Shifting my mindset in my style of painting

 I’ve been shifting the way I normally paint. These past couple of years of painting on the iPad Pro using procreate has elevated my sense of creativity. I do notice my improvement and am simply thrilled when I’ve completed a final pet piece! When I find a photo of a cat or a dog that is a pleasing composition I never plan right. I never sort through a color palette or think of cropping or pick the perfect medium. I just wing it. And it always seemed rushed but acceptable. But here’s the thing-I need a sense of wonder. I need the piece to speak to me. And each stroke needs to be intentional. The piece has to be somewhat compelling to look at? 

I discovered an artist on YouTube because naturally I travel through its clickbait algorithms and after watching multiple pet painted portrait videos-I stumble on to a terrific German painter named Alpay Efy . His portrait painting presentations are simply delightful and straightforward. He explains that starting with painting the details in the eyes, the nose and then the mouth are the most important to begin with. So I took his advice and painted my photo of a hairless kitty cat also known as a Sphinx. It was the eyes! I may have elevated my art finally. I do plan to paint traditional pets in oil one day. But for now I’m very satisfied with my piece I created in 2 hours tonight. The background I struggled with a wee bit but hey. I’m on a better track now!!

Time Lapse Art Progress Procreate Videos youtube/instagram

   

   

  

                                                  

   

 Here are a few of the black cat videos I created on my iPad Pro using Procreate that I've uploaded to my youtube channel and instagram. Blogger seems to struggle with uploading any type of video so fingers crossed these turn out. This is a selection of the black cats I've appropriately posted for this October month. The bottom photo is my set up creative workspace - jimmy rigged whatever it takes to get something worth looking at - tape assists a busted made in Japan tiny tripod - natural light from the west facing window - foraged seasonal plants/faux plants/tropical plants - as props - pile of patience and voila. I LOVE the process of recording the art process and I remind myself to always TRUST the art process. 

Grateful for my family and this country!

The last big vacation was 2 weeks in beautiful Oslo Norway in August of 2018! Norway!This year I chose the more affordable 1 week in colorful Colorado! My fellow traveler buddies were the ones I care most deeply about and that is Leia and Dougie. Sometimes it can be tricky to accommodate a big doggie on a road trip (and sometimes a kid who asks a lot of questions) and I expected things to go sideways a bit but it did not (except for the stressful moment Dougie slithered out backwards out of his harness/collar-barely escaped but I held on to his fucking fur with all my life so as not to escape and terrorize the touristy town of grand lake next to Rocky Mountain national park) I handled it very calmly and he knew he was in for it. This trip was a breath of fresh air-literally and figuratively. Nothing beats fresh mountain air, clean and beautiful environments, friendly folks and delicious eats! Dougie was a wee bit anxious throughout the road trip, but he managed and I feel like it sent his mental and physical stimulation through the roof and was much needed! This was also a lovely time to further bond with Leia and catch up conversations that we’ve been behind on. I’m grateful for the new memories we have created from this trip and I am reminded of this beautiful country we live in. So thankful to enjoy my freedoms to travel and live and breathe and enjoy life here in America where many parts of the world are absolutely not permitted freedoms. This country is not perfect but its bonuses outweigh astronomically far many other places to live. Colorful Colorado is indeed colorful in that all the lush and green nature here sucks all the fucking carbon out of this earth. And that is something I love. Nature is the answer to everything. Indeed.

 

Dogs in August AKA Doggust 2021-1/2 way through the month-my fave dog drawing

 Doggust is a Instagram yearly drawing challenge every August started by a few dog lover artists that has been steadily growing every year. Draw a different dog every day in August or just draw the same dog differently every day for 31 days. I challenged myself last year and completed all 31. This year I’m halfway through the month and am on a roll-I can appreciate the daily practicing of drawing/painting of dogs. I know I struggle with my drawing skills and so I feel this is a fantastic way to speed up honing my skills. I feel I really have improved a bunch and my art style has def evolved. I just have to trust process of drawing/painting and believe it will in the end turn into something worthy to appreciate. This lil guy/gal is currently my fave. Soft pastels and dry brush for that doggy texture! I’m loving the dark and moody textural background I’ve created-I feel like I have to bring the velvet painting vibe back to the future. Goal is to focus in like a laser on the puppy dog subject and his layers of fur texture. A white background distracts and is quite blinding to me-now to experiment with ways for final output on to a dark textured paper without losing the depth and color. Dogs of summer ……

Ginger kitty cat Milo

Razzy relaxes in the cat window

Layers of acrylic paint on repurposed 16 x 20” canvas

Blocking out the values always begins to look like crap

Milo the ginger orange tabby kitty cat

Milo the adopted ginger kitty cat has been on my mind to paint digitally and traditionally. I have done both and can appreciate each form of painting! With traditional you have the planning and prepping and purchasing and gathering and focusing just right in the just right space with the mixing of the just right now paints. Touching and blobbing and scraping and wetting the colors are a fantastic way to mentally free your mind-creating something tangible that includes sweet textures and interest is deeply satisfying. 

Procreate oil painting of Milo

Traditional painting for me has always been using acrylics-however this digital painting I created in procreate on my 11” iPad Pro using my Apple Pencil was painted using the oil paints which has a lovely feel about them-the pressure and colors and textures can result in something quite unique-I get in a comfy spot on my sofa and spend about and hour - no layers - no blending - dark to light - patchwork method - random texture to maintain the abstraction! This is key! So I love them both. Ginger cats are sweet and silly. So I’m obsessed.