January 30, 2009

Fantabulous Fridays! Gotta Love 'em...


Got out of that office tonight right at 5pm today, rode the bike home and a quick dinner then a long, long walk. They built a grocery store close to the house now...it was 1.5 miles to walk there. 1.5 miles for a reward of strawberry licorice! Yum. Great weekend ahead...a wedding reception at ArtSpace 111 sounds like great fun to me. Tonights painting- hey, let's get started with some of those kitty cat paintings. Here is a little grey kitty. Canvas Panel, 5x7" Original Oil.

January 29, 2009

Thursday Thoughts-


One more painting to post about horses, then try something different. I'm ready for it to warm up so that I can spend more time in the Studio in the evening. I have a hard time moving around a lot and hanging out at the easel when it is this cold. I have a tendency to stay in the chair and at the laptop with a warm blanket. Hands really get locked up lately. Need more exercising and dipping into warm wax I guess. Anyway, tonight's painting is of Draft Horses with a splendid blue background. This is an original oil, 8x10", in an ornate gold frame.

January 28, 2009

Weds Night- Warm days on the Horizon


It was a very cold day today. My commute is so short I used foot power at lunch to walk back to work. The ice covering everything made for some great visual stimulation back to that cold, stale office. Like everything was decorated with diamonds outside. Now, this is Texas- and they say it starts warming back up tomorrow. I'll start chopping on the garden after work tomorrow. Get ready to plant those Spring onions. Today's offering is a 16x20" original Oil on canvas of the Paint Horse at Mom's.

January 27, 2009

Tuesday - ICE Storm! Cold night.


If you are an artist, have you ever checked out the Art Calendar magazine? It's great, and has a mirror website. Tonight I used it to teach me how to add Google Analytics to my website. Hope I did it right. It's really cold tonight- getting in and out of my studio is a treacherous proposition- the steps are a solid sheet of ice, and I can hear the tink-tink-tink of little ice cubes from the sky falling on the tin roof of the barn. I hope the trees can hold up through the night, I hate it when those branches begin to weigh down with ice and then break off. Like I promised tonight I am posting Curly's twin.

January 26, 2009

Monday- Where did that Weekend go?


I did not realize I had not posted for the entire weekend. It was a productive time. I practiced the ZEN of raking leaves. Every weekend I get a little bit more of the yard work done. Now I need to carry that progress over to the studio, but we are still a little dry on production. So, we'll try jump-starting our creative juices by entering some competitions and finding an Art Fair to participate in this Autumn. Tonight they are predicting a bad ice storm...one that will last for a couple of days. We shall see what we shall see. Tomorrow will post Curly's twin...and see how slippery it is outside. Let's hope the electricity stays on. It's also time to get back on Ebay. So much to do, so little time!

January 23, 2009

WooHoo! Fantabulous Friday!


Woah! Outstanding sunset tonight....took the long ride home, on the bicycle, and enjoyed the show tremendously. It was beautiful outside, but after the sunset, the wind came around out of the north and it is getting cold now.
So tonight is pronounced break night. A glass of red wine, movie and popcorn. Need a break, a little r&r. This weekend means business. Goal layouts and deadlines.
Tonight we start with the paintings of Horses. We'll start with my favorite. The Red Halter.This one is a little different, she's a 16x20", Oil on canvas. Somehow there is a lot of power in this painting.

January 22, 2009

Thursday- 80 degree day in Texas!


It was warm today. The day went by very quickly. I cannot figure out why I am not as productive as I once was. I wear out and wear down a lot faster then I used to. Sometimes that is infinitely disappointing. Well, regardless- every day is still one of hope and dreams. Tonight's painting is one of my favorite genres...the Pink Flamingo. An original 5x7" oil on canvas panel.

January 21, 2009

Halfway Through the Week-Slow Progress


Tonight not so chatty. Just a quick listing of a Red Hen. A 5x7" original oil on canvas panel. The progress is still so slow. Where is that overdrive shift?! Alas. At least this evening I began gathering images for a challenging commission.

January 20, 2009

Tuesday -a Monumental Day - Inauguration Day


Yesterday was a Holiday, and I worked very hard to do what I envision or consider "feng shui" in the Front Yard. A mountain of tree leaves removed from the North yard, scattered into the pasture with the cows romping through the leaves, looking for something green to nibble. My arm and hand hurts today from gripping the weapons of the garden yesterday. Amazing how much better I feel looking out to the North yard, now. But, let's face it- that little fever pitch of yard work needs to occur up here in this Studio. This tight little space of a studio where three commissions wait to be completed. It is coming, the motivation is rising, the fever pitch grows. Yes, there is the South, East and West yard yet. There is the vegetable garden and the broken tiller...but the Studio needs to move in front of all of those.
Today saw a quick meeting at the Office, that job-that job, and then I was a chauffeur to the doctor's office and now home. Where did my energy go? A skunk lurks outside somewhere close to the studio tonight. The odor is strong and unmistakable. And I just chased two little raccoons off of the Studio's front porch. They sounded a little like aliens come to visit.
I'll try again tomorrow. Try to finish that painting on the easel. Try to start the next painting, the next commission. Some deadlines are looming- let's get me busy!
Tonight's little painting is the original 5x7" oil, a sister to the vertical study of the black headed swan.

January 18, 2009


The magic day of the week...I never know whether to think of this day as the beginning of the week, or the end of the week. I guess that is silly and it does not really matter, what matters is what I do with this blessed day, this special day, this day not to work for someone else, but to work and play for ME.
It was a great weekend, got to see the son on Friday, and the daughter and "new" son today. I also got a visit to the Lake, an Owl sighting, a visit with best friends, a sunset on the Lake, and couple of small bike rides. Now, I am hoping for a really good long ride tomorrow.
I'm still not productive enough. But the cluttered studio is beginning to look a little better. There is still a lot of work to do, but it begins to get better as the weather improves. Now, there is also a matter of 3 more commissions and a new one today. I love being busy. I love painting and drawing. Back at it...as in see Wednesday's blog, the painting of the whippet on the easel. The next request is going to be a true challenge.
Today's painting is one of potentially three. I have been wanting to add the third piece to this triptych, but only two have materialized so far. So, enjoy the vertical rendering of the 5x7" original Oil "Black Necked Swan".

Woah, tired night. Fun afternoon though. A wee bit melancholy. Usually me and my friends are out at Quitaque this weekend. But this year it just did not work out, for many reasons. So, there was a small get together today at Lake Ray Roberts to commiserate the loss- and celebrate what is to come.
Tonight the small offering is an Original 5x7" Oil rendering of a white swan. The colors are delicious, especially if you love shades of blue.

January 15, 2009

Variation - The Flavor of Life - Wood Duck


The coldest night of the Season has arrived. 26 degrees right now. The kitty cats are curled into tight little balls here in the Studio. They say it will get to 18 tonight, but warming back up for the weekend. That is what makes Texas so grand. Sounds like I will get another bike ride in this weekend. Now up North...that's cold folks.
It has been suggested that I display some new works...something besides the Dogs. So let's try some birds for a week or so. I'll mix it up.
My idea's are forming though. I think as I paint more and more, and get back to Internet marketing...I'll start the painting on the blog...then move it to http://www.dailyoriginal.com and market it for the cost of the materials x 2....so I can paint 2 more paintings (if the first one sells). If that doesn't sell, then on to Ebay, for a wee bit more, then finally end up in the Ebay Store or the Galleries at full retail.
At any rate, let's try the Wood Duck tonight. A little 5x7" Original Oil of a Wood Duck. Posting this then going to the house to get warmed up.

January 14, 2009

Wednesday Night before the Arctic Front


Tonight they say the extreme cold is barreling in. I worry about those without a solid place to stay tonight. That makes this pastel painting challenging to view, because it is from a different day and time.
This original pastel painting is from a Spring Arts Festival. It is a snippet of an ordinary day with an ordinary couple and their two little white dogs in doggie bags, making it easier to cart them around the fair.
Tremendous detail in this pastel painting. Something to share and make me think about the Spring that is coming soon.

January 13, 2009



Cold and brisk weather today…but once the wind settled down it is a tremendously beautiful day. Too bad I am so sleep deprived! I still managed to hop on the bicycle at lunch today and ride back to the wretched job at lunch. That little 1.48 miles one way gives me a great sensation of being whole.

Did I tell you I got bit by a mesquite thorn?…guess it would be a puncture. While I was bike riding…punctured index finger on right hand. Really did a number on it..hope the swelling goes down soon.

Well, nevertheless, at work today I got several images of a little dog called an apple head Chihuahua. Now I wonder if this can be real. Guess it does not really matter because I am about to start painting TWO little Chihuahua’s anyway….one called Mojo and the other called Apple Head. It does not matter; they are both going to make great little Dog paintings.
Tonight’s photograph is the incomplete image of Dodger 2 as it sits on the easel. Dodger is the escaped whippet that was happy to shakily pose for me, while he waited for his ride back home. If the mood strikes you – write me and help me get back in front of the easel and get back to work. I’m so exhausted, why can’t I get back to the easel?

Gotta happen this weekend! We’ll finish Dodger 2 this weekend.

January 12, 2009

Another Yellow Lab


Tonight the wind is blowing so hard there is the steady thump of the wind chimes on the side of studio while I work. Then add the bass sound of the rattling tin blowing in the wind on the old barn and it is a noisy night out there...and I suspect it is getting quite chilly.
Tonight's presentation is an 8x10" Original Oil on Canvas Panel and this painting is framed and ready to hang. Currently displayed at the Farmer's and Merchant's Gallery in Pilot Point, Texas, this small work is contemporary in it's treatment.

January 11, 2009

Mosley the Yellow Lab


Could be Marley, but the name is Mosley. Mosley the Yellow Lab. Mosley belongs to my nephew...he's a California Dog. This is an original 5x7" Oil on canvas panel. A deep, cerulean blue sky contrasts with the pale amber ears and light lemon colored Labrador Retriever.
Ah, tomorrow is Monday. Man, this weekend went by way to fast. I did manage to get a short ride and a short walk today. It was one of those exquisitely dry, crisp brisk air days. And the moon tonight. Ah the moon.

January 10, 2009

The long Holiday break & now, MJ the Bull Mastiff


So the 15th ended up being a more difficult day than anticipated, and I was gone much longer than anticipated. Those Medical issues typically take a little more heart and soul than we expect. Add a quick run of energy-sapping pneumonia and then the Holidays.
Well, the good news is that I am over it all now and it is time to get it back in gear and back to painting and posting. The painting posted today is an 11x14" Acrylic on Canvas of Sarah's Bull Mastiff, Mary Jane. Lots of detail, and personality deluxe showing in this ORIGINAL painting. Soon to appear on the DailyOriginal.com.
If you see something on this blog, and can't afford the Original, you can contact me for on-demand print requests. Everything you see on this blog is unique, one-of-a-kind and made in America of outstanding quality.