A New Month and a New Challenge

The last time I tried to do a Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge, it was back in January, and I didn't quite make it. Ended up completing about half. I was disappointed in myself for not finishing the challenge, so when I saw another one for September, I decided to jump right in. And then, I started thinking: maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself. Even working small, painting one piece a day is a lot of work. I've taken on other daily challenges: a photograph a day, a poem a day -- and failed miserably. I'm good for about a week, maybe two, and then I get distracted, or bored, and move on to something else. Maybe it's the long term commitment that scares me, although thirty days is hardly long term. I'm one of those folks who usually works better with a deadline. So why do I fail at these one-a-day challenges?  Beats me, but I have decided that, this time, I'm really going to do it.  YEAH!

BUT....there are some days when I should just stay out of the studio, and today was one of those days.  I decided to paint a seagull from a photo I took when I was back in New York.  Talk about trying to fit a square peg in a round hole! Or should I say, a rectangle in a square.  You'd think, with all my artistic experience, that space and placement wouldn't be a big deal for me any longer. Wrong!  I really am spatially challenged.  So there I was, trying to squeeze this oblong seagull into a perfect square.  I started over at least three times, and each time, ended up making the gull larger until I cut off its tail feathers and half of its beak. I considered giving up, which would place me one day behind already.  So I forged on, determined to complete Day Two of the Thirty Day Challenge because I'm not a quitter!  The result:  not one of my better pieces, but it's done.  And when I realized it wasn't going to fit on the square canvas, I decided to focus on color and lighting instead.  I was a little more successful with that.

So what have I learned?  Well, I'm still spatially challenged.  But, I completed the daily painting.  Two days down, 28 more to go. Stay tuned....

And here's Day One's painting:

30 in 30 - Day #2 (for me, that is)

This is Day #2 for me in the 30/30 challenge.  This is a small painting, 4 x 5, in acrylics.  I've got another painting on the easel right now--I am hoping to catch up with the rest of the group, who are on Day #6.  But even if I don't catch up, I'll still try to complete 30 paintings in 30 days.  It's a great way to loosen up and zero in on the important details.  This one is available on my website, www.stephanieallison.com. 

Dog Days of Summer #3

So far, I'm on a roll....3 "dog days of summer" and 3 completed paintings!  As always, if you're interested in puchasing one of these, send me a message!

Dog Days of Summer Series #3
8 x 10 Acrylic
$80

Dog Days of Summer #2

Dog Days of Summer Series #2

8 x 10, Acrylic

$80

Isn't this puppy adorable?? Contact me if you'd like to purchase!

Pet Portrait Special!!!

May is National Pet Month in the US, and in honor of that, I am running a special on Pet Portraits. Commission a portrait of your pet, any size, through the month of May and receive a 10% discount.  In addition, I will donate 10% of the proceeds from the commission to the Shelby County No-Kill Mission.  I hope you'll take advantage of this special and let me create a beautiful, lasting memory of your beloved pet.  Contact me at sallison@insightbb.com for more information.

Above is the finished portrait I started last week. This is an 8x10 acrylic painting, framed, and is available for purchase through my website (www.stephanieallison.com).  I managed to complete another painting this weekend, as well--one that I have been working on for quite awhile.  It's a cottage in Bunratty Village, Ireland.  This is a 16 x 20 acrylic, also available through my website.

Started another pet portrait commission yesterday, this one of a cat named Samson.  This is the first pass of color. I'll be adding more details and fine-tuning it this week, so check back later to see the progress. 

I have lots of plans in the works for my pet portraits, including a calendar. I'll be posting the details later. I'm really excited and I hope you all will be too!

Now...on to my mini-poems and photos-a-day:  Obviously, I have been way, way behind on both of these endeavors, but I'm working my way back into it. I did manage to write a little micro-poem last night. Here it is: 

Like the slow and steady turtle

Thunder lumbers east

unphased by Lightning's razzle-dazzle.

Tonight's goal:  a personal best.

So that's it for tonight! Be kind to your pets--their love for you is unconditional!  Paws up!

                           

Yep, I Only Watch the Super Bowl for the Commercials

I'm not particularly interested in football, but I do enjoy the commercials during Super Bowl. And being from New York, I am sort of in favor of the Giants....but mostly, I'm interested in painting, and today I actually got back into the studio and managed to work on a painting I started months ago.  This is Woody, one of the many beautiful animals housed at the Shelby County Animal Shelter. Thanks to Sheila Collins for use of her photo--this painting, when it is finished, will be donated to the Shelby County Animal Shelter.  This is part of an on-going project of mine. The paintings can either be given to the person who adopts the animal from the shelter, or used in advertising, or auctioned off at one of the many fundraisers held to benefit the shelter.  I also have a couple of paintings of cats that I will be delivering to the shelter soon.  This is one way I can put my talent to good use. By the way, if you live in the area, buy a ticket to the Monarchs, Mutts and Meows event on February 11.  There will be a silent auction  with a lot of great items (including a pet portrait painted by me!), as well as a wonderful dinner at Claudia Sanders and fantastic music featuring the Monarchs.   

And here's the mini-poem for today:

A pair of geese signal their approach,

circle low, then skid in for a splash

landing.



When it Rains....

I hope everyone out in Cyberspace had a nice, safe Thanksgiving.  I did.  Beautiful weather, which made for a perfect Jingle Walk with my daughter and her husband yesterday.  Got to visit some really cool shops in New Albany, Indiana, and tasted some fantastic wine as well! 

Last time I wrote, I told you all I had another portrait commission from the gentleman whose Pekingese I painted.  Well, since then I've received two more commissions--one for two pet portraits (does that count as one or two commissions if it's from the same client????), and another for a custom-designed pendant. Luckily the portraits are 8 x 10's, so I should be able to get them finished in time for Christmas and the pendant shouldn't be too difficult either. Ha...famous last words.  So..after recovering from an evening of wine tasting and yummy pizza, followed by leftover turkey and trimmings today--I actually managed to paint!  First, the people portrait: My understanding is that the original color picture was destroyed in a fire, and somehow the client managed to come up with a black and white version, and several smaller photos of his grandparents, which I'll be using to get the correct skin colors and hair colors.  The photos I do have to work from are fairly small, so it's difficult to see the eye colors, but the client has been very helpful in filling me in on that information.  This is only an 8 x 10, so it's a bit of a challenge for me to fit the subjects in that small a space.  I've opted to sacrifice the top of the gentleman's head in order to focus more on facial features.  The photograph below shows my first pass with putting color on the canvas. Everything needs adjusting at this point.  Lots of work ahead! 

The next photograph shows the pet portrait in progress.  The client provided some wonderful reference material, and again, this is just the first pass on the canvas--so I'll be posting both paintings as they progress.  This piece is 8 x 10 also.

Some of you might wonder why I'm doing 8 x 10 portraits, when it would be much easier to do the larger ones.  Well, portraits are expensive, and if an 8 x 10 is all a client can afford, I will do my best to make it work. Obviously you can't fit too many subjects on an 8 x 10 canvas if you still want detail in the faces, but I'm willing to do what I can! I think it works in this case....hopefully the client will be pleased as well!

So that's what I've been up to this holiday weekend!  I'll post photos of the pendant when I get it started...I'm still working out some details and searching for just the right beads. The client was very specific about what she wants and I don't want to disappoint! Stay tuned!

Two WIPs and a Cat!

Wow...the ol' brushes are really getting a workout these days. I continue to work on the commission of the two Pekingese, concentrating primarily on their eyes. The client wanted the dogs' tails more prominent, so that's what I'm working now.  Here's a pic of the Pekingese work-in-progress:


Also on the easel this week are a couple of portraits I plan to donate to the Shelby County No-Kill Mission. The first one is Cheyenne, a beautiful kitten up for adoption at the Shelby County Animal Shelter.  Isn't she adorable?  Bet she'd be nice and cuddly during these chilly September nights!

And finally, still a work-in-progress, is Woody, also up for adoption at the Shelby County Animal Shelter.  I'll post a pic of the completed painting as soon as it's done.

Meanwhile, if you're in Shelbyville this Saturday, September 10, I will be one of the vendors at the Lifebridge Mutt Show and Rover Run at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.  Lifebridge is another organization whose mission is to educate young children about being good pet parents.  The Mutt Show is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  I will be stationed in Floral Hall, and would love for you to stop by and check out more of my work, and enjoy the other events as well! Admission is free!

Art for the Animals

It's been awhile, but I'm once again participating in the "Art for Shelter Animals" project--a project where you create a portrait of a shelter animal and donate it to the shelter. They can do with it as they wish:  give it to whoever adopts that animal, sell it or auction it, and keep the money for the shelter. I also sell some of the portraits, with a portion of the sale donated to the shelter.  Since I can't possibly adopt all the shelter animals myself, this is my way of helping them--not much in the grand scale of things, but these days every little bit helps.  This painting isn't finished yet, but here's what I have so far:  lots of details still to add, but it's close to being finished.  I'll post specific information about this cat when the painting is finished.

Meanwhile, I continue to work on the portrait of the 2 Pekingese--and I'm working diligently on my Irish paintings too.  Sadly, Martin Driscoll, a painter of Irish scenery, whose work I recently became acquainted with and enjoyed immensely, died last week of pancreatic cancer.  Check out his work at the link above--reminds me of my trip to Ireland and how much I want to go back!

WIP -- Pekingese pups!

Took a break from playing with clay and beads to start this pet portrait of two adorable Pekingese:  Buddy and Lucky.  I'm using acrylics for this one, and I've just blocked in the images, not worrying too much about details yet.  Painting a black dog is very challenging--if you really look at black dogs, they aren't completely black.  This  dog also has very dark eyes--but we also know, don't we, that black eyes do have color in them--ya just gotta look! 

This is just the first pass with color. I'll be adding more details and have asked the client for his input--after all, who knows the dogs better than the owner?  I want to make sure the viewer gets a feel for the dogs' personalities. I will be lightening up the background a little, too, so the black dog shows better. 

It's good to be back in the studio. I have so many ideas for paintings as well as jewelry--I can't possibly do it all. I need to clone myself--several times! 

Check back soon for progress photos and maybe some new jewelry pieces. I've been experimenting with the Millifiori technique with polymer clay.  Will post photos soon.

The Owl and the Daisy

I took a break from jewelry making today and worked on a couple of mini-paintings. I finished the little owl that I'd started last week, and then moved on to a daisy.  Whenever I see daisies, I am reminded of our beautiful Great Dane, Daisy, who moved on to the Rainbow Bridge several years ago. She was such a big part of our lives, though--just the word "daisy" makes me think of her!  Of course, we now have another dane who is just as big a part of our lives:  Max.  But I digress....here are the completed mini-paintings.

The purple coneflower is an older one--actually, until today, it was the only mini-painting I had left.  I'm not a big fan of making small paintings, mostly because it takes way more concentration and is definitely not good for the eyes!  But it satisfies my need for "instant gratification" whereas a larger painting takes me so much longer to complete!

The gallery where I show most of my work was HOTHOTHOT today.  Even with the a/c in the back and 2 fans running, the temp up front was 90 degrees! Yikes! Not very conducive for creativity, but if you're in town sometime, stop by and take a look at our art:  617 Main St., Shelbyville, KY.  Or check out our website, Shelby Artists on Main. 

On a side note, earlier this year I got hooked on CMT's Next Country Superstar, and the guy I was rooting for, Matt Mason, won.  Here's the video made the night he was announced the winner.  Keep an eye out--I think this guy is gonna be a hit!

Tags: CMT's Next Superstar 110 - Finale - After Midnight - Matt Mason, Matt Mason, Matt Mason Videos

 
Looks like the heat will continue here in Kentucky for a few more days...I hear the swimming pool calling!

Stay cool!

A Pair of Earrings and an Owl





Copper-colored wire flower
earrings

It's too hot to work outside today (and besides that, I don't feel like it), so I decided to get creative.  I'm getting some small pieces ready for a couple of shows coming up in August--will post more specific info when I have it.  Here are the earrings I made today.  I am still working on consistency with the wire wrapping and twisting, and I'm also teaching myself how to tie Celtic knots--which I plan to incorporate into my jewelry soon.  I'm excited about this new venture, and full of ideas. Look for the opening of my Etsy store soon!

Owl
2 x 3 acrylics

Here is the mini-painting I am working on--it's nearly finished.  I have several larger pieces in various stages of completion. I'm hoping to finish those soon.  Just not enough time for all these creative endeavors!  

I also need to get some sample pet portraits finished--I'll be doing a fundraiser  in September for Lifebridge for Animals and would like to have some new work to display.  Soooo.....back to the easel!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hope it's been a pleasant one for all of you, and I hope everyone took a few minutes to say a prayer of thanks for those who gave their time and lives in service to our country--and that includes the thousands of K-9's who have been used in wartime since WWI, I believe.  Many of them didn't make it home either.

It's HOT here, and I've spent most of my weekend mowing. Ugh.  But I did manage to squeeze in a little painting time.  I finished one mini-painting, started months ago, and worked on a larger piece, also started awhile back.  I'm slowly re-motivating myself to write and paint at least for a few minutes a day.  Hard to do for someone like me, who wants instant gratification.  I'm not a very fast painter, although I am working on that. So here's a pic of the mini-painting.  This is a 4 x 4 acrylic.

Mini Kitty

  

Tomorrow I'll post another painting. Stay tuned!









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Back in the Studio--Finally!

The blast of cool air that moved in yesterday is a welcome change from the record-breaking temps of September and while I should have taken advantage of the cooler weather and caught up on some gardening, I chose to paint. I am trying to get ready for the Guinness to Haggis Tour Art Show at the Failte Irish Shop in Lexington. The show is one night only--Thursday, October 7, and is also a reunion for those of us from the Lexington area who went on the tour last year. I took tons of photographs, but so far have only managed to complete three paintings. I started the fourth one yesterday, but I'm not sure it'll be finished in time for the show. This is the work in progress:  It is a cottage in Bunratty Village, Ireland.


WIP - Bunratty Village, Ireland
16 x 20, Acrylics



Sacred Stone Circle, Isle of Mull, Scotland
16 x 20,  Acrylics

This second piece is of the sacred stones on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. I believe this is in Loch Buie. The upper part of the piece is a little washed out because of the lighting in the studio and the camera--I was too lazy to go upstairs and get my good camera, so this was taken with my cell phone. But you get the idea....I'm thinking I should have removed the stone in the far left, but I'll leave it for now. Not enough time to do that before Thursday.