Fur In The Paint

‘Til The Cows Come Home
10×22
Oil Pastel on Arches 140# Hot Press WC Paper

Mark 2 things off my list
So I just got right on task with my 2009 goals and took 2 whole days completely off. I didn’t go into the gallery (Mike did) or work on any art. I didn’t read or answer any email. And I didn’t work on anything blog related (thus the blog silence.)

What I did do was shlep around the house in lounge wear, ate more than I should have, drank copious amount of Diet Coke and played the PS2 until I was bleary eyed. (Ah good times, good times.)

And the other thing?
The other thing I accomplished and can mark as done, is I made my first Squidoo lens. (It is pretty much the exact same thing as my post dealing with making handmade paper.)

For some time now I had been thinking about all the effort I put into some posts and how all that information just scrolls off the screen and is pretty much lost to obscurity.

Making lenses however, keeps that information available, (or it will when I add the links to my sidebar.) So anyone wanting to review any of my tutorials has an easy way to find and access them. Now I just have to do the rest of my lens worthy posts.

What’s this about traffic?
The other good reason for creating lenses is that (in theory) they will generate traffic to the blog. Which in turn will (in theory) generate traffic to my website. Which of course will lead to the final goal of exposing myself (meaning my artwork, in case you were wondering) to more people, some of who may buy. (Frankly, I think artfairs are easier.)

Looking over the numbers this year, we’ve had a little over 20% growth in traffic to my website Wild Faces Gallery. Much of that (though not all) can be directly attributed to the blog. So what’s next after I get more traffic to the blog? Why of course, I’ll need to generate traffic to the lenses and that’s where Twitter comes in. Shesh! No wonder people can easily spend all of their free time online.

Isabell
Oil Pastel on Museum Board
15 1/2 x 18

So here she is, very nearly done. (Done enough to be signed anyway.) Oddly enough, posting work on the blog has become just another step in the process. What I mean by that is I kinda see the work from a different perspective. (Something about it being all shrunk down.)

So I posted her even though I know there are a couple of things I want to change because I thought seeing her this way may influence certain changes. Basically, I think I’ll tone down the ear tag and some of the pink in the shoulder. Thats it. Well . . . that and I’ll probably slide my signature across to the corner. Since I was unsure where I would crop her I just sort of stuck it on.

I had an ongoing debate with an artist friend (Barb McGee) about the dandelion. As you can see in the end I remained stubborn. Mike too thought I should put it, in but only for color’s sake. So my compromise was the green eartag. Which (now that I see it here) definately needs to be toned down a little. I liked the handwritten name on her ear tag and tried to make it look as much like the real thing (my reference photo) as possible.

Early stages. Started to put in a “Baldie” blaze to add interest.

Beginning to doubt the idea of a blaze.

Removed the white white “baldie” blaze as it was too distracting (not interest adding.)

Started changing the yellows to pinks. Liking the color combination better.

This is pretty much the same as the final photo, just pre-crop.

Isabell
Work In Progress
Oil Pastel on Museum Board

Hot Pink Heifer
Well here is the latest on Isabell. I did remove the white “baldie” blaze and am more happy with the overall look. I also started replacing many of the yellows with pinks. She’s coming along.

I think this will be the last WIP you get to see until she is finished. I suppose it depends on how quickly I finish her up. If I wind up leaving her for a bit, I may post another WIP. She is progressing quickly though. Basically, this is two afternoons (less than 10 hours) work. She is approximately 16 x 20 but I haven’t measured her yet, since I may crop her a bit, so she is not so centered.

Isabell
Work In Progress
Oil Pastel on Museum Board

So I started a completely different cow painting than the one I had already drawn out. I still plan on doing ‘Til the Cows Come Home but since it has been many weeks since I’ve worked on any artwork. I thought it best to start with something easy, like a portrait. Once I finish up Isabell, I’ll take on the challenge of the other piece.

Why is ‘Til The Cows Come Home more difficult? Well it is a smaller format so the details are more challenging and have to be more precise to convey the story. Plus black is always a bit of a bugger for me. Which brings me back to Isabell.

Small Changes
Clearly she is all black and I pondered doing her that way. But as I said I’m all about the color lately and all black is far more difficult to keep interesting, So I’ve decided to change her up a bit. (she’s just a little off from being a black cow.) Also, currently she is has a white blaze like a “baldie.” That will probably change as it seems a little distracting. I’ve already begun encroaching into what should be white. Not sure what the center line will wind up. I’m loving the hot pink/orange combo I got going in places though.

What I love about “Izzy” is her expression and her wild hair-do. (Oh, and also the fact that she has a name and not a number on her ear tag. For some reason I perceive named livestock as more loved, than numbered ones.) This photo was taken of a small local herd in early spring. So she still has much of her wild and woolly winter coat. She is also very pregnant and I think that may have something to do with her expression.

I opted to leave off the dandelion for fear it would get too cutesy looking, especially with all the wacky hair. (Kinda tempted to put a little grass or something sticking out though.) We’ll see.

Note: Before anyone flames me for saying portraits are easy, please realize, I mean a head shot. But when I typed in “head shot” it looked weird. Lord knows there is nothing more difficult (in my opinion) than doing a portrait that has to look like the the sitter. Notice Isabell here, isn’t even close to resembling her inspiration.

I am a little hesitant to post this because I have my last artfair of the year, this weekend. And so I most likely won’t be able to make any progress on this piece, for at least another week, perhaps longer. Occasionally, I loose interest in an image if it sits around too long untouched. Ah well . . .

How a painting became an exhibition.
After I completed Cowgirl I emailed it, to a very dear friend of mine who happens to be an excellent western artist, Barb McGee. She loved the painting and loved the title. She, in jest said we should do an exhibition of cow art together and call it “Cowgirls.” “About ten paintings each should do it,” she said.

I shot an email back saying (my usual stuff about wanting to sell the painting now, not later and I don’t have time, blah blah blah.) But then went on to say we’d need to include Carol Herdon, (she’s the artist who took me along for the ride to the Kentucky Horse Park this past summer.) because if anyone looks at a cow and sees art, it’s her.

Barb agreed. And despite the fact that we were joking, it sort of seems to have become a reality. Or at least a destination. The plan: do some cow art and see what happens.

‘Til The Cows Come Home initial drawing
13″ x 22″ on Arches 140# hotpress watercolor paper

So to further that goal here is my next cow painting, tentatively called ‘Til The Cows Come Home. I wonder where that phrase comes from? I grew up hearing it and saying things like “she’s gonna party ’til the cows come home” Seriously what time of day is that? Umm . . . back to the drawing.

The drawing is not finished yet. My foreground cow is a little hunchbacked. And I’m not liking the right most cow’s face. But for the most part this is how it’s going to look. The plan will be to have three strong horizontal bands of color, all green. Lush grasses, the fence row, the back drop in darkest green.

Getting Creative.
I really like the look of handmade paper but all my sheets are too small. Hopefully soon I’ll be going to Connie Herring’s for a lesson on making paper. But since I know the size of her largest screen is smaller than I wanted for this project, I’d have to paint it on museum board like I generally do, or get creative.

My solution . . . use watercolor paper. What I have here is a piece about 13 x 22′ with hand torn edges. I was practicing tearing the paper, when my husband Mike, walks in and offers to help. He is a man with infinitely more patience than I, and gets the desired result his very first try.

Cowgirl
Oil Pastel on Handmade Paper
10 1/2″ x 13″

So here she is all finished and framed (and a little crooked. Mental note: always use a tripod.) I really like her and will be making some prints of her shortly.

I decided to call her Cowgirl. My husband suggested Flaming Cow. But after my Flaming Sheep viagra spam fiasco, (I don’t know if the title and huge spamage are related. But if they are, what exactly does that mean?) I am hesitant to go down that road again. Besides I think Cowgirl is far more clever and amusing.

Early stages

I started to throw in some really bright oranges and yellows and I’m liking them.

I’m beginning to love the bright colors and start replacing some of my more “normal” coloration.

And finally, the actual scanned (not just a slightly out of focus photo like I usually post) completed image.