Today's work . . .


And, don't forget to take a look at the two small works currently posted to ebay for bidding . . . links in the last couple of postings here for 'The Sage' and 'Gypsy Rose'.

Yesterday's work.

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'The Sage' is the next small work up for bidding on ebay.

Click here to place a bid.

SOLD

OK, it's back to the drawing board. And today, some might surmise given the aspect of the subject at hand . . . that I have become too focused lately on horse's patoots! Yes, I did have a substantial focus on that part of a horse's anatomy in the piece that I finished a couple of weeks ago, my Birds in Art entry for this year. I have now begun a new work with a pretty strong emphasis on the rear portion of a horse yet again. Far be it from me to read anything 'significant' into this interesting turn of events, butt (hmmm, pun intended here?) maybe it is simply a matter of 'practice makes perfect'? Or, maybe it is simply a matter of being in a 'horsey' mood right now? Whatever the reason, here are the beginnings of the latest work.


And yes, I am actually tackling the human figure for a change. We shall see how it all turns out in the . . . end!

Gypsy Rose is the next small work up for bidding on ebay.

Click here to place a bid.

SOLD
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The two works below, recently posted for bidding on ebay, had not sold. I am posting them here today and making them available at a flat $150.00 each to the first person to contact me. They are matted and ready to be framed. If you'd like more information on either work, drop me a note. These two works will be available directly from my studio for the next few weeks, before going into my galleries.

Here is the next piece up for bidding on ebay.

Click here to place a bid.

SOLD

Here is the next work up for bid on ebay.

Click here to place a bid.

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The current mini work up for bid on ebay.

Click here to bid.

I am most pleased to have been recently spotlighted in a series of vignettes in the March issue of The Artist's Magazine, zeroing in on those of us way over the age of consent! It's a nice little spread, featuring the diverse mediums of nine other artists from across the country; truly national coverage.

As noted in Grace Dobush's intro to the series, there seems to be an interesting 'theme' that 'recurs again and again' through the comments of each of the ten artists as we speak of our work and how we see things; that theme being the importance of 'being true to yourself' and having the courage to make art the way you want to make art.

I was not all together surprised when I read each of the brief articles, discovering that almost to a person, we all pretty much agreed that approaching our work as we wanted to approach it and not adhering to anyone else's rules or formats or ways of seeing, was a given. As I thought more about it, I came to the conclusion that this is sometimes a true result of age and experience.

I think, sometimes, younger artists tend to lean in the direction of their favorite, established artists, be they contemporary or historic. They find a particular technical approach or use of medium or style of painting to their liking; one that seems to meld with what they have been experimenting with. They study and often try to emulate what they like about another artist's work, certainly not a negative as we all build upon what has come before. I think also there can be a fear of having their viewpoint and work not accepted or understood and this, many times, can lead to simply taking the easier road, following an established pattern. We all need to make a living, after all!

But with time, age, experience, somehow artists tend to not only find their voice, but to embrace it and make it work . . . putting aside the fear that their work will be overlooked or that their particular way of 'seeing' will not be accepted, acknowledged or approved of. This does take courage and a lot of 'guts' to be true to yourself, especially in the world of creative endeavours. We want to please ourselves and at the same time, make art that might appeal to others. We want to make art that says something about who we are and the things that are important to us, while hoping that another will feel, equally, those desires and emotions.

This is the stuff that strengthens with age!

To those who have sent their congratulations already, my thanks. The issue is on newsstands now.
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Here is the next work up for bid on ebay.

Click here to bid.

SOLD

The Horse Whisperer

A few clean up touches and final strokes of the pencil this morning and this one is done - 'The Horse Whisperer' is 8" x 17".


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The current work up for bidding on ebay.
Click here to bid.

Getting down to the nitty gritty of things now . . . the final push, cleaning things up, tightening the details, making sure things move forward and back, intensifying shadows where shadows need intensifying, defining separations, and finally, putting in the background. This one could be finished up by this evening, if I get crackin' on it now! It's been fun playing with all these different textures; it's what gets my creative juices flowing.

Here is the next work up for bid on The Price is Right.

Oops, I mean on ebay!

Click here to place a bid.

Before I finally sit down to the drawing board today, let me post yesterday's bit of work . . . or as I call it . . . my 'coloring'! It's a lot of over layering in the dark shadow on the horse's neck, soft layers of ever softer graphite to build up the shadow but still to leave some highlights and modeling so the neck has dimension to it. I realize, after looking at this image, that a lot of that really does not show up as this is a rather dark shot. Oh well, it will all wash out in the end! And if you have not guessed as yet . . . this is going to be one of my Birds in Art entries for this year's jury in May. Yes, the bird is rather insignificant at the moment, but I think once the work is done and everything has melded together at last, I think little birdie will take on an importance all its own. And anyway, as I have ranted and raved and gone on and on and on about in the past, when working on a piece such as this for a very important jury, a bit of humor or surprise or unexpected intent, to my way of thinking, adds that bit of 'Hey, look at me', to help to catch a juror's eye. I guess that remains to be seen come mid May.



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The current work up for bidding on ebay.

Click here to bid.

Getting a late start to studio time today, but will post yesterday's work . . .


. . . and a reminder today to take a look at the page that was set up to help out friend, Lyn St. Clair as quite a few new works from some new artists have been added to the page. There are some terrific works available!

And my little marching penguins are still up on ebay for bidding till the end of this week; yesterday's post has a direct link.

As noted in yesteday's posting, spending some time on the rear portions of these horses. Here is yesterday's bit of work.


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The current work up for bidding on ebay.

Click here to bid.

Groundhog Bowl Day

Not a whole lot of work has gone on so far this weekend, but this new work is taking shape, slowly. Right now, what I am doing is building up the grey values on the rumps of the horses . . . darkening as I go to indicate the varying textures of their coats. I also have to be concerned about making certain that their rumps come forward in the composition, establishing the proper depth, so this slow process of building up their rear quarters will occupy the next few day's worth of work, along with adding details across the work to make sure that everything works together and does not wind up looking like 'cut outs' here and there and things that have been 'applied'. I find sometimes, when looking at the works of other artists who are just 'that close' to coming up with a bang up, 100% work, that this is where the missteps often occur . . . not making sure that all the bits and pieces and parts all look like they are joined together and not like a collage of various elements that have been stuck to the canvas or paper; just a personal observation.