... a Process

FINALLY started Krystie. I had been procrastinating because she is not an easy subject, and I wanted to do a super job.
 I masked, and put down two w/w washes - a greyed blue, using indanthrone blue, and a purple, made up of quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone. Then I started the ears, using the same three pigments. I painted w/w, trying from the very beginning to create some sense of the wavy hair. 

I did the upper torso, neck and part of the head, then removed the masking, and stroked in some quin. burnt orange for her tan patches.  The eyes I did w/w, with several glazes, and used some alizarin crimson on the inner canthus and lower lid.

More w/w everywhere, and some direct painting to suggest the hair texture.

I honestly didn't think I would get this far. Painting all the texture of the hair was quite a job, but I think it looks credible. The eyes appear a bit off to me right now, but when the shadows are done, I think they will be fine. Spaniels have heavy upper lids, so there is a lot of shadowing. More glazing to be done, but I feel I am on the right track.

Thank you very much for dropping by, and your comments are always welcome!

Daylily

Unfortunately, this painting was framed before I could take a photo, so the image is distorted, but ... 

Daylily
framed with a beautiful dark wood
image size 10 x 14 inches
frame size 19.5 x 23.5 inches
$560.00

I am having trouble figuring out how to change the paypal price for each post. If you would love to buy this, please leave me a note! Thank you very much!!

I Am Starting a New Theme on the Blog

White Hollyhock
11.5 x 7.25 inches
$165.00 Cdn

About once a week or so, I will be posting a painting, offering it for sale.
This painting is unmatted and  unframed, making it much more convenient to mail. The pigments are color-fast, and of the highest quality, and the paper is Arches 140 lb. cold press. The shipping is not included in the price - I imagine it would be about $20.00.