Apso Repose in progress

These are photos of the first three steps of a painting I am currently working on (July, 2011). Working title is “Apso Repose”. My idea comes from a desire to convey the ability of dogs to totally relax, let it all go, enjoy the moment, and luxuriate in something forbidden…master’s bed. My broader concept is to convey the dignity and worth of dogs as created beings deserving of respect and love.

When attempting a painting, especially one of animals in which I am dependent on photos, for the most part, my first step is usually to take hundreds of photos.

I glean those down to several potential ideas, and crop, cut and paste, size, and Photoshop them into a more workable format. It is rare to take a photo that ends up being exactly what I’m looking for all in itself, but it does happen.

Next, I grid the photo and a piece of drawing paper the exact size as the painting I intend to do. I draw the idea to near completion using either graphite or charcoal. (First picture, done in charcoal.) After preparing a support, either canvas or board, I transfer the basics of the drawing onto the support. Detail is unimportant, but placement is, especially as regards facial features. Just a general outline is all I need.

Next, I execute an under painting (second picture) in the same values as the drawing. Sometimes I use only one or two pigments, other times I use several colors, but always concentrate only on basic values.

This is a 16 x 20 board which was prepared with several coats of gesso and stained with yellow ochre. The underpainting was done with yellow ochre, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue, and white. These constitute three primaries, and give a range of values from very light to very dark, close to black.

The under painting is done very thinly, with much of the stain still showing through. When it is dry, the actual painting begins.

After the under painting dries, I begin the work of actually executing the painting, usually in several statements over a period of a week or two. The third picture shows the 1st statement of this painting. I added the colors quinacridone red, cadmium yellow and transparent red ochre to the original colors I chose for the under painting for my palette. The colors are mostly "flat", without much modeling, and more saturated, or bright than they will end up being in the final painting.

I'll let this dry and then continue on with another layer of paint, concentrating on the bedding and more detail on the dog. I've put in the dark background, and it may, or may not, get another coat of paint.

Hopefully, the next picture I post will be of the finished painting!

Easter Blessings

The following prayer is thought by noted Biblical Scholars to have been written by Simon Peter, one of Jesus' apostles, sometime during the time following Jesus' ministry on Earth. Regardless of its origins, it is stunningly beautiful and very appropriate for Holy Week and Easter:

Nishmat Kol Chai Prayer: Breath of All Life Prayer: Breath (Nishmat) Comes from Soul (Neshama)

The soul of every living being shall bless Your Name, YHVH our God, the spirit of all flesh shall always glorify and exalt Your remembrance, our King. From this world to the World to Come, You are God, and other than You we have no king, redeemer, or Messiah. He who liberates, rescues and sustains, answers and is merciful in every time of distress and anguish, we have no king, helper or supporter but You!

God of the first and the last, God of all creatures, Master of all Generations, Who is extolled through a multitude of praises, Who guides His world with kindness and His creatures with mercy. YHVH is truth; He neither slumbers nor sleeps. He Who rouses the sleepers and awakens the slumberers. Who raises the dead and heals the sick, causes the blind to see and straightens the bent. Who makes the mute speak and reveals what is hidden. To You alone we give thanks!

Wishing everyone a Blessed Easter!

Zeus

This big, handsome fellow was a delight to photograph and paint. What a sweetie! It's pretty obvious that he has a huge heart, and it's all devoted to his forever person, Lisa. Zeus had heart surgery when he was just a pup, and Lisa has been there for him every step of the way. From the stories Lisa has told me about Zeus, he's been there for her, too, like a true blue, big-hearted, totally devoted best friend should!
This painting was a gift to Lisa for her birthday, from the other man in her life, Ed.



Zeus
Oil on linen board, unframed
9 x 12
By commission: $265
Contact me if you'd like a painting of your best friend!

Bluebirds #2 and #3

Just finished these two bluebirds from the same series. They are three different bluebirds, all males, who showed up at the bluebird box late this winter. Ken got several more great shots of both males and females checking out the box. I'm planning on a 16 x 20 and perhaps another, smaller one, with numerous bluebirds.

Just a few days ago, I noticed a pair of Westerns beginning to build a nest in the box. Might be a pair of the bluebirds who came this winter?

These three paintings will be framed in a simple ash set-in frame and will go to a gallery later on this spring. If you're interested, please contact me ASAP.

Bluebirds #1, #2 and #3
Oil on board, framed
Contact me if interested.

Bluebird in Sunlight

I have loved bluebirds since we first moved out to the country, and built a bluebird box. Very soon after, a mated pair of Mountain Bluebirds, which are solid blue with no rusty red on their chests, like the Western Bluebirds have, occupied the box, built a nest and layed three beautiful blue eggs. They raised those babies and many others over the seasons, until one tragic day when I found Mr. Bluebird laying, dead, wings spread, on a rail of the fence near the nest box. We buried him in a silk handkerchief under the box, and never saw Mrs. Bluebird again.

On the property where we live now, we have bluebirds nesting every year, and on several occasions we have been present and witness to the first flights of the daring and exhorbitantly brave little baby bluebirds.

During the winter, flocks of Western Bluebirds often visit our property, looking for water and winter food. We try and accomodate them according to their needs. My husband got some incredible shots of a small flock of Westerns taking stock of one of the bluebird boxes recently.

I'm planning a series of paintings based on these photos, which all captured in stop-action photography, the amazing aerial expertise that Bluebirds possess. Here's the first one.

Bluebird No. 1

8" x 10"

Oil on board

Framed $240.00

Unframed $195.00

Ruffled Feathers

This young male Great Horned Owl paid a visit to our hen house last November. He helped himself to an old, weak hen, but not before our rooster challenged him to a dual. It must have been quite the fight, because the rooster kept him cornered in the hen house until we came to tend them the next morning.
Turns out, the owl couldn't fly because he had lost two or three of his long flight feathers. He ended up with Wildlife Rescue and will be boarding with them until he molts and grows in some new feathers. You wouldn't think losing a couple of feathers would be considered a devastating injury, but to a predatory bird dependant on flying to make a living, it's considered a fatal injury. We hope to see him again sometime this year, and equally hope that he's lost his taste for chicken in the box!
11" x 14" oil on board

Eclipse Owl

On the night of December 20/21, the night of the full lunar eclipse, Hunter made a rukus outside about 10 PM.
His urgent barking told us something, or someone, was too close to his yard for his liking, so we grabbed the flashlight and went out to investigate.
The sky was overcast with a thick layer of clouds, but the full moon cast her light with enough illumination to make out objects. Hunter kept jumping up on the coyote fence, just under the cottonwood tree. I looked up, and a large, dark object on the top of the tree caught my eye. The object moved, and the form of an owl appeared. She was comfortably perched on the very top branches of the tree. The full moon shown just behind her, it's full light softened by the thick clouds. We put the little dogs back in the house, and Ken got the camera. This was the first shot he took of her,
without flash. It's basically the view we had of her, a little out of focus, because there was just not enough light.




This shot was taken with the flash, and a zoom lense, it grabs all the detail in that instant. The flash and all our fuss didn't seem to faze her; she stayed put and watched us from her high perch.
Don't know how long she stayed. We finally went back inside and went to bed. Got up, later, about 1:30 AM to try and see the eclipse. She was gone, then, and the sky was too cloudy to make out any more than the darkened moon.


This is the third owl that has visited our place, the third we've seen and been able to take photos of, anyway. I have a feeling that she might be the mother of the young male owl that paid a visit to our chicken coop around Thanksgiving. She was a mature female Great Horned Owl, about 24" tall, and while they weigh only about 4 lbs (which is why she can so easily perch herself on those new growth branches at the very top of a 25 foot tall tree), they have a five foot wingspan and can hunt, kill and carry off prey weighing up to 15 lbs, which is why I am constantly on the alert and concerned for my littlest dog, who weighs only 11 lbs. From high perches, they dive down with wings folded, silently snatching their prey. Prey is usually killed instantly with their large, fierce talons. They also hunt by walking on the ground to capture small prey, even walking boldly into chicken coops, like the young male owl did in our chicken coop and another owl did earlier. Their prey list is almost endless: virtually anything they can kill, mammal, bird or reptile, even insects and road kill. Their only natural enemy, besides Man, is other Great Horned Owls. That explains why they show absolutely no fear in our presence. They are at the top of the food chain in most areas. They range throughout North America from the northern treeline, south to Central and South America from dense forests, deserts and plains to city parks. More and more, they have begun inhabiting cities and suburbs, preying on cats and small dogs. Do you have an owl in your backyard?


For those curious about the fate of the young male owl we rescued after he was injured while raiding our hen house, he is doing just fine. During his altercation with our rooster, he apparently lost several of his long flight feathers, which made it impossible for him to fly. He would have died, probably at the beaks of the ravens, had we not rescued him, but surely from starvation. Once he has molted and re-grown his flights, he will be released back into his native habitat. In the meantime, he's well cared for in a large flight with two other rescued owls, dining on mice and other species-appropriate meals.