Remembering Loki

The last week had been tough, there is a huge hole in my house since Loki has been gone. I still make room for him with my feet in the bed, I still look behind myself when changing direction because he was always at my hip, ready to trip me, I still go to his food bin to fill his dish, and when I am at the cutting board, I still see his eyes looking up at me, praying that I will drop something...anything. I pulled up a friend's page and this was there...it comforted me in a way that is hard to describe. We may have changed his world for a while, but he changed us forever.

Early Snow

In light of recent events on the east coast, I decided to name this painting, Early Snow. It still has a long way to go, but I photographed this black horse about 7 years ago and always thought that he would be even more beautiful with a coat of snowflakes on his mane and back.

At this point I am just blocking in the colors and adding blues, purples, and blacks to build an underpainting. It is a small painting, 10x10ish, so it should not take me too long.

I have been swamped with work and getting ready for my upcoming show. My husband has been on the road a lot so the chores and pets have been my responsibility. I apologize to my friends that have called and I have not got back to. I promise I will get myself caught up and then get caught up with emails and phone calls.

Happy Halloween!!!!

What a Cowboy Needs-Finished

Done! Now...to the next.

All A Cowboy Needs WIP

My latest pastel, All A Cowboy Needs. This is Jake and Mulie, these two had a bond like I have never seen between a dog and a person. I photographed them at the Artist Ride in South Dakota. I work on a suede board and soft pastels, this gives a soft look to the painting. I put a lot more detail in the background than I usually do, but I wanted to give a look of "openness" to the scene. This is a small piece, 10x12, so it should not take too long...famous last words, right?

MO Show

I am honored that, Day at the Office, was accepted into the prestigious Mountain Oyster Western Show this year. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to hang my work with some of the best western artists in the country.

The Mountain Oyster Club, established in 1948, is a private club composed of members united in the interest of preserving Southwestern heritage and “Old Pueblo” tradition. Their foundations in this way of life vary. Whether they come from pioneer stock with deep roots in Arizona, are ranchers, farmers, or horsemen, are professionals working with livestock interests or are Western artists or collectors of Western art, this society of Westerners remains dedicated to western traditions, art and the western way of life.
Each year the Club sponsors the Annual Southwestern Art Show and Sale, considered to be one of the most outstanding showcases of western art by many of the country’s finest artists. The club boasts its own extensive collection of western art.

FORTY SECOND ANNUAL

CONTEMPORARY WESTERN ART

SHOW AND SALE

wil be held on

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2011

In the Mountain Oyster Club

The Mountain Oyster Club Western Art Show and Sale is by invitation only.

The Mountain Oyster Club Contemporary Western Art Show and Sale began in 1970 with the works of 18 artists in an effort to help the little-appreciated Western artists sell their work. The show has grown to display more than four hundred works of over two hundred artists each year with the works of lesser known artists hanging along side well established ones. Art sales are conducted on a lottery system. Interested buyers complete an intent to purchase form and sign their name to the card presented with the piece. At 5:30p.m. on Sunday, November 20, 2011, a drawing will be conducted to determine the buyer of any contested pieces and the order of multiple bronze editions. Any unsold pieces will remain available until January on a first come basis. Purchased pieces may be picked up or shipped to the buyer (at the buyers cost) beginning in January.

Home on the Range Calendar 2012

I am thrilled to announce my 2012 calendar from Legacy Publishing is available. It is 15.95 + 3.99 shipping and handling. If you are interested in purchasing one, please send me an email at foxrunstudio@aol.com. I accept MC, Visa, and Paypal.

Goodbye Loki

14 years ago, I was driving through Sun Valley, CA and stopped at a stoplight. Trapped in the middle of traffic, was a gangley, thin, black shepherd. I pulled my car into the intersection and stopped traffic. I opened my door and grabbed this poor scared dog and threw him into the back seat of my Geo Storm. The rest is history. He was our best friend, protector, clown, and snuggler.
At 11, he collapsed and we found out that his heart was failing. Well, we had a pacemaker implanted and he stayed with us for 4 more wonderful years. We have many wonderful memories of him, and there will not be a day that I won't look for his wagging tail and bright eyes.
I will miss you big dog.

 He was big, but he was gentle. He took care of Zoe when she was a baby.

 I think this is my favorite picture of him. He loved to play ball, and he was so patient with puppies, even with Zoe, who could be very trying on your nerves.

 Patience....

 Handsome man.

 Keep away games with the short legged dog...

 Their play always looked rough, but it was always in good fun.

 We called him Canyon Dog. He loved to go for hikes more than any other dog that I have ever had. So we decided to put him to work and he carried his own water, Power Bars for us and film for my camera.

Again, patience with a new puppy. Dakota wanted his treat,  he would not relent, but he would share.

All Dressed Up Finished

Well, maybe...at this point, I will put the painting aside and pull it out again to "tweak" it. Sometimes when you spend as much time on a painting as I did this one, you miss some really obvious errors. So to step away, and come back for a second look, can help. The photo was taken from my table in not ideal light, but you get the idea.
All Dressed Up (Royal Horse Guard), 16x20, oil

All Dressed Up WIP

Bit by bit...pardon the pun.

I had a really rough morning, too much to explain, but as a way to escape my sadness, I decided to hit the "next blog" button on blogger. I stumbled upon a wonderful blog by www.nessadeeart.blogspot.com and found this post of her "confessions". I was struck by how many of them we had in common, right down to the Diet Dr Pepper. Please take a minute to look at her blog, she seems like an amazing person.

These are her (and my) confessions....

My studio is so messy right now, I can barely walk through it.
:: I made my kids waffles with whipped cream and syrup just so I could steal some bites.

:: I have a major case of artist’s block.

:: In a little over a week I will be displaying my art at a coffee shop downtown. I haven’t near enough pieces painted yet.

:: I lost my Diet Dr. Pepper somewhere in my house this morning, and I’ve yet to find it.

:: I might have finished the Diet D.P. and it’s now in the trash. I can’t remember.

:: I drink sodas so fast that I don’t remember if I’ve finished them.

:: I now eat peanut butter mixed with plain yogurt. It’s kind of gross, but I look forward to it every day.

:: My door knob falls off my front door every time we shut it. It’s been this way for at least 3 months.

:: I didn’t brush my teeth this morning.

:: It took me 2 hours to get my camera battery off the charger into the camera. Somewhere in the walk from the charger to the camera I misplaced the battery because I forgot what I was doing and started cleaning.

:: Somewhere between cleaning the bathrooms, I misplaced the bathroom cleaners because I forgot what I was doing and started to blog.

:: I finally found the battery in the bathroom only to put it in my camera and find that the camera was still dead. Cursed camera! I put “buy a new camera” on my to-do list.

:: I’m wearing the same clothes as I was wearing yesterday. The sad thing is that I got up, changed out of my pjs into workout clothes to go to the gym, came home, took a bath, and made an effort to dig the clothes out of the dirty laundry to put them back on. Sigh.

:: Sometimes I wish I didn’t have a dog. It’s mainly when I find dog hair in my paintings, bed, food, hair, bath, etc. etc.

:: I just noticed that I never plugged my battery charger into the outlet, hence the dead camera. Cursed brain! I put “buy a new brain” on my to-do list.

:: I think it’s time for ice cream.

xo

nessa dee

All Dressed Up WIP

This is turning in to a labor of love, I may have to price this painting at 1.2 million dollars to make some money on it. Of course, I am kidding. Sometimes you just have to paint something for yourself and it does not matter how long it takes or how hard you have to work at it. This is one of those paintings.

This is an extended view of my easel. I have my reference photo on the left, and my brushes on the right. I also use a laptop to zoom in on my reference so I can get the intricate detail of the bridle. My husband told me last night that this is one of those paintings that you can use crazy colors in the background and get away with it. I added Cad Yellows, and Sap Green to deepen the colors in the background. I went in with a white pastel and re-drew the chain and reins and I am slowly laying in the colors.

One thing that works for me with oils is to lay in the darkest value of color first and then hit the highlights at the end. So, for the bit and the chain, I put down a mixture of Payne's grey and T White. I do have to say, I am romanced by the Alkyd Titanium White. My underpainting is dry by morning and I can get back to work a lot sooner than if I used a traditional oil. With something as intricate as this, it is nice to be able to get to work first thing in the morning and not have to put it aside until it is dry. I may be a convert.

I hope to have this done by today....hope...

All Dressed Up WIP



Under painting continues....

All Dressed up

End of the day...

I am actually taking the day off tomorrow and cheering on a friend in a marathon, playing with my horses and walking my dogs. See you next week.