Could It Be More Gray Out?

There has been a serious lack of sunshine lately. My flowers are wilting...veggies are not growing...and I think we all, at Cob Cottage, are starting to grow mold! Nellie tried to soak up some sun the other day when we did have some rays bathing the farm. But the sun was short lived and now the farm is cloaked in fog and drizzle blankets the fields and woods.

I am still working on the BIG painting, but I am starting some small ones too, because my muse needed a change from big. Every evening I have to dismantle my easel and prop the big painting against the cupboard in my studio, so that we can get through the studio to get to the bedroom. I am thinking my studio was not meant to be housing BIG paintings.

And the first sunny day ....I am headed out to work in the gardens and soak up some rays. Nellie knows when to grab her chances...I was too busy painting on the Big painting!
Live and learn!!!

Sometimes I Mess Up

I don't know what I did, but somehow I messed up the last blog entry and had to re-edit it. It doesn't take much to "mess up" my brain sometimes...........any how......Here is Addie in her E-cone, being the brave Corgi. She will do anything for a snack....in true Corgi fashion.

The sun is shining out in Morrill, Maine this afternoon, so I am going out and mow some lawn.
I need a studio break. Addie will take a nap.

Working Like A Dog

I have been working like a dog lately…. and if that saying was really true, then I would be napping all day long and only getting up to eat or go for walks! At least that is how my two pups live! They have me well trained! But the truth is that I have been working every day …all day…painting on a project that is a stretch for me. But stretching is good. It helps us develop muscles! And this work also makes me stretch to paint, as the canvas is a BIG 4 foot by 4 foot. I will post the image at a later date and tell you more about it. Let it suffice for the time being, I am working like a dog! My artwork for the Equidae Gallery show [held in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., during summer race season] has arrived at the Gallery. I booked a B&B room for our stay August 6th through the 8th... and am looking forward to some site seeing in Saratoga. This is my first time seeing Saratoga and I have been told it is beautiful. That and horses galore…Heaven!
The casein pictured above is one of the paintings that are going to be hanging at The Equidae Gallery exhibit. It is a 9 x 12”, glassed and double matted. It is one of my favorite ones…It is titled
"I Can Do It Myself". AND.... Doing this big casein canvas painting I am doing now, is in a way proving to myself that I can do it!

Knowing Where I Am Going

I have been asked by so many about my process of painting, how do I paint? How do I pick my subject matter and how do I approach a work?

Writing my process is the hard job...[ Can you say Aphasia?].......
but maybe showing it might be easier for me!

I recently started a large canvas of a horse and rider that I saw when I was at the Kentucky Horse Park. I was down there for my solo show at Gallery B in Lexington, in May.There was a hunter jumper 3-phase going on at The KHP that peaked my interest, so I sat and watched it for a while. I watched the stadium jumping and the warm up arena where there were various equestrians warming up, practicing and some were even taking last minute lessons with their trainers.There was eye candy for me everywhere and so hard for me to focus on what I felt I needed to capture. But this one rider and her horse kept piquing my interest....they had movement and excitement. So that is how I pick my subject matter ...to start. Above is the charcoal sketch I did on the 40 x 30" canvas.

Then I go in with my colors to give it some design....some definition as to what colors I want to use ..the darks and lights, and the entire composition element of the work. I have decided the depth of the work and where the light is coming from.

With casein, I have to wait while the paint dries between phases.....before I can go back in to glaze the next color over or if I want to intensify the current color. In my process I glaze, cross- hatch, dark over light...or light over dark...what suits my purpose. There are NO rules...and with casein I can do thin washes , graded washes,or do scumbling or broken colors techniques. I sometimes add a bit of acrylic into my casein paint....sometimes I add a larger concentration of casein emulsion into my paint. What I do in one painting is not necessarily what I do in the next.
I guess that is how I address life. There are no rules. Life changes and should the input and out put.

So this is where I am with this painting so far. Have I answered any questions?

Poppies Are Red

This is the time of year that I really wait for all winter. As colors start popping in the gardens and the eye is drawn to each splash of red, and blue and yellow. as each perennial flower opens, announcing it's blooms. These days the poppies are singing their song with a complimentary note from the Shasta daisies. I have been forcing myself to stay in the studio and work on the commissions I have to finish for clients... and on the new works in the making.

Addie [ our eye impaired Corgi] demands time for walking and loving as she heals... along with her bored companion, Nell the little terrier-ist. So on my breaks from the studio, we walk around the gardens and make mental notes about what needs to be done to maintain the flower beds. It is an never ending labor of love.

So here is a sneak preview of what is happening in the gardens as I write. Enjoy .....and I need to get back to the art work at hand!

A Small Gem of a Jack Russell

On my trip to Kentucky I met two new Jack Russell's and this is my first painting of one little lady who was a JRT to the core. She entertained us as she ran around her yard...a perfect lady!
This is a small [5 x 7"] casein on board. It will be available on my website in the Small Works Collection.

My studio is a mess...I am finding it hard to find my paint! Tomorrow calls for a clean up, I am sure! meanwhile, our Addie seems to be doing so much better. She is being her usual bossy Corgi self and walks around the house like a queen in her E-collar. Her cohort in crime is fascinated with Addie's new collar. She is acting like she wants one too. That could be arranged!!

Kentucky Sunrise

This is a detail of the finished "Kentucky Sunrise" casein [18 x 18"] on canvas. The entire painting shows a panorama of the fenced fields at Darley Farm in Lexington. This stallion is Hard Spun who stands at Darley and who was an undefeated Stakes winner as a two year old. The power of this man, even standing as stud, is undeniable. The morning that we visited him he had just rolled in dirt....living the good life at this point in his career!

More handsome studs from this farm are in the works. So many and so awesome! I will be posting the whole view of the painting on my website. But we are still dealing with a sick Corgi and farm chores and life that just seems to keep getting in the way. Blog entries will be short and sweet for now!

Collar-ed Corgi

She looks like the girl in the bubble!!

After a week of worrying about our Addie's right eye......and many visits to the vet's, today Addie had surgery on the eye and is now resting peacefully at home, even if a bit miffed at having to wear a silly old collar that certainly detracts from her beauty....and her ability to scoff up her food. She is a Corgi you know!!! Nell, the resident JRT, thinks Addie looks silly in this collar!! And how can she , in good terrier fashion, bite Addie when the collar gets in the way??

We had so many good folks contact us with prayers and positive thoughts during and after her surgery, that we want to thank everyone...we know it helped!!!

Even now it means a lot of hand walking the two dogs and doling out meds....I should be able to get back into the studio to finish up some almost completed works and start on some new ones.

If life doesn't keep getting in the way!!