Seeing Stripes

"Earn Your Stripes" - 3.5 x 2.5" colored pencil on drafting film
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"Lady" - 2.5 x 3.5" colored pencil on drafting film
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For those of you who thought that I had given up the pencil entirely in favor of the paint brush, fear not! Two art cards today . . . proving to myself that when it came down to it, I could keep track of a lot of stripes and ripples.

Dinner

"Dinner" - 16 x 20" acrylic on canvas.
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I was so excited about the charity auction that I almost forgot my own auction that I started tonight! I'm actually pretty excited about this one as well, because I've had such a lot of feedback about it already. Take a look . . . I've decided to call it Dinner.

I'm starting to count down to my summer vacation with the inlaws . . . next Sunday. One week from today, basically. And I'm already looking at my trunk of my car and thinking . . . hmmm . . . how much art equipment can I fit in there?

Art 4 Critters Big Cat Auction

Okay, guys. This art card was actually done weeks ago, to be part of the huge big cat charity auction that I'm part of with the group Art For Critters. It's a gorgeous piece of work, if I do say so myself. Not my card in particular, but the whole thing -- it's 38 art cards by 38 artists all over the world. 100% of the auction is going to benefit Happy Paws Haven (all these details are in the auction). And it's -- well, take a look for yourself, sheesh!

Click HERE to take a gander at the auction.

Work in Progress - Oh So Cute!

This painting isn't yet up on eBay, but I wanted to show you guys that I had actually been working today. I'm not entirely sure if it's done yet. I figure that hanging it on my wall (I love those snap on metal frames!) and staring at it for 24 hours will do me good. It's of a friend's sister's Westie and cat, who apparently get on as well together as my cat and Jack Russell do. Strange!

Cup of Tea & Bath, England

"All Routes" - 14 x 18" acrylic on canvas.
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Two for today: the cityscape of Bath, finally finished, and a small still life that looks better in person. Why acrylic has to be so difficult to photograph is beyond me.

This week has been eventful, and looks to keep being so. I'm gearing up for the yearly summer vacation with the inlaws, and trying to decide just how much work has to come with me!


"July Morning" - 5 x 7" acylic on canvas.
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Unfinished Painting & Unfinished Commission

Unfinished Painting on 14 x 18" Canvas.
Click here to buy or make best offer.

This is a fun thing that I do every so often; offer an unfinished painting for sale in my store the day before I send it to auction. This particular piece is a nice twisty road in Bath, England, and I fully expect to have it finished by tomorrow evening. Lately I've been drawn to windy roads and inclines, and this particular street has both. Must be a bugger if you've got a stick shift. Which I do. (REAL girls drive stick shifts.) Anyway, click on the link above to buy it or make an offer on it before it goes to auction tomorrow, and be rewarded with free shipping and all that good stuff.




Unfinished Commission of Quarter Horse
Click here to see entire Work in Progress

This has been occupying most of my time today, hence the unfinished painting. As it's a portrait commission, it's not for sale, but because I'm doing it as a very detailed work in progress on the artist's site WetCanvas, I thought I would show it here so that everyone could get an idea of how one of these pieces is put together. Hope you follow the link and enjoy!

Horse & Horse Power

"Art Imitates Life" - 16 x 7.5" colored pencil
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Two offerings today, both have been works in progress for a long time. The first is a play with reflections on a Friesian horse and the second is an experiment with limited palette and muscle cars. Whoo, I love American muscle cars. When I'm rich . . . anyway. Today I'm also going to give my blog-readers a special -- when you bid on something and win, or buy something out of my store, in the next week (through July 28th), write "blog reader" on your payment and pay no shipping. No matter how many pieces you buy. Because I love you, dear readers.


"Drag" - 16 x 20" acrylic on canvas
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Frequent Flyer

"Frequent Flyer" - 16 x 20" acrylic on canvas
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Today I actually meant to post two new paintings on eBay, both of the horsey sort, but I've been busy with commissions and I only had a chance to finish this one. This was a fun one to do -- no precise street corners to draw, no tricky colors to figure out -- just nice sharp shadows and clear, bold shapes. Sometimes, that's just what you want. I always wanted to be an international show jumper when I was younger. Well . . . I still kinda think it would be a good idea. But I'm happy painting them, too.

Down to Bowmore

"Down to Bowmore" - 18 x 24" acrylic on canvas
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Here's my offering for today! I really like this one -- evening is my favorite time of day and I really tried hard to convey that golden half light that comes when the sun sets. I have to complain just a small bit, though. My wisdom teeth are killing me and I've just been to the dentist. The little buggers have to come out. Maybe I should dedicate the proceeds of this painting (created while in pain) to my dental co-pay (payment for even more pain -- 4 extractions). That sounds terribly dreary though, doesn't it? Please tell me, everyone, that having your wisdom teeth out is actually quite painless.

FOUR New (Sorta) Pieces

"Up" - 16 x 20" acrylic on canvas
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Okay, today's offerings are somewhat weird and varied, because I didn't finish them all today. "Up" is the only piece that was truly finished today. I loved the wiggly dog legging of this Scottish street; I mean, really -- as an American looking at those markings on the street, I have no clue what they really expect the cars to do. Free shipping to anyone who can tell me what the heck they mean. ;)



"Stained Glass Stirling" - 16 x 20" acrylic on canvas.
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This painting is, in a sense, the painting that began it all. This is the first painting that I ever experimented with the idea of combining acrylics and the look of stained glass (something that I love). This piece is subtler than my current work, but the linework is finer -- I hadn't quite developed the very bold linework that I use today. I held onto this piece for years but I've finally decided that I should give collectors a chance to own it. It was the first. It deserves to be seen.



"Escape" - 9 x 8.5" colored pencil on paper.
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This is another piece that I've had for awhile. It defies categorization, so I'm putting it in my eBay store, not on auction, where I think it will be lost. You can see my stained glass influence again. This piece still speaks to me on some deep level; something about the colors of the pebbles on the beath or the lines of the dress -- I dunno. You may not like it, but to me, it works.



"How to Make a Dog Smile" - 2.5 x 3.5" colored pencil on paper.
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And this is the last of my old made new pieces (can you tell I was sorting through my studio today?). This was a drawing of a Yorkie having a seriously bad hair day that I've been tooling with on and off for about a year. Well, I decided today that what he needed was another cut -- not his hair, but his crop. What I always liked best about this drawing was the smile, and so I cropped it way down so that that's all you see: a smile and two glowing eyes.

A Labrador and a bunch of Hunters

"Judges, This is Your Class" - acrylic on 3 16 x 20" canvases
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"The Opposite of Patience - 8 x 10" colored pencil on Bristol paper
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I am having real issues with my blog today, so I'm sorry about any multiple posts that I may have inflicted upon anyone! Here are my offerings for today. The first is the triptych from last night's post, finally with semi-decent photos (still cloudy today!) and the second is a labrador drawing that I've been working on for literally months. I rediscovered it today and though, "Hey, I still like this one!" and finished it up. I remember the day that I saw that dog very well. We were at Breezewood, at the Gateway rest stop, and this guy stared out the window the entire time we were parked there. There was a man in the car with him, but this dog only had eyes for a woman who came out and got into the car. Once she was back, the dog got back into the car and lay down on the back seat. Guess I saw who was top dog in that house!

Art 4 Critters Big Cat Auction

Okay, I'm going to try and do this properly . . . hopefully this will show up as the banner to that big cat art card auction I told you guys about.

Judges, This is Your Class

"Judges, This is Your Class" acrylic on three 16 x 20" canvases
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I was busy today. This particular triptych took me an insane amount of hours, but finally it's done and hanging on the wall. By the time that I finished them, however, the sky was growing gloomy and there was thunder booming in the distance. Lighting inside was horrible and I knew I wasn't going to get any good photos. So I'm not going to properly list this as an eBay auction until tomorrow night, because I should be able to get good photos tomorrow afternoon. But I figured that I would give my blog-readers a chance to get it first, before the general eBay populace had their way with it! So it will be for sale in my store with a buy it now/ best offer option until tomorrow at 9 p.m. And as usual, 10% of the proceeds go to SCARE, an equine rescue.

I like this one. I like strong, graphic images and the blue and Naples yellow stripe really finished this for me. But it does leave a question in my mind. Why is it called Naples yellow?

Two New Animal Charity Art Cards

"Spot of Melancholy" and "Hole in One" -- two art cards
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Today's offerings are two colored pencil art cards designed with Art 4 Critters in mind. Did I mention them before? I can't remember. They're an eBay group of sellers who donate portions of their proceeds to designated animal charities. Mmm, this is sounding familiar. Maybe I did type this yesterday. Anyway! 10% of each of these cards goes to SCARE -- a horse rescue located in South Carolina. So please take a look at them and search for other Art 4 Critters items on eBay by typing in A4C.

Also, Art 4 Critters is having a huge charity auction starting on the 26th of this month; 38 of the artists each created a big cat art card and the entire sale price will go to Happy Paws. I'll post the link to that when it begins. Until then you may feel free to salivate and wonder what delectable big cat I may have chosen to draw. Okay, you don't have to salivate. But do keep your eyes open.

Canterbury View and a Cat in a Plastic Bag!

"The Handbag" - 16 x 20" acrylic on canvas.
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This painting represents a breakthrough for me; not because of any amazing technical virtuousity, but because I had begun two paintings before I started this one and had abandoned them both because I didn't like the results. So I was pretty thrilled to end up with this one, which has a very nice sense of recession when it's hanging on my wall. Thank goodness. I thought perhaps my artistic bone was broken, or something. From now on many of my auctions will donate part of their proceeds to animal charities. I'm part of Art For Critters, an eBay group that focuses on charity listings, and my charity of choice is SCARE, an equine rescue group. I hope I can make a difference.

"Cat in a Bag" - 2.5 x 3.5" colored pencil on drafting film
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My art group has a phrase -- ARPM -- that we use to describe pieces that we're happy with. It stands for Almost Revoltingly Pleased with Myself. Well, with this little piece, I am definitely ARPM. My criminally insane cat Moose got into a Walmart bag and rolled around on the floor next to my desk and I thought to myself -- I need to draw this. So here it is. And he turned out looking just like Moose. I can just imagine that cat in the art card reaching out and biting my foot.

Foods that I Don't Like to Eat

"Duck, Duck, Goose" - 2.5 x 3.5" colored pencil on drafting film
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I can't believe that I forgot to post this last night. This was my drawing for yesterday. I missed my colored pencils and wanted to try something different, so I went for this trio of bell peppers. Now, I despise the flavor of bell peppers, but I can respect that they're attractive. I draw horses and dogs as well, but I don't eat them either. Anyway, this is a little art card on drafting film -- I still can't get over how vibrant the colored pencil is on the film.

The Last of the Quarter Horses

"Guest Parking" 12 x 24" acrylic on canvas
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"The Gauntlet" - 24 x 30" acrylic on canvas
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Okay, okay, more horses. Tomorrow the equestrian streak will momentarily halt, I promise. I just had so many good reference photos from this Quarter Horse specialty I went to that I had to paint a bunch of them. I'm pleased with both of these two, but particularly with "Guest Parking." It's a real slap you in the face painting, even from across the room, and was done in a different style than usual for me. I consider it a very successful experiment. "The Gauntlet," from a photo taken in the stable area, was started at the show itself and turned out well, though I'm frustrated by my inability to get good photos of it. Moreover, I'm having problems taking photos that show the sheer size of it. 24 x30" is a BIG painting!

I've begun putting reserves on my eBay pieces; I love selling on eBay and I love my eBay buyers dearly, but I just can't sell pieces for less than I could get for them at my horse shows. Doesn't make good business sense! And it's not fair to my horse show collectors. What do you guys think? Does a reserve on an eBay auction turn you off?

Western Riders & Quarter Horses

"Guest Parking" - work in progress on canvas
Click here or on image to buy before it goes to auction tomorrow night.

Today was another day of horse paintings, I'm afraid. Hey, when I have that many great reference photos, they just beg me to paint them. So I actually have two paintings that I worked on today and both of them will get finished tomorrow and put on eBay. The one that you see displayed here, "Guest Parking," is one of my latest favorites. I'm really enjoying the strong shapes and patterns of the horses and riders silhouetted against the sky, and I really am digging the slouches. These three young ladies were exceptionally self-conscious about the idea of being photographed in such a casual pose, so I told them that I was photographing their horses and they left me alone! Was that unethical? Yeah, I thought not, either. Anyway. This piece, which is 75% done will go on auction tomorrow with a reserve unless it is purchased beforehand. You can do so by clicking the link above or on the image itself.

Even more exciting stuff tomorrow, I promise, including a cougar art card for charity! Whoo hoo! Hold onto your seats, folks.

Horses!

"Just Jump" - 24 x 48" acrylic on canvas
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"Bella" - 12 x 12" acrylic on canvas
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"Antioch" - 16 x 16" acrylic on canvas
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I think you can probably tell by my offerings that I was at a horse show all weekend. Two of these pieces were completed at the horse show and the other (Bella) was being held until after the horse show as a portfolio piece.

All of these represent a different direction for me, which is exciting because I love to experiment, especially when it goes well. With these pieces I worked with wild colors and vivid underpaintings; in many places you can see bright green poking through or blue dominating a shadow. The effect is dynamic, active, and contemporary. I wish I could tell you exactly how many people came over to my booth and exclaimed over "Just Jump" as I was painting it. At four feet long, this painting really has presence, and the contrast between the white background and the colorful horse is rather staggering in real life. I'm just an eensy weensy bit pleased with myself over all three of these. Can you tell?

A Friesian Horse and Another in the Carytown Series

"July Colors" - 6 x 6" acrylic on canvas, fourth of Carytown series
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"Niall" - 11 x 14" colored pencil on colorfix paper
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Well, today was another day at the horse show, and I put the sizzling day to good use. In between watching western pleasure and trail classes (very peculiar things to a girl who has ridden English her entire life!) from my booth, I put the finishing touches on Niall, a colored pencil piece on black paper that I've been working on for awhile off and on, and on July Colors, the fourth in the Carytown series. I actually did another little 6 x 6" commission piece of a one of the horses at the show as well, but as the thing was handed off to its eager owner with barely dry paint, I didn't take a photo. Moral of the story: you can get a lot of work done when you're stuck in a 10 x 10' space with nothing better to do.

Summer Spectacular Horse Show

Well, today was an interesting day in the world of Maggie. Today was the first day of the Fireworks Summer Spectacular Horse Show at Rose Mount Farm, and I had my booth of horse portraits set up there. As you can see above. I spent the day sweating (it was 98 degrees), painting (see that big horse there at the bottom -- that's what I did!), and sweating some more. Oh, and securing commissions. I also got some other paintings in the works to add to the Carytown series, but I don't imagine that I'll be listing anything on eBay until tomorrow at the earliest and Monday at the latest (it's a 3 day horse show).

But I didn't want anyone to think that I'd been snoozin' on the job! And if anyone out there is looking for a horse commission, better ask me fast as I'm about to have a lengthy backlog! Stay tuned . . .