One setting oil painting. Didn’t put much thought into it, just wanted to do a practice painting of clouds really.
It is funny how the quality of the picture and lighting can change the color/tone of the painting. The water is actually much more colorful. The sky in this photo of the painting and the transfer to this posting makes the sky look very gray, when actually it was as violet as the water. That surprised me when I posted it here. I am not talented enough to know how to transfer a painting via photo to my blog, and have the colors stay as they appear. I will learn……….I hope.
This beautiful Siberian Husky was my best friend for many years. Her registered name was Black Hawk’s Gray Sky, I called her Sky. She passed away about 3 years ago, she was 17-1/2 years of age when she took her last breath. I found her one morning in her dog house in the exact position I normally saw her sleeping (when she slept in the dog house); one paw always hanging out the door with her nose resting on her leg. She went peacefully, obviously in her sleep. The night before, we were on the back patio, she acted like a puppy, which was normal too. She went back and forth between me and Jo Ann, to be petted and hugged, seeking a bit more attention than she normally did; though she always loved attention. It was as if she knew she was enjoying her last day with us. At the time, it wasn’t apparent to us. The only time I ever had her to the vet was for her shots and annual checkup. I never saw her ill, if she ever was she never let on. In her last couple of years, she slowed down, but just a bit and breathing got a little heavier, especially when she ran, and she loved to run. She was after all an escape artist!
I was given Sky as a gift from my mother shortly after she was born. She was a stunning pup. She was extremely intelligent. Once an elderly neighbor of ours (in his 90s) was doing some yard work. I was further up in the yard planting some flowers and other plants. Sky was over by the fence watching our neighbor. She started barking. She very seldom barked, almost never (she howled). When she barked something was wrong. At first I ignored her, but she kept it up. I looked up and asked her “What’s wrong with you”, she looked at me barked then would look at the neighbor, and looked back at me again. She had been trying to get my attention. I looked in the direction she was looking and saw my neighbor passed out on the ground. Sky barked as I was getting up off the ground ( I had been kneeling on the ground as I was planting). I started to go over to check on him, when he rose up, Sky was still focused on him and still barking. My neighbor set up and said “Are you looking out for me girl?”. The man’s wife came out onto their upper deck, to check on what was going on, as she heard Sky barking as well. I told her she should take him to the hospital, as he had passed out. Later that evening, we learned my neighbor had in fact had a heart attack, but was going to be okay. He told his wife, he wasn’t sure what happened, but that he had heard Sky barking , he opened his eyes and he was lying on the ground. He believed Sky had saved his life.
Sky was an amazing animal. She was family. She was good for me, as she helped me through a difficult time. We were good for each other. The love was unconditional, and it went both ways, and I miss her. I could write a book on her life, it wasn’t boring, not for me, us or her.
What I like about this painting is………..I got the face right. Anyone that ever knew her would recognize her in this painting. That I am quite proud of, and I believe I got it right because of my emotional attachment to her. I think, for me, there is something to learn from that and I have.
Not much to say about this painting. One of those where I just felt like I needed to paint something. When I have painter’s block I always seem to go to something like this. No thought behind it, just paint. Took me about 45 min – an hour to paint. Like I said, just paint, not so much thinking.
I did this oil painting (finished it) of a wolf in some trees, on 1-5-2004, over 18 years ago. I wasn’t very good back then, even though I had been painting a few years. For the most part I am self taught. I Watch a lot of YouTube videos, as my teaching source. About 20 years ago I took lessons from a lady from Washington, Missouri. She was a very good artist, could paint just about anything. Some of her portraits were amazing (especially of children). Saw her once a week and she charged me a whopping $5.00 a lesson. When I met her at an art fair in Washington, when she told me she’d charge 5 for lessons I thought she meant $500 for a series of lessons. When I repeated $500 for how many?……..She said “No, $5 per lesson.” My response was a no-brainer “Sign me up!”. I am sorry to say, her name escapes me now.
When I first started about 25 years ago, I started with watercolors. Hated them, I couldn’t control the paint. My stuff (and that’s exactly what it looked like…….just stuff), looked like something a kindergartener would do. No offense to kindergarteners. I tried watercolors for about a week (which I really on used because they were the cheapest for learning), then moved on to Acrylics. Oh…….much better, but a lot of my STUFF was muddy. At least I felt like I had graduated up to about a 3rd grade level.
I painted a lot back then and gradually got better. Then I quit for awhile, I didn’t see much improvement. Before I quit though I tried oils, (acrylics were cheaper than oils) and I loved the buttery smooth feel of laying them on canvas. I was hooked, have never used acrylics or watercolors since. After I quit for almost a year, that is when I met the lady I mentioned above from Washington, MO. I improved a lot, but after I moved away from the area, I quit seeing her. I have had off and on periods of painting and not painting. I often had artist’s block!
I was painting out of a bedroom/office, with limited space and bad lighting. Recently, a few weeks ago I converted a corner of our basement into a studio. Put down a foam floor, proper lighting, a good size table/bench, a desk/drawing board, easel and this computer on a table. I am committed to painting (something) everyday now. I don’t have to complete anything each day, but I do have to put the paint on the canvas and move it around. Currently working on a portrait of my Siberian Husky, Sky. Sadly she passed away a few short years ago. I will admit having the passion I had for my best friend Sky is showing in the painting. It is (so far) one of the best paintings I have ever done or attempted. I should learn something from this. Paint what you love!
No, the wolf above is not Sky. She was gray, white and black.
These two landscapes I did by using a technique I am learning from Stuart Davies. Davies is a Brit living in France, where he paints and teaches. He does videos roughly 45 min to over an hour long often, demonstrating his technique. He uses his paint brush(es) and frequently paper towels to scrub in the paint. He does not usually use photographs as a reference. Most of his subject matter is from imagination as he goes along…….as he says (I don’t always know where it’s taking me!’) He does paint landscapes of actually places but uses his memory. The paintings may only look similar to places he has been. Davies does mostly landscapes and loves doing clouds (stormy and colorful). He is a cloud painting genius. But, he will tell you “anyone can do it!”.
Many of his videos are free to view. I have learned a great deal from watching them. Some of the things he does I am still trying to grasp. He is also an individual to learn glazing . He gives lessons, but I have yet to go there. He isn’t cheap and he shouldn’t be.
16 X 20………Storm Cloud Over Valley16 X 20 Cloudy Day
ARLIN REPORT...................walking this path together 