Beau in the Pasture

What a beautiful evening after such a hot and muggy day!  On days like this it pays to get out early and late for gardening and painting!  My trusty companion stayed ahead of me long enough this time to get painted in!  Haha!  Perhaps I'll start painting him in more often - he's always hanging around patrolling the grounds!  Ink and watercolor on handmade cotton paper here - and I don't remember what ink I loaded in this pen, but it is warm and reddish - a good compliment to the green of the scene.  Painting number 2736 in 2736 days.

Getting Acquainted

This sweet lab is such an affectionate boy!  He thinks he's a lap dog, but at 110 pounds, he can absolutely squish me!  My painting companion in the field, he is always very near.  Whether I am gardening or painting, he sticks to me like glue.  Very accident prone, he has lived through some harrowing experiences!  Like a cat - he certainly must have 9 lives!  Painting number 2643 in 2643 days.  This painting is now showing at the Buttonwood Art Space - though I'm pretty sure it is closed due to the "stay at home" order. Stay safe and healthy out there, my friends!

Beau in Copper!

I LOVE experimenting with all things art!  There is something very satisfying in working metal from both sides to achieve the desired results.  The more I work the masses, the more pliable the metal becomes, and the more definition I can achieve.  This metal working is so new to me that I am still trying exploring the methods and tools.  Almost anything can be used to push that metal, a dull pencil, rounded brush handles, even plastic sculpting tools - nothing too sharp or that metal will pierce!  This "little" darling is our Beau, who is forever bringing treasures in from the pasture.  His latest gift?  A young opossum - playing opossum on the front porch!  I had to make him drop it before coming inside!  Painting number 2464 in 2464 days.

Pink Gladiolus - journal

I am experimenting in this new journal tonight.  The paper is handmade cotton rag from India, and the texture velvety and rather thin - I only work on one side.  Until now, I've only used my fountain pen and water brushpen in this. Today, I long to add color to the blooms, so I'm trying my watercolors with my brushpen.  The texture is not strong like watercolor paper, so I have to go easy on the water.  My brushpen is a little to abrasive too, and I have to be very careful.  My real brush would be better.  Once I got the color down, I took my Pitt pen and added some line work.  It is also the first time I've used that pen on the paper, and the super fine worked well. When it came to taking a photo on location, Beau jumped right in, knocking down one of those blooms in the process!  Another day, another plein air adventure!  Painting number 1639 in 1639 days.

Beau in Ink

Beau in Ink
Pen and Ink on paper, 5x6
purchase here

Just when I think the days can't be busier - they become full to the point of bursting!  This day started long before dawn, and I am just now getting home to get my drawing and posting done - and it is nearly midnight!  Yikes!! Oh, how I wish I had more hours in each day!  I think I would certainly use a couple of those hours to get a little more sleep!  Beau is improving each day - and he is actually eating well tonight, for the first time in three days! Yay!  His medicine comes in a yummy chewy square that he thinks is a treat - and that is SO much better than the old days when I had to hide a pill inside of meat or cheese!  It has been a very long time since we had any animal sick enough to need medical treatment.  I have returned to the pen and ink (Pitt pens, in this case), and am drawing on a smooth paper - which I do not use for any other medium.  I much prefer a vellum finish on bristol for all graphite work, and had not found a good use for this smooth bristol until exploring pen and ink.  This drawing is 1110 in 1110 days and Day 17 of the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Exploring the Kitten

Exploring the Kitten
Pen and sepia ink, 6x5

I spent much of the day caring for this little lab - who is now hovering 100 lbs.  He became very lethargic to the point of alarm, so we ended up spending a lot of time at the vet.  Blood work points to an infection, and he had a very high fever, but all the really bad stuff has been ruled out. He is not quite 2 years old, and was healthy and vigorous just last night!  After getting fluids, shots and meds, he came home, acting better than he had all day.  He has now been asleep since that time, and has hardly moved.  I hope he improves greatly by morning.  So, tonight I am sketching Beau with a little sepia pen and ink on paper.  This drawing is the 1108th in 1108 days, and Day 15 of the current 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Licking her Chops

Licking her Chops
Oil on panel, 10x8

This is our new little addition.  The family picked her out last week and she is a red lab.  We brought her home last night.  The last day of finals for my daughter was today, and this little darling made so much noise all night - that I found my daughter sleeping downstairs -  having vacated her room!  Puppy is sweet as can be - yet unnamed, and at only 6 weeks old - she is gigantic!  Since I have been her babysitter most of the day - she is my painting subject tonight!  I'm back to my primed panels - and after laying in all the lights on her, I then went in with the darks (which were minimal).  I've got family coming by in minutes - so this makes painting number 438 in as many days :)

Faithful Friend

Faithful Friend
Oil on canvas, 10x8

What pet is more faithful than a dog?  Belle was such a wonderful, patient, cheerful presence ever by our sides.  She would always put herself between any of us and the neighbor dogs, constantly our protector.  She did the same for our cats - in fact, they all slept together in a ball of tangled legs, heads and tails!  Many times, she let the babies climb on her, patiently putting up with their antics.  I never saw her growl or bare her teeth, though she would "murmur" a warning to other dogs getting too wild in our vicinity.  This is the first time I have painted a pet no longer with us, and it is a hard thing indeed.  Painting number 383 in as many days and Day 18 in the 30 day painting challenge.