Glamping

Glamping. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

This mourning dove appeared inside my festival tent at a midwestern show several years ago. It had clearly spent the night there. When I unzipped the tent in the morning, this guy (or gal) startled the hell out of me by flapping wildly, flying around until it landed atop one of my display walls. Once it calmed down, I managed to get a few so-so photos before shooing it out.

At the time, I was showing botanical pastel paintings and felt lucky for once that I had to frame my work behind glass. It made cleanup a bit easier.

This was the first time I recall having seen one of these birds, but afterward, I noticed them everywhere. There is a pair that lives a block from my house that I've seen for years now. I love their soft, pinkish coloration (enhanced a bit here for the sake of the painting).

Kyra

Kyra. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

Kyra is my first-ever pet portrait commission, and possibly my first painting of a dog. She is a lab-pit bull mix. I never got to meet her. This portrait is a memorial for an obviously sweet and well-loved girl.

Her people posted a photo of the painting next to a container of her ashes, which affected me quite a bit. I have a similar display on my dining room hutch. Mine includes a 6" x 6" oil portrait my friend Kate (Vita) Vander Wende did of my husband Paul and a pepper shaker filled with his ashes.

I hope the portrait of Kyra brings some comfort.

Splendour

Splendour. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

This photo of Mocha has been calling to me for a while, but somehow kept getting put off. Either I had just painted a cat, I had a commission to do, or someone had requested goats. Anyway, yesterday was the day. It was a fun painting to make, save for the self-inflicted stress of recording it in time lapse. The time-lapse process is oddly addictive. My heart races when I start the painting, all self-conscious and trying to be aware of where I'm standing. Maybe that rush has something to do with the addictiveness, but it's mostly the opportunity to watch the process from afar. The speed of the playback takes away the insecurity and mistakes and frustrations, making the progression seem almost magical. (See the video here.)

The title refers primarily to the magnificence and placement of my dorky cat. However, some research into the origin and of the Wordsworth's phrase "splendour in the grass" revealed unexpected appropriateness. Long story short, it's about finding beauty and meaning in ordinary things when we might otherwise be bitter and grieving. Pretty fitting and inspirational, but for now I'm going to have to settle for a bit of both.

Blue

Blue. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

Blue the Goat lives at River's Wish Animal Sanctuary with Precious, the sheep. Although he seems to have the run of the place generally, I found them hiding from the rain in the same shelter the day of my most recent visit. He was every bit as happy to pose for me as Precious, just a lot more squirmy and challenging to photograph.

His underbite gives him a sort of goofy, permanent smile. Hopefully, I captured the most dignified version of that possible.

Oliver Noir

Oliver Noir. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

Oliver the tabby makes a much more engaging painting subject than one might expect. He is a garden variety grey-brown tabby with a lopsided white mustache (see above). However, he has a few qualities that make him a blast to tackle in a quick oil study: his dramatically slanted eyes that never look the same color twice, and his natural aptitude for striking a pose.

He even has a knack for picking a good background (or lack thereof).

Another thing that added to the excitement of making this painting was the time lapse capture going on slightly behind the easel. No pressure there at all! Time lapse painting videos have always been a personal favorite, so inevitably I started making them. It has an interesting side effect of fresher paintings. This is probably due to either feeling rushed, or just wanting to get done so I can look at the video. So far it's a good thing.

Here's a look at Oliver Noir in process:

Precious

The Beauty. Oil on panel, 6' X 6". ©2019.

Never has there been a greater love affair between camera and sheep than the one I witnessed last week at River's Wish Animal Sanctuary. This beauty could not get enough of posing for me.

She was hanging out just at the edge of a shelter, avoiding the rain while catching perfect light on her pale green eyes. Although the sheep was pure white save a few spots on her face, the depth of color occurring in the shadows of its glorious mane was fun to catch and exaggerate.

This is no doubt only the first in a series on Precious the sheep. I mean, just look at that face!

It's amazing she is so friendly, considering her history. When Precious was a baby she was brutally attacked by a so-called human, and her leg was broken. After her rescue, she lived in a shelter in Montana. When the owner of that sanctuary died in 2014, Precious found her forever home at River's Wish.

Redbeard

Redbeard. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

Last week I got the opportunity to spend a few hours taking photos at River's Wish Animal Sanctuary, one of my favorite places! Hundreds of rescued animals make River's Wish their home, including but not limited to: horses, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, ducks, geese, cats, dogs, rabbits, donkeys, miniature horses, miniature donkeys, and of course, chickens.

This girl was a stunner, all black except for a bunch of deep maroon feathers below her chin. I don't think I've ever seen feathers that color before, almost identical to that funky purplish-red color some women dye their hair.

She was a good model, although, like many of the lucky souls at the sanctuary, she was almost too friendly! My biggest struggle photographing that day was getting far enough away from the curious creatures to focus. Everybody settled down eventually, though, so many more River's Wish residents will appear here soon.

Wildling

Wildling. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

This young gentleman appeared one day in the yard of the studio. He was maybe five or six months old and very friendly. He let me pick him up, which was how I got him to be still enough for me to take his photo. I love how he looks like a wild baby panther.

I had never seen him before, and have not seen him since. I hope he's doing all right out in the world.

The Ginger

The Ginger. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". 2019.

I think these red pigeons are the most beautiful things. I've only seen four of them that I can recall. The first two were a few years ago at Alki beach in Seattle. I couldn't get close enough to photograph them, and upon trying to google them later, found very little information on them.

This Portland city pigeon was far less shy. It and another red-headed friend were mucking about doing pigeon things with the usual flock (or flight or kit) of standard grey pigeons.

My photo still came out a bit blurry (not a wildlife photographer!), and I was a bit concerned about the harsh shadows on the concrete in the background. All those things combined to make an interesting challenge, however, and a painting I genuinely like.

Nasty Woman

Nasty Woman. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

Lily the Studio Cat is a very sweet girl when she's not an absolute raging bitch. She's one of those psycho kitties that can't get enough snuggles and attention until she randomly decides to hiss and claw you.

Last week when I brought a gentle, cat-friendly dog by the studio, Lily invented a move I like to call the Flying Halloween Sixteen Claw Ricochet. She somehow, while holding that classic arched-back Halloween-kitty pose, managed to fly at the dog, claws bared, and make contact with all four feet before bouncing off and tearing across the porch.

Anyway, I'm quite happy with this painting because it says all there is to say about Lily's personality.

Oliver

Oliver. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

Oliver very much wanted outside yesterday, which gave me an excellent opportunity to photograph him in dramatic light. He sat in the dark entryway looking out the all-glass storm door, very intent and still. I love the way the sun caught his eyes and ear, and how his whiskers contrasted with the dark wall behind him.

This is my first-ever painting of Oliver, and my first time using an app that grids off photos on the iPad. The grid made the drawing process much more pleasant! Working from photos has gotten so much better in the years I've been painting. From the luck of the draw getting reference photos printed, to printing them at home, often multiple times (using expensive inks!) to get the colors right, to just cropping and gridding them off on an iPad. I could probably take them with the iPad and save another step, but the phone is a bit easier to manage (and still more convenient than a camera).