Elin Pendleton finishes horses in evening pasture light

Now it is done, photographed, framed, shipped to Georgetown, Kentucky, and if all the planets align, it won't return to Two Trees.

So what did I do between yesterday and today? Let's look at the images and see...

Ah, of course! The mist. The "atmosphere" that carries the image. Softening areas of the canvas with the addition of layers of acrylic medium and paint, thinning those layers so the underpainting shows through, creating the mist.

The same technique was used to add the sun rays coming in from the right side. But in doing that area, I used the warm palette, instead of the Cool Box.

I didn't want to do any changing to the lower third--it is too close to the viewer to be majorly affected by the mist, and I really like the reflections in the water, so I left it alone.

Tomorrow I fill more of the orders for the Colorful Painting #4 Two DVD set. This morning I came down to the studio to a water nightmare where the front planter leaked through the wall of my basement workroom. Eight gallons came up with the rug cleaning machine, and the fans are running to dry out the bits left. Good thing the temps have been so high--this is drying up in record time. Some positives came out of leaving that hose bib running last night--my workroom and the theater carpet got a good cleaning!!!

You can order my latest DVD 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.

International Equine Artists Group

I want to introduce you to the International Equine Artists Group. We are a collective group of artists that love the horse and love creating the horse in our creations. The IEA's purpose is to promote learning, sharing, and promotion of the equine artist. The IEA accepts all artistic skill levels and is open to international membership. There is no need to be juried in.
Paid members recieve a host of benifits including: Private Online Forum for sharing, learning and staying in the loop of equine art. A Member's public Blog that streams into the IEA's Facebook Fan page. Discount Group advertising. Listing in the Artist's Directory on the website with an image and a link to your website. An image in the Member's Gallery Slide show. Online Member Exhibits.
Dues are $25.00 USD for 1 year. To find out more, or to sign up for membership visit the website at http://www.internationalequineartists.com


Thank you,
Debbie Flood, Founder and Administrator of IEA.

Elin Pendleton Continues the Acrylic evening light mist

Might look a bit finished at this point, at least for those of us who are not "tight" painters! But it isn't. I still have the final step to do for the atmosphere--to bring in the mists and the sunlight coming through the trees. This works so well with acrylics, I can hardly wait to show it to you! But that's tomorrow... If I were painting in oils, I would have had to take a break at this point and wait for the painting surface to develop enough strength to handle the glazing of this effect. Probably would have been four days in my climate--which is over 100 degrees again. No fires though...

I have pulled together the near ground the the midground by making the areas below the horses more interesting and varied. There is a lot of subtle movement going on within those areas by the use of value and color shifts. A lot more fun to DO it than to talk about it though! I'm really pleased with the colors in the stream--can you see the juxtaposition of the yellow orange with the red violet there, toned down? Gotta love the Color System!!

The DVDs ordered have been sent out and I'm waiting for some more feedback on them. So far, everything is positive! Now it is Saturday night, the house is hot and the moon is up, so I'm going to go play outside for a while! See you tomorrow!

You can order the latest Color System DVD 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.

Elin Pendleton Continues the Acrylic, with design notes.

Now that the canvas is 99% covered, and without details, anyone can see the feeling of evening light through the trees and the twilight cast of night sky on the lower 2/3 of the canvas. The only details define the near ground with the big shapes that let us know what's going on in the stream and lower canvas.

I've included a duplicate image below, because I wanted anyone interested in design and "pathways" from yesterday's blog to see what I mean graphically. Most artists learn by seeing, (at least I do!) so here goes:

In the image to the left, everywhere there is an implied or real edge (transition area) that is important to the design, I've drawn a light line. You can enlarge these images by clicking on them.) The primary focal point of the horses (which are not there completely yet) is the end- or through- point of many of those curving lines.

The curves are intentionally serene, not abrupt nor jagged, creating a peaceful flow throughout the canvas. Any small jutting shapes (such as on the mini-islands in the stream) are small and of little consequence to the overall design.

Although this landscape might be a combination of scenes on Fay's farm in Georgia, it is the ARTIST who picks and chooses subjects and then places and evaluates what becomes important (or not) on the small surface of a canvas. That's our JOB. It ain't an easy one, but never gets dull.

In my aikido training, I didn't realize how much the last four years of training have affected me--always thinking I'm such a beginner--until I witnessed the testing last night. Seeing those people on the mat doing the first test I'd passed many months ago, and just KNOWING what was supposed to happen made me realize that in all things, like painting, we need to constantly practice to get better. Sometimes we don't realize what we don't know until we surround ourselves with others who know more, and know less. I'm doing an Iriminage throw in this sketch.

You can order my newest instructional DVD on twilight and misty light HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE. (Only one space left in November).
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Elin Pendleton continues with the evening light mare and foal in pasture

As I start adding color to this acrylic (24 x 18), I'm thinking about the value structure at every moment. Even at this stage, you can see the lighter values going into the darker areas on the upper areas of this canvas. I'm completely in the COOL BOX, since this painting will be almost twilight, with only a flash of evening sun coming through the trees on the upper left. There will be a stream in the lower third, and I've laid in some of the "Trifecta" sky colors there already. (Trifecta is the trio of hard workers of Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin/Quinacradone Magenta and Yellow Ochre). Everything else you see at this stage is the four darkest values from the Cool Box. I'm using a one-inch filbert for these big areas.

YES!! FINALLY!!! The link for the newest DVD is up and running!!! (My internet at the house fell through the cracks so I'm typing and working from a wifi about a mile from my studio. Never a dull moment, eh?) Here's the second menu for the Advanced Techniques included on the second DVD in the set. Now who's going to be the FIRST to order? Here's the direct URL:
http://www.elinart.com/pages/dvd4.html

I spent the morning shipping the painting to Lexington, and again working with my friend Ron Wood on his glass projects. Back to the easel for more light and color tomorrow!

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.

Happy FULL MOON!!!

Elin Pendleton Starts one for WEG, and the new DVD!

What you'll be seeing in the next five days is what happened in my studio in two hours. I love a challenge, and surely had one with this opportunity. Karen LaBach of the American Academy of Equine Art asked me to send a "small" painting for the World Equestrian Games display, since I'm one of two instructors with AAEA workshops coming up in the spring (mine's here in California!). I said I have a 12 x 16, and she replied, "no, the other artist's is 18 x 24, so that's what we consider 'small' on that display space."

Ulp. So I don't have ANYthing recent that represents the Color System that wasn't lost in the boxes from my workshops. I remember one I'd done in Georgia that I don't even have a photo record of which just felt right to redo, differently, of course! So with reference material from that magical time, I've started (and finished) this 24 x 18 canvas, which will be shipped out tomorrow to Kentucky. The reference material is on each side, and those of you who remember the painting I did on the last day of the Georgia workshop will remember the right-hand photo.

The Colorful Painting 4 master DVDs are in the hands of the duplication service, and I'll have the copies back Wednesday! The "Advanced Techniques" on the second disk is what took so much more time... there are TWELVE different areas of advanced techniques! From mid-ground transitions to edges, to brushwork, to color balance--it's ALL there, adding another half hour to the production! (And three days of editing, with voice overs.) Here's the sub-menu I had to make to handle half the topics. Each section represents one-sixth of the information.

Because of the painting marathon today, I haven't updated the web site so you can buy them yet. The price for the two DVD set will be $34.95 with $4 shipping. TOMORROW... I promise! Links, I PROMISE!!!

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.

Showjumper Painting Is Completed!

 The showjumper painting is completed.! The title is Jump. (Thank you to  Nilesh for the name!)I am really pleased with how this one came out.I chose not to get too fussy with the details. The colors in real life are more saturated than what you see here. The equine painting is a very large watercolor measuring 22 x 30 (unmatted, unframed size), and is painted on a full sheet of Arches 300 lb Hot Press paper. Arches is one of the finest papers available and this is a very heavy weight substrate. I am selling this unframed. It will require matting, framing and glazing (glass or plexiglass).


  Jumper has a ton of impact and captures a horse at the top of an oxer. It would look super in your living room, tack room or farm office!I have detailed photos for anyone interested in investing in this piece. Email me for info Deborah@DeborahOSullivan.com  $1400 includes shipping and insurance or Click to purchase

Jump!