Little Taylor

While I was at St. Paul Art Crawl over the weekend, I found the photo below on my iPad and decided to sketch the little guy. It's not a great picture; it's poorly lit and somewhat blurry, but I liked the expression and chose to give it a try. Taylor belonged to a friend of mine who misses him very, very much. He was such a little dynamo that there aren't many great photos of him; he moved too fast!

Today I'm thinking I want to put in some of the freckling around his nose, and possibly add some subtle shading on one side of his face, and alter the shape of one ear a little bit. This is why I like to keep portraits around for a few days, if I can; I see things I didn't see at first.

Piper with her Favorite Toy

Piper Wants to Play, 12" x 9" mixed media on cotton rag paper. I know this dog; she belongs to my friend Josephine Geiger, who does fantastic stained glass art.

I took the photo I used for this portrait. It was a sunny afternoon and the dog was happy, and I had my camera on hand. As soon as I saw the photo, I knew I had to use it; it's absolutely her, tail in the air and ready to go.

Watercolor Pony Sketch

A Streak of Paint, 10 x 8" watercolor and pencils on cotton rag paper

This darling pony mare belongs to a friend of mine and is currently without a name. She's half Arabian, half Pinto pony, and yes, she really does have that tiny muzzle, those huge eyes, all that impossible fairy-tale-illustration stuff you might thing I exaggerated.

Her owner took the photo I used for this sketch. The art required about 30 minutes total; that's because today was a good day, and the profile view is pretty simple (well, it is is you're me and you've been drawing horses since you were ten).

Pony's owner has spoken for this piece, but if you'd like one similar to it, come see me at Saint Paul Art Crawl and bring your photos with you. I'll be sketching animals on site.

Amazing Gracie

11 x 11" mixed media on cotton rag paper. Gracie was a whole bucket full of sass.

What the heck is Saint Paul Art Crawl?

Saint Paul Art Crawl 

Friday, April 26, 6- 10 pm; Sat., April 27, 12 - 8 pm; Sun., April 28, 12- 5 pm. 

Orange Ranunculus, 10 x 8" oil on panel, is one of the pieces I'll have available at Art Crawl this month.

So what is Saint Paul Art Crawl, anyway? I've noticed, when I say "Art Crawl," people smile and nod, politely pretending to know what I mean.

Saint Paul Art Crawl is around 300 artists opening up their studios on one weekend and inviting everyone to come on in.  The bulk of these artists are in Lowertown St. Paul, but many (like myself) are part of "Crawl Off the Map" in other parts of town.

It's a busy weekend, with all kinds of people, and art, and everyone moving from one space to another. Crawl has a very relaxed atmosphere similar to an outdoor art fair.  Just without all the bugs and muddy spots.

                                             
I'll be making animal sketches, like the ones above, from people's photos "On the Spot," in about 20 to 30 minutes. I only do this at Art Crawl. Bring me a photo of your creature (all breeds and species welcome) and I will make a drawing while you're there. If you like the results, you hand me $20 and take it home.  If you don't have an animal, it's still fun to watch. I'm an instructor and if you're not careful you might learn some stuff by accident.

You'll find me with Josephine Geiger, Brenda Brousseau, and Christy Johnson, at J. A. Geiger Studio at 1647 Beech Street, just off 94 and White Bear. Parking on the street is free at our location.

Late to the Pony Party, #30, Lad the Appaloosa

I think it was his softness that actually gave me so much difficulty with Lad. I mean, I did have to correct for lens distortion that had stretched out his nose in the source image, but still -- everything about him was so soft around the edges that it was really challenging to find and define the structures of his head.

Of course, the thick pink halter he was wearing in the pictures didn't help either. :-D I chose to remove that, guessing it was a hand-me-down from an older sister or something.

The softness is what I love about this horse, though. It's so clear how kind and sweet he is.