Yoli - Oil Portrait

My nephews dog is so photogenic. I couldn't resist doing a small one!

Throwback - Oil on board

A quick painting that gave me great pleasure to do as it started as a sketch I originally thought was wonderful and then when I returned to it a few months later questioned my intellect and fixed it before anyone could see it!

That is one of the great joys of art, we can re create at will!

#1 Oil Portrait

It's been a while since I have been able to stay for more than a few minutes in the heaven of my studio. Family obligations have been demanding, but it feels like we have some control over it all and I am looking forward to pushing paint across some neglected canvas'!

Stay tuned!

Blue Sky Highland Heifer 6x6" Acrylic

I really like the look of the highland cattle and the real challenge is getting the volume of hair that these animals produce to look like something other than Cousin It from the Addams Family! It makes you appreciate the smooth coated animals.

This is How My Garden Grows 6x6 acrylic Private Collection

It is that time of year, and since I neglected certain portions of my gardens last year, this year, weeding is especially fruitful. I tugged, pulled and removed not just weeds but perennials that decided that world domination was a grand idea. In an effort to curtail their take over of the entire place I had to toss them into the wheelbarrow.

That inspired this painting. I used a pallet knife which I never use and worked with lush excessive amounts of paint replicating life in my garden. It was fun, the painting, not the weeding!

The Awassi

The Awassi 6"x 6" Acrylic Portrait

I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Qatar a few months a go and visit a large sheep farm outside the city of Doha. The farm raises both sheep and goats. Since I raised sheep myself, I found this new breed of fat tail sheep to be very interesting.

They are the primary sheep used in the middle east and are well adapted to the weather in that region. If you are interested in them you should google them. They have a number of physical abilities that make them uniquely suited to the desert.

Joe

Sue's Gelding Joe

Oil portrait

My latest challenge is to get some paintings completed in time for our local Art Show celebrating Canada's 150th Anniversary. Ten paintings to be exact. The theme of the show is to have 15 artists create 10 - 6"x 6"pieces so we can have 150 pieces of art on the wall. Might be a wee bit ambitious but sometimes you have to be!

I chose this picture as it is a Canadian Gelding (Canada's own National Horse) that belongs to a long time friend. I thought having our National colours behind him would work out well. In my mind I had something entirely differently planned, a very realistic smooth piece with shadows of maple leaves falling all over the place but I love the way this piece turned out. Sometimes you have to let go and follow where that brush leads you!

Connor and Chloe

Connor and Chloe- Two perspectives

I am very fortunate that I come from a very artistic family. My daughter Anna is a gifted artist in her own right. She prefers to create portraits of people with water colour. I love doing portraits but of animals and I use oils. We usually never paint together. We might live in the same house but our studios are in different places.

Our local arts society is having a "Generations" themed show where people from different age groups collaborate on art. It is meant to highlight how everyone can learn from another artist regardless of age and create beautiful harmonious pieces that bridges the age gap.

Anna and I struggled with our collaboration. What could we create together? With our differing medias, working on a single piece was ruled out. We finally decided to work on the same picture and then compare the final results. I never paint people, Anna never paints animals, it could have been a recipe for disaster. It was fun and the result is beautiful.

This whole process has been so very exciting for me. We painted my son Connor and the family horse, Chloe. I even used an old 10x8 canvas that my son had painted when he was a child and if you look at the original you can see little glimmers of his art peeking through.

As an artist I am always looking at new ways to expand my creative expression. Working with another artist was fun, challenging and competitive. I worried my person would look like a muppet, Anna worried her horse would look like a stump. I think the Fullerton Women excelled!

Anita's Tree 6x6 Acrylic

Sometimes you have to deviate from the norm to recharge your batteries. Do not get used to the landscapes,I'd rather hike in them than paint them!

Sandesons Highland Heifer -Oil Portrait

I love painting cows. I started out doing the dairy and that soon morphed in to beef cows. I had  gotten the urge to paint a Guernsey and I knew of a young lad that had one. He nicely bathed her and had her already for me when I arrived. I got some very nice shots and have finished one painting of her (see previous posts).

While I was there he asked if I would like to go to the pasture to see something "neat". He knew I would be interested in anything "neat, weird and unique" so off we marched to the back pasture.

Imagine my joy when I saw several Highland Beef cattle! Not exactly the calmest critters in the herd it took some quiet gentle maneuvering on my part to snap a few dozen pictures of them in various poses. After a while they realized that I was no bother so they plunked themselves in the middle of  a round bale and munched hay while I snapped photos.

What a grand way to spend the day!

The Wilson Broodmare Oil on board Portrait

Just a little gem as this is only a 4"x 3" but it was so much fun to paint. This mare belonged to my farrier and she had just foaled and I had to go take pictures. The evening light was beautiful and she pulled her head up to check out where her foal had gone too but did not let that stop her from eating her supper! I should have called this the "Mid Munch Lunch"!

4H Beef Heifer Oil Portrait

I am on a bit of a cow kick lately. I used to exclusively paint Holsteins but I switched back into my horse love. I have to admit I certainly felt like I was in familiar waters when painting this bovine beauty.

Willow- Oil Portrait Private Collection

The Blizzards were good for helping me stay focused in the studio as the weather outside was indeed frightful! Now that the blizzards and their damage is done I am still enjoying a creative streak.

This beagle takes the loveliest photos and although she has a neurotic love for the trash can and insatiable urge to sleep on all the furniture, she makes for a lovely and different muse!

The 4H Guernsey Heifer 16x20 oil portrait

It has been a while since I painted any cattle so this was a welcome return to comfortable subject matter.

I do not remember painting any heifers before, most folks want the foundation cow or another high producer painted leaving heifers to wait their turn until they prove themselves. This was a nice change.

Chloe 6x4 oil portrait

This gal always makes me smile. I love her colour and it keeps me on my toes when painting her.

Chloe-The Relaxed Queen Oil Portrait

I have started painting on board and it is a different experience as it seems to make the paint dry more quickly and it has less of a shine when dry. It is nice to work on when you just want to practice something different or mess around with new subject matter.

The horse pictured is my own mare Chloe who loves leaving her lower lip dangling. The more relaxed she is the lower it hangs. She's a character!