Soulful

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel

One of the things I've been doing lately that is really helping me, especially with these animal paintings: sneaking up on darks. Basically I am squinting at the dark areas so they kind of run together, and then roughing those areas in with a paint color that is not my darkest color, but also doesn't include any white. I usually do this with a mix of ultramarine blue, cadmium red, and cadmium yellow - which I can lean towards whatever color is there (for example, this guy had more red in the darks). I get the entire animal filled in with other colors before I add the darkest darks wherever they need to go.

Bring the Dog

 

Click Here to Bid - 8x8in. - Oil -  "Bring the Dog"

Here is another painting from my trip to Europe last month. This scene is one I photographed in Freiburg, Germany. They were pausing on the bank of a little "creek" running through town, with a lovely restaurant with outdoor seating on the other side. I think the little dog was just thinking about lunch.

I am now selling prints!

I'm starting with these five, popular paintings, and will add more soon. I did tons of research and found a gorgeous, heavy weight, matte paper, and bought a top of the line printer. The prints are fabulous! You can purchase them from the new prints page on my website. : )

Miss Fluffy

 

Click Here to Bid (5x5in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

I've never had a Golden myself, but I've met quite a few. And they are always super happy, very sweet dogs. So I have a soft spot.

Pepe

 

Click Here to Bid (3x5in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

True story: The other evening my husband and I were downstairs watching TV. We suddenly heard barking and realized our little dog, Meep, wasn't in the room. We searched around the house and finally found her up in my studio, barking at a wall. My husband saw that up on a shelf were several little dog and cat paintings that I had recently done, and Meep was barking at them. We laughed, but honestly I consider this the highest compliment!

Rapt

 

Click Here to Bid (4x4in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

The best way I can describe gouache to people is that it's like an opaque watercolor. Except that depending on the color, and how much water is mixed into it, the opacity varies, a lot. I tend to put down the lighter colors first, especially yellows. If I am using the same terminology I use with my oil, I would call this a "vulnerable" color, because if you don't get it down first, it's hard to get it down later after you've put down other stuff. I also started with the pinks you see on his tongue and mouth. Grays and darker colors will layer much more easily, so you have more leeway. But you also have to make sure you don't cover up all those nice colors you put down first.

A lot of people have asked if I could record a video of me using gouache. I think I finally feel comfortable enough with the medium that I could do it. Now it's just a matter of figuring out the setup for the camera. I'll start working on that soon. : )

Sad Eyes

 

Click Here to Bid (4x5in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

When humans feel love, our bodies produce the hormone oxytocin. When dogs see their "peeps," scientists have found that they are also flooded with oxytocin. So it makes sense that they'd be sad when we're gone. : (

Now What?

 

Click Here to Bid (4x5in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

Here's another little doggie gouache. I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and didn't eat too much. I always do, and I always mean not to. It hurts. But I sure enjoy it while the eating is happening.

Ready for Anything

 

sold. (4x4in. - GOUACHE on 24-ply illustration board - starts at $75)

I just covered one whole wall in my studio with "shelves" for propping up paintings. I used a simple L-shaped moulding from Home Depot (see close-up below), and screwed it into studs. I've wanted to do this for a while for larger work. I love that I can immediately put new work next to other work - it helps me to see if a painting has something fundamentally off about it, like it's too dark over-all or something like that.

I labeled a 6x6in. painting so you can see the size of that compared to the other stuff I've been working on. I think my dog approves of the wall. That's Meep, our 10 lb. Havanese, who will be one this Christmas. I will paint her at some point - when she's able to hold still long enough (in good light) for me to take pictures...

Forced to Wait

Click Here to Bid (6x6in.)

This is a scene from San Francisco, right near the big red bridge. These "creatures" were in line for hot dogs. I have a larger picture that I'd love to paint someday, but I haven't figured out the right crop for it yet.

I also wanted to show you a little painting I did the other day of our dog, Lucy (best dog in the world - painting NFS). I've been wanting to paint her for a while, but it's really hard to get a good photo of a fluffy white dog! Especially one who is very needy for attention. Any time I tried to photograph her she would stick her nose right in the camera. For this one she was sitting up on one of those porch swing things, and was afraid to jump off and get closer. She was looking straight at me though, so I snapped my fingers off to the side to get her attention away from me. Not so romantic now that you know the whole story, huh?! : )