Whippet painting finished

Finally finished it up yesterday and put my signature on it today. Now I need to think of a good title.

I took this photo outside in natural light so the color and details are better than the previous ones taken in the studio.

Today's work on whippet painting

Darkened the left side of the background and worked on the whippet laying down today. Here are the pictures. You may notice a lot of difference in the colors of the photos I have taken and that some are a little softer focus. That is because I am taking them in the natural light of the studio at different times of the day. I have adjusted the color on my computer some but it is not as accurate as it could be. When I am finished, I will take the photo outdoors in optimal light'

Whippet painting progress

Finally got a chance to spend some time working on this painting, what with the busy holidays. So today I worked on the dogs more as well as the carpet. Getting closer to the finish! I have no plans for tomorrow except painting more so check in tomorrow for another update.

Slow going

There is so much going on with the holidays, I am not getting as much painting time in as I would like. I worked on the carpet two days in a row, hated it and painted it over to try again. It is an oriental type rug so is proving difficult to paint. Today, though, I worked on the dog in the chair.

More later.......

Finished commissioned portrait

One of the commissions I did for Christmas has been presented so I can show it here. It is 14 x 18 inch oil on canvas and is CH Appraxin Queen of the Jungle, better known as Blair.

Still working on whippets oil painting

Haven't been able to get too much done the past couple days but the three whippet painting is progressing. Here is how it looks today.

New work in progress

Since I can't post any of the Christmas commissions I am working on (don't want to ruin any surprises), I will post one I am working on for myself. This is a large (22 x 28") oil on linen canvas. None of it is finished yet, except perhaps the crystal ball. All the rest is in various stages of painting. The three whippets will be the last to be painted. The photo shows it as it sits on my easel in my studio.

Some new paintings

Three new paintings, the top one is Summer Morning Whippet, 18 x 24" oil on canvas. The next is a 9 x 12" oil on panel done plein air a few weeks ago before the beautiful autumn leaves were all gone, A View of the Pond. And last is also 9 x 12" oil on panel, Afterglow. We had spectacular color in the sky one evening and this was a view behind my house just after the sun went down. The orange sky drenched everything in color.

Painitng Winner

I have a winner for the Christmas Greyhounds painting, a couple days ago actually, but forgot (shame on me) to post it right away. It is Rebecca Larsen of Virginia.
I have been working steadily in the studio, mostly on commissioned portraits. Many of them are for Christmas gifts so I won't post them here now, just in case.... don't want to spoil any surprises.

Soliloquy, Southwest Florida

Just finished this painting. I wanted to convey a mood and feeling of place. It is in Cape Coral on the Southwest coast of Florida very near to where I used to live. I combined three reference photos for this painting and wanted to keep a tonal quality. When finished with the basic painting I put a thin glaze of yellow over the entire piece in keeping with the warmth. It is 14 x 18" oil on canvas.

No takers yet on the greyhound painting. But I did forget to add my email address: canineart@windstream.net

Time for a giveaway

As promised, I am offering another original piece of art to the first person that emails me. This is an 11 x 14" watercolor of Christmas Greyhounds. I used it on some Christmas cards a couple years ago.

Winner pays the postage which will be about $8. Any takers???

On the board and on the easel

Busy time for me, going to dogs shows and enjoying the fall scenery. But I haven't stopped working! Have several dog commissions in progress and completed this one of Toby. This is a tribute by his owner. Toby was sadly killed when he escaped from his handler at a dog show. I hope this watercolor painting will bring some wonderful memories of his face back to her.

Then we have a new design for the yearly Whippet Whiners t-shirt to benefit WRAP (Whippet rescue) and WHF (Whippet Health Foundation) It was concieved for "whiners", or those who aren't able to attend the Whippet National Specialty and thus sit at home and "whine". It has been well supported by the fancy even if they do get to go to the National.

And continuing work on oil paintings, two new landscapes. Solitary Oak is pretty large for me at 22 x 30" and is from a reference photo I took in Beaufort, SC quite a few years ago. I painted it once before with watercolors and thought I would enjoy doing it in oil as well.

Evening Song is from one of those moments where nature gives us an awesome light display. The scene is actually viewing from my driveway down the road. I was coming in from the studio and the sun was setting. When sunny you can see the light receding on these trees. But this night there was a pink and orange sunset which made the trunks glow reddish orange. I bolted for the house, RAN back out and shot a photo at that very moment. No time to do anything else. With the photo and my memories of this scene, I painted this piece. 16 x 20" on canvas.

Wrapped it up today, "Evening Watch"

After a couple more days work, I think I am done. Here is the final result. I am calling this one Evening Watch.

Border collie today

More work today, continuing to refine the foreground and worked on the dog. The dog will get more work as soon as this layer is dry and in fact you can see some glare in that section of the painting from the glistening wet paint. The foreground needs a lot more work too, but things are coming together.

Border Collie work continues

I am continuing to work on the background, still mostly in the darks but some highlights are being positioned as I go. This is what I have done over the last couple days. I forgot to mention the size, it is 24 x 30" on gallery wrap canvas.

Next step

Looking a little funky at this stage, but just wanted to get the canvas covered and establish the values. My poor border collie looks a little funny without eyes too! Will continue when this step is dry.

Finished and starting

Distant Rain, 16 x 20" oil on canvas


Palms by the Bridge, 6 x 8" oil on panel

Tropical Colors, 6 x 8" oil on panel
CH Sporting Field Stone of Destiny, 16 x 20" oil on canvas. This painting was done quite a while ago of my own whippet girl, but I was never completely happy with it, so it recieved some changes to make it more to my liking.

My artist friend Ute has requested I post the progress on my new piece. Today I got the sketch transferred to the canvas, it is rather hard to see in the photo, and then I put a glaze of Raw Sienna over it to tone the canvas (not shown). Tomorrow, the real painting will begin on this beautiful border collie.

Painting winner!

Congratulations to Chris Henkel and Mary Ann Larssen of Virginia. They have won the painting in my painting giveaway.

Lonely blogger!! That would be me....

I am not getting a lot of feedback but hope there are readers out there that want to keep up with all the things that are coming out of my studio. So as an experiment and hopefully to gain some new readers, I am offering a FREE ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING. This is an evening sky painted on location at my house. It is 6 x 8" oil on panel. The first person to contact me at my email address canineart@windstream.net will be the recipient and I will even pay the shipping (in USA). I will be posting lots of paintings here, plein air, animals, whatever. Most are for sale, but every once in a while I will throw in a giveaway... so bookmark my site, watch it often and tell your friends about my art giveaway. I want to spread around the freebees so I won't award two in a row to the same person.

Have fun...... Yvonne

New whippet art

Just finished this watercolor titled "The Antique Chair". This little whippet looks like she is not sure if she should be sitting in this chair or not, but certainly looks beautiful in it. It is available as a limited edition print, 10 x 14" matted in 16 x 20" mat, signed and numbered for $50. plus shipping.

Something to share

A photo of me painting by fellow dog lover and photographer, Katie. Late in the day, Shenandoah Valley, and I am in my own little world. It is funny how absorbed you become in the painting process, whether outdoors or in the studio. Time passes without realizing. The actual painting of the painting is what gets me going. How to solve problems, how to put down on the canvas (or paper) your emotional reaction to the subject and how to convey that to a viewer. I hope I get it right at least some of the time. In the meantime, I will keep painting and enjoying the process.

The latest off the easel

A classically styled painting..... Russian Wolfhound (Borzoi) in a Landscape

This piece is 16 x 20" oil on gessoboard and framed in a lovely ornate gold frame that compliments it perfectly. It will be going to Vineland Gallery for display and sale next week. If you are near Southern Pines, NC, Kim Sobat of Vinelad Gallery would love to have you visit and see all the beautiful artworks featured there.

Me, well I have also been spending time painting plein air as well as in the stufio and have a few new little pieces to show for it. I am finding out what a learning process it is and know it will improve my skills in depicting landscapes, in seeing the true colors of nature, the effects of light and learning to simplify elements to make a memorable painting. That is my goal anyway! I read on the art board Wet Canvas, that it takes 120 plein air paintings under your belt before you really "get it." I think I have a long way to go.

Lots of News!!

It has been a very busy week!

First exciting news.... I am now showing my work at a lovely art gallery in Southern Pines, NC. It is called Vineland Fine Art Gallery and their website is http://www.vinelandfineartgallery.com/

Here are a couple of new oils that will be at the gallery. A Dark Horse is 16 x 20" oil on canvas, and Proud Sheltie is 16 x 20" oil on gessoboard. There will be several other pieces there as well, including some of my little plein air paintings.

Speaking of plein air paintings, I have been having so much fun lately going out "in the field" to paint. I have been to the new greenspace park in Cameron, NC, painting in my own yard, and I just spent a couple days in Virginia where I did some painting as well. I visited a friend who lives in the Shenandoah Valley and it is SO beautiful there I can't wait to go back and spend more time with my easel.

And to top it off, the painting featured in the last several posts has been SOLD.

The finished painting

Really got busy today and finished up the painting. I worked mostly on the lying down dog, did a few touchups on the sitting dog, put a glaze over the pillow with the picture on it to tone it down a bit and deepened the shadows on the sofa behind the dogs. I photographed it and then found a frame to fit just to see how it would look framed. I hope you have enjoyed seeing the progress and results and I have enjoyed sharing it.

Getting there is half..or all... the fun

It is definitely coming along now. The sitting whippet is pretty much done and I have done the basic block in on the lying down whippet. I've photographed the whole painting and a detail of the sitting whippet. Tomorrow is Sunday and I plan to paint in the studio for most of the day so tomorrow should have another update.

Whippet painting is coming together

Here are two photos of todays progress. The top photo shows where I was around noon, worked on the blanket and pillows, then had to take a break. Went back to after lunch and added the binding to the blanket and got a lot of one dog blocked in. He needs more detailing but got the basics down. The color in the bottom photo is more accurate than the top one.
I did miss one day of working on this piece..... went out in the field and did a couple small plein air landscapes.

More on my work in progress

I got a lot done today and finally reached a stopping point. The sofa was a battle and I am not quite done with it. Had to change the grey shade of the wall behind it slightly and worked on the painting and frame, as well as the pillows. I am trying to take my time on the background and get it right before I do too much on the dogs, but hopefully tomorrow I will get some done on the two whippets as well. Now it is off to mow the yard... so hot but it needs to be done.

I hope to spend most of today working on this painting, I did get a little done on it yesterday and the progress is shown here. I am working on the background. Got the wall done in shades of grey made with several different colors for a lively appearance, and started working on the painting hanging in the background also. Here's hoping for a productive day today! I am dreading the pattern in the fabric of the silk sofa..... but it will be a challenge.

Work in progress

I would like to share my progress on a new oil painting I have just started. I am sure it will go through many stages of the uglies as I work on it, but hopefully it will turn out well in the end... so come along with me for the ride with all it's ups and downs.

My reference is a photo I took a number of years ago, but it is still as fresh in my mind as the day I took it. The subject is two whippets relaxing in an interior, there is natural lighting which is coming from a window that is not in the picture. I have changed the composition slightly from the photo to make a better painting. First, I drew on tracing paper, and then took it to the local copy shop to enlarge my drawing to fit on the 20 x 24" canvas I will be working on. I then transfered the drawing to my canvas with graphite paper. Next I redrew the entire composition with a lot more detail directly on the canvas and spayed it with workable fixative. That is what you see in the first photograph. My next step was a thin coat of acrylic paint to tone the canvas. I used raw sienna. In the last photo, I have lightly done an underpainting in shades of grey to give it a little volume and to help visualize how the lights and darks will work. Of course it will be much bolder when the actual painting begins.

Two miniatures, just off the easel

Unfortunately, I won't be going to "Greyhounds Reach The Beach", greyhound gathering in Dewey Beach, Delaware this year. So I am working on a series of whippet paintings for the big whippet show I will be attending in the spring. My miniatures have been very popular and I also have several ideas for large pieces.

Here are two whippet miniatures that I just finished this week. The headstudy is 5 x 7", oil on canvas and the other of a whippet with one foot on a rock is 8 x 10", oil on a canvas panel.

Other news: All 4 of the greyhound paintings in the previous post have been SOLD. Many thanks to their new owners.

New print release

First, the top two greyhound pieces below, the blue fawn with the ocean and the pen and ink drawing have been SOLD. Thank you.

I have just completed a new painting that is available as a limited edition print. It is titled Gypsy Fantasy and features a beautiful Gypsy Vanner horse. I am in love with this breed of horse and plan to do more artwork with Gypsy horses in the near future. This print is 10 x 14" and comes matted in an off white 16 x 20" mat, it is a limited edition of 100 and is signed and numbered.

Last night I was able to go to the Equine Extravaganza show at the Raleigh NC fairgrounds. It was thoroughly enjoyable and our front row seats were amazing. Many of the horse acts just took my breath away with their beauty.

This time it's greyhounds

I have several greyhound paintings and a pen and ink that have been sitting around my studio a bit.....

so I am offering them now.

The blue fawn headstudy with the ocean in the background is oil on canvas board and measures 11 x 14" and I am offering it now for $150. I used this painting on notecards that I took to Dewey Beach last year. (By the way, the weather was lovely last year, the first time in a long time)

The pen and ink drawing has an image size of about 6 x 10" and is on illustration board. I used it for Christmas cards many moons ago and a buyer would be able to do the same or just frame it as is. It is $50. The other two headstudies, a fawn and a black are in watercolor on arches paper. As you can see the colors are very vivid and they have a lot of detail. Each is 9 x 13" and would make a good pair, but I will sell individually for $85 each.