Westie - Finished

I finished this painting today. Sadly the photo isn't doing the colour justice but it's very dark outside and I'm having to rely on daylight bulbs. I've really enjoyed doing this painting, it's great doing a pose like this and a full body painting so fingers crossed Westie's owner is pleased with it.

Westie

I'm really hopeful that I should have this painting finished tomorrow. I've only the mane, tail and head to go so fingers crossed. Hopefully the amazing contrast in the lighting is coming across in the painting, although, once again, this photo isn't showing exactly the same as the original painting and is showing a bit lighter. I love doing paintings with this kind of lighting as I think it makes for a really interesting painting.

Westie

Here's todays progress on the painting. There's a slight bit of light reflection on Westie's rump because the paint here was still wet when I took the photo.

Westie

This painting is of Westie and is going to be quite big at 24x20" and I've really been looking forward to it!! I absolutely love doing full body paintings of horses like these so it's always great to have one to do. I've painted the background as a grass green to hint towards the fact that Westie is in a field and as with the shadow, I will make the edges around the hooves rough to make it look as though Westie is stood in grass. I did try putting in a few bits of grass in the foreground but didn't like how it was looking so have stuck with it as is.

Kara - Finished

Here is the finished version of Kara, awaiting approval. I've been very pleased with my progress with this painting and how it's turned out. I must admit that I was a bit nervous to start with incase I struggled with the colour mixing to get the Palomino colouring right, but it was easier than I anticipated and I ended up really enjoying this painting. I can have mental blocks at times throughout paintings, and often start paintings with a huge mental block, but luckily, once I got going with this painting, it continued to flow.

Kara

I'm nearly there! Just the tack and forelock to go on this painting. I've been pleased with my progress so far with this painting and I hope any viewers have been enjoying watching it come together.

Kara

Ha ha, not the straightest photo I've ever managed!!

Kara

Here is the latest stage of Kara. I have to admit that I find Palominos quite a challenging colour to mix up. In the shadow on her neck there are lots of reddish tones but you have to get it just right or she could end up looking like a chestnut! I also love having quite contrasting tones to paint, such as the lighting on Kara with the deep shadows and then the bright sunlight coming in from the right.

Kara

This painting is of Lady Kara, a beautiful Palomino mare. This is the very early, messy stage of the painting with the background painted on and now dry and then I have started to block out the main areas of the painting with the first underlayer. It will get better, honest!

Archie - Finished

Here is the finished portrait of Archie, awaiting approval. I've really enjoyed this painting, Archie being a very good looking horse and a joy to paint.

Archie

A bit more progress made today. There are a lot of colours in Archie's coat which need blending together. My palette has consisted of oranges, browns and even pinks and purples to try and capture it properly.

Archie

This is the first stage of my painting of Archie. Firstly I draw out the basic outline of the subject onto the canvas and add a few details like the positions of eyes, shadows, tack etc and then I go around the outside edge of the drawing with masking fluid so when I paint on the background, it doesn't matter if I go over the edge of the drawing with the paint. The photo above is of it with the masking fluid removed.

Then I do a wash of base paint to cover the blank canvas so I can then paint on top without the white canvas showing through. I leave other areas uncovered to start with to make them easier to pick out when I come to painting them later.

And then I can get started on painting in the detail. I've started with the neck and will then move on to Archie's head, leaving the tack until last.

Cab - Finished

Here is the finished version of Cab, waiting approval. I always find it interesting and slightly amusing with each painting as to the areas I love to paint and the areas I find more challenging. I absolutely love painting eyes and it's often been commented upon by people looking at my paintings, especially if they're close ups of faces. I also love painting dogs noses as they have that wet look about them that I really enjoy depicting. Horse's muzzles are also a favourite of mine as I adore how soft they are in real life and have great fun trying to make them look as soft in my paintings. However, ears are a real bug bear for me, in both animals and humans! I have no idea why but I always struggle with ears. Hands, feet, paws and hooves are also quite tricky as it can be quite easy to get the sizing slightly wrong and this in turn can make them look very strange!

Cab

I finished tweaking Cab's face today and painted his ear so just his mouth and nose to go. I've been trying to get a decent photo, which in these dark evenings is tricky to do as my daylight bulb reflects off the painting and gives it a slight white 'glow' and on the original painting there are a lot more oranges and burnt siennas in his coat. But this was the closest photo I could get and shows some of the colours quite well.

Cab

Cab is suffering from shiny head today as I took the photo whilst the paint was still wet. Still quite a lot of work to be done on his face but I've made a fair bit of progress today.

Cab

He's coming along! I was hoping to have made a bit more progress today but something came along that halted all progress so I'll come back tomorrow with a new painting head on.

Cab

I gave up and used my small digital camera and it seemed to save perfectly well so it must be something to do with my new digital SLR but nevermind! As you can see, Cab is at that, what I like to call, ugly stage. I started out by drawing Cab onto the canvas and then I painted just inside the edge of his outline with masking fluid, which is a new thing that I discovered thanks to another acrylic artist, as this allows me to go crazy when painting in the background without worrying about losing the outline of the painting. Then I blocked in the drawing of Cab with brown just to cover the canvas to stop it showing through when I start to layer paint on top. I've started to paint in his coat and when doing this, on each painting, I have to sit for a minute or two and think how to approach it as each animal is different to the next. I've just painted a Cocker Spaniel but his coat is completely different to Cab's so it takes me a few mins to figure out how.

Cab

Well, I have started the painting of Cab but you might have to wait for a photo! For some reason, my laptop has decided that each time I save a photo, it will change the colour without me asking it to. It happened yesterday and has done so on every photo I've taken of the painting today so I will have to wait for hubby to get home tonight. My laptop is currently very close to becoming a flying machine and heading out the window! :-D

William - finished

I managed to finish William today. I must admit that I really struggle when painting curly ears, it's really hard to keep the dark undertones and then paint lighter layers on top, whilst keeping the curly under layers showing through but I've hopefully managed okay! Just awaiting approval, or if he needs any tweaks.

William

Here's William today. Unfortunately the colours aren't showing up as strong as they are in real life because of the lighting when taking the photo but as you can see he is coming on. The colours on his muzzle have been quite tricky to do as there are lots of layers and colours in his fur around the muzzle but I'm pleased with the result.

William

I've finished William's neck and chest area and also his ear. I've made a start on his nose and eye as I like to paint these features in first when working on the face as it brings the character out. I will be painting the other ear in last as it sits on top of William and leaving it till last means that I can make it appear closer to the viewer and layered over his neck etc.

William

This handsome fella is William. I started with putting down the background yesterday and today I blocked out the canvas and put down some of the darker undertones of his coat. I've made a bit of progress on Williams chest and neck area and will finish that off tomorrow. I noticed my head got in the way of the photo and has cast a shadow on the righthand side of the painting! :-D

Finished!!

Finished, wooooo!! Please excuse the terrible photo of it but it's dark outside and the painting is being lit by my daylight lamps so just a touch of light reflection. I will get a better photo during the day tomorrow when I can take more time over it, and see the painting without blurred eyes! You'll be glad to know I have an opticians appointment in the morning so we'll see just how permanently cross eyed I've become since the past few paintings! :-D

Wedding Painting

Just little Hope left to go. I would do a little 'I'm nearly there' dance but it's amazingly exhausting painting such tiny details all day long. I don't think the lunch of popcorn helped either!

Wedding Painting

Getting it finished today was a bit of wishful thinking but nevermind! And please excuse the poor photography today, it is Friday afternoon after all and I now have to get the house clean and this room re-arranged as it's also the guest room as I've a friend coming to stay for the weekend. We're off to the Chepstow races tomorrow with my new camera in the hope that I'll manage to get some reference photos for racing paintings. My photography skills are pretty non-existent but here's hoping for something I can work from! Have a great weekend everyone! Now, where's the wine.....

Wedding Painting

The end is in sight! :-D I've finished all the animals now and have made a start blocking out the canvas on the bridal party. It's been quite nice being able to get back to putting down large areas of colour again after spending so much time concentrating on small details. I'd love to get it finished tomorrow so keep everything crossed!!

Wedding Painting

I'm really starting to go cross eyed! :-D

Wedding Painting

Slowly but surely getting there!

Wedding Painting

It's starting to come to life now that I've started to paint in the 'subjects'. However, I might need new eyes after this as it's taking a lot of concentration and a steady hand to put in all the fine details, especially on the cats who are only about 1 1/2" tall!

Wedding Painting

Finished the background today and un-peeled the masking fluid to show all the subjects on the painting.

Wedding Painting

Here are a couple of updates from today. I've put in the groom and have been working on the wall, the first photo showing how I laid out and painted in all the stones and the bottom showing how I've layered on top to make the stones more 'stone like'.

Wedding Painting

This painting is 24x20" and will be of the bride, groom, daughter and all their animals in the setting of where the wedding will take place. Yes, that's right, of where the wedding will take place as it hasn't actually happened yet! It's also a surprise present for the groom so we've had to be very sneaky, getting photos of everyone in their wedding outfits which proved quite tricky with the groom but we finally got one last week. That's also why he's currently stuck on the canvas as a piece of paper as I've had to put everyone in separately and am waiting to hear if I've put him in the right position before I commit to drawing him on. Unfortunately, this means that I can't get on with the rest of the painting until he's confirmed as I need to paint the wall in next and would prefer to not have to do so before he's in place and once the wall is painted, I can paint everyone infront of the wall.

Stevie, Misty and Jimmy - Finished!

I've finally finished! This painting has taken me longer than normal but it was quite a different painting for me, for starters it was bigger than the norm at 24x20" and then there were so many colours in the coats to consider but I really enjoyed it and even I'm quite pleased with the result and that's saying something!

Stevie, Misty and Jimmy

So... very... nearly... there......... Only Stevie's ear to go but I'm having to stop for the day before my eyes go completely cross eyed! :-D

Stevie, Misty and Jimmy

Slowly getting there!!

Stevie, Misty and Jimmy

I made a start on and managed to finish Misty's face today, hopefully picking up on the roan details in the fur. It's quite tricky for me to paint things I'm not seeing infront of me so I hope I've done okay! I then made a very quick start on Stevie's ear but will get started properly another day as I now have to rearrange my 'studio'. Sadly, even though this is my full time job, I don't have a dedicated studio and this room also has to be the guest room, ironing room etc and as I have a friend coming up from Bristol for the night, I need to move everything into the corners just so I can get out the air bed for her. If anyone has an insulated wooden shed they fancy donating to me to become my studio, please let me know!

Stevie, Misty and Jimmy

Latest update. Misty is proving to be far easier colourwise so I've made quite a bit of progress today. I've also made some tweaks to Jimmy.

Stevie, Misty and Jimmy

At last, an update! It's been such a busy week as I was at the Monmouthshire Show yesterday with my tradestand so Wednesday was spent preparing for it, mounting prints, sorting bits and pieces and then going over to the site to put up my tent. This was my first one day show and luckily it stayed dry and was really busy. It's always hard to gauge the results as I will have to wait and see if I get any business from the day but I sold some prints which at least covered the cost of the pitch. It was also the first time that I'd attended a show on my own, I normally have my husband with me - I won't be going on my own again!! Because it was so busy, and I don't like leaving things unattended, I managed one toilet break and didn't get to eat anything until the show ended at 6.30pm! I'd become so used to going to quiet shows with hubby where it's easy to wander off if needed so this was quite a shock! Stevie, Misty and Jimmy also came with me to the show as I worked on the painting whilst there and they were admired by everyone. I've nearly finished Jimmy, just a few tweaks needed and made a good start on Misty. I've given myself just next week to finish this painting, having also forgotten it's a bank holiday weekend, so fingers crossed! :-D

Trio

Today's update. I went over a lot of yesterday's work, tidying up sections and putting in slightly more detail and have made a start on the neck.

Trio

Okay, so who's bright idea was it to paint these dogs wet? Oh yeah, mine! There I was thinking that wet coats would make the curls a bit more uniformed and easier to paint..... but I was wrong! There are so many colours and tones to fit in but at least it's making it an interesting challenge!! I've made a bit of progress today and hopefully it's looking okay so far.

Stevie, Misty and Jimmy

Hmmm, today's painting didn't go quite according to plan! Although I must admit that I'm not sure what the plan is! I painted on some dark under layers and then went and painted over the bits I'd painted over, therefore cancelling out what I'd already painted. Hopefully it will start coming together and I'll work out what I'm doing! lol! No painting tomorrow though as the in-laws are coming to visit.

Yesterday....

So, what was I up to yesterday that meant I couldn't concentrate the day before? I went to London to visit the Osborne Studio Gallery where I had set up a meeting with the owner to show him some of my work in the hope they might be interested in taking some of my paintings to sell. He had seen some of my images that I had sent via email and was still interested enough to see them in person so we drove all the way to London yesterday, paintings at the ready. Unfortunately, however, the gallery owner had completely forgotten about the meeting and gone off to do a valuation!!!! Luckily his partner at the gallery was able to have a look at my paintings and kept a couple, Waiting and Denman & Kauto Star, to show the owner when he got back. I'm not sure if they'll want to keep the paintings or will be able to sell them but to even get such a gallery interested in viewing my paintings in person was fantastic! It's also EXTREMELY hard finding galleries interested in equestrian art but this has given me the courage to continue my search, although I might stick a bit closer to home next time!!!

Stevie, Misty and Jimmy

Here is the beginning of the painting of Stevie, Misty and Jimmy. I haven't got very far so far as I have a big day tomorrow that is starting to take over all my thoughts and I'm finding it hard to concentrate! It's an art related thing that's happening tomorrow but I won't say what exactly until I get back from it as I worry about jinxing myself!! I am the original pessimist!

The colour in this photo isn't particularly strong compared to the original due to lighting when taking the photo but I try to get the final photo as close to the original as possible.

Stan - Finished

Here is the final version of Stan, awaiting approval so fingers crossed! I was even able to get a decent photo without too much trouble because the sun is actually making an appearance today! This summer has been absolutely crazy with hardly any sun and far too much rain, but it has given me an idea for a painting should I be brave enough to venture out in the rain with my camera....

Stan

I think I've finished the painting but I will be able to come back to it in the morning with fresh eyes and will no doubt find a few bits and pieces that I will want to tweak. I've really enjoyed doing this painting, Stan is extremely handsome and been an absolute pleasure to paint.

Stan

I'm slowly getting there! I've attached two photos from today, the top showing how I put in darker areas before adding the lighter layers on top. I still need to build up the lighter layers a lot more as there are some lovely highlights on Stan's face.

Stan

Stan's face is starting to take shape now, with his ears and eye details finished. Please take no notice of the two pieces of paper towards the bottom of the photo, these are just to make sure the painting doesn't stick to the easel!

Stan

I really should realise that Mondays are not a good painting day! Because we tend to be away or busy most weekends, I end up catching up with house work and other chores on Mondays and today was no different. I managed to do a bit of painting and you might notice that the background has changed colour! When I painted the green background, I had run out of one of my favourite greens so tried to recreate it with others but I wasn't happy with it and finally decided to change it for a beige background today and I'm much happier with it.