"Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul." Vincent Van Gogh

Monday, July 30, 2012

The Magic of Accelerated Motion

Painting this composition was thoroughly enjoyable as I was challenged by the extreme  foreshortening. Its so interesting trying to create from paint on a flat surface a three dimensional living breathing subject flying forward in time and space! Hope I somewhat succeeded! This is 20x16 oil on linen.

And the start of Ballerina #22 seems like there is chaos at the Quantum Jump School of Ballet!

Thank you all for visiting my blog and taking an interest in my painting endeavors.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Equinista Magazine

As many of my blog followers know,  am represented by the Chisholm Gallery mostly for my Steeplechase series. Jeanne Chisholm has graciously placed this ad in the wonderful magazine Equinista that celebrates the equine lifestyle. I am thrilled beyond words! You may access the online version of this magazine using this link: Equinista Magazine. Please click on the black and white photo on the right side of the page to go directly to the online magazine. One of my paintings is featured prominently in the index and the ad is located on page 17. I call Jeanne my "marketing goddess" as she promotes my work so beautifully and always knows how to bring it into the sphere of the proper audience - for that I am most grateful. She was single-handledly responsible for my solo show at the Willcox Hotel in Aiken, SC during the last steeplechase season. Thank you, Jeanne!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Steeplechase

Untitled as of yet, this is another 18 x24 oil on linen panel. I love painting horses and trying to establish the correct level of connectedness between the horse and the rider while acknowledging their attempts to fleetingly defy gravity!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Ballerina #20 and Hound Dog Refined

Ballerina #20 made her appearance today - and she seems to be as confident and graceful as ever! She is 16x20 oil on linen panel. I also refined my hound dog a little and think I will call it done now.
And here is a quick oil sketch on brown paper as I work out an idea for my next ballerina painting.
 All your comments thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Coeur D'Alene Auction - Reno, NV 7/21/12

It's been a very exciting 2 days for me as I had the opportunity to attend the annual Coeur D'Alene Art Auction. What an experience - certainly unlike anything I have ever seen or heard before! For the preview day on Friday, spectacular art lined the walls and midsection of three enormous ballrooms - almost 300 pieces in total. There was a huge turn out - hundreds and hundreds of art lovers and potentials buyers. I was mighty impressed and happy to see such a huge crowd that was obviously so delighted with original artwork.

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It took me over 2 hours to make the rounds and see each piece. I spent a lot of time looking closely at those pieces that interested me the most - and in the looking, I learned so much. Its very exciting to get up close and personal with a Howard Terpning painting that is about to go on the auction block for an estimated price of $600,000-$900,000, to peer closely at a Remington pen and ink drawing and to be mesmerized by the brushwork wizardry of Ted Lambert. 
 I fell in love with a tiny Frederic Remington watercolor called Teepees and in the delusional fantasy of my mind's eye, I could see it hanging on a wall in my home! And so I ran out and registered to be a bidder - silly me!

I also was enamored by the work of an artist who was new to me by the name of Kenneth Riley. How I would have loved to own either one of these brilliantly painted pieces.






Or this charming, more impressionistic piece by  Frank Hoffman


The auction itself was earlier today (Saturday) and was run by the Stremmel Gallery with Peter Stremmel as the auctioneer. It started off with a running leap and the dust did not settle for over 5 hours! Each painting or sculpture is brought up to the stage and displayed on large overhead screens as well.The process is fast and furious - there are bidders on the internet, the telephone and, of course, mostly in the audience. I still have no idea how the auctioneer keeps track of the bids - but in the end someone actually buys the piece and the crowd claps and we are on to the next one. There is not a moment to stop and contemplate the sale price. Each piece takes an average of 1 minute on the auction block before the final gavel falls. Even though I was not bidding, my heart was pounding!
Here is Peter Stremmel taking bids for Frank Tenney Johnson's Cowboys Roping the Bear - a gorgeous painting jam packed with action and color! 

Chief Joseph's actual War Shirt sold for $750,000

And Howard Terpning's Scout's Report sold for over $800,00!

The NC Wyeth painting call The Deer Hunters engendered some very lively bidding - it is gorgeously painted and may be the first NC Wyeth I have seen in person.

 What a weekend! I am awed by the technical excellence of so many of these works - Howard Terpning's paint application, Kenneth Riley's superb drawing skills, the power of Maynard Dixon, the precision of Bob Kuhn, ZS Liang's compositional brilliance, Mian Situ's tender subject matter and on and on. Oh, and by the way, the tiny Remington watercolor that I adore sold to some lucky buyer for $27,00.00! Here is a link to the auction website:
http://www.cdaartauction.com/2012/

I came home filled with hope and filled with inspiration. And now I must get back to my own easel!


Monday, July 16, 2012

Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog.

 Portrait of a dog, oil on linen, 24x18. He turned out much more realistic than I intended and I need to figure out why. Below is a preliminary study on brown paper.