Crows are Geniuses

Today I'm using the birds in this video as references for the Crow Series piece I have in progress. It's worth watching, though, just for the ingenuity of the crows, who have figured out what stoplights are for.

Crow in progress. This 7 x 5" oil on salvaged aluminum is the heart of a new piece, the full design of which I haven't worked out just yet, but that's normal for these things. They develop on the fly.

Painting While the Sun Shines, Part 2

Rail Cars and Red Grass, 8 x 10" oil on canvas board

There are several tracks running through Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, where I painted this, so if you can imagine the clanging, and squealing, and the track-rhythms, and the roar of those big diesels -- four in a row, sometimes, black red yellow like a coral snake -- then you know where I was.

I'm drawing trains more and more lately, and I hope there are enough people out there who like both trains and art to make this worth my while. Because I'm not likely to stop any time soon.

Painting while the Sun Shines

 

Above, yesterday's little panel with the freight train. This was at the end of the session. I didn't stop painting long enough to take a photo until the sun was gone and I had to stop anyway. 

Later, in the studio, I finished the piece but didn't have good light for photographing it. I'll do that today. It took me a long time but I have finally accepted that it is simply not possible to truly color-correct a photo of art taken under artificial light. I always end up re-shooting in daylight anyway.

And here's the finished Path with Dry Goldenrod, 8 x 10" oil on canvas board.

Are there places in your world that you think would make good paintings? I think most of us have them, even if they're just particular stretches of highway we see on our commute. I invite you to take photos (um, preferably not while driving) and post them on my Facebook page. Or tweet me, @TracieTheArtist.  

Paint Foal Portrait

Little Tag, 10 x 8" mixed media on cotton rag paper

This little fellow is a commission. His owner had only one very poor snapshot of him as a youngster -- the one on his original registration papers. I did my best therefore to adhere to his spirit, since the letter, as it were, was somewhat blurry.

His very rich coloring made watercolor the easiest, fastest choice for completing the picture and lending the free, happy feeling I wanted for him.

Tiny Flower Garden

Garden at the Faire, 5 x 3" watercolor and pen on paper

Another drawing from yesterday at the Renaissance Festival.

The humor of this: it was just to the left of the Legends Stage where the Puke & Snot Show was going on. Ribald humor and dahlias. I smiled all through the sketching part, but didn't get to finish it until much later in the day. I enjoyed the cool breeze and some remarkable music while I sat in the Queen's Tavern with my watercolor kit and a pint of good cider, happy despite knowing how soon winter will arrive.

The intricate pattern of leaves and flowers required considerable time and attention, but it felt good to slow down enough for that.

This little piece is now available at my online shop.

Shih-Tzu at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival

Sushi, drawn from life at the Renaissance Festival today. About 10" x 8" mixed media on paper.

This little dog was perched on top of the counter at one of the vendors' stalls at the Ren Fest, sweetly accepting all the attention she got from people walking in.  So I drew her. I mean, really, what else could I have done? It's not every day you get such a lovely little model, complete with the flower in her hair.

It's become habit for me to always have drawing supplies, and today I made five drawings while at the Festival. I hope I didn't annoy my friends too much. What I want now is to go back and do more, but it's a long way and a lot of money for beer food, so I doubt I will do it this year.

Drawing is 10 x 8" mixed media on cotton rag paper. Priced at just $45 for the drawing only, or $59 with mat to fit a standard 11 x 14" frame. I use a museum-quality Bainbridge mat in a soft cream color that really complements these drawings.  Includes a signed "pedigree" for the drawing, detailing how, where, and when it was made. A very nice gift for someone in your life who loves Shih Tzus.

Too many dogs to upload now, so have a landscape!

After Bark and Roll, I took my shiny new Guerrilla Painter Box and went out with a friend to do some landscape sketching. Days this lovely are rare and we needed to use this one while we could.

Path with Dry Goldenrod, 8 x 10", oil on canvas board.

We went to Bruce Vento Park, where the light falling across the trail caught my attention immediately. I seem to enjoy stripey landscapes.

Working outdoors, there's always a time limit, and this little piece took ... somewhere between 70 and 90 minutes, I think. It's a guess at best because I rarely know what time it is while I'm painting. The world kind of stops; that's one of the nicest things about making art.

Chances that I'll make a few tweaks to this: approximately 100%. I'm happy with it, though, and look forward to putting it up for sale in the next few days.

Progress at International Market Square

 

The same curvature that made this wall ideal for a mural also makes it terribly difficult to photograph. I sure wish I could call in my brother. He'd capture it beautifully, but I don't have the budget to have this particular job photographed. 

Yesterday I got the ruined temple painted in, solidified a lot of the landscape around it, and then did some work on the lower foreground areas to give them a bit of depth and detail. Today I am going to lunch with Julie Dasher of Concept Interiors and some other new friends in the building, and will continue with the process. I expect to finish there tomorrow afternoon.

Highland Villager spot!

This is in the current (Sept. 14 -- 27) edition of the Highland Villager here in St. Paul. Brad Stauffer came out, took photos and talked to everyone on site at Wet Paint, and a good time was had by all.

For those of you who've missed it, there's a minor error in this story: the mural isn't going into a local shelter, but into the new offices of Enchanted Makeovers in Detroit.  This organization is transforming lives by transforming environments, and I'm so honored to have an opportunity to work with them.

Woman in Pink Velvet Jacket

Woman in Pink Velvet Jacket, 5 x 3" mixed media on paper

The eternal challenge with making art is finding the time to actually do it. For me, it helps to carry very small sketch books around. These drawings-in-little-moments are fuel, and they sharpen my skills, and they make me happy.

Often, they make other people happy, too. There were two women I drew on this same day, and the other one's drawing isn't posted here because she gleefully bought it from me on the spot.