What I Do When The Snow Falls

And I have been doing a lot of it lately.. CREATE!!... as we get hit with yet another round of snow and wind and cold!! The only hope that keeps me sane is the fact that winter is almost over and under all the snow sleeps my perennial gardens...and I will be digging in dirt and transplanting soon!! [After all this snow melts!]

The above "work-in-progress painting is a 18 x 18" on canvas that was started in casein and I am into it now with pastels. It is coming along 'smashing-ly' and I can't get enough of it! The hunt reference shot was provided by a fellow EAG-er ...I just loved the way the tails of the hounds fill the air and wag throughout the composition. I have changed things a bit for my purpose..but still the tails wag!

My dogs were just walked and love the new snow....all I see of Nellie, the JRT, is her butt most of the time. She is hunting varmints under the white blanket.....Addie, our PWC , is busy rolling around in the snow.....to each their own!

Black and White

It has been a while since I have done a paper cutting, but this one was finished a week or so ago. It is called " Riding Like A Lady", and it already has a home to go to. In this scene the hunt stops as a very lady-like equestrian joins the field, in her side-saddle and fancy attire. Even the hounds are interested in this rider.

I have always liked the challenge of composing a work in just black and white, where you can capture depth and motion, all simple... and direct. I think I have achieved it here.

Now...... back to a watercolor of a Standard Poodle for a client! This is such a nice to day to be working in my loft.My barn chores are done for now and the snow piles up outside, while the horses nap in their stalls in the warm barn.

Winter blankets Morrill, Maine.

Today I finished two more caseins for the “Shades of Black” series. There will be only one more painting in this series on the study of how black absorbs color and how light plays off the black horses on our farm.

Light, shadows and design…………..words that describe my work and that excite me about what I am doing. Both "Shades Of Black #8 "and "Shades of Black #9 " will be up on my site soon…….

Tomorrow I start a new paper cutting…..A hunt scene that depicts a sidesaddle rider and the hounds………..what fun this will be. I only hope my hands keep steady for the cutting!!

Let It Snow!

Let it snow... let it snow!!!

Well, that is what I am saying now....but ask me in a few months how I feel about snow and I may have a different outlook! This is the view from my studio this afternoon. I look down on the barn and see the horses sleeping under their run-out sheds. The gardens have been put "to bed" for the winter and the bird feeders are full. I can paint.

Today I am finishing up some caseins that I am working on. I always have a few works in the "works", as I have to wait for glazes to dry before going into the same painting. This system also keeps me looking at each painting with a new eye when I start back working with it.

I am also sketching out a hunt scene silhouette to be done in cut paper.This is for a commission. I just sent two cuttings to the Millbrook Gallery. I haven't done any cutting for a while, so this will be a welcomed change. I always get so into a zone when I am cutting paper and I loose track of the time.

Back to the drawing board..........or do you think I should put the horses into their stalls ?..........

Naw.