New Series Gathering, Dogs Playing
Daddy's Chair, oil on wood, 16"x 16" This a bit of a teaser. I have these stretches of what seems like no productivity, at least if you look at my website and especially my blog. In reality, it has been about working on a new series of paintings that are gathering for a healthy body of work to exhibit somewhere. Not sure where that will be, but feel confident it will happen when and where it is supposed to happen. The certain thing is how it feels working on these paintings, how it is flowing with my natural vibe, which is supposed to happen, but can often elude us artists. The subject not only holds my interest, it allows me to uncover something new with each piece.
It’s about my dogs. They are with me 24/7, as I converted my garage into a full time studio. I generally stay home, working on sketching, painting, breaking for lunch and dinner, the internet, some tea and/or snacks, garden work, more internet, or just resting for a bit. But here is the thing, I am excited and having fun with this new work!
It’s about my dogs. They are with me 24/7, as I converted my garage into a full time studio. I generally stay home, working on sketching, painting, breaking for lunch and dinner, the internet, some tea and/or snacks, garden work, more internet, or just resting for a bit. But here is the thing, I am excited and having fun with this new work!
The beginning of a painting These are not portraits. They are renderings of the dogs doing various things that they do throughout their day, their play being a big part of the focus. Having said this, the one image posted above is the only portrait thus far, but feel it still falls in line with what they do, or what Louie does, who is our oldest at 14, and he loves to sleep on my partner’s favorite chair. He gave me this look, which kind of said to me, “I know this is daddy’s chair, but aren’t I cute when I am happy lying up here?”. So the title, “Daddy’s Chair” seemed appropriate. My partner, who is daddy (dog owners understand the daddy/mommy concept for furry babies) actually pushed me to do a portrait of Louie because of his age, sort of an attempt to still the fast-approaching inevitable, which neither of us wants to ever think about.
My material is so close to my heart, and always gifting me with new ideas. We live with 3 dogs, one Husky mix, Sophie, who is only a year and a half younger than Louie, at 12 plus. She has always been more playful, so she is the playmate of our nearly 2 year old, yellow-lab mix, Ellie, who is already a pro at bringing more laughter into our lives. They all charm us for reasons as different as their personalities, so when I sat in my studio a couple of months ago sketching for possible ideas, the dogs started into another play session, and I was completely sold.
My material is so close to my heart, and always gifting me with new ideas. We live with 3 dogs, one Husky mix, Sophie, who is only a year and a half younger than Louie, at 12 plus. She has always been more playful, so she is the playmate of our nearly 2 year old, yellow-lab mix, Ellie, who is already a pro at bringing more laughter into our lives. They all charm us for reasons as different as their personalities, so when I sat in my studio a couple of months ago sketching for possible ideas, the dogs started into another play session, and I was completely sold.
I believe my love of painting with oils will never diminish. Some years ago, I moved from canvas to wood panels, and have never looked back. I love the smoothness of the surface, and its undeniable durability, although some artists are concerned about wood changing shape, and it always does, even if only slightly. I do build my own panels and consider this when doing so, making them quite strong and therefore, less flexible, quite capable of handling our steamy, gulf coast environment. As a matter of fact, they are so solid that I have found it a good practice to recycle some old paintings that are less than memorable to something more alive and current. I know, some would say never to do such a thing, but much of my older work seems far from precious and are always adding to the never-ending issue of storage space, a common problem for most artists
In this image (left), you can see behind the sketch of the two dogs some imagery of the previous painting. If you see lots of bony fish, you would be correct. It was time for it to go to the ethers of retired, creative efforts, wherever that place is. In this case, after a good sanding it landed under a layer of new gesso. No one will miss it... certainly not me. In the meantime, I will happily keep my readers informed as this new series progresses.
In this image (left), you can see behind the sketch of the two dogs some imagery of the previous painting. If you see lots of bony fish, you would be correct. It was time for it to go to the ethers of retired, creative efforts, wherever that place is. In this case, after a good sanding it landed under a layer of new gesso. No one will miss it... certainly not me. In the meantime, I will happily keep my readers informed as this new series progresses.
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