Painting "Winter Pasture"

My most recent commission, "Winter Pasture" is a painting of Zoot, an adorable Shetland Pony.  The owner of Zoot, Anna Bigelow, imported her from Scotland.  How amazing!  I hope to visit the farm where she lives soon. Anna has since imported another friend of hers, Lyra, and they were recently reunited.  I was really interested in these beautiful creatures so she sent me some info I found fascinating.  Here is what she told me:

Zoot is a Shetland Pony.  She was born in the Shetland island of Scotland, and I imported her to the USA shortly before her second birthday.  The breed has been around for thousands of years because they are built for survival.  A layer of fat insulates their organs from the 100 mph winds that rush across the islands in the winter along with their long, thick coats.  There are no trees in Shetland, so they only have the hills and old ruins to protect them.  The islands are also covered in hidden bogs (I was once walking and I stepped in one, finding myself suddenly chest deep in the bog.  Thankfully I was able to pull myself out, with much judgement from the onlooking ponies).  But the ponies know how to avoid the bogs.  Something deep within their brains a sense the am not sure how.  The bogs do not look different than a small stream or sometimes they look like a regular hill. But the ponies know and never get caught in them.  In my opinion, one of the most intelligent breeds of equines.  

For many centuries Shetland ponies have also been used for farm work and for children's riding ponies.  For a time during the 19th and 20th century, these ponies also were deemed to be perfect pit ponies.  This was because in 1842 there was a law that banned children from working in the mines in England, but the miners still needed something small to help them with their tasks.  The ponies were strong but compact, and at one point in 1913 there were 70,000 pit ponies in use.  Most ponies worked 8 hour days.  In the 1950s and 60s the practice finally stopped.  Technology had finally caught up enough to make the job unnecessary, but also, people began to realize that perhaps it was not the most natural and kind practice, and that ponies are meant to live in the daylight.

Zoot is around 40" tall, which is correct for a standard Shetland.  They should be between 38-42".  She has big bones, correct conformation, and very high intelligence, mixed with a kind nature and temperament.  A lot of ponies in her lineage on her sire's side come for the Wells Stud, which is a famous for breeding black Shetland ponies on Mainland, Scotland.  They breed ponies that are true to the breed standard and honor the old lines.  They are supposed to be like a compact draft horse, but with the same qualities that have helped the Shetland Ponies to survive thousands of years.  Her dam's side has very old Island lineage.  Zoot's breeding is very special.

Photo by Gerry Bigelow

Thordale Stud (Zoot's breeder) worked very hard to breed the best possible ponies.  They no longer breed Shetland Ponies, but these days focus on rescue of Shetland Ponies and Shetland Sheep that are in need.  They also breed, train, and ride Icelandic Horses, and retain a few of the original Shetland mares, to live out their old age in blissfully large grassy fields.  This includes Zoot's grand-dam (Also Lyra's dam) Millhouse Vitamin, who was featured in the famous ad campaign for Visit Scotland, "Shetland Ponies in Sweaters."  Francis Taylor, the owner of Thordale, writes a wonderful blog about the adventures of all the animals on the farm.  A link to her blog about her daily life in Shetland is included HERE

These are fascinating ponies.  I have just imported Zoot's best friend Lyra (from when they were foals) just a few weeks ago.  They are both doing very well and were happy to be reunited again.  They are now learning to drive as a pair.

Information and uncredited photos by Anna Bigelow.

Here is Anna's FB link with lots more on Zoot. LINK

Photo by Frances Taylor.  LINK 

Thoughts on creating "Mid-Winter Light"

I thought it might be of interest to share some of my thinking and strategy that went into painting this piece.  Here in Maine, winters are...well...rather long (sigh).  It is a beautiful time of year in many ways, and I do love living in a climate that presents 4 distinct seasons.  But as the short days and frigid temps march along, signs of spring help get one through the tough stretches.  Hence some fresh flowers on the windowsill!

So, on this overcast, snowy day the "temperature" of the light was decidedly cool.  That means that the objects this light hits directly will reflect back cooler colors.  Shadows therefore should be fairly warm in temperature. In addition, the other subtle light source was from within my kitchen.  So objects "living" in this light would be warmer than the outdoor light.  For example, the inner wall to the left and below the window are warmer yellows and purples than objects being struck by the outdoor light source. 

Blue is considered the coolest color on the color wheel, orange the warmest.  The snow in the yard and the tree branches behind in the woods are the coolest objects in the scene...muted cool blues and purples, and pure white for the snow. The close side of the tangerine the warmest.  The daisies were already a very cool yellow (leaning more toward a blue-er yellow rather than an orange-yellow) so I had no trouble painting the well-lit outer petals.  But I struggled a bit with the color of the center of the bouquet.  When I tried a warmer yellow (more orange-ey) it did not look right.  After wondering why this was so, it occurred to me that even though the center of the bouquet was not in the direct daylight, the daylight was strong enough to penetrate the blossoms.  In other words, the daylight was overwhelming the weaker, warmer light in my kitchen.  Does this make sense?? :)  So those inner daisies not directly lit my the outdoor light were still being affected by it as the light passed through the bunched-up daisies.  Therefore the yellow leans much more toward blue/green than toward orange.

In addition to these issues, I also had to consider the light reflecting OFF of the objects.  And so you can see that both the orange from the tangerine and the blue from the vase are subtley reflected onto the inner window frame.

If you've stuck with me through this, then bravo!  There are books and books on the subject of color with regard to painting.  I would recommend a few:  Betty Edwards' "Color" is a classic.  And James Gurney's "Color and Light" is another amazing book.

Thank you again for your interest in my work!  Check out my website and sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter to stay informed of new work and upcoming shows.

Until next time - all the best,

Shelley

Process photos of "Carry Me."

In this post are some process photos of creating "Carry Me."  I love the subject of figures on the beach.  Like many of you I have so many great childhood memories of family time at the ocean in Maine.  

I start with a photo reference I took (below).  One beach in Maine that is particularly great for this is Popham Beach in Phippsburg.  It is large and shallow, and at low tide leaves sandy tide pools perfect for kids to play in.  It's a favorite of many.  I transfer the photo to my iPad and then go to work adjusting it for composition and color intensity.

When painting a figure that takes up this much room as the subject, I start by gridding off the piece.  This helps me to place it exactly where I want it, and helps me to get the proportions correct at the outset.  Through trial and error I've found that even slight irregularities in the human figure are easily picked up by the eye.  I'm not an accomplished-enough sketch artist to free-hand it.  If I'm going to spend this much time on a piece, I really want these proportions to be as accurate as I can get them.  

With most paintings I start with a wash to kill the white.  It's often fun to do it in the complementary color to the dominant hue of the painting.  For this piece that would be the blue of the water.  So the orange underpainting can be left to peek out from the blue if I want it to....or not. 

My iPad has been an invaluable tool for my artwork.  One App I use at the beginning of a piece is a value-finding tool.  There are many.  I use "Value Viewer".  It gives me the photo in the 3 main values...darkest value, medium value and the lightest light.  The app has other features that I won't go into right now, but this is the most important one.  You can spend a lot of time working on a piece, but if the values are off it can all be for nothing.  "Color takes the credit, but Value does all the Work."  is a well-known adage among painters.  A non-technical way to view value if you don't have the tech is to squint...works great but adds to the crow's feet!

I then paint these darkest darks in first...

 then the medium values, leaving the lightest ones as white.  As you can see I'm also starting to think through the surrounding landscape at this point.

  And here I'm adding what is called the "local color" to the piece.  That is, the local color for the swimsuit is red.  So I'm adding a really dark red in the dark-valued section of the suit, and playing around with the light red splash on the left.  As well as the lighter red on the edge of the tie near her neck.  The basic blue of the water, the basic light color of the sand, etc.

From this point on in the piece its a matter of refining these established areas, staying within the value range and adjusting hue and intensity.   At the end, its really fun and satisfying to add the final touches, like adding a thicker layer of paint to the boys shirt to make it pop.  "Hanging the Jewelry" I heard someone say once.  Love that!  

If you took the time to read this I hope it was enjoyable.  Below are a few detail shots.  Thank you so much for your interest and support!  😌

Peace - Shelley

Process of "A Walk in the Woods"

 "A Walk in the Woods"

Oil on canvas board

copyright 2020

Hello friends, I thought I'd post a few process photos of this recent commission painting, "A Walk in the Woods."  The photo above is of the finished piece, 24"x24" on oil-primed linen mounted on a rigid board.  I'm finding I like this surface better than a stretched canvas.  It can take a lot more pressure from my brushes and painting knives.  It is also more resilient to damage when finished.  The oil primed surface for me gives a better "glide" to the paint than acrylic gesso priming.

When I begin, I do a thin wash over the white surface, usually with burnt sienna thinned with mineral spirits.  Once brushed on, I wipe with a cloth, usually an old T-shirt.  Cloth is better than paper towels for this because it deposits fewer small fibers than paper towels.  This toned surface will successfully kill the white spaces as I paint.  Since this painting is primarily a cool green, I can leave a little of the warmer under-layer for accents if I choose to.

At this point I start my sketch and placement with a dark tone, usually a "chromatic" black made with a mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber.  This is also thinned with mineral spirits.  I place gridlines to help me place the focal point (the dog) where I want it.  I have then blocked in the darkest darks in the painting.  The following two photos show a little more progress on the blocking-in phase.  The lightest areas are left without paint at all, and the grey-toned spaces will be the mid-tones.

Once these phases are finished I can then bring in some "local" color.  What this means is the the black area is going to be green primarily, so I mix the major green I want there accordingly.  This green is the local color for the woods in the upper part of the painting, mostly a cool, blue-green, muted a little with some red and black.  The green I mixed was a combination of the following colors:  pthalo blue, ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow medium, cadmium lemon yellow, alizarin and some ivory black.  This mixture gets adjusted warmer/cooler, darker/lighter as I slowly work this area with more and more detail.

I don't have any more process photos to share (once momentum gets going I forget to stop and take more pics....sorry!)  But here are a few detail shots of the piece.

I'll try to post more painting-progressions in this blog in the future.  Thanks for reading and following my blog.  If you want a head's up on future posts, please sign up for my newsletter on my website.

Stay well and healthy.

Best to all,
Shelley

Jennifer's Cardinal

Here is another commission piece based on a previous painting.  I'm including a photo of this "gallery-wrapped" canvas.  With this style of canvas there is no need for a frame.  The painting can continue on all sides of the canvas, or the sides can be painted a solid color.  FMI, click on the link to my website.

Views from the Gaspe'

A commission piece

Oil on panel with barnboard frame

NFS

(see my website for information on commission paintings)

"Heeling"

I enjoyed creating the sense of distance in this by softening edges and reducing detail in the water as you approach the horizon.  I also thought repeating the yellow/green accents from the sails into the sky worked well.

Oil on Canvas

10 x 10 x 1.5

Gallery-wrapped, ready to hang

Please visit my website for purchase info

'Hot on my Feet'

My favorite subject, children on the beach.  I'm finding figure painting to take the most time and thought of any other subject I do.  The eye is not very forgiving when it comes to the human form or face.  I tried to give the sand more texture here, but I think an additive like cold wax would give more form.  Next time I'll try that.

Original oil painting on panel

16x12, framed

Purchase info is on my website

'Gated Community'

I finished this one with a few coats of glaze using Manganese Blue (nicely transparent) and Neo-megilp (medium) to even out the color.  I think this might be a good way to unify your color harmony.

Oil on  gallery-wrapped canvas

Sold

"Weathers, foule and faire"

Another knife painting.  I found it hard but beneficial to reign in the urge to add more color here, especially the warm tones.  I just wanted to hint at the approach of better weather.  Thank you to Valerie Tarantino for the beautiful photo reference for this one.  The title was inspired by the Captain John Smith poem, "The Sea Mark".

Oil on panel, 11x14

Original sold, but giclee' prints are available

"Pacem"

Oil on canvas, 14x11

Sold

More than 95% of this one was done with painting knives...a great way to get looser with the whole process.  You have to be a little more willing to "fail", which is a learning experience on its own.  

Ad pacem.

"Lemons and Lilacs"

Received Merit Award, Art in the Park, 2017
Oil on canvas, 11x14, $375

Framed, floater-style frame, ready to hang