Senior Retriever

And yet again, another mystery dog. I sometimes save photos of animals from Facebook when I see one with a cute expression and good lighting, then by the time I get around to painting it I forget whose they are. Oh well! This was a senior golden retriever. Something in its eyes was very puppy-like though.

    Sr. Golden Retriever (6x6)

Wonky Callie

I wasn't going to post this one but it's kind of growing on me! I wasn't even going to finish it but then I thought it'd be good practice for eyes and whiskers before painting over it. Now I think I'll keep it. I kind of dig the over-exposed, askew look of it.

Ellie

I haven't painted for a long time, so this is a little choppy- but Ellie was so fun to paint with her pretty ginger fur and happy expression. It felt great to paint again, I plan to make more time for it. Maybe I can put the "weekly" back in Weekly Painting Blog! :P

         Ellie 8x8 acrylic on gessobord

The Farm, from across the way

I love painting scenes from my grandma's farm. My mind goes to a different place and I'm totally 'in the moment'. It's a great feeling!

Here's the reference photo I used:

Is This Your Dog II

Another mystery dog I painted from a random Facebook photo, I forget whose. Is this your dog?

Driveway at The Farm

This painting is based on a beautiful photo my cousin Amy took of the driveway of the old family farm. It was an exercise in 'negative space' painting-- I started with a black canvas and then painted the sky and leaves around the tree trunks and branches, letting that define the shapes of the trunks/branches. Fun, fun!

Painting class!

I took a great painting class up at the Art Colony in Grand Marais this past week. It was Monday through Friday from 9-4, so we painted our tails off! It was a great group of people, and the weather was gorgeous. I am feeling totally recharged! 

Here are some of the little still lifes I painted. These are hard for me since I usually paint from photos. Drawing 3D from life instead of 2D from photos is something I need to work on. 

Pine cone 

Apple

Lime

Folding chair