I love the photo of this cute little dog in the doorway and wanted to paint him. I challenged myself to see if I could paint him using only a pallet knife so I could get some nice juicy paint on the canvas. I did pretty well with my goal. I only resorted to a big brush for a few strokes. I thought the expression was captured in the one exposed eye so I had to switch to a small round for that stroke.

I wanted a Louisa May Alcott look to this painting with Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy and their friends having a picnic. I found a still photograph searching for movies on Netflix that was just what I was looking for. It was a 1975 movie called Picnic at Hanging Rock. The story is about an austere Australian boarding school where teachers take a group of students on an outing to the mysterious Hanging Rock. Soon after the party starts, the headmistress and three girls go exploring and mysteriously disappear. One week later, a sole survivor returns to school__ with hardly any memory of the incident.
Sounds like something I should rent now that I've done a painting about it.

This was a fun little painting to do even though all the horse's tack was a bit of a challenge. The Percheron horse is indeed a gentle giant and the young boy leading him is in full control. He is probably taking him to join the rest of the team for a little farm work in the field.

Calvin Barel on Mine That Bird

With this painting I wanted to capture the excitement of the Jockey, the horse, the outrider and the crowd. There is a lot of action in this painting and it reminds me of the feeling I had that day watching the race and cheering the outcome. Calvin Barel and Mine that Bird were quite a team!

50 to 1 longshot

This years Kentucky Derby winner ran the most excieting race I have watched in a long long time. The little know Birdstone gelding who cost $ 9,500 as a yearling and who came 1800 miles in a one horse trailer from New Mexico, negotiated the sloppy Churchill Dows ractrack under a deft rail skimming ride by jockey Calvin Borrel. Left in his wake were multimillion dollar priced horses owned by sheiks, captains of industry, large breeding operations,and their high profile Eclipse Award winning trainers. Trained by former rodeo performer Chip Wooley Jr. who hobbled into the winners circle on crutches because of a motorcycle wreck two months earlier,and who was widely criticized by the elite horsemen because it was inferred his little gelding did'nt belong in the race, MIne That Bird registered the second highest payoff in the history of the Kentucky Derby with his stunning $ 103.20 mutuel. What a race!!!

Sunday Picnic

I found this photograph of three models who were posing in costume and I loved the design. I knew it would be a lovely subject to paint and I was amazed how fast it came together.

Another small 6x8 oil.

At the Punch and Judy Show

This was such fun to paint. Each little face was a separate portrait with a particular emotional expression. Some children are wild about the show and some not too sure.