Mini paintings!

 

Mini paintings I say? This isn't a mini painting! Or is it? Actually it is. It measures 3in by 3in and took lots of tiny brushes to paint. See it sits on a little easel...

isn't that just adorable!?

 

See how tiny?! Now, yes I have a very good reason for doing these besides their cute factor. Last year I chose to set aside much of my larger work because standing at an easel while pregnant and then later with a newborn was simply not something I could do for long. Therefore any larger piece literally took months to finish. With that I decided to just stick with smaller pieces and started my eBay auctions (the year anniversary is in April!). I had thought this was going to be just a temporary thing, but over the course of the year I've found that I actually love the whole eBay auctions and the smaller work!

 

Though I love doing the smaller pieces I have so many ideas set up for larger canvases. Unfortunately time and storage is still not allowing me to do a lot of the bigger pieces. Sooo...I thought why not make my "larger" works "smaller"? Instead of trying to find the time and space to complete an 18x24 piece of a western horse, paint the western horse in all his glory on a 12x16. This left me with the problem of doing tiny details which I was not sure I could do. Need to do tiny detail? Work on tiny canvases! I found some small canvases, primed them, sketched out some ideas and went to work!

 

This is completely a psychological thing. By working tiny the "smaller" canvases start to feel large. If  I can paint a fully detailed eye on an ACEO (a 2.5"x3.5") then I should easily be able to paint a detailed eye on an 11x14. Therefore some of those ideas that I felt I had to have a large canvas on are going to actually happen on a smaller scale, with hopefully the same impact!

 

So be prepared to see those ideas come to life and enjoy some of these "Studio Gems" (and I am calling them for that is what they are....little gems to be treasured). They will also be listed on eBay so be on the look out for some gems to add to your treasure horde!

 

This first one is listed here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/201303696352?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

February's purple Buddies

 

A flash back to February and our purple focus these sister weanlings are great examples. With one black and the other a chestnut we can easily see where spots of purple can enhance the painting. This was a piece that I simply had to do regardless of the month we were in. Honestly though I thought they were perfect with the purple color, I really wanted to work on my idea for the background. I wanted a background that was a field with trees, but not something highly detailed so as to pull from the horses. I had started with this idea when I worked on the deer in the spring piece. I think it worked well here!

This piece is up for grabs, but only for a couple more hours. I have it up on eBay and the auction ends at 9pm EST. So don't delay in placing your bids!

 

Next time I'll show you one of my new ideas and my hopes for my newest learning experience!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201302213575?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

March Blue Close Encounter

 

March here we come! Does this mean Spring is actually going to show up this year!? Yes, I trust the Lord that the seasons will continue and that after winter Spring is coming. However, this winter seemed to drag on forever. When I first moved to Upstate NY I was amazed at how much snow falls here. Literally over night a foot or two can fall and cover the world in a very thick blanket of snow. It certainly makes waking up to a mystery every morning an interesting pastime here. You never know if it will be beautiful, overcast, covered in layers of snow and ice or just simply so stinking cold your nose freezes! My first winter here I wasn't sure whether I was going to like living here or not. The doubts were definitely high. But over the years I've come to enjoy the chance to hibernate during the winter. Hibernation = down time...which means paint time!

 

Speaking of paint time, lets talk about this paint of a Paint. Yes, according to the photographer of the reference photo: Kimberley Smith, this is actually a tobiano paint horse not an Appaloosa. His coloring though was really really unique! You know how I am with unique looking horses, I just had to paint him! March is the month we focus on the color blue. This guy, his name is Freckles, had such beautiful blue eyes. He definitely fits into our month's color selection don't you think?

 

The auction for this piece ends tonight at 10pm EST. Interestingly enough the time change affected the times my auctions end. Yep, still learning this whole eBay thing! It has been a great experience and one I definitely intend on continuing!

 

Remember to follow the link below to place your bids!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201300098901?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

 

 

 

February Purple Reflections

 

I know, its not blue. Still purple in fact. But, I simply had to share this one before someone loses out on bidding on it just because I didn't post it here too. This is one of those pieces that just should not be missed out on. It is our February Reflections piece and isn't he a beauty!? The subject for this piece is a dark bay horse backlit by the sun. Now, I know what you are thinking, Bay? Bays are brown horses, where on earth do you get the color purple from?

 

Well, as we have been discussing, a horse's coat is not just one solid color. Correction, it is but it isn't. A bay is a horse with a brown body and a black mane and tail. True. However, because of the lighting and the way a horse's coat shines often different subtle colors can be seen. Black horses often show up a range of colors from blue to purple to red to brown. Bay horses can too. This guy, with the sun coming from above and behind him a bit, showed colors of deep mahogany, dark brown, black and a bit of royal purple, followed by highlights of pale blue, lavender and gold. A rainbow of colors! It is with this rainbow of colors that we can make a horse come to life on the canvas.

 

Our world is filled with subtle uses of color. It takes a bit of practice (which is one reason I have been trying to challenge myself to find these colors throughout the month) but we can eventually see that nothing is simply one solid color. Nothing natural anyways. I'm not sure about you, but I know that through this month's journey I know I have learned a good bit about the uses of the color purple. I definitely think I'll be using more purple in future pieces to enhance and bring to life my paintings!

 

Next time we'll have to see what fun things I have found for light blues. A new friend Kimberley Smith has shared a number of inspiring photos with some of us fellow artists and I have the perfect one chosen for our Close Encounter for March. It is the eye of Freckles, a tobiano that is so gorgeous and unique!

 

Remember, February Reflections is on eBay currently so dont' forget to place your bids! This piece is a little larger than some of the others (its a 12x12) and will make quite the addition to anyone's collection.

 

Until next time!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201296403655?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

February Purple Wildlife and On Wings

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201297024745?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

So we have officially ending February. With February coming to a close, hopefully, we can actually start looking forward to spring. Hopefully. I know here in Northern NY we really just hope that it stops snowing and that the temperature will officially stay above 0.....above freezing is a lofty goal. But because I am trying to think of spring, I found this little buck standing in a meadow the perfect subject for my wildlife piece for February. The little purple flowers add just the right touch to the orange glow of the sun on the deer. This is one thing I have learned about the color purple. Sometimes just adding in a few small touches can enhance some of the other colors within the painting. Other times purple can just make the subject stand out, like in our On Wings piece for February.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201298230144?ssPageName=STRK:MESCX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1554.l2649

 



Our On Wings piece stars this beautiful horned owl in flight. One of my DeviantArt buddies EdgedFeathers captured this bird Ulysses in midflight. I thought he was gorgeous! The lavender background certainly sets a mood too. Not only does it compliment the color of his feathers, but it also helps create a story to the piece. Maybe Ulysses is coming home as the sun kisses the sky with colors of light purple, pink and yellow after a long night of hunting. Or maybe he is just setting out to hunt as dusk meets the night leaving the sky tinged with purple tones as the sun sets. Either way, the story is perfect and makes for a great piece, don't you think?

 

Both of these pieces are (or will be) listed on eBay starting at the $0.99 bid. If you know someone that needs a little reminder of spring or maybe collects owls and should have Ulysses in their collection, don't forget to follow the links at the bottom of each piece and place your bids.

 

I have a few more pieces from February that I want to share, but I'll probably just pepper them in with the other pieces for March. March starts us on the journey of light blues! Why light blue? Well....March is actually my birth month and I have always loved my birthstone Aquamarine. Because of that I thought that shades of light blue would be perfect for this month's color challenge! So check back to see what I find inspiring about aquamarine!