Friday, February 27, 2009

Cinnamon




Here's my latest dog portrait of Cinnamon, a lovely golden retriever, who recently passed. I think it's nice to remember your beloved animals with a portrait. This will be a present from my friend.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Niece and Nephew


I've been asked if I paint children , too. So I decided to do a practice painting of my niece, Isabelle and godchild, Stevie. It's nice to use 300 lb. paper because it can take alot of abuse.
Although I dared to publish this one, I need to do a better job on the skin and shadows. I once tried a portrait book but she used green for shadows and I just don't like the effect.
And yes, her blue eyes are that big and beautiful in real life. She's a cutie! (and nephew, too.)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Sweetheart Bench




Do you ever wonder what inspires a painting? I find that the hardest ... inspiration and composition. The first painting I did of this bench was very literal. After all that work, it didn't measure up. So, I painted this one for fun. I like it, because I painted it in the Disneyland fashion... none of the houses in Toontown are straight...

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Keepin It Loose



In general, my dog paintings are very tight and realistic but I also love painting loose and free. I wanted to experiment with watercolor pencil, so I doodled around with it many times. This is one study I liked.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Alyssa




I borrowed one of my daughter's pictures of her friend to play with this texture technique as used in Mary's blog "In a Soft Light".


Instead of photoshop, I used my favorite program, Picnik.