Enjoyable Gallery Show!
I had a very enjoyable show in Blanco, Texas during the Lavender festival. I even finished a painting during the show. Many people stopped by to see the progression of my dog painting that I did.
This show is up through July.
This is a painting of my dog Lumpy. We named him that because he was such a lump at birth. He was the biggest of the litter and just seemed content to just sit around. He is a 6 years old Pyrenees. This breed of dog is so loving and laid back. We have 4 dogs now. Two of them, Ozzy and Lumpy, protect our yard and the other two, Lily and Angel, that protect our livestock.
It is amazes me how the livestock dogs work together. One of them may go out with the sheep while the other will go out with the goats. If Angel comes up to the house with the goats earlier than Lily then she will bark to call Lily to bring the sheep. What an amazing duo! I hope to paint them sometime soon.
Painting of Harry (281)
This fuzzy guy is 281. He was found on Hwy 281, hence his name. He was bottle raised by a friend, moved in next door, and came to us 3 years ago. I have recently found 281 a new home and they renamed him HARRY or is it HAIRY? They are planning on spinning his coat and making fun things with it. He is a very sweet Angora/Cashmere Goat. Such a character, we do miss him!
My new Paintings!
I am diligently painting for a show that will take place during the Lavender fest in Blanco, Texas.
Come and join me at the Uptown Blanco Art Center on June 10-12. My daughter will also be showing her ceramic animal whistles and rattles. Everything will be for sale.
http://uptownblanco.com/art_center.html
Here is a little preview of the things I have been painting:
Painting With A Palette Knife
Here is a photo of our cat Callie. She is the subject for my next painting. I will show you the process that I go through to get a completed palette knife painting. This painting is a 20 x 20 inch square. It took me about 4 hours to complete. I have to work quickly in order to get anything done. I like to be able and finish what I have started in one afternoon. I have a difficult time coming back to something. There is always something unexpected that comes up and I wouldn’t know when I would be able to return to my painting, let alone have the inspiration to finish it.
Now that I have put on the base coat for the ground I will work on the trees and the sky. I make sure that I add color to the sides of the painting also. The brush strokes can go any direction. They will be covered once I start to add the paint with a palette knife. The base coat just helps to cover areas that I may miss while I am painting with the knife.
Now she has a face. There is still a lot of detailing to add. I am careful with where I add color at this point because the paint is very thick. Especially if I want to add a lighter tone. This is why I don’t put color on the canvas where there may be white. If I put too much of a color I don’t want I will just scrape it off with the palette knife and start over on that section.
Finally have time to Blog!
I have been busy with teaching and have not had the time to blog, but I want to start being more proactive about it and get some information out there! I am proud of all my students. They have done exceptionally well this semester. I have also enjoyed teaching them.
So…now that I have more time to blog and paint I will be posting more things. I have a show in June during the Blanco Lavender Fest in Blanco, Texas. This show will be at the Blanco Art Center Downtown. http://uptownblanco.com/art_center.html My daughter and I will also be teaching classes there this summer if anyone is interested.
I spent most of the day yesterday just organizing and deciding what images would look good on what canvases. I am looking forward to turning the white canvases into colorful renditions of my farm friends and nature.
Because I have just started the process. I will post and a few past paintings of my farm friends. In my next post I will go through the process of how I get an image from a photograph onto the canvas.
This is a painting of my little white Dorper sheep Rudolf. We got him around Christmas time. He was an orphaned lamb. I tend to be the go to mama for orphaned animals. He has since grown and is now living happily with his herd of ewes at Fat Bottom Farm in Gause, Texas. http://www.fatbottomfarm.com/ They make goat milk products and raise several different farm friends. They were also on Discovery channel’s television show Dirty Jobs by Mike Rowe. http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/dirty-jobs/
Here is the link to Fat Bottom Farm’s fun story on their 15 minutes of fame! http://www.fatbottomfarm.com/Dirty-jobs.html
This is Rosie. She was one of our better milkers. I really enjoy my Nubian goats. They have such wonderful personalities. Rosie was one of the first goats that we acquired. I did not want goats! My impression was that goats are pushy animals, annoying and a big responsibility! Well they are all that and more, but they are well worth the headache. They are so sweet and fun that they negate all the bad qualities that I initially thought they had. Just ask anyone with a milk goat. They will say they have a love hate relationship with them, with more on the love than hate.
There will be more paintings of these types of goats in the future. I just love their long dangly ears!
Spring Break
Artisanal Life
I love organic foods. My family makes many things from scratch. It may not be the easiest way but it is the most delicious way. I love the way a fresh cut vegetable taste from my own garden. Also the gratification of making cheese from the milk of an animal that I have raised. I like to see the excitement in my children’s eyes when I turn on the mixer to make a special homemade treat.