Sunday, July 25, 2010

Elin Pendleton paints on dual-etched mirrored glass

Oh Wow. Hard to describe what my brushes did today--this imagery doesn't do it justice. Therefore there are FIVE images in today's posting to try to convey the dynamics of this painting on etched mirror glass, etched on both sides. The first image on the right is the mirrored glass which has been sand blasted on both sides in an interesting pattern, neither side a duplicate of the other, but similar. You can see it especially in the horse's ears where my painting on the backside comes through but is covered by the etching on the front surface.

How to describe this? The mirrored parts of the image CONSTANTLY change as one walks by the image. The horse head is constant, unless lit from behind, when the image takes on another character entirely! The first image is outside, with the vegetation reflecting in the mirror. YES, it is a PAINTING. But on glass!

This is the first of three I did this afternoon--this one a commission for Ron Wood's client of his horse. Simple in design, but elegant and modern in presentation. The Color System painted it, of course, and I used traditional acrylics. Technically this painting is a warm-up for the big commissioned sample coming up this week. I have the glass pieces here in my studio, and will be painting them tomorrow, in between the wolf painting DVD. Busy as a one-armed paper hanger!

The second image with the brown border is the back side of the mirror, which is not to be viewed. The brown portions are the mirrored backside area. I had fun painting the eye! The next image is the original etched mirror, before I started painting on it. Here it is backlit, almost a black and white image.

You can see that the eye area was nothing more than an apricot-shaped white etched area before the brushes hit it. The black areas are the mirror. Talk about having to adjust and THINK about values as I painted it! The mirror changes the painting at every viewing. Look at this next image, taken indoors with the dining area reflected in it--a whole new painting! Almost like a collage, and yet it is the same piece of mirrored glass.

And not to be saying that one can paint one painting and get infinite variations, however look at what it turned into when I put it outside and photographed it with the blue sky on the mirrored image.

This is an incredibly creative way to make art, and I'm excited to continue to work with Ron Wood on his projects, using my brushes on his elegant sand blasted and laser etched glass.

One painting, infinite display and showing options!
You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Powered Together new drawing by Sheona Hamilton-Grant.

Deadline reached and my new commission is now ready to be shipped.
Powered Together was commissioned by the NRW Landgestuet for their annual stallion show (Warendorfer Hengstparade) in September.

I'm really chuffed with the way this drawing has come out.


"Powered Together"
Pencil on Paper. 39x30cm
Reserved
Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved 2010

Power, strength, speed, beauty, skill, trust and harmony are present in overdose.
Elements that my pencils adore rendering.
Meeting with my clients in a couple of days. Looking forward to hearing their thoughts.

(pssst: more of my work can be viewed at www.sheonahamiltongrant.com

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Three Views ~~ Painting a Dog a Day by Kimberly Kelly Santini



FROM THE TOP: "At the Fence," "Red Slopes," and "Black Hills," each 6" x 8", done in Golden Open Acrylics on Raymar panels, starring various Thoroughbreds, $329 each (remember that returning collectors get another 10% off!!). Inquiries (including booking your own pet portrait, from miniature size [4" x 4"] to larger than life) may always come to me.

My client fell in love with another painting, but it was too small for her wall. We got to chatting, identified the elements of the painting she liked, and decided to work up some options that could be done in a proper scale that would create the focal point in her room.

So these are her options - we'll have to wait and see what she chooses. But meanwhile, either of these can hang on your wall. Just ask nicely.

Thanks, as always, for looking at - and sharing - my artwork and musings with your friends and family.
Kim

TWITTER: ksantini
SHOP ORIGINALS & LIMITED EDITION GICLEES: at my Etsy shop
ORDER CUSTOMIZED NOTECARDS & REPRODUCTIONS: at Imagekind
COMMISSION A PET PORTRAIT: contact me
GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE: contact me
READING MATERIAL: Preview and order each of the Dog a Day books at the publisher's website: The First Year (2006-2007) and That's 14 in Dog Years (2008). If you would like your copy personalized, order them through me.
PS You like these types of compositions? Check out Juliet Harrison's "Equiscapes" silver gelatin prints - they are exquisite. She also sells "Silver Seconds" which are her darkroom prints that don't quite make the cut for her galleries but are still extraordinary - and proceeds from the sales of these "Silver Seconds" support equine rescue. Just my little plug..... enjoy!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Artist Q&A Day

With a bow to Karin Jurick, one of my favorite daily painters and the one I first saw executing this idea, I'm designating tomorrow, July 19th 2010, as my first ever Artist Q&A Day.
An Artist Q&A Day is just that - a day I've designated to answer all your questions.
Your art and studio related questions can be posted via comments to my blog. I'll work my way through them during the course of the day, doing my best to answer everything to the best of my abilities.
I will only respond to questions posted as comments to this particular post on my blog - this will allow for the community of readers to share in the conversation and eliminate any repetition. Because my blog is moderated (darn those spammers!), your comments will not show up immediately, but if you choose to subscribe to the comments feed, you will be notified when there is activity.
I don't know if I need to define an end time to the day - we'll play it by ear to start out with and see what the volume is.
And if you like the Q&A Day idea, I'll schedule more of them.
I'm looking forward to the dialogue this will spur!
Talk tomorrow.
Thanks, as always, for looking at - and sharing - my artwork and musings with your friends and family.
Kim
TWITTER: ksantini
SHOP ORIGINALS & LIMITED EDITION GICLEES: at my Etsy shop
ORDER CUSTOMIZED NOTECARDS & REPRODUCTIONS: at Imagekind
COMMISSION A PET PORTRAIT: contact me
GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE: contact me
READING MATERIAL: Preview and order each of the Dog a Day books at the publisher's website: The First Year (2006-2007) and That's 14 in Dog Years (2008). If you would like your copy personalized, order them through me.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Contest for banner to the blog!

Would anyone like to submit a banner for this blog?  It could use some artwork at the top.  If no one submits, I'll create something from my work, but it might be nice to see something of someone else's...:)

We all have blogs, so I'm leaving the size up to you, it can be square, or rectangular...equine themed.  Send your entries to the email address on the blog.  artistreferencephotos@gmail.com  Make your image 72 dpi, so loading time is short.

I'll choose one and perhaps rotate through any entries as time goes on.  If you have any questions, just ask!  This is a very informal contest.

You must be a member of the blog to submit, but we're also looking for more equine artists, so don't be afraid to apply for membership...
Sincerely,
Donna Ridgway

Friday, July 16, 2010

"... a rose by any other name..."

"Only the Lonely" done- 12 minutes before the"official" deadline.  It has gone off into the wide netherworld of cyberspace in little electronic swirls and whispers, and will hopefully coalesce in the designated email inbox as a fully realized, fully articulated sweeping ode to a magnificent equine in shades of burnished grey, evocative of isolation, fragmented beauty, windswept barren plains, the essential duality of light and dark, day and night, good and evil.  Or maybe it will just look like a picture of a horse.


My bestest best friend in the whole wide world complemented me on my names today. "You always have the most clever, intelligent names..." which is high praise, coming from her.  And it is true, I spend a great deal of time thinking about what I'm going to call a picture.  If I can't come up with the perfect name for it - before a single line has been drawn - it doesn't happen.  There have been a few exceptions to this rule, and almost all of them are half finished train wrecks of ink and paint.  They lack that last little bit, the "je ne sais quoi" if you will, and I have to think it's because of the name.


A name gives purpose, direction, attitude.  My degree is in fine art, but my field of study for 4 years was Illustration, or "the visual representation of a thought, emotion, idea" etc.  The naming of a piece, therefore, captures the mindset I want to be in while working on it, dreaming about it, scribbling it out.  Hopefully, sometimes some of that makes its way into the actual art as well, but that might just be wishful thinking.  And it's fun, too.  "Office Romance" presents not only the real life love affair of husband and wife cattle ranchers, but also presents what for many of us would be an ideal working environment -  on the back of a horse with your sweetheart, breathing in fresh air and sunshine, roaming across the open country.  "Red" is not only done almost entirely in a red color palette, but also reflects the common barn name of many chestnut racehorses, including Man o' War and Secretariat.  "Lope" shows a cantering, or "loping" horse, but was done as a fundraiser for LOPE (Lone Star Outreach to Place Ex Racehorses @ www.lopetx.org).  And I must mention here that "Only the Lonely" was actually suggested as a name for another piece by my mother, but I immediately grafted it onto the then unformed drawing which was simply hanging out there waiting for the perfect name.  So, thanks Mom!


And finally, here is the newest entry in the stable.  Graphite, conte crayon (and eventually india ink) on clayboard.  My reference photo is of two sweet, gentle Belgian mares nonchalantly lounging about in their field, but a slight breeze just barely lifted tendrils of mane up at the right moment when I took the shot, and I took the idea and ran with it.  Here is the beginning of "Tempest".  (And I apologize for possibly the worst photo of artwork ever taken!)

"Tempest" WIP  
©Joanna Zeller Quentin 2010.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com





"Only the Lonely"
© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2010.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Rapture....The Newest Painting by Deborah O'Sullivan

This gorgeous weather has found me outside the studio working on my plein air skills. It has become quite an addiction! I adore getting out there with the watercolors and seeking out great painting spots.
     I always have two or three pieces going in the studio and I thoroughly enjoy working late into night with my music and Border Collie to keep me company. I have always been a bit of a night owl and find it easier to just get in the zone at night.
     I started  on this latest painting a while back and just hit a wall as to where I was going with it. So I let it sit in a spot where I could constantly just look at it to see what I could come up with. A few nights ago I just popped it onto the easel and literally with no plan just started throwing paint at it.  Literally!  I LOVE the drips on the bottom right and the way the rider just fades away. The horse is my focal point and I just wanted her to pop and not compete with the rider.
     This is much larger than I usually work. Almost a full sheet of Arches Hot Press 140lb paper. Available for sale unframed. The price witll go up when I have it framed. MUCH more affordable to ship unframed! $850 includes shiiping and insurance.  If you would like to give Rapture a home or would like more photos drop me an email! email  I will be happy to give you the details.

 Rapture





All the best,

Deborah
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Epona Studio
www.DeborahOSullivan.com
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Monday, July 5, 2010

Not So Quiet in These Parts - Painting a Dog a Day by Kimberly Kelly Santini

"Stirrup," from the Saratoga Series and May's Virtual pARTy, still available for purchase. Inquiries may come to me.

So I know things have been quiet on the newsletter and blog end, but trust me when I say they have not been that way at all here in the studio.

And while last week didn't go at all as intended (a sick Princess kept me from the easel but I did make quite a bit of headway on emails, paperwork, and planning), I am certain that this week will be far better. Even though it's an abbreviated one with today being our holiday and my taking a vacation day this coming Friday (gotta cheer my son on at the Michigan Hershey Track and Field State Finals), I have great hopes for what I will be able to accomplish.

And I am very eager to jump into the paint. Tomorrow. I may not sleep tonite because of the anticipation. But tomorrow will give me a nice window to play with color and create a couple (hopefully) nice paintings. I am a little behind with the commissions and need to make some progress.

In the meanwhile, over the next few hours I will continue with the marketing, emails and paperwork bit. There's a couple Leinenkugel's left over from Saturday's fireworks bash, along with a hidden stash of chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches, which together should fuel my evening's work rather nicely.

But first I'll share a link to a great article written by Karen Workman of the Oakland Press which ran in yesterday's paper (thank you Karen!). There is also a short video that was shot while I was painting (thank you Doug!).

And what the heck, I'll throw in this other link to Caren Gittleman's blog from last week. She did a great little bit from the feline's point of view. (And thank you to this Caren as well!)

Speaking of which, the Canine Art Guild has just hung their latest online exhibition. Titled "Here Kitty, Kitty," it's focused on the canine's nemesis. There are cash prizes for the People's Choice winners, so stop on by and cast your vote.

And finally the press release for Mutt Lynch Winery's Dog Days event this August in Sonoma California, which I am trying to get to if the airlines would just cooperate and drop their rates. I'm asking nicely. Pretty please?

Inquiries (including booking your own pet portrait, from miniature size [4" x 4"] to larger than life) may always come to me.

Thanks, as always, for looking at - and sharing - my artwork and musings with your friends and family.
Kim

TWITTER: ksantini
SHOP ORIGINALS & LIMITED EDITION GICLEES: at my Etsy shop
ORDER CUSTOMIZED NOTECARDS & REPRODUCTIONS: at Imagekind
COMMISSION A PET PORTRAIT: contact me
GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE: contact me
READING MATERIAL: Preview and order each of the Dog a Day books at the publisher's website: The First Year (2006-2007) and That's 14 in Dog Years (2008). If you would like your copy personalized, order them through me.

30 day of mules!



I have now completed over 30 days of mule paintings, in fact have surpassed it and still aiming for a year (but we'll see how far that gets me, lolol). Milestone number two is completed (30 days)! Come to my blog and see them as they are posted each day (http://mule-a-day-paintings.blogspot.com/). If you wish to see them all in one place come to my website (http://www.sues-art.com/amuleaday.html)!
Painting pictured above "Ohhhh Yeah...." has been purchased, thank you Cat! All of my A Mule A Day paintings are available in my Etsy store (http://suesart.etsy.com/).
Sue Kroll