Pear with Lemon Slice and Cranberries

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Warmest wishes for a Happy New Year!

Raised Doughnut and Glass of Milk

Getting into the painting-a-day groove.

Pink Ladies

Leslie Saeta has posted a "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge. The challenge begins on January 2nd, and runs for the month. This is just what I need to get back into the daily painting habit. I love, love, love to paint, but often find reasons why I don't have time. The truth is, we always have time to do the things we think are important, right? I've decided that painting is important enough to me that I will find the time to paint everyday.

Santa's Pocket Watch

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Warmest wishes for a magical holiday season. 

Waiting for Santa

This painting is for a gift exchange at my husband's office. As a rule, I'm not fond if mice, but I kind of like this little guy!

Daisy

This is Daisy! Isn't that a perfect name for this little girl?

Weston Touch Up

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Here's Weston again. The painting didn't look finished to me. I reworked the eyes, lightened the background, and did some general clean-up. I like this version better.

Ginger

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This is Ginger, Ellie's companion. The shadows look more purple in the photo than they do on the panel. I plan to let this painting rest for a day and then will look at it again to be sure that it's the camera's interpretation and not the painting itself that looks so purple.

Ellie

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I was surprised when I realized that I haven't posted for over a month. It's been a busy summer with guests and activities and DIY home improvement projects. Recently I've been painting walls rather than gessoboard panels...not nearly as much fun.

I was happy to have a reason to get back to my oil paints. This painting is one of two that I'm doing for my brother as a gift for his lifelong friend. I'll be starting on "Ginger" tomorrow.

When you've been away from it for awhile, it's easy to forget what a joy it is to slap paint on a panel!

Singing Lesson

I'm not sure whether this painting is finished. I've been working on it most evenings for the past two weeks and need to step away from it for awhile. I've just been too close to it.

This figurine is one of a pair of Hummels that sit in our china cabinet. I've also been working on the other piece, which is a little girl feeding chickens, "Feeding Time." My husband looked them up on the internet and found their names.  He bought these in Oberammergau in 1966, three years before we were married. We've had them a very, very long time. We're showing our age, but these Hummels don't look a day over six!

Rocky

This is my little Rocky guy. He's a love.

Summer Rose

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The roses have been spectacular this year. I don't know the name of this rose - it was in the garden at the Hopewell B&B.

Just Ducky

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I like this little toy - it waddles when you pull it. My grandson kindly lent it to me to paint. When I asked what the duck's name was, he said, "He doesn't really have a name...he's just 'Ducky'."

Little Red Truck

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This little red truck was the DPW painting challenge of the week. I especially enjoyed it because it's a local Eugene truck. I love Eugene, and it makes me happy to read that Carol Marine and her family enjoy living in the Eugene area.

Lily

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This lily is from our garden. The flowers have been so beautiful this summer...they're beautiful every summer!

Bowl of Cherries 2

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Here's the re-do of the previous painting. I like using black-toned panels and plan to use them more often.

Bowl of Cherries

This painting needs more work. Lots of errors need to be fixed.  I thought I was being careful with the proportions of the bowl, but apparently not careful enough. I also see that the composition could have been better. The cherry stems on both the right and left sides lead your eye away from the painting. I do like the way cherries turned out, though.

A bowl full of cherries is such a simple subject, but boy,  is it ever giving me fits.

Butterscotch

I've been researching information on hues, values, and chroma. This painting is an experiment using some of the information I've gleaned. It's a re-do of an earlier painting. I'm happy with the way this one turned out. It will have a home on my husband's desk.

I'm working on a couple of paintings using the realism techniques that Jelaine Founce described in the Daily Paintworks ArtBytes. It's a slow process, but lots of fun to do. I'll post them when I've finished.

Spot

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This was a lot of fun to paint. I'm lucky to have grandsons who are willing to share their toys with their nana!

Buddy

This is my third attempt at Buddy. I've softened the shadows a bit, and changed the background. Since Buddy is white, I realized that I needed a little more color in the background. I wanted to keep it in the grey range to keep the background from taking over the painting.

I think I'm done with this one. I plan to send it to Mike and Penny at Hopewell Bed and Breakfast . We had such a nice time there, and we really enjoyed spending some time with Buddy.

Jeff's Green Blanket

This is a  painting of Jeff resting on his green blanket.

I still have a lot to learn about Photoshop. For example, there is a great deal of glare on this photo. I think it may be possible to remove it, but I'm not sure how to do it. Also, the yellow strips are really more of an ochre color, but they turned out quite yellow in the photograph.

Oliver

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After a good night's sleep, I took a second look at this painting and decided that the background needed to be calmed down. I also adjusted the muzzle a bit so it's not so lopsided, and then added more shadow. I think it's a bit better.

Norman

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This is a commissioned painting of Norman. I've started work on his dog buddy, Oliver.

Jeff

This is Jeff, our oldest granddog. Jeff is quite an old guy, now. He leaves horseplay and nonsense to the other dogs - Jeff's idea of a good time is napping in a warm and cozy spot.

Winnie

Here's Winnie again, after the glazing. The color is a little bit closer to the real Winnie's color.

Westie

I've been trying my hand at glazing again. This is a painting that I did some weeks ago. I added a light glaze, and I like the effect. I decided to add several layers of glaze to the painting of Winnie (below). Winnie is a black dog, and I think the glaze will help. I'll post it once I've completed the glazed layers.

Winnie

This is Winnie - isn't she cute? She's a black lab/border collie mix if I remember correctly. Her portrait is my co-worker's gift to his wife for her birthday. I know she doesn't know about this blog, so I'm safe in posting it.

My birthday is coming up, and I received a fabulous birthday gift from my spouse - not only did he get me the Photoshop Elements software that I've been whining about, he also got me a Mac Pro computer! I'm in hog heaven! Getting the computer up and running was a snap, but getting PhotoShop loaded was a pain in the you-know-what. I've spent the whole afternoon trying to get that sucker onto the computer. It's finally done, so all I have to do is learn how to use it. I used PhotoShop on this painting, and it certainly makes a difference.

Winnie's owner is a PhotoShop wiz, and we worked a trade - a painting of his dog for lessons on how to use PhotoShop. I can hardly wait to learn about all the bells and whistles. I hope they will like the painting.

Chat

Most of the time I'm pretty unhappy with my paintings. I see so many things that are wrong. It's pretty discouraging and sometimes seems like there is no progress. Yet with each painting session, I learn something new. I know that through constant practice and focused repetition, eventually I will get better.

I'm reading an excellent book by Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, Mindset . I learned about this book from my favorite blog, Learning to See - A Journey Back to Painting. The premise of "Mindset" is that talent isn't innate; it's something that is achieved through diligence and hard work.

The wonderful and liberating idea is that we aren't helpless and hopeless - we haven't been consigned to a set intelligence or a set talent. Success is in our hands and within our control. A good reason to keep painting!

Henry

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Henry is another little kitty from one of the humane shelters in Oregon. I couldn't resist painting those sweet eyes.

Open Studio - Sean

This is the portrait I worked on in Open Studio last evening. There is quite a bit of glare on the forehead area. I may try to photograph it again tonight once it's had a chance to dry a bit.

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I was having great fun painting this cat until I accidentally dropped the panel face down right on top of my palette. Grrrr! I don't anticipate that I'll make that mistake again!

Figure Study

This is the figure study from last night's open studio. This is a two session pose so I'll most likely work on this again next week. I struggle with values.

Concentration

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I love the look of total, intense, focused concentration in this cat's eyes.

Playtime?

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I just love this little girl's expression. She so clearly wants to play!

This is another exercise in painting white animals. I'm using the technique that Julie Ford Oliver demonstrated in her blog, and I like the depth of color that occurs when using the transparent underpainting. It give me the confidence to attempt painting more white dogs and cats!

Katie

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Katie was much loved and left behind many fond memories. 

Waiting

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Cats often give the impression that they're just waiting for something to happen, don't they? I imagine this kitty is waiting for that darn bird to come just a little bit closer...

I experimented with this painting using the technique for painting white that Julie Ford Oliver demonstrated on her blog. This was my first attempt and it looks like it, but I will keep practicing until I get better. Julie's white flowers were lovely. If you have a minute, be sure to check out her blog (please see blog list on the right side of this page). Julie's work is beautiful and she is very generous about sharing her techniques.

Chat

I'm in Idaho this week. I miss being home and am antsy to get back to painting. Still, I really like Boise, and especially like the folks who work in the Boise office. If I were home this evening, I'd be painting at Open Studio. Instead, I watched a documentary about Mr. Rogers on PBS. What an extraordinary man he was. He had such wonderful outlook on life. It's ok that I missed Open Studio tonight. I think I re-learned some important things from Mr. Rogers. I anticipate that I'll return to painting with a calmer, happier attitude.

Westie

 

Here's a guy for the Daily Paintworks Challenge.

Bella

This is sweet Bella, my daughter's family's dog. She is the kindest, gentlest, most patient dog I've ever met. We all love Bella.

I've been having lots of problems with computer-type stuff. First, we lost our wireless connection...apparently I need a new router. Secondly, Blogger changed its format and I can't edit my blogs. It's extremely frustrating.

Next week I'll be in Boise on business. Since I can't take my painting stuff, I'll spend the week working on my new website, SueHarrell.com. It's up, but currently it only has photos of my paintings. I need to add a price list, how to buy, etc. I've also talked with one of the tech-type guys at work. He's willing to teach me the fundamentals of basic Photoshop so I'll be able to tweak my photos to more accurately reflect what the paintings look like.

Really, all I want to do is paint...I'm eager to get all the details taken care of so I can get back to my easel.

Figure Study

I hadn't planned to post a painting tonight, but what the heck...this is the underpainting for a figure study that I started this evening in open studio. This is a two-session pose, so I'll get to finish it next week. This model is the best in town - she's able to sit like a statue, and after each break, she manages to find the exact same pose - amazing!

I was trying to state values with this study. It's a real challenge for me, and good practice.

Chat

No painting to post today - I'll be going to open studio this evening to attempt to do a figure painting. I have ambivalent feelings about going. I enjoy the company of  the other painters - it's a convivial group and I always come away feeling refreshed. On the other hand...I've never completed a painting I like and always end up with a wiper. I look at it as practice. Who knows, one of these days I might surprise myself and paint something worth keeping.

I spent a little time reading "I'd Rather Be In The Studio" last night; hence, the change in my blog design. I learned that white on black is a killer to read (actually, I learned that from "Artists Helping Artists)."

I also learned that one should avoid "cutesy" - therefore, I got rid of the squiggly font. It's odd...I'm not a cutesy person at all, and I really don't like cutesy. Cutesy tends to follow me around, though, and often creeps into my writing and painting.

If my cat or dog paintings start to look cutesy, please let me know!

Painting Break

I was hoping to do some painting tonight, but it feels too much like a Monday (my "get up and go" got up and went). Instead, I'll spend the evening reading. I recently bought the book, "I'd Rather Be In the Studio," by Alyson Stanfield. The book has lots of info about art marketing. I've been doing some commissioned pet paintings for friends and colleagues, and would like to expand my client base, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I think it's time to learn something about marketing. I'll be interested to see what Alyson has to say.

The Easter Kitty

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The Daily Paintworks Challenge for this week is to paint something with an Easter theme. The Easter Kitty seemed like just the guy to paint!

Gracie

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Tres Chic

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This dog is a poodle/terrier mix, and her funny little face just makes me laugh. She looks like she is quite pleased with her coiffure.

Francois

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Francois is listed as a poodle, but I don't know...I think there may be a spaniel somewhere with some explaining to do.

Catnap

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This is Casey. Casey is my grandson's cat. I'm not sure, but I suspect Casey spent time as a zen master in the art of relaxation during one of his nine lives.

Ol' Blue Eyes

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You Can Tell Me...

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...I'm all ears.

Nobody's Baby

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This is a shelter kitty. She's nobody's baby.

Chloe

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Tennis, anyone?

I've reworked this painting several times. It just didn't look right. I finally changed the background color to a medium value. I think that helped. The previous dark background seemed to overwhelm the dog's face, and also obscured the tennis ball. I like the heavier neutral impasto background. 

RyLee

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This is a custom portrait of  RyLee, a very sweet dachshund.

Eddie

Eddie's a German shepherd. He's about a year old - a teenager in dog years!