I am BACK!

And there was much rejoicing.

... um ... there was much rejoicing, wasn't there? Guys?

I want to write a long post because I went to California and had an amazing time and made lots of drawings, including the Quiet Clydesdale sketch above -- done from life at the Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley.   But I don't have time because ...

... I'M IN THE ST. PAUL ART CRAWL THIS WEEKEND!

You can find me at Old Town Artists on the 4th floor of the ACVR Warehouse, 106 W. Water Street, St. Paul.

So I have to go prepare! Lots of stuff to show and sell.

Chaos and Cat Portrait (in progress)

Due to unforeseen but happy circumstances, I find myself in the midst of a sudden move across town; thus the dearth of recent posts.  Life and commissions go on, though.

This is the beginning phase of a cat portrait, 7 x 5". It will be finished in pastel, but I begin these in carbon pencil and sanguine pencil.  I'm working from a photo in which the cat's face is beautifully lit from the left side of the picture and falls into a lot of shadow on the right.  It's a nice little challenge, and I'll update again when it's finished.

Finished mural

Total time on this was much less than I'd anticipated; three shortened working days (the heat made it near impossible to work past 2 in the afternoon).  Here's a close-up view of the surface -- great stuff for soft clouds and water, awful for anything that needs sharp definition:

Progress, Day Two

Only two or three more hours to go, I think.  I won't be there tomorrow (Sunday). Should be finished Monday afternoon!

Progress, Day One

It was HOT out there, kids!  Hot, hot, hot, but the job is going well.

My mission, should I choose to accept it ...

... is to paint this rough stucco wall:

... with an Italian coastline type landscape something like this sketch:

In three days.  Today, tomorrow, and Monday.  Weather permitting, of course.  Today's weather will permit, but dang it's hot out there.

Railroad Flowers

I'd gone to Hopkins yesterday evening to get photos of one of the trains I often saw idling near Excelsior Blvd. and 169.  It rolled into motion as I was walking toward it, so I managed only a couple shots; it was moving pretty fast.

In the photo above, you can see my shadow on the grass.  I really like trains and hope to use these photos as a basis for some paintings.  But the trail along the tracks also offered some unexpected joys -- including this, which I've now learned is a Great Black Wasp, Sphex pennsylvanicus:

The wasp was about 1.5" long -- huge -- and not at all aggressive. I snapped tons of very close-range shots while it happily drank nectar.  While looking for information on the species I found a lot of message board posts from women who claimed to have been attacked by these, and I can't help wondering if the women in question were wearing something (perfume, hairspray, other forms of fragrance) that smelled like nectar to the wasp.

And with that, I am off to the studio for the day.  Probably will be plein-air painting this afternoon with Richard Abraham!  That is, if the weather holds.

New Salvage Art

Security, found objects, wax medium and oil paint. 6" h x 5.5" w x 2.5" d.

 

This was finished an hour or so ago. The wood piece that forms the house was found near the Soap Factory, just after volunteer orientation there.  Please click the images to see the details more clearly!

Old Town Artists now has a Blog!

And there was much rejoicing!

I'll be painting spots in my sleep tonight

But I'll be happy about it.

It took two full working days (about 16 hours) for me to create this tree and leopard -- whose young owner has named him Hunter, much to my delight. 

Below, a snapshot of the wall before I arrived, with its existing green/blue color scheme: