October Newsletter

My October Newsletter is out!  I am running a special deal on commissions this month (and into November)  If you ever thought about commissioning me to paint a pet portrait, now is a great time to do it.  Pet portraits make wonderful gifts!  Think ahead to surprise a loved one!

If you are not a subscriber, you can read my newsletter here... http://eepurl.com/GP1An

If you'd like to become a subscriber, click here... http://www.karenweberfineart.com/subscribe.html
I also always try to include tips about oil painting and information about upcoming art shows and events!
Thanks and enjoy this rainy day!

Unlikely pear, oil on canvas, 6"x6", $75.00

The Athlete

So, many of us probably know a dog who is just an incredible athlete.  I know one such dog, who, luckily for me lives in the house behind me.  His owners are especially nice people and they let me photograph their dog (Ellik is his name) while he was exercising the other day.  He is a great frisbee catching dog and wonderful to watch.  Incidentally he also has the sweetest personality.  I can't remember at the moment what kind of dog he is - (something Portugese?) But if I get the chance to ask I will add that in here.  This painting came from one of the photos I took.  There were many, because he also happens to be very photogenic.  (Can you tell that I like him?)

The Athlete, or, Eye on The Prize, 11" x 14", Oil on Canvas

Must I Sit for a Treat?

I am tentatively titling the painting of Jonna's three dogs, Must I sit for a treat?   The thing is, I don't think I have ever titled a painting before.  It just doesn't seem necessary, usually.  But every time I look at this painting, and throughout the time I spent working on it, Gus, the chocolate lab, seemed to be staring out at me saying just that.  Really, why must I sit every time you give me a treat?   This painting to me is about Jonna's 3 dogs, but mostly, it is about Gus.  So here it is.  The differences are slight compared to the last post of this painting, but I did do a lot of refining and adjusting so things were 'right' in my eyes. 

Dog Portrait Commission

I am friends with a great lady who asked me to paint a portrait of her dogs.  Actually, it is the woman in the picture I painted of the horse a few posts back.  I started the dog portrait process by going over to her house and taking a bunch of photos of her dogs and getting the feeling for what kind of composition she was interested in as well as color scheme, etc.  For those of you who have more than one dog and have tried to get them all together to get one good picture of them... well, you know it is nearly impossible.  My friend has 3 dogs, 2 of whom are wiggly and high energy.  Point being, I got a lot of great pics of her dogs separately, some where 2 of them were looking good, but not really any with all 3 posing perfectly.  Soooooo, the composition I have come up with is a compilation of actually 5 different photographs.  One each of her 3 dogs, another that was a good background from her kitchen, and lastly one of my friend giving them treats (in an effort to get them to pose). I put a lot of thought into the composition, knowing a little about each of the dogs personalities, and also from discussing what kind of composition she was looking for.  This may not be the final painting for her, but I needed to get started on something, and was excited to do a painting that used more than one photo as a reference, which, I haven't ever done.  The 2 pics included here are what I have done so far.  I will post more pics as I get more done...

Initial drawing on canvas - 18"x20"

Under painting and beginning of Jane

Recovered from Christmas... Finally

So I start a blog then don't post to it.  Smart. 
Well, in my defense, Christmas was particularly rough this year.  Or last year, or whatever.  But I feel as though I am finally working my way out of the fog.  So, I will post some pictures today, but am not sure on all of the exact dates that I completed them.  Just know that they were completed sometime between November and Now (January 27, 2013). 

3 Dog portraits...Because I love my dogs soooo much and they are sooooo photogenic.  I take pictures of them all the time and some of them I just have to paint. These 3 are all done in oil on canvas

 Smiling Scooter, 10x10

 Ali and Scooter, 18x24

Surveying the backyard, 11x14

Ali is the smaller one and she is a 13 year old Jack Russel that we got from the humane society.  She is such a cutie.  And Scooter is also 13 years old and he is a Rat Terrier.  He is a goofy butt.  Here I captured his little brown butt, which is a standing joke about Scooter.  And Ali the sturdy little girl who loves tennis balls but is getting too old to chase them anymore.... :(

Arts on the avenue

Every summer, West Reading closes Penn avenue to cars and such traffic and opens it up to local artisans who showcase and sell their wares.  When I went last year, I was interested in the people who showed up.  This lady was there with her little dog and they made such a great picture.  I snapped a few photos and painted this as an homage to her unique character.

Lady and dog on the Avenue, acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24", 2012

New paintings of dogs

English Bulldog, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 18", 2012

Dogs, up close and personal.  These were done within the past month or so, first as an exercise in underpainting, turning into an interesting study of dog portraiture.  Dogs in a muted, primary color scheme, texture, perspective and in your face.  Cute enough to pinch.

Dauschaund pup, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 18", 2012

Jack the mutt, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 18", 2012

There will be more dogs to come... I promise!