A Horse By Any Other Name

This week I painted a picture of a horse that my husband saw one day at work. He sees - and photographs - so many wonderful sights as he goes from job to job. I guess it is one of the many benefits of living out in the country. This horse caught my eye because of the look in his/hers... My aunt came to visit yesterday and we were talking about this portrait. I had posted a photo of it on Facebook and I was telling her how the camera just doesn't do justice to these portraits. It washes out the depth, the richness, the texture of them. She said she the color was great, it must just be my monitor - until she took a look at the actual painting. I think she was also taken by the richness of it. It just doesn't come through. So know that when you see each photo I post, you are not getting the whole picture.

This portrait is at this point 14x20; it will be cropped. I just don't know how much I will cut out. It is still unnamed - I am open to suggestions :)

Expression

I have always found myself tongue-tied whenever it came time to say something - anything - important. Whether it is defending my opinion, expressing the beauty I see, or describing deep emotion or praise, I find my words get twisted and I walk away feeling... stupid. There, I said it. No one seems to make me feel worse about myself than I do - so critical, so self defeating. For this reason above all others I find I am relieved and excited to have this new form of expression. I am starting to express myself through painting like I have not been able to with words.

I know, I know, I am only getting started and I have so much to learn. I don't find this concept limiting; rather I find it freeing. Painting, especially with pastels, is new and fresh and allows me to express myself like I can not with words. I would love to paint something every day. I would love to offer my mind this amazing release, to get the expression flowing, every single day of my life. I wonder - if I become better at expressing myself through art, will I find a way to do it better with words? Just a thought.


On the business side of things, I got my business cards in the mail today. Makes it feel official. I hope I do not seem pretentious by establishing myself as a professional artist this early in the learning process. I do not claim to have "arrived" or to do it better than anyone else - I DO claim to finally be able to express myself in a new way, one that I feel can bless you and your family for years to come. I am so happy to finally have a way to express life as I see it, Through My Own Eyes.

Learning So Much!

It seems the more I paint, the more I am learning, and the more I learn, the more I find there is to learn. I still can not believe how much I love pastels, and how much I find I want to do with them. I have a couple of commissions coming up, and that is really encouraging.

Since I have not been able to post here for a while, allow me to use this post to catch you up on what I have worked on these past few months. (And yes, I will try to post more often.) My desire to paint portraits started when I took a portrait workshop, taught by Kay Witt, back in January. We painted a picture of a precious little girl, and from that moment, I was hooked.

My whole life I had followed the idea that I "could not" paint a likeness of a person. I am so glad I found out I was wrong, and I hope to encourage anyone else who feels they "cannot" paint something to give it a try at the least. If all else fails, take a class. Don't quit before you try!


Before I painted my first commission, I felt it was important to bless someone I know with a portrait that they did not commission. There is a precious man in a nearby town who has been a huge inspiration to me. He has a mule named Amazing Grace and they go about spreading the love of Jesus wherever they go. I took a photograph that my husband had taken of them and painted it as a surprise. I do believe he was surprised... This is a painting of a not-so-rare tender moment between Steve and his mule.

After I painted the portrait of Steve and Gracie, I got my first commission. The lady at the frame shop I use (Sun Studio in Front Royal, VA) came up with the title: "Girl's Best Friend." This is my friend's granddaughter, Bella, and her pup, Samson. It is worked from several reference photos. I learned that it is not as easy as it looks to paint a white animal! and that I love painting hair on people. I learned that I need to get bolder with skin tones; that will take more and more practice.




Between commissions, I decided to practice by painting a picture of my new granddaughter, Noelle. My daughter, Rachel, had taken this photograph of her twin sister's baby girl, and it jumped out to me as the picture I should paint next.










My next commission was a painting of another friend's daughter. This beautiful young lady was graduating high school.. She had taken a fabulous selfie of herself. Her mom wanted a graduation drape to replace the street clothes, and she asked if I would add a necklace that meant a lot to her. This young lady's trademark hair has a darker red under layer and pink highlights. This was FUN! Again, more to learn. Get bolder with skin tones. Work on shadows. I am really happy with this piece, and still it encourages me to grow more and more. May I always be encouraged to learn...






In March I took a class where we learned to paint an Australian Shepherd. This little lassie is named "Sophie." She was a delight to paint!!!











 About 7 years ago I took a photograph of my friend Elvi holding her daughter during a picnic. It has remained my favorite photo I have ever taken ever since. Wanting to practice more, I decided to paint it for her in March/April. I LOVED working on this one. Loved it. I call it "El Amor de la Madre."






I have a dear friend who is moving at the end of this month. She is moving several states away. Since Virginia is not her home state to begin with, I wanted to paint a picture of Virginia landscape for her to take with her, so she would always have a piece of VA to remember. I saw a photo posted of a sunrise over Thornton Hollow from the overlook on Skyline Drive. This photo was taken by one of the park rangers and when I asked for permission to paint it, they let me know it was truly public domain and I could do whatever I wanted with it. This is painted in acrylics.

So that is my main work for the past few months. I am loving my job immensely! I have been invited to submit a painting or two the the Art in the Barn fundraiser out at Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown, VA in July. I intend to paint and submit two landscapes to that show. I have two more commissions coming up, and I am looking forward to that. With each piece I am learning. With each bit I learn, I am exposed to more that I want to learn. May I never stop learning!