Old Friends

A friend gave me a "treasure map" of the Sault Area of things to be checked out. I loved it and visited every spot but one which was inaccessible because of water over the road and the fact that I drive an Aveo. One of these spots to visit was a gorgeous condemned house. I spent quite a bit of time exploring around it but one of the things that really caught my attention was the old gnarled apple trees out front.  Like two old friends who remained after the family had gone.

Happiness Is...

    Sometimes, I've found, the life of an artist isn't as romantic as you first believe it will be. Much of your life is solitary, sitting at your table, working on your latest project. Its lonely and most of the time you feel as if you're spinning your wheels. While working on your latest series you sit back and cry "What am I doing?!? Why would anyone buy this? This is pointless!" And it's not until you spend time with others of your trade that you find that at some point we've all felt the same way. The trick is to get through the tough times and find things in life that make you happy. For me, this is interaction with humans, exploration and adventure. I'm am NOT a solitary creature and I HATE being bored. As independent as I thought I was....I still need conversation, joking and friendship.
      I had a lovely chat with a veterinarian yesterday. I was dropping off posters to promote my pet commissions and she asked me about it. It was FANTASTIC. The sharing of ideas, compliments, hearing another human say something......I CRAVE IT. I need more of it. The problem is....I have trouble coming up with things to say. How exactly do you start a conversation with a stranger? I envy the people that can do this! What is the secret???

Watching The Storm Roll In

Today was a cold, rainy crappy day. I guess at least it wasn't snow! (knock on wood) So I felt like painting a rainy painting. The photo didn't turn out quite right but as its overcast outside and I live in the world's darkest apartment  there wasn't much light to work with. The setting for this is the beach at Wilderness State Park outside Mackinaw City MI. The bench and the people are from my imagination but I felt they made the painting a little happier. I love going down to the lake and watching the storms come across. The stillness before the storm.

Cherry Orchard

This is one of the final paintings I had left to do for my "Walk In The Woods" show at the City Opera House in Traverse City this June. I thought it fitting as Cherries are a huge product of Traverse City hence "The Cherry Festival" every summer. Literally millions of people flock to the area for this event to enjoy all manner of cherry products.You'll find cherry pies, jam, tarts, syrup, candy, and yes CHERRIES. Several live bands take the stage, theres a HUGE arts festival and a wine tasting on the gallery strip. I love to go people watching and quite a few interesting characters attend.

Throw The Ball!

When I do commission work I often work from photographs. We discuss what the client is looking for and I draw a quick sketch to show them how I interpret what they are asking for. This is an example of one of those sketches. A client asked me to draw their old dog Damask, who was a Red Tick Hound. Damask used to love to play in the backyard and have her red ball thrown for her to fetch. They asked that I draw her waiting for the ball to be thrown, at complete attention. This is what I came up with. 

We discussed the picture and they made a few suggestions and pointed out things they would like changed. So now when I paint the final picture, I have this AND the photos AND their advice to work from. It really makes the whole process a lot easier. 

Sadie

This is the second pet commission I have completed. Her name is Sadie and she's a wonderful little dog. So full of life and very attentive. I spent an hour or so with her and her owners learning a little about her and her personality before I painted her. I felt perhaps this would evoke an emotion in me and that it would carry through into my painting. While we were out on our walk, I snapped a couple pictures of Sadie to use as a reference.

Oasis

I've recently broken into a new market: Pet Portrait Commissions. It was suggested to me a while back but I didn't feel as if I could draw animals very well. So as an experiment and maybe to prove something to myself, I took this commission when it was offered to me and I'm quite pleased with it.
If you're interested in commissioning a work (be it home, special event or pet portrait) check out the new edition of my blog titled "Commissions." I'd love to hear from you!
HAPPY PAINTING!

Flying High

June 24th-26th. Howell Michigan. Hot Air Balloon Festival. That's where you'll find me. 

I'm looking forward to it like a kid waits for Christmas. I LOVE hot air balloon festivals. The colors, the sounds, the sights....its magical. 

Cows On 7 Mile

I went out Plein Air painting today because the sun and warm temperatures were calling my name. It was fantastic. I drove a little ways out into the country and was intrigued by a field of wallowing cows. So I stopped and painted their picture. I believe they were impressed, however, I am not fluent in cow.
This is my second time out painting En Plein Air and I have discovered a few things.
1.) I need to find something else to keep my water in so that it doesn't spill.
2.) Something besides a piece of cardboard is needed to paint on. Perhaps a BRAND NEW EASEL????
3.) I need to remember to SLOW DOWN. I have all the time in the world...why rush? Its a beautiful day and I don't need to be anywhere. The quicker I work, the sloppier it is.
Oh well....you learn with practice.