Busy, busy, busy!

It has been a wild and crazy last month or so around here and I haven't done much painting at all.  I did finish the double portrait of two beautiful Golden Retrievers some time ago so I thought I'd post the final portrait since I hadn't shown it to you before now. 

I was pleased with it and it really looks much better in person than here.  This was the largest portrait I've done to date and it took a while.  It was on a full sheet of either PastelMat or Colorfix Suede (I've slept many times since it was finished & don't remember which one!  lol) or about 20x27 inches.  I think the owner was pleased also.

I titled this post Busy, busy, busy for a reason.  My DH has finally retired after working at the same place for slightly over 40 years!  He started the retirement on May 1st so we've had almost a week to get used to having one another underfoot and adjusting to a different schedule.  So far it's working out ok and it's really nice being able to do things during the week at whatever time is convenient for us.

A new BJ's warehouse club opened up in a town relatively close to us - about 40 - 45 miles away - so we decided to check it out one day.  That was interesting.  We ended up joining (they give you the "opportunity" to join at a special price before you can actually shop there although they offer a trial membership also.)  I must say that I was disappointed in the experience with everything bundled so that quantities were either way too much for two people (like some of the fresh produce) or there were too few choices in items that you could stock up on.  For instance, as a vegetarian, I was very disappointed to find the one & only brand of baked beans they had was prepared with meat.  The prices weren't bad so I guess it was a good idea to join.  My husband's opthamologist is right around the corner from BJ's so I guess we'll use it some at least.

It is also the week of my husband's birthday so the kids are coming this evening to celebrate both his birthday and his retirement.  I made potato salad and cole slaw yesterday and biscuits this morning (for tomorrow morning's breakfast).  Potato salad and slaw always seem to taste best when they've had a chance to marinate and completely chill.  Later I'll be making baked beans and hush puppies so I'm taking a little break right now to make this post!  Since I don't usually cook meat, we got some pit cooked bbq from a local restaurant not too far from us.  Add a little cake and ice cream after dinner and we'll call it a celebration feast!

Another perk of my DH being retired is that we can travel some and we'll be doing a bit of that off and on.  He's a big gardener and has put in a really comprehensive vegetable garden this year so we won't be gone a lot because of that.  But, I may not be posting on a regular basis again.  I'm looking forward to getting all settled in our "new" life so I can get back to painting again!

Acrylic Raccoon - Last Post

I think this will be my last post on this raccoon.  It's not that I feel it's finished as there are still some areas that need tweaking, but I've got other things that need doing and I'm out of paint that I've mixed for this fellow.  It just feels like a good time to stop for now.

OK, what have I learned about painting with acrylics?  What do I like or dislike about this medium?

Well, it's all color over color in layers and can be kind of tedious.  It's the same with pastels, watercolors and gouache (sometimes) so I don't know why I don't mind going over and over in pastels for instance but it's irksome to do it in acrylic!  Maybe it's all the brush cleaning in between as that adds more time to the painting.  Even with watercolor or gouache, I can lay down a brush with paint residue in it and not worry about ruining the brush if I don't clean it thoroughly right away. 

I so like the idea of acrylics going onto just about any surface or support.  And I like the fact that they don't have to be framed under glass unless they're on unmounted/unvarnished paper.  Those are certainly pluses for me.  And while I'm pretty slow right now, this painting hasn't taken much longer than the pastels I do.  I think in time I may even be able to paint faster, which would be another plus.

So, I don't know if the acrylic medium will ever become a favorite but at least I feel as if I've gotten a handle on the basics and won't be hesitant to do more paintings with it.  We'll just have to see, won't we?

Oh, any c & c is very welcome on this.  His paw isn't quite finished, the whiskers need some attention and the tree bark definitely needs work.  If you see anything else, please let me know and please suggest HOW to accomplish any changes if you can!  I'm always open to learning more!

I would heartily recommend Lee Hammond's dvd and book if you want to learn more about the mechanics of painting in acrylics.  I hate it when you buy a video and just get to watch someone paint.  Ms. Hammond tells you what colors she's using and mixing and shows you how she actually paints and I wish more artists were as thorough when they put out a dvd.

I'm going back to the garden, laundry, the kitchen and the rest of the house that I've sorely neglected recently so you may not see me again for a while!  But, I'll be back!

Acrylic Raccoon - WIP 2

I'm a bit surprised this morning as this painting actually appears to be coming together!  After yesterday I thought I'd never be able to do anything with acrylics but at least I see a glimpse of a raccoon staring back at me today.

Hammond calls these unfinished stages of the painting the "awkward" stages - most artists call them the "ugly" stages.  Most artists do go through stages in the painting that aren't polished or the subject even recognizable in some instances.  It's normal but when you're learning a new medium, it's very discouraging and you do want to throw in the towel.

So, I'm working on and hoping it will all come out.  I'm sure it will & I'm sure I'll get faster as I do more.  Right now I'm kind of plodding along feeling my way so I have a lot more to finish.  I also see some things to change and that's the one aspect of acrylic painting that I most appreciate - the ability to easily make changes.

I'll continue to work on this and may even finish it today or tomorrow!  Again, stay tuned!

"New" Medium - Raccoon in Acrylics WIP

I recently purchased the book and dvd, Painting Animals in Acrylic with Lee Hammond, and this morning I started an acrylic painting.  I've painted in acrylics before but really never got on with them that much.  However, I'd like to learn to paint with them so I can produce pet portraits that are less fragile than those in soft pastels.

I'm posting so I'll be more encouraged to continue with and finish this painting at least!  lol  Oh, the reference photo is from hotblack at MorgueFile.

Lee Hammond's method for painting in acrylics is to block in the base colors then start refining.  She works back and forth between colors building layers and I can see where that method gives more depth and finish to a painting.  Here I have the base colors pretty much blocked in and will be starting to refine next.  I have no idea how long this will take.  When I work in pastel, I'll often work in brief segments but with the drying time of acrylic paint, even with the stay-wet paint keeper (homemade), I don't think I'll be able to do that with acrylic paintings.  We'll just have to see if I can change my habits or find a way to work with them using acrylics.

OK, I expect you all to hold me responsible!  Let's see if this old dog can learn some new tricks!

Max and Allee WIP Final Perhaps

I think I've just about finished the portrait of Max and Allee.  I've sent the photo of it to the client to see if they have any requests for changes and I'm going to let it "marinate" for a while but I think I'm pretty much finished.

This photo is cropped pretty tightly so only the puppies show, btw.

If anyone sees anything, please let me know!

Spent most of this morning at the Art of the Carolinas Trade Show put on by Jerry's Artarama in Raleigh and got some new art supplies.  Actually, I bought more at Jerry's store than I did at the show as I didn't need as much and it didn't seem that there were as many vendors there as in years past.  I only purchased from one vendor this year - Savor Faire - and I got some Cretacolor pastel pencils and some kind of mega white charcoal stick.  They had the sticks in several colors but I wasn't really into them enough to buy more.  I did play with them and liked that they went on smoothly but just didn't have a need for them right now. 

I also played with the Sennelier oil pastels there.  They only had expensive sets at the show and I don't know that I would ever get into oil pastels so I waited until I got to the Jerry's store and bought a few individual colors that I thought I'd use.  I also got some acid-free foam board which I can rarely find around here and it's way too expensive to order.  I wish Jerry's was closer as it's sure nice to be able to get items like that locally but ----. 

Derwent had a booth at the show but didn't have any of the new pastel pencils with them.  I was disappointed but stuff like that happens!  lol

The highlight of the morning was getting to chat with Brenda Mattson.  I've wanted to take her pastel pet painting workshop at the trade show forever but it's never worked out so I could.  I had hoped she'd eventually put her workshop on dvd but it doesn't sound as if she's much interested in doing that.  She also didn't seem to be interested in publishing a book.  She said her workshop this time had 21 people in it and she didn't like to have more than 10 so she could give everyone individual attention.  That's why it would be so nice if she had a dvd or book showing her methods.  She's a really nice person and I'm glad I was in the right place at the right time to meet her. 

Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone.  I have at least one more portrait to do and am still waiting on the pictures on another but I still may take a little time out to play!  lol

CiCi Again - WIP In Pastel 2

Found a bit of time this afternoon to give CiCi's portrait a few strokes and it's taking shape but it will still be a while before it's finished.

Had some electronic issues so we took advantage of our state's "tax free weekend" last Friday, Saturday and Sunday to get some computer stuff we wanted and needed. 

I had asked some of you about your printers and I thank everyone who gave me input - it helped me decide on the one I felt would be best for us.  I know Teresa at least is curious, so I'll tell you that we got a Canon all-in-one as the price and quality was too good to pass up.  I had pretty much decided on a Canon but didn't want to go with their "professional" model as I don't do my own prints and really don't print a whole lot of anything except the few note cards I give as a "thank you" for those who order portraits and a few note cards that I stock in a local pet food store.  If I need a large amount of them, I have them printed as that's just more economical. 

Anyway, I had decided a regular photo printer would be best for us but no one had any in stock that had the resolution and quality that I'd wanted.  However, this all-in-one had the desired resolution and the test prints looked great (but don't they always!  lol) and it was on sale so I went ahead and bought it.  So far I'm very pleased with it.  I actually think the scanner does a better job than the stand-alone scanner I have.

We also ordered a laptop as they were also on sale.  I thought this would be the year that I could finally get a Mac but my husband insisted on a Dell.  I have a sister who is a die-hard Apple fan and she insists that once I use a Mac, I'll never buy a PC again.  I don't know about that - sometimes I wonder if all the hype about Macs is true or not.  I think PCs have taken great strides in quality in the past few years but I know in the past there were some really junky PC's with high prices out there.  I'm sure Mac users will jump all over me but anymore it seems that Macs would have to be gold-plated and never break down to be worth the price difference.  But, I've never used one so I probably shouldn't say that.

Oh, well, the new laptop is supposed to be here next week and I'm sure it will do very well for us.  I'll let you know how we like it.

And, I'll let you know as soon as I finish C's portrait!

This 'n That

I know I've promised to post the pastel pencil of the chihuahua that I did but I've been reluctant to do it. It's the first pet I've done in that medium and I really don't like it much. The client was very happy with it for which I'm very grateful, but I think that just reinforces my belief that most people see what they want to when it comes to their pets!

Anyway, I'll post it because I said I would.

copyright Jan Gibson

I'm still working on the apple still-life and just can't seem to get it finished. I'm not really in a slump but am in what I call a "restless heebie jeebie" state. Usually, I really want to paint and try to paint but flit from one thing to another without being able to finish anything! This sort of thing usually precedes a change in my life that's not necessarily art related. It's sort of the "storm before the calm" although I guess it might be more accurate to say it's build-up to a storm of change.

Nope, that's not right either because the changes aren't usually turbulent or in any way bad. Does anyone out there know what I mean? Do you experience such times in your life?

Anyway, I'm piddling along with the still-life and have made some progress. If I ever finish it, I'll post it, I promise, then I'll probably never do another pastel painting again! lol

Back Again!

Well here I am two days in a row. Really not a lot to write about today but I did want to keep up with this blog and I also wanted to apologize about the size of the pastel still life I posted yesterday. I would repost it but I think I'll wait until I have a bit more progress on it just so you won't be too terribly bored!

The commission of the little chihuahua is going well but a bit too slowly for me. Since I don't have the exact colors needed, it's a guessing game and trial and error picking the right colors in the right order. I think once I've done a couple more paintings with these pencils, I'll have a better feel for the color combinations and things will go a lot more quickly - it's all part of the learning curve. I was hoping to finish it by tomorrow but I have to go out and don't know if it will get finished until later on in the week. Watch this blog for the completed portrait!