Movin' Mutton

"Movin' Mutton"

12" x 24" oil on gessoed masonite

I'm back to the easel today after over 2 weeks of summer break.  I spent some time with my oldest grand-daughter and did some canning/freezing of produce out of the garden.  This painting was loose and juicy and fun!  A photographer friend, Kathy Simmons, allowed me to use some shots of this border collie competing in a herding dog event.  He looks like he is looking at his trainer awaiting  instructions on where to put these sheep.  We were the lucky owners of a chocolate border collie named Sadie, who was "sheepless"....so she tried to herd our cats!
This painting will be in the Meeker Classic Sheepdog art auction in September in Colorado.

Dinah & Charley

"Dinah & Charley"

8" x 8" x 1.5" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

This is a sweet little painting that I did as a gift for my artist friend, Linda Brightwell Tucker, who has been a great help to me.  She is a member of McIntosh Art Association in Darien, where my show is presently hanging. Linda has the member's Spotlight Show called 'Potpourri' in another room within the gallery that will hang through the end of this month.  We used to paint together weekly for almost two years before she moved to Darien, which is sadly four hours from my house now.  She has been extremely generous with her time and effort in helping move my artwork around in the Darien gallery and the Glynn Art Gallery on St. Simons Island.  Thank you, Linda!

Last Cast of the Day

"Last Cast of the Day"

20" x 28" acrylic on gessoed masonite

There was so much about this reference picture of Cheri Robbins' that appealed to me... the colors, the diagonal action, the unposed vigor of the man fishing and talking.  I cropped it down from a larger picture to zero in on these aspects and felt like I knew him by the time the painting was finished.  Thanks, Cheri, for sending in the reference and contributing to the show!

Golden Girls

"Golden Girls"

18.5" x 23.5" oil on birch veneer

I'm afraid the photo of this one just does not do it justice.  The underlying paint is gold and silver metallic acrylic with a bit of white, then the oil sketch was done on top of that. The painting is reflective according to the light source, hence the difficulty in photographing it.

The reference photo was a sepia tone.  I wanted to keep the flavor of the time period intact, but make it something special. My thought was that this was a golden era that our fast, high-tech world has left behind.  That's what gave me the idea of the gold background.  I was very pleased with the results.  

This painting is another of the ones created for the Darien show from member photos... this one coming from Judy Dodd, who is also an artist.

Beach Ride

"Beach Ride"

8" x 8" x 1.5" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

The photo reference of this boy was sent in from Cheri Robbins, an artist and a member of the McIntosh Art Association.  I'm sure it was taken at nearby Jekyll Island State Park because I recognized the shoreline and background near the pier from several other photos.  This painting, along with 40 others, are in a summer-long show and sale at Darien's Old Jail Art Center & Museum through September.