Clementine emerging!

Here is my latest commission piece, a bloodhound named Clementine. She's a great girl, had a fun day photographing her for reference shots. I decided to put her in a spot in the garden that her owner tells me is verboten for her! I t is going to be interesting because in the spring when I took the pics she was in the process of shedding her winter coat but her owner wants her portrait to show her summer coat. She is an unusual bloodhound because her coloring is black and red. So a photo was sent later showing the actual brightness of her coat. She was a very personable dog and as I work on her I feel the cozy presence she exudes.

portrait of Mikayla

Mikayla is one of those lovely horse "crazy" girls. This portrait was done from several photos I took of her at the Field Days in Addison Count, Vt. Though this was not her horse she lavished the grooming and was totaly absorbed. The fairs bring out all the kids and animals for a week of total immersion in things agricultural. In this picture I experimented with using vertical strokes rather than the small, circular "strokes" I generally use. She was a good subject and turned out pretty well, I think

trolley rides

today we spent about 5 hours involved in giving horse drawn trolley rides at Bourdeau Brothers in Middlebury, Vt. We used Jake and Jerry, two five year olds we have been working for a year and a half. this year we were not the only ride providers as a pair of spotted minis were also hard at work! One rider asked me if I had been doing any paintings of Jake and Jerry and I realized that I haven't! Partly because I have had so many other projects and commissions but also because they are still quite dark grey, almost black. They will eventually turn white as they are percherons but right now they are still closer to black. Now if you work with colored pencils at all you realize how difficult it is to get a real, dense black. I usually start with a red, blue or purple wash depending on the light and overall tone of the horse. It is surprising how many colors there are in a black horse, or any animal. At first I had a lot of trouble because it would seem the paper was fully saturated before I reached what I was looking for. It takes a REALLY sharp pencil, and MANY layers to reach a vibrant black. I also learned to use a workable fixative just before the last one or two layers. I still keep experimenting, I can see progress, but I still think twice about doing black anything! One funny thing is how you have to pretend the horse is not "black" even though that is what it looks like and what the owner calls it. I look for all the reflections of color, shine, highlights, etc. As soon as I stop thinking "black" it suddenly starts to happen!

much running around yesterday picking up and delivering artwork to various places. that is the hardest thing for me to do, "sell" myself. one new place is the Horse and Rebel general store in Starksboro. this is a new and cute little store in connection with their kids program with equine activities. I also applied to the Colored Pencil Society of America yesterday, we'll see huh? one of the "problems" involved in a run around sale day is that I neither get to work on any art or work with the horses. I did get to take a long drive yesterday with Libby, my excuse being the delivery of wild blackberry jam to neighbors. she is probably about the best horse I have ever owned and perfect for me at this stage of my life. oh yeah, and I love her.

while I generally prefer to do horses or other agricultural animals, these handsome dogs were a commission to honor their lives. Their family loved them and wanted a portrait to remember them by. This was from a photo taken by the owners.

summer's projects

wow, sometimes I surprise myself at how time disappears when you have too many projects on tap! Between visiting grandchild, daughter, fresh-air child, 2 fairs, and a spousal health scare it's a wonder anything got completed this summer! BUT.. when I look back I realize that a LOT got accomplished! Third place for a painting at the CV Fair, 2 commissions finished, another started, several sales thanks to DeeDee's great web-site, and another commission begun. I may even get back to a portrait I started in Feb.! Also took copious pictures that will be the references for at least 2 more paintings. Yeah, I guess it was alright after all!