Recently I had received a commission to paint a landscape on stretched canvas. The client wanted to reuse a giclee on canvas that she had purchased. It was large – 3′ x 4′ gallery wrapped canvas. My paintings are usually small from 9 x 12 inches maybe up to 11 x 14. But I saw it as a challenge and went for it. And I had to say I love the process.
The July visit for the Yolo Arts and Ag Project was to Clos Cavanis Farm in Woodland. The most striking feature on this farm is the Victorian home that Van and Catherine Overhouse had spend 20 years remodeling.
Instead of painting the Victorian home, I went for the red shed.
This painting maybe part of the annual Yolo Arts Farm and Gala in October and November.
In June, artists were invited to the Elkhorn Basin Ranch in West Sacramento as part of the Yolo Art & Ag Project. This ranch has over 400 acres of sunflowers. In this painting I tried to capture the fields of sunflowers against the rolling hills. But I also wanted to capture the hazy sky caused by the fires.
This painting maybe part of the Art Farm Exhibit in October or the Art Gala Juried Exhibit in November in Woodland.
A commissioned watercolor dog portrait. I usually do a drawing in pencil first and then in watercolor.
Before the weather got hot, I painted a couple of paintings outdoors in my backyard. Playing around with strong light and deep shadows.
These are pencil sketches of the pet portraits for watercolor or oils. I usually like to do them for value studies and to figure out proportions. Once the proportions are figured out, I then make a photocopy, resize if I need to and then trace onto the watercolor paper or canvas. (The sketchbook that I am using is a sketchbook that I had purchased from Target. The paper is cream color slightly texture. At 240 pages, I bought it at a price less than $15. )
Pet portrait commission of Frankie in watercolor on 10 x 8 inches on watercolor block. Pet portrait commissions are available in my Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/PaintingsbyMarlene
I had just finished a commission of five Labradors. They were painted on stretched canvas in oils. And upon the client requests, they were also framed with black floater frames.
