Brown Cashmere Goat Painting

Here's our second cashmere goat that I've painted.  I think she's a beautiful animal, and I really enjoyed painting her -- especially that foreshortened ear above her eye!  That was fun!  Hope you like her.  I've forgotten her name, so I'll add it later.

Due to a lack of interest currently in my goat paintings, I'm going to hold off painting the other, grey, adult goat and get on to some other paintings that I've been getting requests for.

The next one I'll be doing is a painting of a Holstein cow (I'll have to go search for one around here because I don't think there's one in the field across the road) lying in front of the beautiful old barn across the road.  Obviously, I'll have to combine the two of them onto one canvas, which is always a bit difficult for me because I have to get the perspective done perfectly, or it doesn't work.  We'll see . . . .

Another "As Promised." Some Photos of our "Really Old Complex of Buildings we Call Home" now

 This is a shot from the back of the old white farmhouse, with some of the out buildings on the left side, while the photographer is standing in the field behind the buildings.

 This is the small front yard of the farmhouse from the front porch.

This building is what I'm calling my "Ellensburg Blue."  I'll explain:  If you look, you'll notice that this place is really, really in great disrepair! And that's an understatement, too.  This is the second large building on the property, and it was kind of "thrown in," with the likely possibility that it would have to be destroyed.  Well, to us, my artistic family and I, it was studio space, lots and lots and lots of studio space, lots of rooms to explore (it has around 30 rooms in it)..

So back to the "Ellensburg Blue" appellation:  We are just outside the town of Ellensburg, which is the unique home to a beautiful robin's-egg-blue agate.  It's highly sought-after and very difficult to find, but I'm told that if one is very diligent and tenacious and has lots and lots of time to search, one might find an Ellensburg blue agate (aka "Ellensburg blue")  in any of the myriad rocks lying all around this place.  The outside of the rock that houses the agate I hear is quite ordinary, often described as a shriveled up old potato; but when the rock is broken open, the beautiful wonder lies within.

So it's the same with this old brick building:  On the outside, it's not a pretty sight at all, but inside there are beautiful studio rooms to work in and lots of places to explore and someday fix up as the place deserves.



Here's a photo of one I found via Google from around here.  And, also, here's a story about the Ellensburg-blue agate, too, from the Seattle Times newspaper:

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/rockhounds-sniff-out-treasured-ellensburg-agates/

This coming summer, I'll be painting upstairs in an airy, very-well-lighted part of the building that needs a lot of work.  The basic structure of the building is sound (we've had it inspected after purchase), and except for some damage done by rain and snow and human mistreatment over the years, it's in pretty good shape.   Well, it has "good bones" for the most part.  It's going to need a lot of cosmetic work to get it pretty good looking, both inside and out, but it's worth the time and effort -- and cost!!  I have a ceramics shop in one room, and my other family members have several rooms that they've claimed for their studio space.

I'll add a lot more photos later when I have more time, including photos of the insides.  Plus, I'll be sure to include photos of the landscapes around here (breath-taking!) and of the old red barn just across the road (not a part of our property, but it is a part of the original complex of buildings here that go back to from the late 1800's to the very early 1900's.

As Promised, Here's the first of the Cashmere Goat Paintings

Here's "Snowflake."  My granddaughter very aptly named her, I think.  And she's adorable, too, along with the other three:  another white baby, a tan-and-brown one, and a light grey one.

The original acrylic painting is on a 16x20x1/2" stretched canvas, already wired on the back so ready for hanging.

Either the grey or the brown goat will be the next to be painted.  Also, I've come across a beautiful, beautiful Jersey cow, with those enormous, gorgeous eyes, in a field nearby, so I'll be doing a painting of her, too, very soon.

I'm settling in to our new country place, and it feels great to be back painting again.