I’ve completed the under painting for Gingie’s portrait this afternoon, it’s coming along quite nicely, and I should be finishing this lovely Beagle portrait by the end of the week.

For those artists out there wondering what my palette is, I’m using all of my standard colors plus one or two: yellow ochre, naples yellow light, magenta, burnt umber, raw umber, burnt sienna, sap green, indigo, french ultramarine and white.

I paint ultra-thin, so my first layer consists of darks and shadows that will give me a good base to start layering various shades of fur in additional layers. Her muzzle and chest will be much, much lighter once those layers of fur have been applied.

Happy Monday!

I’ve finished Gingie’s background and wanted to get that up for you to see – the color is a beautiful sap green lightened with naple’s yellow light, so it’s a wonderful, warm green that will compliment her fawn and white colored coat very nicely. It looks a little cooler in this pic only because I’ve got snow blocking my studio skylights, everything has a cool blue tint to it today. (Snow, snow, go away!)

I’ll post another progress of her under painting once it’s ready!

When I opened up the blinds in the studio this morning before the sun came up – I was staring out into the backyard and the blue pierced my eyes and made my pupils readjust to the strange vibrant light.

I looked up at the overhang, and my twinkly patio lights were dwarfed by the icicles hanging down from the gutter. I found the color spectacular, and the size of these icicles are larger than any I’ve seen hanging from our home so had to capture it.

Enjoy!

I’ve finally got April’s senior photo shoot retouched and online for public viewing! You can click the thumb to view them, or just click here (opens in a new window).

I’ve also made online ordering easy for my photography sessions – I’ll be offering prints online through Miller’s Lab because, quite honestly, their print work is phenomenal and their service can’t be beat! I’m really excited to be able to offer that service to my portrait clients!

What I need to do now is complete my site to show these new services. So much to do! 🙂

I have quite a few favorites from her portrait session – particularly the pond reflection shot! Have a look and let me know if you have a favorite!

I’ve got another dog portrait on my easel – this is Max! What a cute little goldie boy – he has been sniffing around where he shouldn’t be so he’s got a bit of dirt on his nose that you’ll see on the final progress of his portrait.

Quite a cute photo to begin with – he’s sitting on a gray cobblestone so I’m wrapping it around to the sides and bringing his tail around to the side, too! This will be a super cute puppy painting that his parents in Sweden will cherish for years to come, even after he’s a full grown dog and not as fond of having dirt on his face!

I’ll be working Max and Gingie’s portraits over the next week or so, alternating days while one is drying, working the other.

Stay tuned for more painting progress shots!

I’m starting the new year off with a new dog portrait! This is Gingie, one of two sweet Beagles that I will be painting portraits of.

I am working Gingie’s portrait on a nice sized canvas, 12″ x 12″ with a 1-3/8″ deep gallery wrap so the edges will be painted as well, and it won’t require framing.

It’s difficult to process the size of the piece – so I placed my brushes beside her sketch on canvas so you can get a better idea how large the portrait is. See that little blue brush leaning off to the right? That’s what I’ll be using to paint her fur. I would venture to guess that her portrait is life sized – if not slightly bigger.

Under painting progress shots coming soon!

A female cardinal perched on my fence this morning.

A friend of mine on Facebook asked last week asked her friends what our New Year’s Resolutions were. I told her – my resolution will be the same as last year, unless I upgrade my monitor!! Ha ha! Okay so you’d have to be a techno-geek to get that one right away, but I laughed out loud at my own cleverness. (I’m usually the only one who does, but I digress…)

My resolutions this year are the same as they are every other year. You know? I’d like to continue to grow my business. I’d like to treat people better, be kinder, be smarter, be wiser. I’d like to laugh more, stress less, take more photos and tell more stories. I’d like to spend my year in a creative process, while loving my family, treating them well, taking care of the ones I love and praising God for all that He’s blessed me with. I’d like to be ever mindful of my friends and all that they invest in our friendships – and give back as much if not more than they give me.

I’d like to lose 30 pounds. Dangit – I hate that 30 pounds. Hate it with a passion. Why is that always on my dang list? Bah. They follow me around, quite literally, behind me – everywhere I go. They must be gone, and I will re-commit to that endeavor every morning. I’ll be healthy this year, because I am sick of being sick. Last year was tough – I spent a majority of it, it seems, with some kind of virus or bacteria invading my system. Not this year.

This year, I have a lot of plans, and dreams! I’ll be shooting my first Wedding in May, traveling a bit – painting, designing – and I’m sure I’ll be doing plenty of gardening! I’d like to re-paint some rooms in our home, knock some walls down, and pay off some credit cards.

This year is going to be a great year, and I’m excited and ready to share it with you!!

What about you? And more importantly – how can I inspire or motivate you to help you reach your goals? I’d really like to know.

I’ve just finished updating my portfolio with projects from October through the end of the year! (insert embarrassed, blush face here) .. I know, I know – but better late than never!!

All client and guest comments are welcome! I’ve included all of the portraits from my year long portrait giveaway, senior portrait sessions, family portraits – twitter background designs, site/blog designs and even an illustration you may not have seen yet!

Have a browse through my 2009 Collection and let me know what you think!!

Happy New Year!!!

The last portrait giveaway winner in my 2009 Custom Portrait Giveaway was Elizabeth with her photo and story of Kiowa – a gorgeous Samoyed.

I would like to enter our dog, Kiowa. Kiowa is going on 14, old for a Samoyed, and we know we don’t have long left with him.

My husband adopted Kiowa when he was 4 years old. He was the product of a divorce and then was taken back from his first adopted family due to abuse. Kiowa is the best dog ever. He has the perfect personality and is excellent with kids. We recently adopted our first child and Kiowa is his protector. When our son cries Kiowa will stand next to him and lick his head to comfort him. He will also come and get me if I don’t come quick enough!

Like I said, Kiowa is going into his 14th year of life. He was just diagnosed with arthritis in his back and he is having a hard time walking now. There are days he can barely make it outside and some nights he does not come upstairs to sleep.

I would like to have this sketch to give to my husband, who is very attached to Kiowa and I know will be very sad when Kiowa leaves us. This would be a great way for Kiowa to be remembered – not only for us but for our son when he gets older.

Elizabeth – thank you for sharing Kiowa with me. He’s a lovely pup and I know how hard it is to know that your time with him is coming to an end – and, speaking from experience – their passing isn’t any easier. Hugs to you, Kiowa and your hubby. I do hope that Kiowa’s portrait will bring smiles and good memories of the great bond you guys have with him in the years to come.

Only 5 of the past 52 weeks had no entries. That means I’ve given away 47 FREE custom portraits in 2009 – nearly $3,300 worth of drawings (not including postage) – WOW. You can see them ALL together here in my Facebook Album.

For all of my winners – your portrait, at the time it was drawn, had a dollar value of $70. With each new drawing in my portfolio, however, your drawing has increased in value. Over time, the dollar value of your original artwork will far exceed the original value – but what is most important is what the drawing itself means to you. That is why I do what I do – that is why I gave them away all year.

For all of you who have entered AND won – I thank you for taking the time to share your stories and loved ones with me. It has been my privilege!

For those of you who are interested in obtaining a 5×7 drawing – you can always purchase a custom portrait package right here in my shop. I have many sizes to choose from in both graphite and oil – and am scheduling portraits into February at this time. Just get in touch – I would love to draw for you!

I am looking forward to seeing what is in store for 2010 – aren’t you?