Two to Q - Agility 1

In photography class I thought agility photographs might be dynamic and captivating, but the difficulty was that there was too much noise and clutter in the background and the light wasn't quite like I wanted it to be.  Consequently I have a batch of older pictures that were possibilities for painting.  This is more like a study on canvas pad.  Here is a fellow with his dog...I have another I like more, Agility 2 is coming up.

What I like about agility is the saying it Takes 2 to Q -- that is to qualify both the dog and the handler must do their job.  I love that the best handlers never scold or become angry at their dogs.  Never.

Redo of Therapy Dog with Veteran

I was never quite happy with this painting, so ... with help in class, I resized the canvas -- smaller, and did some repainting to get a new painting.  Here you can see it in it's repainting stages.

What did I learn...this was an awkward original composition and angle.  I learned that high value shifts should be reserved for the areas of the most interest -- hence less contrast back on the wheel chair.  I think with right sizing of the canvas, he is a better fit and it is a better painting.

The Las Vegas Two Some -- Alone in Vegas 1 and 2

This pair came about through two pictures my niece gave me permission to use related to a recent trip she took to Las Vegas.  Thank you Jessica. 

I felt like they both had a strong narrative about isolation and vulnerability.  I enjoyed painting them.  They were both in exhibitions this week -- one with the Veteran's in Waco and a second in Bass Hall in Austin with VSA.     Motel 8 - Alone in Vegas 2 is framed on canvas.  Alone in Vegas 1 is on a panel and intended to be hung without framing. 

Pure Heart

This is a painting from a photograph I took of my friend Anita Anderson a few years ago.  She was trying on her Flambeau Parade costume in her front yard.  This was a good compositional exercise and it helped me see how to be more light-handed with the brush in an unstructured garden.  Inspires me to get out and paint in the actual garden.

I call it Pure Heart because I feel like she sees God in the beauty in her garden.  

Fall on Lake Dillon Looks like Early Feb of 2018 this was Finished

This turned out to be a great learning piece working with Janice Hindes my oil painting instructor based on one of my photographs from Lake Dillon. 

More Pencil Work

So when I find myself without paints I try to get some practice -- I wish I had the dedication of the folks who draw 20 or 30 sketches a day.  Wonder what would happen?

Going to the Dogs ...and Cats

Below are a couple of recent dog and cat drawings and pastels.  I feel like these are drawing exercises, people enjoy getting them, and they do not take much time.  These were both this year.  Both gifts.

Hardibacker Aspen Painting in Colorado -- Jan of 2018

I spent one of my trips up at Dillon, Colorado painting a piece of Hardibacker concrete intended for hanging outside.

I made it a composite from several images I had taken there in Colorado of the woods.  It is the size of a piece of hardibacker, so what is that 60 x 36 inches.    What did I learn working at this larger size?  Well, I kept revisiting the values, and the more I did that, the better it looked for me.

Let's see how it holds up. 

Texas People Power

I decided in Jan of 2018 to submit an entry for the Texas Public Radio T-shirt competition for 2018.

The theme was People Powered Radio.  I choose a Beer Bicycle format which was lighting up the state of Texas through people peddling and partying together.  Friends -- Charles, Lourdes, Susan, Allen, and Steven came to the studio and I took their pictures on Mary Kay's new bicycle.   It was a large painting and I took it in once to my class with Janice Hindes where Kristen, Kim, Daniel, Judy and Janice all took turns doing brush work particularly on my Texas map.   We all thought it was a sure winner, but it was not.   My daughter Langley Garland added the creative digital text and suggested a shirt format. 

So, this is also about the time that we started becoming interested in supporting Beto O'Rourke as a Senate candidate from Texas.   With some digital help from Langley, we repurposed the shirt -- and donated a bunch to friends and Beto's local campaign.

The lovely image is available for sale and on my FASO site.