EZ livin' finished

20x28, oil on canvas
c 2009 RobinRoberts

I promised the finished photo of "Fencesitters".   The foreground of the painting as of the last blog was veerrrryy yellow - partly intentional to add warmth underneath the cooler grasses to follow.   The trees were lightened and texture added in the grasses.  It seems ok as is, but I will be making changes that will make it even better.

Remember the Moss Rock Festival of Art and Nature on November 7 & 8 at the Preserve in Hoover (Birmingham Al).   I'd love to visit with you there.
http://www.mossrockfestival.com/  for directions - there will be a shuttle to make it easy for you.

EZ LIVIN'

18x24 oil, tenative title "Fencesitting", in finishing stage

Here is another progress  posting, in case you'd like to see how my larger paintings get started.  I pass this pasture every few months.  It's on the outskirts of a small town, and I have to really zoom to get the photos.  But it's the time of day and composition that stays in my mind instead of the details - although I do hope for accurate anatomy - tell me if I'm off!

the lay-in with a chip brush from the "home store" to get the rhythm and light/dark composition.  The canvas is ordinary cotton that I've gessoed with Utrecht brand professional gesso.

....the next shows 3 horses against the fenceline in shadow.   That's the part that really caught my attention.

palimino on the right......

the front horse taking shape.....I recognize the silhouette and begin to block in the dark, light and color on the horse shape, putting them in like jigsaw pieces without blending, piecing the horse together like a quilt.  Each value of color gets an individual mix meant to go in a specific place.   Sometimes it might take the flick of a brush, or a drag or applying with light swipe - sometimes it takes the brush at a 90 degree angle, but most often the back edge of the brush held horizontally.

Here is more of the patchwork effect.   I'm using a bristle flat #6 or 8.  All the colors and values are there - now I'll adjust the blocky color shapes with more blocky color shapes in between, and - magic! - it comes together like it's blended.  With more "looking" I see purples, blues and oranges and try to play it up, still keeping the quiet time effect.

finished photo to come........

usually you can click on an image to enlarge for texture..

A BLACK CAT FOR HALLOWEEN

This is Max ... waiting for halloween

this is Max - the beginning of a little oil painting

this is Max - midway- without eyes

this is Max getting eyeballs

this is Max - the phantom cat.  My friends say they have never seen him.  He comes in at night when it's cold and sleeps with us, otherwise, he's outta da house....







6x6 oil on panel
$95, email robinroberts4@gmail.com for purchase

QUICK STEPS

Cattle Drive
about 12x16, oil

Many times my best work is done quickly.  I've been thinking about how to paint this scene we viewed on vacation above Taos NM.  It was only by accident we caught this cattle drive across the highway.    I could make several more paintings from the photos, even though they weren't very good.

I like to call some paintings "sketches" until I know if they will turn out ok.

With apologies for the blurry photos, I thought you'd like to see how this one came together.

First stage

I had to select a small part from the references - such wide open spaces in the mountains of New Mexico!  Many times I'm excited about the subject and I don't bother to tone the canvas.

Second stage - the horse gets some simple value - there's not much color anyway.    If you can click to enlarge, you'll see the cattle are just a smear and smudge.  At this stage I didn't know whether I'd detail the cattle or not so the smudge effect didn't matter.

Close up of horse - and smudges.   I'm just paying attention to major shapes and simplifying them into tones and color.

Playing warm against cool,  light against dark shapes.....

blurry - I'm sorry- the cowboy just doesn't look right - he will get a little more simple measuring.

Really,   it's not long to get to the finish - the cattle didn't require much - only touches of medium cool values, and then LOTS of paint for the background,  warms under and behind the horse to suggest brown cattle,   and then I decided the background needed breaking into simple shapes.

Wish you could feel the sharp wind that day and hear the cattle as they came down across the field to the water hole.......