The Sentinel

Zoey, the Sentinel       6x8

    I don't consider myself an animal or portrait artist.  I think those two subjects require a concentration of very specific skills, in order to do justice to such "personal" subjects.  I love to add animals and people in my paintings when a particular likeness is not that important.

     This painting of Zoey was done as a thank you to the couple who extended their hospitality to me when I was participating in the Augusta Plein Air Event in April.  I could tell  Zoey was a very important part of their lives, so I took some snapshots of her "standing guard" in front of their home.  I noticed that Zoey had an unusual way of sitting with her hind leg pointing outward.  I caught shot of her with the sunlight dappling the driveway and her sitting with this special position.  When I returned to KC, I decided to attempt a small painting of Zoey to send to the Hoefts as a special thank you.  I enjoyed painting this subject so much, I may attempt some other four-legged subjects.

Oil and Water

"Falling Waters"  11x14  

        For many years, I worked exclusively in watercolor.  One of the things I loved about watercolor was the sense of realism I could achieve with a transparent medium when suggesting water in a painting.  In recent years I have changed my primary medium to oil paint.  I started to paint outdoors  and I found watercolor was too difficult to manage in an outdoor setting.  The paper dried too fast and handling the larger paper that I liked to use with watercolor was cumbersome.  

        One of my new challenges with an oil painting, is suggesting the transparency of water with an opaque medium like oil paint.  In June, I found this waterfall at the arboretum so I decided to try the running waters with my oil paints.  I had difficulty with the foamy areas especially in attempting to create a focal point near the  top.  I ended up letting the lower areas dry and placing a blue grey glaze over the frothy water so that the focal point  near the top of the falls, would stand out.

       I am going to attend the Door County Plein Air Festival again this year.  I am going to set a goal to learn more about painting water with oils.  I will watch the invited artists paint water on their canvases and I will focus my own work on water scenes.  I will post my results when I return and I will let you be the judge as to whether or not I have improved.

       

     One other item:  Several people have  replied to some of my posts asking about prices of the work on my blog.  When I set up this blog, I decided I wanted to use it primarily for sharing and getting feedback on my work, so I do not post prices on my blog.  I do have a "Blog Paintings" button on my website and I have prices posted there.  I have sold paintings that I have posted on my blog, so I am very happy for the response I have received. If you wish to get to my website, you can use the link on the bottom of this post to go to my blog.  There is a link to my website on the right side of my blog.