The Colors of Autumn

The painting may not be done yet but I have already named it "Autumn Monarch". Today I got a lot of work done in the upper, left hand corner of the canvas. There are some birch trees in the process of having their leaves turn to a gold yellow before falling to the ground. I also have some brush, again with golden leaves around the bases of the trees. These color should set off the Sienna and Umber shades in the elk bull when I get around to painting him.

Looking for birch trees

It's actually cold this morning. As usual I opened the windows when I came downstairs to the studio...a few moments later I needed to put on a sweater. It feels like September already.This morning I'm digging through my pile of photographs trying to find pictures of tree...particularly birch trees, in the autumn. I decided I want the new elk painting that I started over the weekend to have an autumn feel to it...but I can't remember how birch leaves are shaped. Oh well. If I can't find the photos that I'm sure I took at Father Hennepin State Park, I can always look them up on the web.

On to the next painting

Now that the Custer Trail Horse painting is finished, I am able to get started on another elk bull painting. This one, like the first elk painting, was also photographed at Yellowstone National Park. He was out in the open, surrounded by his cows and bugleing to other bulls to stay away from his harem. Thanks to the teleconverter and zoon lens, I was able to get a fairly close shot of him.
Today I prepped the canvas and then sketched the image. Tomorrow I plan on painting the hillside in the background, which should be fairly simply. It's mainly rock, dirt and some tuffs of grass here and there.

Finished

I'm very pleased to say that the painting "Custer Trail Horse" is finished. A moment ago I signed it and when that dries I'll apply the clear, protective varnish. Perhaps this afternoon I'll take some photographs of it, then get the images on the website as soon as I can get the film developed.
I decided not to add a fence behind the horse. He is supposed to be a trail horse, in a rustic place such as Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons...not on a farm. At such places there are no fences, just hitching posts and this horse is already shown as being tied to a post and is ready to be saddled. He is your gentle guide into the wild and wonderful country behind him.

Painting progress

The Custer Trail Horse painting is 99.95% finished. The horse itself is all done and the only thing left to finish is the post that it's lead rope is tied to. I'm afraid I still haven't decided whether or not to add a fence behind him.

This morning I got started on some sketches for this years holiday season cards. Deer are my favorite symbol for that time of year so I went through my photographs and found some of a mule deer buck and doe. They are both lying down but alert. I'll paint them in a winter setting with some snow covered pines behind them. The way the sketch turned out, they both look warm and content, keeping each other company. I plan on starting the painting next week and plan to have the cards available right after Thanksgiving.

Hometown Art Gallery

This morning I received an email from Hometown Art Gallery inviting me to join. Membership is free so I went ahead and created an account although at the moment I don't have any original paintings that I'm willing to part with. I did upload The Mangy Moose to be displayed on my profile but listed it as not for sale. Perhaps at some point I'll upload my Yellowstone Elk Bull or one of my mule deer paintings and see if there are any offers.
The Custer Trail Horse painting is almost finished. The only part of the horse left to paint are his lower hind legs. In fact, I will probably finish this painting tomorrow.

Still too hot

This evening I was supposed to go to my horseback riding lesson but it's currently 92 degrees. I just don't have the heart to put that heavy western saddle on the horse during weather like this. You can tell by looking at the horse with their lowered heads and their eyes half open that they would rather be grazing in the pasture under the shade of the trees. Not to mention that I don't find the extreme heat comfortable either.On a more upbeat note, I'm very pleased with how my Custer Trail Horse painting is coming. After much trail and error I figured out a way to create a realistic dapple gray. At this point I have completed the horse's head, neck, chest and front legs. The horse's barrel, or mid-section is blocked in and hopefully I'll finish the dappling at some point tomorrow. I still haven't decided whether or not to add a fence behind him. If I do it will be the typical wire fence. That shouldn't detract from the subject of the painting.

Too hot today

I didn't get as much done on the trail horse painting as I would have liked. The heat and humidity was so bad today that the drying time for the paint was affected. It made mixing the different shades difficult. At the moment I'm working on the horse's neck and shoulder..not at easy task due to the fact that the horse has it's head turned and is facing the viewer, which is an usual angle for equine paintings. Not to mention that the horse is a dapple gray. That coloration is a challenge in itself. I've been trying out different techniques so that I don't wind up with the dreaded "polka dot pony" look.

Happy Birthday to me

As a present to myself I upgraded my cafepress store to Premium, which means no more rotating designs and since I'm can't bring myself to part with the actual paintings, I can now sell them as prints. Plus the prints go for a lot less than the original painting would.
On another note I'm going to have to keep my camera ready at the window at all times. There are a pair of cardinals that are living in my backyard and I would love to do a painting or two of them for this year's holiday season cards, but those two always seem to know when I have the camera. When I forget about is and leave it in the house, they both tend to fly over and spend a great deal of time on the nearby trees. When I remember to have the camera with me, they make themselves scarce. I'm beginning to think they're doing this on purpose.