Fawn

Fawn

12x12"

Oil

$288

(Daily Paintworks Auction beginning bid $185)

     Deer often come through our yard. They eat anything in a flower pot and they drink from the birdbath.  I love it when they visit, but it is especially good when I can get a picture of them doing something more active like this little one scratching his ear. My problem here was to emphasize his cute self, not his rear end facing the viewer. I made his nose and eye very dark against the light background to make his face the focal point and left his bottom a dark value against a medium background to de-emphasize it. I like the way his body naturally creates the composition even though the focal point is in the lower quadrant, not what I usually prefer. Nature just has a way of offering us surprises.

Merry Christmas

Poinsettias

11x14"

Oil

     Merry Christmas to everyone.

 "Peace on earth. Goodwill toward men."

Meghan

Meghan

14x11"

Oil

     This is a portrait of that wonderful niece of mine, the owner of Scratch the bunny. Young girls are so full of beauty, mystery, and possibilities. They are the vessels we pour our hopes into.

     This painting was fun for me, not just because it is of someone I love, but because I ventured into the high-intensity color palette. The phthalos and quinacridones go together in a bright, vibrant combination. I love the result. I usually go back to the ochres and siennas for animals, but these intense colors seemed right for the bright pure colors of fresh youth.

     Naturally, I gave this painting to Meghan's mother.

That Rabbit!

Scratch

9x12"

Oil

$216

(Daily Paintworks Auction beginning bid $150)

     What is it about this rabbit?! I have painted him five times now. He belongs to my darling niece, so I know him personally. He has a funny nose due to a childhood accident, but he is just adorable, full of personality, very precious to all of us.

     I had several false starts on this painting and finally decided to start with his full eye and work outward from there. When I realized I wanted to put my heart and energy into that one spot of the painting, the rest of it fell into place.

Monte's Kong

Monte's Kong

8x6"

Oil

$96

(Daily Paintworks Auction beginning bid $65)

     When I saw that the Challenge this week was to paint your dog with his favorite toy, I was delighted. I love painting Monte and have done it many times. I will probably paint him again many more times. One interesting feature he has is his one blue eye. I have to be careful not to make it too blue or it will overpower his face and ruin its beauty. The concentration you see in his face is for real. When he is involved in sports, he is very focused.