I think I've finished Ally.

Time to put her aside for a while.I have a frame picked that will look great. I am going to do another demo painting at the weekend and yesterday I took some photos of a farmer sitting on his quadbike with his cattledog. I'm downloading them now. I hope some are inspiring as its a subject I've wanted to do for a while!

I think this is one of my favourite portraits that I have done in the portrait group.

 

This was done in 2009 . Back then we didn't have a spotlight set up on the model so the light was coming in from all directions.
It's my usual 30 x 40cms Oil.

This was when I used to paint it all in Oil. As it is only a 2.30hr session and the Oil doesn't dry in that time if you changed your mind about a colour and painted over the top of wet Oil it was easy to end up with dirty grey 'mud" colour. With the short time and trying to get a likeness + everything else you don't have much time to think and plan ahead. I changed to an acrylic underpainting that dries straight away to get a likeness and then over that with Oil to finish. I'm still experimenting with that now.

Here's today's unfinished 2.30hr portrait from our portrait group session

Graeme
30 x 40cms acrylic
My white Oil paint is still in transit returning from Lord Howe Island so I used Acrylic paint for the first time today.As acrylic dries quickly I enjoyed being able to make changes without having to worry about making a mess going over wet Oil paint.

El Paso - some photos of him being created as a demonstration painting

I started by just roughly positioning the horse and rider on the canvas.

 

I decided the rider was too tall and the horses neck wasn't in the right position so I corrected those and generally lay down colours to cover the canvas.

 

 

The finished painting. I gradually refined areas until I felt everything was in proportion and I had captured the spirit of the ride.

 

Framed

For Sale
 $425

El Paso

Oil

41 x 48cms framed size

Lord Howe Island

I've just been over to Lord Howe Island for a week.It's a World Heritage Listed island of the Coast of NSW Australia.It has the southern most coral reefs in Australia and teeming birdlife , rainforest and is a terrific place if you want to go somewhere that is friendly , laid back , beautiful and peaceful.
There are many walks on the island only about 10 or so cars and they have a speed limit of 25kms an hour.Most people ride bikes.The overall impression is of  palm trees etc as all the houses are set back in the 'bush'.The only time you really notice most of them is when you climb a hill and look down.
 I went over there for windsurfing walking and I intended to paint.I posted my easel and paints over the week before but they neglected to tell me if it wasn't sent express post it would go by ship which only goes once  fortnight.My gear got there when I was leaving..I still haven't seen it.
 The weather was interesting as there was a low pressure system over us so there were thunderstorms coming over with sunny breaks. I had a few sunny days.
The sailboarding hire is run out of a boatshed but the first day the wind direction wasn't suitable to sail from there so they put all the boards and sail etc in a ute and went down to the other end of the island.The boards were set up ready in the middle of the golf course that bordered the water.
 A massive thunderstorm came through before we got into the water so we were all in standing/ lying underneath our sails to keep dry. Just when we thought it was safe to come out we had to take cover again as we were right in the line of fire of a golfer !
 I ended up having a nice sail when the inbetween storms.At the end of the week four 14' beaked whales came into the lagoon at high tide.  On low tide  they tried to get out over the reef and ripped themselves to bits on the coral.Then small reef sharks came and started to eat them. The locals went out with a boat and towed the bodies in and took them away to bury them. Everyone was very upset. My fellow sailboarders were out zipping about in the fresh wind and came upon a glassy patch. Usually this means there is no wind so they prepared to fall in but it was the whale oil from the injured whales smoothing the waters! They could smell it.
 Here are some pics of the week.

The Lagoon from the plane

 

Below - The lagoon in it's many moods..

The Lagoon from where the boards were kept.

Sunset from Kim's Lookout - the large peaks are Mt Gower and Mt Lidgcomb

Looking down at my feet feeding the fish at Ned's Beach - they were getting washed up against me with the surge..Silly me decided to try and pick up one of the mullet ( long silver ones).Of course they got away but one of the other larger fish decided my finger looked good..Ow!! Lucky it wasn't a kingfish or my finger would have been shredded..That will teach me! LOL"s

Much of the waters of the island are a Marine reserve so the fish are protected.They are fed daily at this beach and hang around in ankle deep water waiting to be fed.

A storm like the one we got caught in at the Golfcourse.It is up at the base below the first mountain.

The other end of the Lagoon from where we sailboarded.

View from a lookout

View to the other end of the Lagoon from the golf club area. I climbed the pointy peak - Mt Eliza.Easier than it looks.

Fish feeding through the glass bottom boat on a coral viewing trip.

Some of us sailing

Me sailing

The main road

Typical vegetation on a walk.

Hope you enjoyed the photos.If you like nature and peace and quiet I'd definitely recommend it!

A Sketch from my portrait group yesterday

30 x 40cms 

 Pastel

 15 min sketch from a model

 The group is informal and we all take turns to sit still out the front as a model while the others sketch for 15mins. !5mins doesn't give you much time to get a likeness and a decent drawing but I felt this one had a good likeness and effect. I'd like more time to use more colours but with a largish ( lifesize) portrait like this it's not possible.

 Every 2nd week we pay a person to sit for a total of 2.30hrs in 20mins sessions.They get a few minutes to get up and move around inbetween sessions- sitting very still isn't easy! 2.30hrs allows us to use paint and get more done but it still isn't long enough to get a really accurate and finished portrait.The Oil portraits I do then are the coloured unfinished ones I post occasionally.

Kody - one from the archives.

Kody 

30x 40cms 

framed Pastel 

Kody had the most beautiful eyes!

I delivered Kody to the lady at work and she put her on a chair. She told me later that all her workmates said Kody's eyes were following them around the room..LOL"s

Cactus - our pet Kangaroo

Cactus - we called her that because she used to like staying dry..LOL's

 The first time my partner saw Cactus he thought she was deaf and blind..all other roos would flee if you came near but she just stood there..We eventually found out she must have been a rescue joey that was released back into the area as the neighbours said she was at their place before ours and used to go in and lie on the bed!
She stayed with us for about 4 years.She was free to go with the wild roos but preferred to lie around on the back doorstep or come inside on the rare occasions we'd let her. My partner tripped over her in the dark one day and she just grunted!
She used to love a biscuit , would come  when we whistled and used to follow us when we went for a walk. Often for an hour with joey in tow. She raised several generations of Joey's and was the subject of quite a few paintings!
I have more photos of her but not scanned into the computer.
Cactus has gone now. We cried for weeks after she went.We had to put her down in 2003 because she was chased by feral dogs and injured going through a barb wire fence.Her offspring still comes near and comes up for a biscuit occasionally.

Can I come in?

Note the little presents in my shoe..

Ooh I like your studio.. can I help?

Here's Lucy with her new background

Lucy 
 30 x 40cms ( image)
 framed Oil

I love the picture of my girl so much I can't stop looking at her you have done a fantastic job.

Thanks again.

 Robyn

Lucy

 

 

Lucy recently had to be put down because of bad arthritis.I hope this portrait brings back great memories for Robyn.
Lucy
30 x 40cm
framed Oil
'Very happy with the picture and frame, it really is my girl'
Robyn

Boy I'm glad I've done so much groundwork with Zeuss!

I've been pushing our comfort zone lately trying to get us both confident with trailriding again after a year or so of only going off the property every 3 months or so.I rode him in the arena .It was his first go with his new hoof boots on and he went great so I decided I'd take him out and see what he thought about the new metal gate the national parks have put across the firetrail behind us.I was expecting him to spook at it as although he doesn't worry about dumped rubbish ect he has a thing about white stumps at times and the gate is a silver colour. It didn't worry him at all he even started trying to eat it.
There is a narrow gap at the side where people and horseriders can get through.I considered riding him through but decided I'd take it cautiously and lead him through the first time. Lucky I did as it is so narrow the stirrups clanged on it .He panicked and rushed through and then when he got to the end of the reins spun around and reared.Bit scary only 6' away. I settled him down and then lead him back through it many times.Even though he was improving he kept rushing the last bit .
 I used to do a game with him where I'd squeeze him through some trees- it was so narrow his belly would  scrape and he'd have to cross his legs a bit on the entry. He used to like to sit in the middle and have a look around before he walked the last bit. I decided to get him to go one step at a time and get him so he could sit in the middle of the gate and be calm.We did it and he finished of calmly walking in and waiting and walking out.The whole affair prob took 15 mins.

The game we used to do.

Coming back across the paddock he got all uptight and I realised he was worried about the dressage whip.I think I have a bad habit of touching him with it when we go for right canter.We don't really need it trailriding as he is so responsive anyway. I spent the next 10mins riding waving it around and touching him with it so eventually he was calm enough to trot and let me do it.Bit scary at times as he wanted to take off and I had to turn him in circles.Boy is he teaching me horsemanship and how to ride ! Adam Sutton told me he would teach me a lot..I think if he lived with another horse he would settle down a bit as today each time we went towards where he knows there are other horses he sped up.
 Let me know if your getting sick of all this horsey stuff. I find it therapeutic to write it down..LOL's

Here are the onsite landscapes I did on my Port Macquarie trip last month.

I stopped and set up to paint at the base of the mountains where we had been walking.I was inspired by the late afternoon light on the valley.It was really peaceful and the only traffic I saw were my friends passing.They had gone on to do another walk and were now finished and going home. I was staying another night at Port Macquarie.
 I was enjoying myself immensely but unfortunately cloud came over.There was no longer any light on the landscape so there was no point in continuing.I could probably finish it with the aid of  the photos I took but I think I'll just leave it unfinished.

It was pretty late and I was half an hour from Port where I had to find somewhere to stay.I usually refer to road maps and topograhic maps if I go away on a trip but I was slack this time.I paid the penalty as I missed the turnoff and went another 20mins before I decide I had better retrack to find the right way. I arrived in the dark.
The next day I set up my Easel near the beach.It was a gorgeous morning and I was excited to see dolphins surfing the waves and generally playing in the surf!. I tried to get photos but they were too unpredictable.
I enjoyed painting and many locals walked past and complimented me on the painting. I had decided to just have fun and do my own thing but gave in after the 6th local said " are you going to put the monument on the headland?" and put it in..LOL"s

Almost done

 

 

Just a quick guide to position

Marking in the shadows before the light changed.

I concentrated on the land because the shadows would change rapidly but I also wanted to plan my water ' attack' a bit.

I was having a ball just spreading paint around choosing the colours I wanted. I have to be very accurate with my usual commssioned portrait work  so I was relishing not worrying too much about accuracy.

I think it was about this stage that a group of Swedish backpackers who had camped on the point nearby came past and one of them wanted to buy the painting. I'm not keen on selling unfinished works so I didn't sell it.

 

This one shows the view better.

This is what I completed on the day.I haven't done anymore since. Note the monument suggested on the far headland..LOL"s.Sorry the photo isn't very sharp.

I'm getting too old for this...

Another 'interesting ride'. I hadn't ridden Zeuss for 9 days and it was a nice day without the cold wind we've had for the last few weeks so I thought it was time.He lives in the paddock by himself ( other then the 70 roos..) and he's been stressing out a bit lately seeing gremlins and running around so he was tired and yawning when I got him.
We went down to the grassed arena and he went well although a little tired. As he was so tired and quiet I decided it would be a great day to get both our confidences up by venturing a  bit further afield.I decided to go out and along our gravel lane and let him visit the horses that live up the end.It started out nicely until we came across the neighbours herding a lame cow with footrot into the yards so they could inject it with penicillin.Zeuss freaked at this black limping blob ( even though he's shared with cows and sees them all the time). He was tense and stiff as a board , heart racing , snorting and just wanted to spin around and bolt home.Luckily he is very well trained and responsive.There is never any real control issues.I just keep him facing whatever freaks him and when we do turn away and he wants to go I just circle him and then ask him to walk..keep repeating until we get there.
So I decided to just face him up to it and wait until he realised it was only a cow and settled down and then I'd try & ride past.I even had him get close enough to the fence for the lady tending the cows to pat him but he was still freaking.It didn't help that the cow didn't want to enter the race as it knew it was going to get jabbed with a needle so the guy was yelling at it and bashing and clanging things to get it to go in.Then when it got in of course it was bashing around trying to get out..I handled sitting on a 500kg + timebomb pretty well except for a few minutes when I imagined what would happen when I tried to move off. Even though he hasn't bucked under saddle for c 4 years I still worry that when he gets ina stressful situation he'll lose it and I'll get bucked off..
 Eventually I decided now or never and it wasn't as bad as I thought.I had to circle him and he'd just spin around to face it again but eventually I managed to get him going past it. He settled down and I let him introduce himself to the horse up the road which made him very relaxed & happy.
We had to come back past the scary yards + cows so there was a bit of circling etc but I got him past . I decided when he had settled that I had better go back and walk him past them etc so he could handle it and wouldn't freak out next time we had to come past.So by advance and retreat , walk towards it , turn around towards home ,back up towards it etc I eventually got him so I could do some calm circles at a walk next to the yards. He even went over and checked out the cows who now out in the paddock and looked like normal cows..
He was back to his normal quiet self + tired so I actually had my first gallop for a year when we came up our drive..Boy he's fast!He can move!
I feel proud of how I handled it but I really am too old to need that sort of thing. It's my own fault.He hasn't been off the property for months.We both need to get out and about more and he needs to be ridden more but incidents like that turn me off the idea.I need someone I trust who is a sensitive rider to take him out and get him back to normal and then I'll take over! LOL"s.
I just got my expensive hoofboots ( which look like they might be too small) grr so I better start to get out & trailride to get the use out of them!

Another secret gift going interstate.

 

Misty Lynx + Hot N Peppy
50 x 60cms framed Oil

Both these mares died of separate accidents within 3 weeks .We only had mobile phone flash photos to work from and I ended up making up a body to suit.This is the portrait I was painting in the NBN TV segment.

Here is the TV link where I am painting this portrait.It gives a better idea of size.

PET PORTRAIT ARTIST IN HIGH DEMAND : NBN

www.nbntv.com.au

We’ve heard of pet parlours and doggy day care, but what about pet portraits? A Hunter Valley artist is doing a roaring trade, by turning our animal companions into works of art. (For more information, head to www.suelinton.com.au)

9 seconds ago · · · Share

Click on the download button at the bottom right of the video and it will give you a large screen version.

Kelva said it would be safe to post even though it hasn't been presented yet.

Here are the reference photos.

Misty- I've cropped the photo for privacy as it was a full body photo with children sitting on her.The photo was too dark without detail so I've lightened her in the portrait.

Peppy

Initially Kelva wanted me to make both of Misty's ears point forward and straighten her muzzle but we agreed it would make a more interesting portrait and show her character more to leave them.

'Received the picture this morning in the mail and it is AMAZING!  I can't wait to give it to Simon, fortunately this year is flying past so a month shouldn't take too long.  I did have to give it to one of the girls here to look after at her house though so I didn't give in to temptation!  The way you captured their personalities is incredible, I almost want pat Peppy's outstretched muzzle.

Thanks again, the portrait is fantastic.  I'll let you know Simon's reaction next month!'

Kelva