The weather today has been typical March... a little rain, a little snow, mix in some wind and even a spot or two of sunshine and Voila' ! a perfect day to stay inside and paint! That's what I would have liked to do, but instead I had to take pictures to the framer, run some errands, you know, everything that kept me out in the weather and away from the studio. The count down is on with only three weeks until my first show of the year so I'm running like a chicken with my head chopped off. I woke up this morning at 3 a.m. with my mind whirling with ideas and things I need to remember to do. Good thing I keep a note pad on the table next to the bed so I can jot things down! Eventually, I got back to sleep right in time for the alarm to go off!! Arghh!
Today's painting is another eagle done from the same reference as the last. It is 6" x 6" painted in acrylic on watercolor paper. The reference photo was taken on a bright sunny day against a clear blue sky, but I wanted to do this one with a dark background to make the bird stand out more. This painting was done more as a study just to see if the color and contrast would work, but it is for sale. If you are interested email me..... kindredspirits@clearwire.net and I'll get you a price. Also, keep watching my Etsy store as I will be adding more items in the days to come. You may even see this eagle there.
Well, I'm hearing things blowing around and banging into the house. Since I'm in the basement and can't see I guess I'd better scamper upstairs and see what this March weather is doing now! Blessings til next time!
Here is another of my miniature paintings (4" x 5") featuring a song sparrow perched among early spring twigs. I spotted him as I was out on one of my morning walks. Actually, I heard him first since, as his name implies, they are quite the singers. It was an overcast, drizzly morning, but that did not damper his spirits any or his song. I chose to paint this piece with a very muted palette of colors that make you have to look just a bit for the bird since usually you have to do just that. They are small birds and blend into their environment very well especially on a rainy day. The best way to find them is to follow the song. So perhaps you need just a bit of spring on a rainy day. Just click on the ETSY button and follow that to my store where you will find this little songster for sale priced at just SOLD.
And by the way, Happy Spring!!!
"Eagle 1" has landed! Sorry, I just couldn't resist the play on words! This is the first of the miniature paintings I've been working on for my upcoming shows. Living in an area with two major rivers gives me great opportunities to view a lot of wildlife. We have several eagles that work the rivers in search of food and I came across this one on one of my many morning walks. It was gracious enough to sit on it's high perch and allow me to photograph it, though it looks none too happy about it. I was actually able to get quite close. Not all of them are as cooperative as this one was...most fly off about the time I get close enough for a really good shot. I was able to get several nice photos before this one took to the skies so there will be more paintings in the future, hence the name "Eagle 1". This one is done in acrylic on a masonite panel. It is 5" x 7" and is for sale for $175.00. Inquiries may come to me at kindredspirits@clearwire.net.
Lots of exciting things have happened since the last time I wrote. First, the Art Show at the Dog Show has posted images of all the winners on their site so now everyone can go and view who the lucky 50 artists were that won awards. All of the final entries are on display so you can see the competition and judge for yourself. It is an awesome display of canine art. Please take some time to take a look.
I have recently set up a storefront on Etsy which, if you're not familiar with it, is a site dedicated to selling all hand made items. Right now I have only my ACEOs listed, but in the next few weeks I intend to have original artwork, prints and note cards available for purchase there. You can get to my store through this link ctempleart.etsy.com. Please drop by for a look. If there's something not there that you would like to see drop me an email. I do commissions and requests!
That's about all the news for now. I'm off to complete the three miniature paintings waiting for me in the studio. I'm working on three at once... a black lab puppy, a yellow lab puppy and a golden retriever puppy all done in acrylic. With any luck I'll have them done today!
The weather outside can't decide if it's winter or trying to be spring. The last two days I woke up to snow and cold in the morning, but by afternoon the sun has come out and all traces of snow have melted away only to return sometime during the night. But I guess that's pretty typical for March!
I snapped this photo on one of my outings and as you can see there's a little spring and a little winter in this picture. This beautiful ring neck pheasant was out searching for food right along the road and was not bothered at all that I had stopped my vehicle to snap his picture. I took quite a few actually, and he never moved off. In fact, I finally got tired of watching him! I think things would have been a little different if I had actually gotten out of my car. Sometimes vehicles can be great wildlife blinds because the animals get used to them and don't feel threatened, but if I had gotten out and pointed that "thing" at him ( the "thing" being my camera!) well that would have made him nervous and I'm sure he'd have flown off. I got some great reference material though....nice full body shots and close ups for detail. I'm formulating a few ideas for paintings so I'm sure you'll see this handsome fellow again.
I'm still working away towards my shows in April. Finally got most of my cards done, have inventoried my paintings and I'm starting to work on some prints. I have also decided to do up some miniature paintings, 5" x 7" or less, to offer as quick sale items of original work. They will be priced accordingly and I've decided that they will not be framed. That will save me time and money and if they are done on wrapped canvas where the sides can be painted they will work perfectly to hang without frames in a grouped display or on a table or desk on a small, decorative easel. These will most likely feature wildlife and probably some dogs, but either way I will post some here for all to see.
Time to get back to work and wait for the sun to melt the snow!
"It's My Chair" wins third place in the Drawing category at the Art Show At The Dog Show competition I recently entered!!!!! ( See my post from Feb. 13, 2009 for details about that) I just received notification today. It was wonderfully exciting to first be juried into the show and that had me floating on Cloud 9 for days, but this is even more exciting! I was in tears again! I can't tell you how blessed I feel to have had my artwork recognized this way especially knowing the quality and talent of the other artists that were chosen for this show. Thank you, God, for giving me this talent and helping me to use it! Big, wet, sloppy dog kisses of Congratulations go out to all who were chosen for awards!! Please click the link to the Art Show At The Dog Show website above to view the winners. They are not posted just yet, but should be soon.
Meet Masson! Masson is a Golden Retriever/Husky mix that also shares "truck dog" status with Melvin and Matilda, the two Yorkies I introduced here a few weeks ago. Both pieces were done in graphite pencil. All three dogs share a home with a wonderful, young couple and will soon be gracing the walls of the new house they are buying. Congratulations!
Life in my world has been pretty hectic lately as I continue to prepare for some upcoming shows next month. There seems to be a never ending list of things to get done.....more paintings to paint, framing of those paintings, note cards, prints and ACEOs to create and package, business cards and brochures to print. There have been days when the amount of stuff I have to think of becomes overwhelming and I feel like sitting in the middle of my studio and crying/screaming/rejoicing! I'm not sure which I really want to do.....sometimes all three!!! Those are the days when I usually have to leave it all behind and go outside somewhere for a good long walk and have a really long talk with God. He's good about listening to my ranting and raving and He will gently remind me that he's there and not to worry. Of course, me being me, I don't always listen and choose to become a basket case anyway! I can just see God shaking his head!
Well, it's time to be off to work again! Check out my website www.petportraitsbycatherine.com to see the new updates there. Thanks and blessings to my wonderful friend, Judy, for all her work on creating a beautiful site for me!!
Until next time........!!!!!!
The weather today has been typical March... a little rain, a little snow, mix in some wind and even a spot or two of sunshine and Voila' ! a perfect day to stay inside and paint! That's what I would have liked to do, but instead I had to take pictures to the framer, run some errands, you know, everything that kept me out in the weather and away from the studio. The count down is on with only three weeks until my first show of the year so I'm running like a chicken with my head chopped off. I woke up this morning at 3 a.m. with my mind whirling with ideas and things I need to remember to do. Good thing I keep a note pad on the table next to the bed so I can jot things down! Eventually, I got back to sleep right in time for the alarm to go off!! Arghh!
