Just had to paint this...

When I saw this photo of 8 month old Millie I was inspired to paint her. It's such a typical "What have you got for me?" expression.
I put Fancy, the rooster in behind her, just because he's a great looking rooster and I'm very fond of him. The lighting was tricky because it's inside the chicken house with a window on each side. So basically I made it up as I went along.

Acrylic, 11"x14" Title - "What ??"

I love my chickens.

Just ducky

Another in the acrylic bird series. This compact little guy is a Ruddy Duck painted on a 6x8 canvas board.

In winter, Ruddy Ducks inhabit shallow, protected, saltwater bays and estuaries along the coast or ice-free, inland lakes and ponds. Breeding habitat is freshwater marshes and ponds with marshy borders mixed with open water.
Ruddy Ducks are often found in tight flocks. They forage by diving under water and straining mud through their bills to find food. Like many small-winged ducks, Ruddy Ducks must get a running start across the water to become airborne. I've only seen them in photos but I think they're just  downright cute.

Chickadee-dee-dee, 4"x6" acrylic

Four days of rain ahead so I should be able to get on with some painting without outdoor distractions. I'd really like to get back to watercolors, but I have these blobs of acrylic on my sta-wet palette that I dont want to waste so I hope to do a few more favorite birds, and learn some more about the acrylic process.

From this reference photo I painted this little chickadee imagining him in the light from the front window, as they flutter about our bird feeder near the end of the day.

Painting again

Feeling better today! The antibiotics started to take effect on Friday and I've been working on this acrylic off and on since then. It's a real mood lifter to be able to do something constructive after laying about for so long.
Gisela and Peter, our B&B guests from Germany, if you are checking in with this blog you'll recognise the photo you took that I used as a reference for this painting.
Today its pouring down rain, the tail end of some southern storm, but I'm not bothered a bit. I'm thankful for a pile of books by a nice warm fire, for feeling more chipper, and for modern medecine.

Painting again

Its been so long since I picked up a brush...and this big white surface has been beckoning me for weeks, to paint a mural. Its on the chicken house and will be portraits of my five hens as if the viewer is looking into the henhouse. I started by drawing each hen from photos, on separate pieces of paper and moving them about until they all fit into the background.


Then the design was transferred with carbon paper to the coop.









The dark floor will be mostly covered by painting in the straw litter at some point.


I might get this finished tomorrow or the next day if it doesnt rain. Gee, I look at these pictures and wonder if I'm at the "dotty old lady" stage of life.



Its a fun project, and it gives me something to think about besides worrying about the poor Iranians and their horrible government.

Rising Tide, St Martins

I've finished this acrylic painting of a pair of our harbor's lobster boats amid a rising tide of concerns about the whole east coast lobster industry. Prices for the catch are so depressed with the recession that many fishers feel it's hardly worth the cost of the diesel fuel to go out. According to the news hundreds of boat helpers wont be called up for the coming season, in order to cut costs. Processers still have huge inventories of frozen lobster from last season so a worthwhile price for the fishermen doesnt seem likely.

On a brighter note, this should be the week we say goodbye to the lingering snow patches, with lots of rain and mild temperatures in the forecast. My sunny studio windows are crowded with seeds I planted today. They'll move to the greenhouse when the nights arent so cold.

Seeds look so insignificant but by midsummer , how amazing to get SOOOO much good food out of almost nothing.
Getting on with seasonal chores, the plastic door and roof covering are back on the greenhouse. I go in and with the sun shining I can pretend it's summer.

The winter storms played havoc with the birdhouses, now they're safely screwed into place awaiting tenants. Song sparrows are everywhere today, what is sweeter than their springtime melodies?

Stormy and Avery

I started an acrylic portrait a few days ago of two of my favorite characters, our minihorse Stormy and his little fan, Avery. There were 2 reference photos, I liked the horse's position in one, and Avery's face in the other, so the painting is a combination of the two.

This is a 16x20 canvas covered board. I started by covering the white with a lot of orangy color and blocking in the main bits and pieces leaving specks of the underlying colors to show through. Not sure what to do with the background at this point.

Actually , not sure of anything much at this point so doing some details on the face. Avery is so happy and proud of himself when he is riding Stormy and I want that to come through.

I thought the tree background was boring so I broke it up with a bit of sky, altho there really is a solid mass of spruce trees there on a steep hillside. Painting is a lot like carpentry or renovating in that you are constantly solving construction problems one after the other. I guess thats why my attention span doesnt last more than an hour or so...its just hard work! The next problem before getting into finishing details is to make Stormy's belly a lot rounder and put some kind of interest in the pasture grass, but not so much that its distracting. Looks like I'll be a few more days at this.

Charolais and hereford

Reference pic

I always loved cows. As a child I milked a lot of them, Barbara was my favorite, a beautiful Guernsey who let me ride on her bony back. She must have been so glad when Bessie the pony arrived.

Continueing my foray into acrylics, I've been working on this painting the last few days, its a sort of learn as I go process, unlike watercolor its so easy to make corrections. This one is 9"x12". I hope I can get a little faster.