Saying Good Bye to Jack, Our Sheltie

On Wednesday, May 19, 2010, we said Good Bye to our dear friend Jack. He had been battling a back injury (possibly a slipped or bulging disc) and then he had additional organ problems that overwhelmed his ability to recover. He was with us for 12 years and 3 months, but it wasn't nearly long enough. We miss him so very much.

Jack was a rascal and a lover and a sweet, gentle spirit. He was barky and bratty sometimes. He ate cat poop out of the litter box and junk out of the garbage can. He herded the cats, much to their consternation. He never did quite earn his "Canine Good Citizen Award" and wasn't a very good host when company came over. 

Jack's favorite word was "GO" and he was up for anything. He went on cross country road trips with us, stayed in hotels and rode in elevators. He loved running on the ocean beaches.

Sunriver was a favorite place and he liked playing on the early morning golf course and sitting in the grass smelling the pine air. He learned how to camp.

He shopped at Pet Smart and Home Depot. He loved going to the dog park. He barked at the same noisy crow every morning.

Jack's favorite toys were tennis balls, a ratty stuffed frog, and a rolled up newspaper. He loved going on walks with Rick. He took great pride in learning tricks - he could balance a biscuit on his nose, toss it in the air and catch it in his mouth.

Throughout his life, Jack suffered from ligament and tendon problems.  He recovered from knee surgeries, endured acupuncture on a front leg, and was brave at the vet. In recent months, we noticed that he was sleeping more, hearing less, and moving more slowly. He didn't go flying off the sofa in full bark at every sound.

Jack was a great friend, a wonderful companion, a noble soul, a happy camper, the very best dog. We love him with all our hearts and our home is much quieter and way too empty without him (though we suspect the cats may be secretly pleased).

This is a recent picture of Jack after getting into blue paint while foraging in a bag of trash.

Breaking Up With God

We have a student art exhibit in the college gallery. There are lots of paintings, prints, sculptures, hangings, etc. In the center is this exhibit on a table that I find intriguing. It's a painted umbrella, hand, pen on a board that says:

Dear God,
This isn't working for me.
I just can't trust you anymore.
Thanks,
Chris

It sounds just like a break-up letter to me.

Puppy Paintings

 Here are two puppy paintings I'm working on for class. My friend has a great Bernese Mountain Dog. As a puppy she was real fluffy and cute, like a teddy bear. The first one I painted in blues and purples. The second in blues and greens.

These are both 8x10" in oil.

Two Test Paintings

This term I'm taking painting class again. I decided to try water soluble oil paints - they are alot different from acrylics in application and drying time, but have
water clean-up instead of turpentine.

Here are two small paintings I made recently. Both are from painting workshop books. The first is a copy of a snow scene from the book Oil Painting: The Workshop Experience by Ted Goerschner. When Rick saw it he said, "I don't know what that's supposed to be.....is it a swimming pool?" I think I still have a ways to go with the Impressionistic syle. In this painting I just tried to reproduce what the artist did. This is 8x10" in oil.

The second is my version of a cow painting from the book 60 Minutes to Better Painting by Craig Nelson. The idea of the book is to make quick paintings in 60 minutes or less in order to focus on the subject and not get bogged down in the details. This took me alot longer than 60 minutes and I did get bogged down in the details, but I see where he is going with his idea. I actually had to look up cow anatomy in order to figure out how the legs work. I have this cow on a bigger canvas in class and started this one as a study at home (since I've been home sick, I've been working on it and the other one is only half done). 8x10" in oil.

I've been staying home with a bad cold. All I've done is sleep, paint a bit, read some books, recharge my camera batteries, watch TV and take the dog out. It's a bore.

EP

Hawaii Paintings for Class

 Here are two paintings I completed during my Winter 2010 painting class. Both are reproductions of paintings that I saw in

Maui in December. I wanted to try to capture the colors and light of the originals.

This first is from Front Street in Lahaina. The original was painted by Larry Moore during a Maui Plein Air Event. I reproduced his painting called "On Front Street". His work is much lighter and airier than mine. And his is in oil. Mine is acrylic,
12x16".

It was a good exercise in using brighter colors and contrasts, and trying to work more with basic shapes instead of details. I'm a detail kind of person, so it's a challenge to be more expressionistic. I like that messier look, but it doesn't come naturally to me (except when it comes to housework and cleaning - then I'm plenty messy).

Here's Larry's website: www.larrymoorestudios.com/field_studies.html

The second painting below is a reproduction of an oil painting by Jan Bushart, another Hawaiian plein air artist. The original is called "The Workhorse", (referring to the tractor). She uses great colors and beautiful greens and blues in her paintings. Jan also uses wonderful loose brush strokes, which is something I need to learn.
Jan's website: http://curlyjan.fineartstudioonline.com/

I wish I could have purchased both originals. These were good learning exercises and are strictly for personal use. My copies pale in comparison with the originals.

Mixer Head

Our first assignment for painting class this term was to make a face collage. We used face segments from various magazine photos to create a new image. I used the eyes from a Michael Jackson photo, the lips and chin from Halle Berry, the nose from an anonymous model and the mixer/bowl/earmuffs from an educational magazine. I found the butler body from another magazine and added the pug in place of a piece of cake.

Some students kept the different colors and styles from each strip, but I blended the segments into one face. I can see that I made the eyes, nose and lips smaller than in the collage - and I left off the mascara. I may play around with those a bit more. I reworked the face color and shading since I first posted this. I really struggled with the face colors and blending...it's a new challenge for me in paint. The acrylic paint dries so fast that blending is difficult.

Photo Collage 

I hung this painting in my office and people have asked me what it "means", or what I was trying to convey. Mostly it was just for fun, but I may have to make up something more esoteric!

This is 18x24 on canvas board in acylic.

EP

Painting of Retro Fan

Tonight I finished the last painting for my Fall class. Earlier in the term we put together a still life display using items from the Art department prop closet. There was a whole bunch of stuff including a skeleton, some vases, bottles, a toaster, a tea kettle, a plastic baby doll, and this old fan.

I recently saw some prize-winning paintings of retro/50's appliances in an artist's magazine. There was an old Electrolux canister vacuum cleaner with hose and an old electric mixer. I wanted to try something similar with this fan.

This was a fun project but it was a bugger to paint. I had a hard time getting the blades and metal cage to look right. I like it! It's 16"x20" in acylic.

EP