Back in the studio with progress...

"Tule in the Field"
(in progress)

24x18 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Tiny little brush strokes have made a big difference in the grass. It's by no means photo realism, but it reads as grass more now than ever in the whole process of this painting. I think that just because there was green on the background before it didn't seem anything like grass, even with some of the earlier brush strokes suggesting longer/taller strands. Those strokes are still there, but now they blend in instead of standing out and looking disconnected.

Maybe I can get back to painting Tule now. Well, that is if I don't spend my time building mountain biking trails, trimming bushes and trees in the front yard, or any number of things that have nothing to do with painting. Fall is approaching and sometimes I feel like the ant who prepared for winter, instead of his friend who didn't. I know that sounds smart but I do have a show to get ready for that opens in 4 weeks and trimming trees doesn't cover the walls of a gallery. Well I guess it could if I was a different kind of artist.

Bri-

Watching Grass Grow

I spent most of today working in the yard. With the days getting shorter and the sale of plants at the garden store, we've done a little more yard work and a little less artwork.

I did get some painting done today though. Not much just more work on the grasses of the "Tule" painting. It's changing in a way I hadn't seen or thought about and I'm liking where it's going so I may continue this way. It will be a major/slight change to the background. Who knows when you're talking abstract grass really.

Whatever I do I plan to do so that Tule looks great in the setting.

Bri-

Luka Waits on Red

"Luka Waits on Red"

6x12 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

This is a commission I painted about two years ago that was recently damaged by a contractor during a remodel project. There was a scratch arching across the lower part of the canvas. So to fix it I sanded down the affected area and then added acrylic medium in an effort to level the surface again. Sanded again and then added red back to it.

It worked to a degree. I would have liked it to have worked better. This scan doesn't show it off, which is good I guess, but when I'm really looking for it and in certain light I can still see it. The problem with sanding the paint down is that eventually I would start to sand away the fabric of the canvas. Then I'd be in a worse state.

The only thing left to do is re-sign it.

If I get my Baker Loves Bikes paperwork done tomorrow before the board meeting I should be able to show some progress on the Tule painting. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Also we're showing "Inspirations" by Michael Apted at the Eltrym. There will be a panel discussion with local artists starting at 6:30 PM. Hope to see you there.

Bri-

Friends opions on grass...

"Tule in the Field"
(in progress)

24x18 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

My friend tom novak stopped in at the Short Term Gallery today and we discussed the grass of the painting. He suggested I go lighter on the upper part to bring a little more depth to the piece. I agree and so I'm slowly making it lighter and adding details to the foreground. Adjusting grass length as I go.

There are parts on Tule that I'm still working on too. Like her legs and muzzle. I think both areas need to go a little larger.

It will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.

Bri-

Tule work on Sunday...

"Tule in the Field"
(in progress)

24x18 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Lots of progress and still there's work to be done. I spent the day working with two different palettes, one with Open Acrylic and the other with regular. I have to say it again, I love working with Golden Paint.

Tule now has some color in her eyes and I think she's coming along great. One of the reasons I leave the eyes as the background color for so long, is so if I decide to place them higher or lower on the face. That way there isn't a texture created by paint built up from the original placement. For me it just works best that way even if it does leave the dog looking kind of creepy for a few days.

I'll be spending most of the day at the gallery painting again on Monday so I should come away close to finished. But only time and my creative tastes will decide when I'm done.

Bri-

Working with Tule...

"Tule in the Field"
(in progress)

24x18 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

I think I've got the grass where I want it. I may come back to sections of it before all is said and done, or it may remain this way until eternity. Only time and my creative taste will tell. I find now that I have a harder time letting backgrounds go than I used too. I think it's because as my techniques have changed/improved I want to paint more realistically even when my goal is abstract.

This picture doesn't quite capture the colors I've chosen but I think it gives a pretty good feel for the form of Tule. The blacks are much more rich and the hints of purple are a little more subtle. That's the problem with available light from fluorescent tubes.

There should be a lot more progress on Tule by Sunday night because I'll be at Short Term Gallery all day and I love the book I'm listening to. It's "Beat the Reaper" by Josh Bazell. If they made graphic novels into audio books I think they would read like this one.

Bri-

Lily sketch...

"Floating Lily"

7x7 ink on paper
NFS

This is a sketch for a commission I'm going to be starting. Lily loves the water and her owners take her kayaking regularly. I get the feeling from the pictures they sent that she wished they lived on a lake.

I know that look from Zephyr. There's nothing like being in the water for dogs like Lily and Zephyr.

Bri-

Little seen progress....

So after spending all day selling our Subaru Forester I didn't get any work done before mountain biking. Then after riding the new trail we worked on on Sunday I was too tired to paint.

Today however I did paint a little. So little that the progress is imperceptible, and I figure why waste my drive space with a picture of it.

Right now I plan to do some sketches for a new commission and watch TV.

Bri-

"Puffy" the Flying Cloud

So we picked up our 1957 Airstream Flying Cloud yesterday, and then spent much of today cleaning it out and prepping to take it over to Grumpy's Repair shop to have a few things fixed up on her. So I didn't get any painting done at all.

Here are a few pics of what will soon become our mobile studio and home away from home when we do art shows. Look out world.


We won't be getting "Puffy" back for about a week or so. Translation, I'll get some painting done.

All the work that she needs will be a project to tackle over time, not all at once. It's better to take our time when it comes to this. Slowly but surely we'll be traveling in vintage style.

I have a feeling that she'll end up in just a few paintings for the "Family Vacation" show at Benjamin Benjamin in Oct.

Bri-

Grass everywhere...

"Tule in the Field"
(in progress)

24x18 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

I spent the day working on grass again. Man I am sooooo high, on life right now. (Lame. I know.)

It's coming along, but this picture makes it look a little dark. It's because I spent the day painting and then we went to pick-up our Airstream. Yeah. Now it's dark in my studio, so the pictures dark to.

I'll post some pictures of the Flying Cloud tomorrow.

Bri-

Short strokes...

"Tule in the Field"
(in progress)

24x18 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

After about two hours of short brush strokes this is where I am. While working I finished listening to "Age is Just a Number" by Elizabeth Weil and Dara Torres about her come back to the sport of swimming as a 40 year old mother. It was great, and proof of what I always say. People get faster as they get older.

Tomorrow I hope to get to work more on Tule.

Bri-

Greener Grass...

"Tule in the Field"
(in progress)

24x18 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

So today I spent several hours working on the grass and then just about a half hour on Tule. The grass has come in nicely to a degree, but I think it needs to go lighter. When I step back from it, it just feels a little to dark.

When working without an actual reference for the grass I'm depicting I get to be a little more free with my approach. That comes with it's own problems though. Without a picture telling me what to do I have to decide for myself. So what do I want? I want something light and full of life, but in order to get there it's better to start darker. It's easier to get lighter as the painting progresses, but not so easy to make it darker as I go along.

Well, I could make it darker, but things get darker way to quickly most of the time, so it's better to start dark and get light.

Bri-

Tule in process

"Tule in the Field"
(in progress)

24x18 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Yeah a new painting. It seems like forever since I posted work on a new painting. Okay so it was only about a week ago, but it seems like eternity to me when I take these road trips to do art shows. Well I don't have anymore planned until early Sept. and I haven't decided for sure if I'll do it. It's the Truckee CA Labor Day Art Festival and it just depends on where both Corrine and I are at in creating work for the "Family Vacation" show at Benjamin Benjamin.

With this piece I'm creating the textures of the grass, but that's really it. Creating the suggestion of grasses but not really grasses. Tule, the dog, will be fully realized though. I think the trick of this piece will be to make her stand out from the background, but not so much so that it seems like a mistake in technique.

Tomorrow I'll spend most of the day at the Short Term Gallery painting, and unless it's busy there I should make lots of progress.

Bri-

New Tule sketch

"Tule 01"

7x7 ink on paper
NFS

Here's a new sketch for the painting of Tule I will be creating. I'm currently working with the client to decide which pose will work best. Since I create my work for individuals it's very important to me to make sure I'm creating exactly the painting they want.

When I do other works it's whatever I want to do, but there isn't one type that is more pleasing to do than the other. It's all creation.

Right now the canvas sits right next to me as I type, waiting for the first brush stroke.

Bri-

Coffee Duo

"Coffee Duo"

9x6 coffee and ink on paper
SOLD

This duo is a commission I just received this weekend while in Bend, OR. Normally I only do these from pictures that the owners provide me. Well when I arrived to take the pictures I was under the assumption that I'd be doing an acrylic painting. Lesson learned.

They are great dogs and I enjoyed getting to know them and their owner as well. They just wanted to snuggle and be pet rather than have their picture taken. It's always so nice to have dogs just nuzzle right up to me as if we've known each other for years. It never fails to brighten my day. Dogs are the best!

Bri-

Posting without pictures

So I prepped a canvas today and there's nothing to see on it but Cobalt Teal. So instead you can read about "The Dog Show" opening in Sisters this past weekend. Click this Nugget to link to the article.

See you in the pictures soon.

Bri-

Picture tomorrow

So I went mountain biking tonight and had a bunch of chores and things to do since we were gone this past weekend.

The "Dog Show" opening in Sisters was great and the show looks beautiful so if you're in the area, I recommend stopping in to see it.

I can't remember the last time I was this tired after a bike ride so no new painting today. Tomorrow you'll see something new.

Bri-