J.B. the Scotty has eyes :)

J.B.
Scottish Terrier
Memorial Portrait
18" x 24"

In the close-up you can see more of the colors that are on the painting. I have used blues, greens and purples to highlight his fur and give him depth.

I'm tired tonight, so not much to say :)

Thanks for looking and LIVE CREATIVELY!

Liz

JB the Scotty Gets his Turn . . .. finally

Hi,

I hope everyone has survived the storms and managed to get to a safe place. I hope if you had any losses, it was just material possessions which don't matter that much in the real scheme of things. I live in the middle of Texas, we didn't even get any rain, so don't worry about me :)

J.B. the Scotty
18" x 24" Oil on Canvas

I've been working on J.B., but haven't had any good photos. Finally got a couple, although he's so dark that the camera doesn't pick up the variations very well. You may remember this is a memorial painting for a Scotch Terrier that has crossed the rainbow bridge. This is much larger than life, since Scotties aren't that large, and this is 18" x 24". It's looking good, hopefully when I get the background in, the photo will turn out better. I think all that white space is throwing it off. Also, he looks a bit bizarre without any eyes yet. Don't worry, he'll have his beautiful, loving eyes soon.

Here is a little close up of his nose, which shows more of the variation and colors of the painting better than the larger photo above. You can click on the photos to see a larger version.

In a total change of subject, I have one of those little plastic ponds outside my back door. I've stocked it with 10/$1 goldfish which have grown and reproduced - it's wonderful. Last summer a couple frogs found it and I've been serenaded nightly ever since. They filled the pond up with tadpoles, and now we have a little frog nursery - they are growing out of their tails and climbing up onto the lily pads - thought you'd enjoy a few pics of my baby frogs :)



You can't really tell it from these photos, but they're tiny!

Hope you and yours are safe, warm & dry tonight -

Live Creatively!

Liz

Kitchen Series - Mixer & Dog of the Day - JB the Scottie

Mix it Up!
Kitchen Series - Kitchenaid Mixer
9" x 9"
Oil on Reclaimed Panel

Or click here to email me about Mix It Up Kitchenaid Mixer.

This is one of a set of 6 kitchen paintings - contact me to see all 6
They are available as a group for $950 with free shipping.

I am really happy with this painting. It was a challenge to get the reflections in the bowl, and of course, I made the color pop quite a bit more than it did in real life. The part that I didn't like was the mixer body, because it is a flat blue color. Fortunately, there are enough reflections in it to add some depth. I have used this mixer for 20 years, and it's a bit scratched and not as shiny as it used to be. I think it makes a great center of interest for my still life :)

Not sure if I'm going to leave the background that color, I think I'd like it better if it was bright orange - the complement of blue. In these 'fun' paintings, I like to do things a bit more dramatically than I do in my commissioned work.

Technical note - when I paint the 4"x 6" paintings, I prepare the masonite panel by sanding, priming, sanding, gessoing, sanding and then painting with a couple coats of shellac. This makes a very slick finish that allows me to manipulate the paints immediately. The painting today was done on a plywood panel that had been primed and gessoed. Gesso is very very matte finish. The paint does not glide, it sticks like glue and gets sucked in . . . it was horrible!! I took my remaining 10"x10" panels and coated them with about 3 layers of shellac tonight, so the next one I paint won't be so frustrating!

It's so nice to be back painting and productive again. Hope you're enjoying the artwork!

Today's Dog Painting

(click to enlarge)

JB

Scottish Terrier
4"x6"
Oil on Panel

I have a collector who has been commissioning paintings from me for years - just about from the time I started. He has one of my first paintings, and I'd really like to get it back and fix it up LOL. I painted this as a gift to him. It is one of his many Scotties that he has rescued and takes such extensive care of. I hope I come back reincarnated as one of his dogs! He does so much for the dogs, he deserves this!

The painting is signed, but the website copyright appears only on the internet.