Nothing like kayaking in a gorgeous area to get me re inspired to paint landscapes!

We went kayaking down on the Hawkesbury / Pittwater area north of Sydney today. I haven't been inspired to paint landscapes for a long time but I was itching to today!In the past I have taken an easel in my kayak and stopped at a  beach and done a painting.I'll have to do it again.
 I now have two paintings I really want to do.If I get a chance I'll have to try and do a quick one before the inspiration goes but I have a lot of commissioned paintings to do and I'm inspired to do those too! Bummer I need a clone!

America Bay - I love the lighting in this one! It would be a challenge but I'll have to try & capture it sometime. What normally happens is I'm SO inspired but then other paintings take precedence and I never get around to painting it.

Oh I forgot! I was kayaking along and then squealed in fright as something surfaced 20 ' in front of me..It was a large turtle about 4 ' long coming up for air .I could see its shell, front flippers and it's big head before it saw me  and ducked back under! I'd love to get a photo of things like that but they happen so fast! It made my day.There were a lot of large jellyfish wafting by too. It's funny you think it's just water and then something like that happens to make you wonder what else is under there!

Beach near were I saw the turtle

It was a gorgeous evening last night.

 Check out the rainbow.If you look carefully the blue blob at its base is Zeuss.He's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Click on the image to enlarge it.

I've just sketched a double horse portrait concept and sent it away.

I'm really excited about this one asI've suggested something a bit different.I just hope the lady likes the idea as I can't wait to start it! Its a large portrait but a secret so I won't be able to post the result until after it's received.

Here's my unfinished demo Oil of Boss the Staffy from the weekend.

Here's the demo I started on the weekend. Hopefully I'll get around to finishing it in the next week.He is sitting in a car. I still have to finish him off and do the window etc.

Boss
He will be a framed 30 x 40cms Oil when he's done.

An interesting portrait!

Well I'm just home from a photoshoot of a Springer Spaniel , Cocker Spaniel & a pig that thinks its a dog! I am going to create a 30 x 40cms framed Pastel portrait of the 3 of them.Head portraits..It should be interesting!
 I was worried about Godo the pig but she was very well behaved posing for a grape.She was more obliging than the dogs!

Sometimes its not possible to have a really good photo but I can still create a portrait you'll love!

Initially we were going to do a head portrait of Jack and I  took the photos. Jenny decided that it wasn't really Jack without his 4 socks so we changed the portrait to a full body portrait.She would take the photos. It took 18months but Jenny finally took a photo with a pose she was happy with and we decided to go with that.The lighting was bad and it wasn't as clear as I'd like but I used the head photos we already had to help.

Enhanced reference photo - it was darker than this and further away. Jenny was happy for me to enhance the colour in the portrait.Click on the portrait to see a larger version so you can see his expression.All the portraits look better in the flesh.The photos have been reduced in quality for the web.

Jack

40 x 50cms image size

Framed Oil

Jack was a bit of a cheeky inquistive character so I wanted to capture that in his expression.

"OK - I have waited till I had all the family here to give me their opinions.

We are all thrilled!

You have definitely captured his inquisitive nature.

Thanks so much."

Jenny

Framed portrait ( the portrait has his name on it but this photo was taken before I did that).

Get creative and have a unique portrait!

If you are thinking of having a portrait done you don't have to stick to a standard pose.If your pet has a typical look or pose and you can capture that in a sharp photo an unusual angle can really make your portrait stand out from the crowd!


Full body poses suit larger portraits unless they can be cropped and still keep the essence.Poses like the one in the post below of Boss can liven up a head portrait.Get creative or if you are local get me to take some suitable photos.

This photo isn't as sharp as I'd like but it is usable.Make sure you put your camera on sports mode or multishot so when you press the shutter the camera just keeps clicking away until you take your finger off the shutter.

This is Kody..

Kody
30 x 40cms
Pastel

Ok so this one wasn't a commission but you could have one created of your horse.
 Remember I can only paint  from the photo you supply so get creative!

Today's portrait sketch from a model

Here's what I did at our portrait painting group today.We have someone come in and pose for us and we paint them for about 2 1/2 hrs..This is where I experiment with colour and practise getting a likeness. Painting from real life is the best way to learn as photos don't show the 3D or colour like seeing something in the flesh.I rarely bother finishing them off when I get home and enjoy just getting impact or colour zap.I'm happy with the zap I got with Bob. If I WAS to bother finishing him off more I would just refine his eyes and slightly modify his forehead area. I suppose the portrait I did of my mother for the Archibald is one of these finished off..Although as the artist I can decide it is finished whenever I want!

 One of the problems with the portrait session is we have a dozen artist all trying to paint the one model so you end up about 15' from the model and can't see them properly! I didn't realise how bad it was until I was having trouble with the shape of his cheeks and got him to stand 1' in front of me..Aah! I can see..easy! You can't even see his eyes from that far away.If I finish him off I'll use the photo to help with detail.I just aim for an overall impression from the session.

Bob
30 x 40cms Oil on canvas


The camera doesn't photgraph the blue properly.The background and dark blues are darker.

Here's my demo piece finished

For Sale

Jack

25 x 30cms

Pastel

You can buy him unframed at the moment.I intend to frame him ( see below) so email me if you want him unframed to see if he is available.

Framed or unframed

Unframed $395.00 Framed $525.00

Have your own horse portrait created! Credit card accepted through Paypal.Payment can be split into several payments if required to help your budget.

Proposed frame
2 mats under glass with a distressed wooden frame

Great news!

Harry has pulled through!He's coming home to share Cheryl's bed tonight!

Bad news

I just found out that one of my clients dogs has been bitten by a snake and has been getting treatment for the last six days.It doesn't sound good though as he is in renal failure at the moment.My thoughts are with her.

Here is the portrait she had done.Harry is the one sick.He was the milder natured of the two and is in the front of the portrait. They always did like to chase snakes and it looks like this time it's caught up with them.

Harry and  Zack

40 x 50cms

Framed Oil

" I could kiss them they look so real. You've brought tears to my eyes and I'm not a very emotional person.

I'm so impressed I'll have to get my horses painted by you as well.

I'm over the moon , you've made my day !

Cheryl

When we were preparing for this portrait  I talked to Cheryl about their personailites and she said Harry was milder and more laid back..Didn't I know it! Zack grabbed my bum when I came in to take photos! Luckily it was only a light nip but I got into the habit of covering my backside with something whenever I went there.So in the portrait I made Harry look a bit happier and Zack a bit more aggro to capture them both.
Cheryl did have a portrait created of her horses and I was ringing her about her portrait when I got the news.

Cheryl with her horses
Large Oil

Amazing effect

Its been really hot here today ..38 degrees odd.We just had a few thunderstorms go through and they dropped it by 10 degrees.Not enough rain to wet the ground worse luck. It was amazing as it was heavy rain with sun and all the trees looked like they were wearing glistening diamonds as the sun caught the wet leaves.It actually made me cry it was so amazing.Pity I didn't have my camera but some things a camera just can't capture.

Here's the demo painting I was working on Sunday. It's NOT finished yet.

I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with him .Hopefully I'll complete him in the next few days.

One problem I'm having is between my aging eyesight and the fact that the pastels are quite chunky sticks the details aren't going exactly where I want them! LOL's

Double jointed....????????

The Hunter Lifestyle magazine wants to do an article on my Archibald portrait entry.

The Hunter Lifestyle Magazine  wants to do an article on my Archibald portrait entry so I'll be going out to mum's on Tuesday for a photoshoot and interview.
Hunter Lifestyle Magazine


http://www.hunterlifestyle.com.au/

This months magazine has an article on  my partners ' Cycle rides in the Hunter Valley " book!
I took the photo for the article on one of our cycles up north of Stroud in the valley.We did it last winter as we redid a lot of the cycles to ensure the information was up to date for the book.We're waiting for the weather to cool down so we can get back and do some of them again.


You can purchase the books through me for $11.95. The book has 18 rides with maps and information designed to get you onto lovely quiet scenic back roads so you can enjoy the scenery and peace and quiet.

I'm preparing for a demonstration painting at a horse event at the weekend

Well I'm sort of organised for the weekend although I won't feel relaxed until my car is packed..I only have a little hatchback and getting all the bits and pieces in it takes careful planning and a set method.I've had people walk past  and look inside and say " how do you get all that inside ???".


I've even thought of taking some photos of the car loaded with art stuff or sailboarding gear or with the homemade 'bed' in it to send to the manufacturers so they can use it to advertise the cars versatily! LOL's

Here are the reference photos for the demo pastel painting.It will be 25 x 30cms & be framed for sale .

This one is more for the body as I intend to change it a bit

Main reference photo

This little fellow was spotted by my friend abandoned on a property and she rescued him..So much for gratitude..the little bugger promptly bucked her off the first time she rode him! At least it wasn't far to fall!
He now stands looking in the door waiting for her to come out & feed him.

So cute!

I saw this kangaroo mum & joey out the back of the house a few days ago. They are SO cute when they are little.Sorry the photo is a telephoto one so it isn't very clear.

We had pet roo years ago and it was great seeing the joeys grow up.Mum used to lie on the back verandah with her joeys.Go to my website and look under animal gallery and you'll see some roo inspired paintings I did in that era.

Here's the link

http://www.suelinton.com.au/pages/animalgallery.htm

If you would like me to paint an animal painting for you contact me by clicking on the 'contact' at the bottom of the webpage.

Another from the archives - Oscar a posthumous portrait

Oscar had passed away the year before and Natalie & Michael wanted a portrait to remember him by. The best photo we had was of Oscar when he was the ring bearer at their wedding. Often when you have a photo taken from a distance and you enlarge it the quality isn't good enough to use ( blurry ) but luckily with Oscar the photo was. I had to straighten the photo and add his feet as they were cut off. Luckily we had other photos that helped with that.
I was to place Oscar in the setting of their backyard so I got them to take some photos of the area they wanted and then I had to choose an area that would be typical of the yard but would suit the portrait and not overwhelm Oscar. I also had to ensure the scale was correct so that the rock ledge would look as it did if Oscar was actually sitting there.I was to take the collar that held the ring off him.
Here is the reference material and the finished portrait.

Reference photo

Setting

Oscar

40 x 50cms

Framed Oil

" Thank you Sue, so much for my beautiful painting, it means more to me that I can put into words. Even though you never actually met Oscar you have still managed to capture his personality. To quote my friend Kym, who came with me to collect the painting, “You haven’t just painted a picture of a pet Australian Blue Cattle Dog, you’ve painted Oscar’.

Natalie

A secret birthday gift!

My latest horse portrait -

BeeJay Piaffe
25 x 30cms
Pastel
 

  " Wow It's like looking at her in person! Fantastic!"

Shelley ( when Shelly was sent the photo of the portrait)

 

"I've just seen the painting - WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Spectacular! You have really captured her character. It's perfect!

 Meg is going to be so delighted! I'll let you know the reaction!"
Shelley

( when Shelly saw the actual portrait)

'She  loved the painting!!!!! I wish you could have seen her face - she is delighted!'

 

We really are delighted. Mum has just seen the painting and was blown away, she said you really brought BJ to life.'
Shelley





The portrait was a secret birthday gift for Megs so I couldn't post it until she received it yesterday.

Kimberly & Duane see their portrait of Gruff in the flesh for the first time.

Gruff

 40 x 50cms

Framed Oil



"Gruff has arrived – how fast is that Courier – it arrived in perfect condition and super fast so that’s awesome.

Now to the painting – ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!! I was trying to get ready for work this morning but kept getting distracted looking at him … you have just captured him so well, His face stands out so well and his eyes are so perfect, they have sparkle in them. His white chin and his smile – its all so so perfect - all the different colours used to get that perfect match, so much depth to the painting – we really cant thank you enough!
You have really given us something we will treasure forever and something that does help with the loss of Gruff. When I look at the painting it makes me so happy to remember him for the good times and makes me feel so proud of him.
We are still debating the perfect spot to hang him so I will let you know when he is officially on the wall.
Thankyou thankyou thankyou from the bottom of our hearts."

Kimberly & Duane

If you would like me to create a portrait or artwork for you it can all be done via the internet.

I ship Australia wide and Internationally.All we need to start the process is a sharp suitable photo!
Email me your favourites and I can tell you if they are suitable to paint from.

 'It works.We got the painting today thank you so much still waiting for Kim to get home so we can open it together. Thanks once again!!'
Duane

Silly horse!

Zeuss is a character.He's got lots of insect bites driving him mad at the moment.When I took his rug off this am he contorted himself to reach a hard to reach place. I said ' watch out silly you'll fall over! ' as he had to really lean his body over to reach near his girth. Sure enough a few minutes later he started to fall over & just caught himself before he fell into the gate..LOL's

I'm in shock..LOL's

I have the occasional riding lesson here and we do dressage.Today was the first time I think I really felt what it should be like.The canter was SO slow , light & collected..wow he did everything SO well and he hadn't been ridden since last Thursday! My instructor & onlooker both said it's a pity I can't get to events as I'd go well...bummer.I could get addicted to that feeling!Poor Zeuss was absolutely buggered after all the canter work..

It's not finished yet but I'm finishing off one of my 2hr life portraits for a change.

I knew I wanted to paint something but I couldn't be bothered coming up with an idea. I decided I'd continue on with a 2hr life portrait I'd done last session.


Its still not finished but here is what I've done so far.
The portrait after my 2hr session ( I had to leave early so it was even more rushed than usual).

As it was straight after the  life session

A better likeness and refined at home. Almost there but not quite what I'm after yet. I''m not yet sure if I'll finish it completely .Sorry the photo is a bit blurred.

John was selling his much loved property and wanted memories captured in a painting.

I went over  and took lots of photos from different areas of the property.None really captured it.Here are some.

I subtley reorganised things so we can better see the dam and the view .The property was leased and there were shetlands grazing that I suggested we add them for some interest. John thought this was a good idea. With John's permission I also changed the painting  to a sunset scene.I was there when the sun set and although I didn't get any decent photos it looked great.
Here is the final painting

Clover Cottage
 Framed Oil

As well as my portraits you can have me paint anything you love.. your property , favourite view / holiday spot, car , motorbike etc.

Have a look at my website or contact me to talk about ideas.Click on the links to the left of this post.

I'm not sure if Zeuss enjoyed his 1st trailride in months

We had an 'interesting' trailride today.
Z isn't shod so I put hoofboots on to protect his feet  whenever we go on the trails.They are secondhand and have been damaged and had  homemade repairs so they don't fit very well. Going out the back gate into the bush I opened the gate from horseback for my friend to go through. It isn't normally an issue but a small tree has grown just where we need to turn around so I was leaning down hanging onto the gate and Z had a tree wedged under his belly which didn't impress him.There was also an ant trail right where we were standing so he was stamping his feet trying to shake the biting ants off .He wasn't having any luck as they were going inside his boots and biting him there..My friend got off and got rid of most of the ants but Z was still stamping for a while.
Later on I was trotting along and he was twitching his wither and all coiled up feeling unhappy as if he was thinking about 'losing it'.Not good as I used to regularly get bucked off and even though he hasn't even looked like bucking for over 3 years I still get nervous.My friend pointed out that the water bottle I had tied to the saddle had lost its lid and the water was spraying down his sides as we trotted..Ok emptied the water out and that was solved.
The only problem then was one of the stupid hoofboots kept rotating 90 degrees so it was on sideways.I'd get off and just manhandle it straight which Z didn't appreciate as it must have been very tight & uncomfortable. He doesn't kick but he was cow kicking as I was turning it to let me know he didnt approve & I'd tell him 'NO!" & slapped his leg.After about 4 times like this I took the ##$ thing off so he had only 3 on.I need to buy some new ones that fit.
 He was a bit uptight most of the ride as he hasn't been off the property for months and felt uneasy so far from home. He was tired when we started ( 5 yawns in the first 5 mins ) and it was funny to see him sag as he got back to his known area..He promptly went to sleep after I tied him up when we finished.
 Not sure if I enjoyed it either.He is generally beautifully behaved but I'm nervous and he only has to prance a little for me to get worried.I always handle it at the time but with my artist's imagination I blow it all out of proportion thinking about it later.

I think we need a flyscreen.

I just saw the tail end of a red bellied black snake disappearing off the verandah.Bit of a worry as the laundry has no flyscreen and there's a gap under the door where it could get inside.I've placed a towel along the floor to block it. We used to wonder how the flies got in on hot days.They all like the verandah as it's cooler and they  hang around in droves and obviously get in under the door.

Posthumous portrait of Gruff

Well finally ! Here's Gruff

40 x 50cms framed Oil

( being framed at the moment)

 Here's what Kimberly & Duane said

"We LOVE it .You've done an awesome job!! Thank you.

Thanks again - you've done an amazing job capturing him!"

Gruff's face wasn't very clear in the photo we used so I used other photos of his face and of another Staffy's face to help do the portrait.

Time for a clean..?

I just opened up a book & a 20 cent piece sized hairy black spider dropped into my lap..Screeech!! I hate spiders! I can cope with daddy long legs but anything bigger...I'm starting to get a complex about my computer area between the large huntsman spider last week and now this..ugh! Maybe it need a clean..LOL"s


Yep I think I'll get the vacuumn cleaner out & clean up the back of my desk near the window..only thing is how many hairy things are going to run out..? mmm..Maybe I should get my partner to do it....

Eek!

I've been painting Gruff and had him at a stage where I was happy but then knew I had to continue and complete his background.Scary! I was hardly game to start and then I thought ' this is silly! ' I turned the radio up and started dancing around and just let it happen..phew .. worked well! I'll leave him for the day and come back tomorrow with a 'fresh eye".

Computer Scam

I just got a phonecall from someone who said they were from the software maintenance dept of Windows computer & would walk me through my computer to fix my problems..( I have had an error or something that tells me it needs to debug so I almost allowed them to. ) Luckily I rang my computer guru & he said no way that they get in & access your computer & hijack all the info. Other people have done it & hes had to fix their computers..+ Windows don't contact you. So if they ring don't let them do anything !

Surviving the heat

Yesterday I noticed these little guys hanging gasping from a hanging pot on the verandah..Most of the pots have a water filled cavity at the base but this one is dry ..silly buggers . I don't know how they survive in it. When you have the lights on of a night they jump onto the window and catch any moths that settle on it attracted to the light

Heatwave conditions this week..

41 degrees and a flock of birds were walking past the back door with their beaks gaping with heat stroke.Thank god for air con! Enjoying painting Gruff.


I can't show you my latest portrait as its a secret.I'll post it as soon as I can.
 I used to be a motorcycle postman in a former life and used to get heatstroke regularly riding on days like today with long sleeves + pants , a hot helmet on , no shade and a bike putting out hot air..Urr! This is MUCH nicer!

A busy day

I just delivered Liz , Liz + Emma to Carole and they are now on the wall next to Rex , Hawk and Grizzly. We are going to start on the next 3 up portrait but for once all the dogs are still alive!


I'm going to start on a portrait of Gruff a lovely Staffy who unfortunately was lost as a result of the QLd floods. He went to a property while his owners flew home and he was bitten by a snake & died. He was only 3 1/2 years old and sounded like a one in a million little dog so his owners are devastated. We were worried that we may not have had any suitable photos but we have one that's a bit blurry but I can use other reference photos to help get his face.
We are going to create a 40 x 50cms framed Oil portrait of him standing which will be a great memory and I hope some consolation for his loss.

Time to call it a day?..

Well I was happily catching up on some work in the studio until I saw a large huntsman spider running around the wall.Now the hairs on my legs are standing on end waiting for it to run up my legs..I think I might call it a night..Rats.. now I'm not going to feel safe working at the computer

Well I'm amazed.

Well I was sceptical but Z didn't spook at him or even move one step backwards! If you want a great horse friendly dentist I'd really recommend Danny Badior m - 0438 676 182 . He's based in Muswellbrook but travels around the Hunter Valley. Firstly he gained Zeuss's trust and then stood at his shoulder with his arm over Z's wither rubbing him and supervising while his helper filed the teeth.
 I won't need to get him sedated anymore.A much nicer experience for me and Z even though he wasn't impressed..phew..

Here's Carole's finished portrait - Liz , Liz & Emma

Liz , Liz & Emma
35 x 74 cms
Oil on Gallery wrap canvas
'You have done it again. It is awesome. I'm sending it off for my friends to see. '
Carole
This is the second of 4 portraits I am doing for Carole. All the portraits will be on the one wall which is why I have made the colours similar. Many of her dogs passed away years ago and we had to really scratch around to find photos , some of the which were very poor quality. Both Liz's here have passed on .Liz on the left only a few weeks ago due to a tick bite. We hadn't bothered getting photos of the living dogs but her unexpected death made us realise how important it is to have decent photos. I have since been out and taken photos of all the rest of the dogs so if the unthinkable happens we can continue with the portraits and immortalise them like the others.
 Here's the earlier portrait I did

Rex , Hawk and Griff
35 x 74 cms Oil
All 3 dogs  passed away years ago.

I'm nervously waiting for the dentist to come and do Zuess's teeth.

We don't have a yard only a 25acre paddock.He usually spooks at anyone new especially if they have a clattery dental halter in their hands !I told him I'll let him handle Z. Z usually settles down but then backs around with his head in the air which makes life difficult for them. The last few times I've whimped and got the vet to sedate him and do it.He's not that bad but he's usually such a well behved horse that I'm not used to handling him when he gets scared.
 Lucky horses can't see what's ahead..I'm a bundle of nerves and Zeuss is standing tied up going to sleep ..LOL's

Have me paint a customised artwork of any subject you want!

Although most of the artworks I show here are dogs and horses I paint all subjects. If you have a favourite view , property or place , a wedding photo that you'd like to be immortalised in an Oil , a motorbike , yacht.. anything , you can have me paint it . You are covered by my satisfaction guarantee.( Don't worry I'm such a fusspot that I don't think we'll have any worries ! LOL's )


All I need is some sharp photos of the subject.Email them through to me at best quality.It can all be done through the internet and  I can ship Australia wide or overseas.

For those of you that haven't seen it here is the Newcastle Herald Article Jan 20th

.

Here's an article that the local paper - The Cessnock Advertiser has just published

This photo was taken at the first sitting I did so the portrait looks a bit different now it's completed!

Liz & Rio - another from a little while ago.

This portrait was one of two I painted of Liz's horse Rio.
 I created a 40 x 50cm portrait of Rio for Liz's 21st birthday gift.
While I was taking photos her mother suggested she'd like a portrait of Liz + Rio as she didnt have many photos of Liz.The portrait below is the end result.
Liz had a carrot and was having Rio pose chasing it. He was very well mannered & wasn't at all pushy!

Liz + Rio
30 x 40cms Oil

Here's one I painted a few years ago.

It was a suprise Xmas gift for a young lady.

Brandy & Molly

30 x 40cms pastel

Brandy the black foxy had passed away and we didn't have any decent photo's of her but we had a breed book with a photo of a dog that looked ' just like her!'.

......For the portrait I used the breed photo to paint Brandy and another photo of Molly in her basket. I placed the two of them together in the portrait so that it looks like they had been photographed one day together.The portrait is a lovely memory of how they used to be.

Herald article now sometime this week

Sorry if anyone went and had a look.I was told Tuesday but I don't think they know exactly when it will go in.

Well I could fiddle forever but she's done!

Betty Linton OAM
40 x 50cms
Oil on gallery wrap canvas
 Sue Linton's entry for the Archibald Art Prize 2011

Well the photoshoot for the Herald went well.

Poor mum! When I first started the painting her portrait it was cooler and she was wearing a long gown. She had to wear it today for the photos and was dripping with sweat by the end of them.Then her inconsiderate daughter had her stand in it for another 10mins while she finished off the portrait!

Newcastle Herald Tuesday 18th Jan there will be an article on the portrait.

Now the Newcastle Herald newspaper wants to do an article on my Archibald entry.It looks like I'll need to do an unplanned extra trip out to mum's early this week for photos..If only I'd known ..I was out there today! That's 2 Newspapers that are going to publish articles..Looks like it better be a masterpiece..! LOL"s
 I've been madly painting trying to get it more finished.I'm not sure if its better or worse. I really need to turn it to the wall for a week so I can have a fresh look at it..I'm going crosseyedand don't know what I'm doing..!

I showed mum the progress of her portrait

Well I told mum to be truthful but that what she said wouldn't change what I was doing with the portrait as I know where I want to go with it.She asked for another look and said " I'm very pleased with it. I think I look enthusiastic and happy".


Oh well that's one down ..now I just have to impress the judges..LOL"s

Here's my latest 3 up portrait. Its only early stages but I couldn't help myself & did the eyes a little to give it a bit of life.

Liz ( deceased and lousy photo) Liz ( deceased ) + Emma

35 x 70cms Oil

I am doing this one with similar background colours to the earlier Rex , Hawk + Griz as eventually all 4 portrait painti...ngs will be featured together on the one wall.I won't post another now until its done as I like to keep a bit of a surprise up my sleeve!

Maybe I can show mum her portrait today..

I might see mum today and if I can fit the portrait into the car without damaging it on top of all the sailboarding gear I'll take it out & show her what I've done so far.I'll have to read between the lines as she's already told the paper she'll go easy on me being her daughter! I'd like to know what she thinks although for once I'm going to stick true to how I want the portrait to go.Still stuck on it but I have a few months before its due so I'll just look at it now & then .It looks great in the studio which is pretty bright but loses a few colours in the darker house.I'm not sure whether to bump the colours up to allow for that or just assume it will be shown in decent light.

Make sure you have some nice sharp photos of your pet!

Recently I've had two people that have had their pet die unexpectedly  and they want a postumous portrait.One dog died of a tick , the othe snakebite.Neither person has very good photos.I can sometimes use an average photo as a reference if I have other good ones of a similar animal to help. However a good photo makes for a better portrait!
So make sure you have some nice sharp flattering photos of your loved pets so that if the unthinkable happens you have the option of immortalising the memories and good times of them in a portrait!

Peace & Quiet!

Well it worked for a while..Much as I love the roos they have been a real pain lately.It's peak breeding time and the males are following the females around clucking loudly and then they get under the front verandah & bang & crash & cluck.They often wake us at night.


Today I got sick of it and went out and shoo'd them to no avail so I got a bucket of water & threw it at the big male.Missed him but at least we got a bit of peace for a while...these photos show he's at it again!

General view out the front door at 3pm..


The dominant male gets the good while the others wait at the back and occasionally challenge him and thats when all the grunting & roaring goes on while he chases them off...argh!

This is a close up of " Arnold" ( muscle man ) after Arnold Swazchnegger(?)



Arnie and his girl who was under the verandah 

Starting on my 2nd portrait for Carole

Carole 1st found out about me when she witnessed the unveiling of a portrait her friend Linda  had me do for her friend Julie.

Jack , Maverick + Caine
50 x 60cms framed Oil

After seeing how well this portrait was received Carole decided to have me create a portrait as a secret gift to give to one of her friends.Heres it is



Rex , Kina ,Candy , Maverick + Rolly
30 x 40cms
Oil on gallery wrap canvas
Several of these dogs were posthumous portraits with very blurry photos.

Her friend loved the portrait and Carole finally decided it was time to get one for herself. She is a dog trainer and runs a security business with dogs so she has 12  ( living + posthumous) dogs we are painting.We decide that 4 paintings 3 up were the way to go. Here is the first.

Rex , Hawk + Grizzly
 35 x 70cms
Oil on gallery wrap canvas

The photo of Rex was very blurry and had a black blob for his nose.You couldn't see the shape or anything.Lucky I have years of painting dogs under my belt! I had to average out each portrait as if I had detailed the ones with sharp photos more than the ones with blurry ones it would have looked silly .

I'm just starting on the next portrait. We were concentrating on painting the posthumous portraits first but Carole was devastated when Liz one of Caroles miniature Schnuazers got a tick last week and died.I 've since been out and taken good photos of all the 'living 'dogs so that if anything horrible happens at least we have good photos for their portraits!
We don't have any good sharp photos of Liz so I am going to use a sharp photo of Emma ( similar dog) but customise it buy changing the colour etc so it will look like Liz..
I'll keep you posted!

duck tales

 Driving home on Wednesday  there was a big flock of birds on the road. and as I got closer most flew away .I realised they were ducks and one had been hit with the others being moral support.
I pulled over as the one hit was in shock and wouldn't have lasted long in the middle of the road.I had to go a few hundred yards to find somewhere safe to pull over and there was another car coming . As I got out  I signalled for them to slow down and pointed at the duck.They pulled over closer to the duck and got out to go to it.

Meanwhile another car was coming so I signalled to slow down and pointed at the duck.The car didn't slow down but straddled the duck and drove over the top of it. Luckily the duck kept its head down and survived but it would have been traumatised.The other driver closer to it went to help  it but it managed to fly off to safety.

I yelled out 'thanks' to the other driver ( a woman). She was fuming and yelled ' SOME PEOPLE!!!?"

I wasn't very impressed and had given the culprit a dirty look as he drove past. Oh well at least there was a happy ending.

Something a bit different!

Here's one of my secret Xmas commissions - something a bit different.Lucky we used to own yachts as the reference photo was so blurry you couldn't see much of anything.

Orac
30 x 40cms
Gallery wrap canvas

'Thanks so much for painting our boat. What a fabulous surprise and the perfect present! – well done.'

Steve

We had a photo of the type of boat sailing but had to customise it to look like Orac so I needed additional reference photos taken .When I asked him if he suspected anything with all the extra photo's his wife was taking of the boat he said-

"Totally oblivious. Didn’t even occur to me there was anything happening.

Thanks again Sue. Very happy with the painting."

Hide & seek

Thought I'd post some previous portraits for a bit of variety.This one was to be the second secret portrait I did as a present Vanessa's father.He drove carriage horses in the vineyards and I had to go and get photos of them on the day he was working without him seeing me and his workmate who was helping me.
We drove out to the vineyards . Several times we had to quickly drive into a carpark and park behind some bushes to avoid being seen as he drove a carriage out from where the horses were kept.
 Exciting spy stuff! LOL"s.
We finally got to where the horses were kept.It was to be a long portrait with six Clysdale heads . I took 300 photos of the different horses then his workmate said " Look he really loves this old bugger Boss.We had to retire him as he used to kick carriages apart and run off which wasn't good for custom but he's a character and looks great when you call him over."
I said " Ok lets call him over! ". I took 8 photos on multishot and we decided that one of Boss would be the way to go with the portrait.
Meanwhile the father drove back in.I thought quickly ,as he knew me from the earlier portrait he'd been given, and said " I've got an exhibition coming up in Feb and I needed photos of Clysdales so I'm here getting reference photos for it ."
Amazingly he fell for it and got a big teary suprise when he received the portrait of Boss for Xmas!

Boss
 60 x 70cms image size Oil
This is what Vanessa said when she got the potrait ready to give to him.

" LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!! You're a genius!!!! It will bring tears again!!! Thank you soooo much - it'll make his day. Actually he hasn't stopped talking about the Whoopi & Buster painting - but this will blow him away.

Made my day !

Vanessa

Getting there but still not finished

I notice the background colour looks different in the latest.It shouldn't as I haven't changed it so the camera colours have changed a bit.The camera exaggerates the blues in her clothes so I went into a photo editing program & treid to match the colour blue/purple but it must altered the background colours.