#30paintingsin30days Challenge-Day 7(Painting #5)

I had a couple of non-productive days in regards to painting. I just didn't have time with everything I needed to do.  Luckily, a snow day here in Virginia has kept me inside in my studio where I have been working on a few pieces.  The painting below I finished today.  Reference photo came from MorgueFile.

Even though I don't own a Jack Russell I still wanted to paint this.  I am working on a few different pet portraits to display at my veterinary's office.

Think I am happy how it turned out but not sure yet.

Will look at it again tomorrow.

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"Pug", Acrylic on Canvas, 8"x10"

I just finished up this cute painting of a pug.  I love the green background on it.  I currently have it for sale at Daily Paintworks.

I have a couple more pet portraits that I will be posting in the next couple of weeks.  I have been really busy teaching and planning for my art classes so it hasn't given me a lot of time to work on my own paintings.  I am hoping for more time in the studio in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned!

"Lexie", Acrylic on Panel, 6"x6"

Well, I finished the "Lexie" painting last night.  I couldn't decide if I was happy with it and kept on working and working on it.  Sometimes I suffer from "detailatis" where I venture on trying to create every individual hair on the animal.  I end up hating how it looks when I do this.  I tried not to do this on this painting.

I will be sending this off to my friend.  Hopefully it will help to heal her heart a little.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog!

Winter Blues

I have been a funk for a long time now and I just can't snap out of it.  I would be worried if I didn't have the prior knowledge of knowing that I always feel this way this time of year.  Everything is so dead looking and the weather has been cold that it has been hard to drag myself out of bed in the morning.

Add to the fact that I know it has been a good solid 2 weeks since I have gone out for a walk.  I pretty much walk every day in the woods near my home.  Even if it is a short walk I still feel like it does wonders to my mental outlook.  This weekend it has been so cold that I can't fathom going out for a walk.

I was laying around yesterday and I finally convinced myself that I needed to have my mind engaged to temporarily get myself out of this funk.  I find that even if I spend a small amount of time in my studio using my hands to create or focus on something creative that it keeps my mind off of other things.

A typical view in my studio.  It's daylight though; I rarely have the luxury of painting during the day.

I have been meaning to paint a dog portrait of a good friend of mine's dog who passed away a couple of weeks ago.  I always feel better when I do something for someone else that I thought it would be a win-win situation.

My walking companion is down and depressed too!

I scanned her photos on Facebook to come up with some good pictures to work with.  Here are a couple:

Lexie Reference Photo #1

Lexie Reference Photo #2

I am finding that I am having more success working with bad reference photos then I did a few years ago.  I actually tried to paint "Lexie"about 6-7 years ago and absolutely *hated* the results.  The only thing that I liked was the Persian rug that Lexie was laying on.  Hence, I ended up trashing the painting.  I ended up choosing Reference Photo #1 to work with.

I am working on a 6"x6" panel which I glazed with Prussian Blue and then Quinacridone Red

I got a good start on it and started getting into it.  I worked out all of the major areas and took a break in order to make my kids dinner.

The start of my dog portrait

My plan is to finish up this painting this weekend.  Check by the blog tomorrow and I should have the finished painting.  

Thanks for stopping by!

"Badger At Home", Acrylic on Canvas, 8"x10"

Piece #15 of my 30 day painting challenge!

I painted another painting of this subject earlier in the month.  The owner loved it so much that he wanted me to paint another larger piece for his wife for Christmas.  The dog, Badger, had been particularly close to his wife and crossed "the rainbow bridge" a few years ago.

The reference photo is below:

Since the dog had passed, I was pretty limited on the photos I had to chose from.  The photo was overexposed a little and the dog had "ghost eyes".  I am proud of the job I ended up doing.  I know that a few years ago it would have been much harder for me to paint the painting from the reference photos that I had.  I think it just comes with experience from painting to determine how the dog looks.  The owner thought I had did it spot on and I am anxious to see how his wife likes it.

Thanks for stopping by to read the blog!

"Iris", Acrylic on wood panel, 6"x6"

Piece #14 of my 30 day painting challenge. 

Iris passed over the rainbow bridge over a week and a half ago after a sudden illness. She is missed by her family terribly. Hopefully this painting will help heal heavy hearts. 

frown emoticon

 I used more light colors in the muzzle and chest to show highlights and shadows. I have been experimenting doing this during this challenge. 

Comments and critiques are always appreciated!