Hereford Cow at Tillamook, OR

This is a small cow painting I just finished today of a Hereford cow that I photographed in Tillamook, OR, near the cheese factory there.  It was a fun, beautiful day, and I photographed a lot of farm animals, many of which I've already painted.  This girl was really suspicious of me and my camera but curious enough that I managed to get a few shots of her before she took off to a safe distance.

I'm going back to the Coast next week, so I'll be getting some more good images to be painting.

Pit Bull Puppy Painting

This is a painting of a little pit bull puppy that I just finished yesterday.  It looks just like one I used to have, named Edwin.  This little guy's name is Charlie, and he's one of the paintings I've done for someone who knows that I don't like to do custom, commissioned paintings but that I will paint your dog for you, but I get to make all the decisions -- and I charge less.  Otherwise, it's just like a commissioned painting, but the pressure for me has been lightened, not removed, just lightened.  I don't guarantee to paint every photo submitted to me, but I do my very best to do so.  

The person whose dog this is chose to purchase the painting, but there is no obligation to purchase anything at all from me.  I just need good images of dogs to paint, and I don't have the time to go out and find dogs to photograph and paint on my own all the time.  So it's a win-win situation for all of us.

Hope you like this one.  I think pit bulls are such beautiful dogs.  Headstrong, yes.  Mean, no more than any other dog I've ever had -- which in my case is never, never, never.   You've heard it a million times, and it's true:  Mean or bad dogs come from mean or bad owners.  And the reverse is true, too.

Bichon Frise Portrait 20 of 30 Daily Paintings

This is a little bichon frise painting I did for a regular customer recently.  I said I wasn't going to do any more custom work, but she was a multiple repeat customer, so I couldn't say no.  Plus, she was getting for a relative who had recently lost the dog, so that made it even more important that I do it for her.

It always makes me so sad to do a painting of a dog that is gone.  Even with the still-around portraits I do, I become very emotionally invested in painting the dog's (or other animal's) portrait.  When I know the dog is gone, it makes doing the painting much more emotionally difficult.  It's such a shame that our best four-legged friends live such short lives compared to ours.

Yorkshire Terrier 19 of 30 Daily Paintings

This little yorkie was a small painting I did for a regular customer. I think I'll probably go back in and fluff up the body hair a bit and tie it to the head by color a bit more, too; but otherwise, I really like it.  That's one problem I've always had with Yorkies:  their face colorations are almost always very different from their bodies, and in paintings, it looks like two different dogs were stuck together.  I'll post the change - if it's significant - after I do it.

I feel I've been learning so much since I've started my daily painting challenge (and, yes, I realize that I'm behind schedule, but it's my challenge and I'm in charge of it).  It's also given me a great sense of discipline, too, much more than I've ever had before.

Especially when I'm having a tough time making myself go to the easel, I set a timer for 15 minutes and tell myself that that's all I have to paint this session, just 15 minutes.  About an hour or so later, I finally decide to take a break for a while.  Works every time.

Starting paintings is easy, and I move along very happily confident in my abilities.  Then I reach that middle part of the painting, where everything looks pretty darned hopeless (but I know every one of my paintings has to go through this, and they usually come out the other end just fine).  This period is when I most need to push myself to keep coming back to the easel, even when I'm afraid.  Then finally I get through this stage, and the sailing is pretty smooth through to the end -- unless I decide that it needs just one more little touch-up -- then one more, then one more, etc.  That's when I really get into trouble, and that's one thing I've learned with these daily paintings, is when the put the brushes down.