Good afternoon from cold, wet, Northern Baltimore County!
I took my kiddos to school this morning and nearly froze my can off between still-present snow, forty-degree temps, and buckets of heavy pellets of rain falling...enough precip to cause flash flooding here.
But- after getting back and drying off, I lit a fire in the kitchen fireplace and put on some French Press coffee, then spent a few moments with my dogs on the couch, sipping coffee while plotting my day in my head.
Animals calm me. There is something soothing about watching birds, feeding my chickens, or just spending quiet time with the pooches. Below is my canine art-tourage...the Weimeraner I bought for my husband two years ago on his birthday, and a lovely lady German Shorthaired Pointer that we rescued two weeks ago. Poor thing was bred then dumped at a shelter in West Virginia. Many of her teeth have been broken, and she is very submissive, not looking me in the eyes, and assuming a prostrate position when I try to pet her. I don't know what kind of schmucky person abuses animals (probably the same kind that abuse children), but I'm happy she's with us now. I'd say she's really made progress these past two weeks. She and Calvin, who is surprisingly the same age, are getting along famously.
Calvin and Sadie (my moral support) on the couch in front of the fire, about ten feet from me while I work nearby on the kitchen island.
So--I was hoping to have some Divine inspiration as to which road to take on "The Vine, The Branches", the chapel and vineyard painting that I started late last week. But alas, no new ideas came to me, so instead of sitting there staring at the canvas, I started a new, smaller piece to add to my show for early March--a simple modern portrait of our youngest child.
We have four children and I have painted all but one, until today. Because finding photographs that make great, simple compositions is harder than it sounds. But, I have been carrying around (on my iPhone) a promising jpeg of our (now) four-year-old sleeping in the backseat of my truck. So, today, I did a quick sketch of my baby with pencil and paint then continued with a Mixed Media approach. Here are the photos:
My initial sketch....I start with pencil then add detail with loose paint on top.
Completed piece. 9x12 "Backseat Driver". NFS.
My Mixed Media pieces like this make great gifts and I have taken commissions for similar pieces for clients. A piece this size is $375, including shipping, and can be done in two weeks time, sometimes sooner. ***I do take payment plans, so if you'd like a piece but need a few months to pay, that's perfectly fine--I often do that myself when purchasing art.
This little guy will be at the Melange I show the first two weeks in March through Maryland Federation of Art, Historic Annapolis. I hope that you can join us for the Artist's Reception March 6th, 3-5pm at Circle Gallery. And as always, thank you for your interest in my work!