The Blog That Almost Wasn't.....

After The Hunt Sold 24x30

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet although it may seem like it....but I did fall into Facebook and almost didn't escape. There is a lot to be said about the instant connections and updates...but it does lack a lot of the personal appeal of blogging. So here I am...back 6 months later and as usual the past months have been extremely busy and rewarding....I guess I don't know any other way to live...the busy part!
If I go back to August...that was when I was doing a lot of canning and also getting ready for the Midwest Gathering of Artists. I did up a lot of tomatoes and peppers...dried onions and herbs. Froze spinach but mostly ate it fresh. Lots of lettuce which finally bolted and not a single raspberry...the birds got them! We still did fairly well though for the most part. The trees have been trimmed so there will ne more light next year and I would like to expand the garden some.
Now on to the painting part. I took on a project that my friend and gallery owner, Cherry, prompted me to do. I was in her shop and saw some pheasants on a wreath and mentioned I would like to paint them. She wholeheartedly allowed me to use them and we ran over different items to put with it. I finally decided on some copper and onions and a piece of oriental carpet behind the hanging pheasants. Then threw in a piece of pottery and some cobalt glass and commenced to paint! Well, it was a real learning experience....how do you balance all the textures...how do you simplify the feathers....how do you get the feeling of the different textures.....what color are the shadows and how much of them.....and on and on. About 4 weeks later I had my painting...but not without much wailing and gnashing of teeth!! The end result was satisfactory....the best I could possibly do at the time....but that's the way it always is. A continual learning process....each brush mark...each value...the temperature and all the adjustments that go into painting no matter what style you have.
The final panting is at the top..... there is also a photo of the setup but of course it was painted from life...as always.
Thank you everyone who inquired to where I was at...I really appreciate the care and concern...:)
Tomorrow I will tell you about the amazing out come of this painting!
Theresa