The Unveiling - Wetcanvas ArtSwap

The wait is over!! I can now unveil what I did for my swap partner on Wetcanvas.  This is my first full landscaped background and I think I have a lot to learn but was told my swap partner (Ron) loved it :)
I realized that I NEED more pastels LOL!  I only have 15 half sticks of Rembrandts and 24 Faber Castell PITT Pastel Pencils.  Not near enough!!
At least "I" don't think so LOL!
If you want to see the creation process, let me know and I'll post the WIP as well :)
Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar Finished

Ok, I promise this is the last update for my Cougar painting.  I've added his whiskers and changed a few other things LOL! I can't help it, if I'm doing one thing more to it, I find numerous other things that can be done.  Am I the only one that has that problem?
I've come up with two names for this painting.  It's either going to be "Sentry Duty" or "On Watch".
Which do you prefer?  Do you have another suggestion for me?

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar Update 8

I left this out of my sight for a week and now I've adjusted a few things, signed it and I'm calling it done. Now I just need to come up with a name for him.
Hope you like it!

5.75" x 9" Pastel on Mi-Teintes Pastel Paper

                                               

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar Update 7

Well, as you can see, I didn't go with the green tree leaves ect.  I chickened out LOL!
So, he's coming out of a cave LOL!  I need to learn how to do landscapes if I'm going to invent backgrounds for my subjects LOL!  I will  now put this up for a couple days and come back to it after it's been out of my sight for a while.


Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar Update 6

I was able to work on this for about two hours today.  I still have to match the color a little better on the body and then it's time to start the background.... YIKES LOL!  Backgrounds scare me as they do a lot of artists.  If you ask artists the two major things that scare them, they will usually answer, "getting the darks and backgrounds" LOL!
I too still struggle with both of those.  I'm getting better about the darkside but still have a long ways to go LOL!  This will be my third background (if I remember right)
Hope you are enjoying the process!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar Update 5

I really wasn't happy with the cougars eyes but just couldn't place what was wrong.  I let google search be my friend and found a lot of information about the cougars.  What was bothering me? I had the cougars eyes with a tinge of green in them!  Cougars don't have green eyes.  Obviously, my mind picked up on the error even though my eyes didn't.  So, I made the cougar have the color of eyes that are part of their breed.  Didn't get much more done though.  Did you know the cougar is the largest cat that purrs?

Well, here he is with his eye color more accurate and realistic to his breed.
Hope you like the change!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar Background Idea

So I'm trying to figure out if this idea will work for the rest of my background?  What do you think?
Obviously this is very rough and is done with photoshop.  I have NOT started this on my Cougar painting yet but had this idea last night.  Do you like it? Hate it? Do you think it adds to the painting or takes away from it?
Let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar Update 4

This will be the first time I've actually been working on two paintings/drawings at the same time.  Of course I started the cougar one awhile back then caught a cold and was sneezing and coughing so bad that I didn't want to even go near this one so I started the closeup of the horse.  Well, today I got back to this one.  Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar - Update 3

Put in a couple hours working on this and I think it's coming along nicely!
Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar Update 2

Was able to work on this for a little bit today.  I refined the ear better and I'm still trying to get the proper multicolor with variances in the fur.  Very interesting challenge.
I was also going to include the colors I'm using but we might as well say I'm using all the colors I own LOL!
Hope you like the progress so far!

 
Thanks for stopping by :)

Cougar - Update 1

I was only able to work on this painting for about an hour today.  Our son and daughter in law came into town for a visit.  It was wonderful visiting with them and our son caught six goldfish from our neighbors pond.  Now I have to figure out how to create the right environment for them so that they keep my horses water-trough free from algae.
OK, so here is today's progress.  Oh, I also used my new double sided eraser from Colin Bradley because I didn't do a color test before applying to the fur and messed up the color a little bit OOPS :P
Hope you like it so far.

   Thanks for stopping by :) 

Tiger ACEO

I'm having fun exploring my pastels on different paper.  Again, this is a little painting 2.5 x 3.5 ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals).
It's on Strathmore Bristol Vellum (smooth side) using Rembrandt pastel and Faber Castell PITT Pastel pencils.
This original is for sale for $25.
If you're interested, contact me.

 Thanks for stopping by :)

Kangaroo ACEO

Ok, so I didn't get the cougar started.  Not yet anyways.  I chose to do this cute little Kangaroo and then had a lot of fun creating a background.  Through a happy accident, I actually have what looks like a tree (at least I think it does LOL ).
This is a 2.5 x 3.5 ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals)
It's on Strathmore Bristol Smooth board.
Rembrandt Pastel and Faber Castell PITT Pastel Pencils

This little guy is for sale for $25.
Contact me if you are interested in buying it :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

The Inspector - Update 4

Well, here is the final for "The Inspector".  I hope you like it as much as I liked creating it :)
5 x 7 on Mi-Teintes Moonstone Pastel Paper using Rembrandt Soft pastels and Faber Castell PITT Pastel Pencils.
Thanks for stopping by :)

My "Studio"

Where does the time go?  Can you believe it's already September?
I have a few pictures for you today.  I'm getting my "studio" (read spare bedroom) organized so I took a quick snap shot.
I also completed "The Inspector" so gave you a quick snap shot of putting the finishing touches on it. I enjoyed working on this one but I'm still undecided as to whether I like the Ambersand Pastel board or Canson Pastel paper better.

I'm enjoying working with both the Rembrandt Pastel sticks and the Faber Castell PITT Pastel pencils.  Now I want to get some CarbOthello Pastel pencils because I've heard so much about them.  Do you know who Roberta "Roby" Baer is?
Roby is an absolutely outstanding pastel artist that uses the CarbOthello Pastel Pencils in her art.  Check out her website!  You wont be sorry you did.  http://robybaer.blogspot.com/
Do you think I can do as well as her if I just get those CarbOthello Pastel Pencils?
No I didn't think so. It's not the tools that make the art, it's the artist but having the right tools sure does help :)
I really want to get an easel but for now as the picture shows, I have a very big sheet of cardboard at an angle with aluminum foil across the bottom to catch any loose pastel.
I have the 15 half stick rembrandt pastels and I started with 24 Faber Castell PITT pencils then started adding to them with open stock. I now have 33 and still need to add more LOL.
Do we ever stop adding to our collections?
There are so many different tools to explore and I'm sure having fun learning the ones I have now.
I still would love to try the Velour and Suede choices as well.
Thanks for stopping by :)
Stay tuned for my next painting.

Putting the finishing touches on "The Inspector"

Studio desk

The Inspector - Update 3

Finally got to work on the face.  I'm now going to set this aside for a couple days and then come back to it.  I already see I forgot the eyelashes on the right (our right) eye!
Thanks for stopping by :)

The Inspector - Update 2

Put some more work into this.  I started with Rembrandt pastels and then moved onto Faber-Castell PITT pastel pencils. I'm not going to have a background on this one, just the color of the paper unless I change my mind.

The Inspector - Update 1

I've started my next little 5 x 7 painting.  I'm titling this one "The Inspector" because that's what she's doing is inspecting what's on the post.
So far I've drawn the outline image and then started adding some highlights and dark areas. 
I'm doing this on Mi- Teintes Moonstone pastel paper.
Thanks for stopping by :) 
I hope you'll follow along and enjoy the development of this painting!

Just Clowning Around - Final

First off, I need to apologize to you!
I realized I never posted my final of my last painting.  I made a few corrections to the neck muscle area, signed it and now it's finished.

Silly Hat - Update 4

Phew, getting this kind of detail in this small a painting is a challenge for my skill and eyesight!
I have learned a lot from creating this painting.  I've learned how to start a painting by blocking in colors.  I learned that with Pastel, it works better to start with the darkest darks and transition to the lights.  I've also learned that my darkest darks need to be darker to start with!
I'm at the point now where I think I need to put this away for a couple days before I look at it again and see if anything needs adjusting.

Thanks for stopping by!