I just received my letter of juried acceptance into the Illinois Art and Artisans program. This honor allows me to display and sell my work through the four State Artisan Galleries here in IL.
Still trying to come to terms with Gena's passing, I'm still just too heartsick to paint. She was my "heart dog", and I'm feeling the void dramatically. With a broken heart, I let you know that on Wed. May 2nd, I lost my beautiful Fawn Great Dane, Gena, to bloat/torsion. She was my constant companion, dearly loved, and I'm still in shock. I will miss her terribly and am too distraught to paint anything at all just yet. Her portrait that is shown on my "Currently on my easel page" on my site, remains unfinished. Words cannot describe how much i loved this gentle, beautiful soul...she was the light in my life, a true friend and member of my family RIP my gorgeous baby girl, mommie loves you and misses you and will forever. I'm excited to let you know that my recent painting titled "All Tucked In"(blog post 3/7/2012) will be sold to Karen Stanford, after I exhibit the painting at the Spinone National Specialty show at the end of April. Karen is the ref. photo contributor! Thanks Karen! Because I've been busy painting!!!! I've completed 2 more paintings since my last post...I'm on a roll, LOL! 2 more in my Spinone Italiano series. Photo credits to Karen Stanford/Ambrielle Spinone and Catherine Ryan "All Tucked In" 8 x 10 Pastel Original is for sale, contact me for info.  What an adorable pair! I just HAD to paint them!  "On Retrieve" Another pastel, 11 x 14, framed, available for sale. Please contact me for info. Leaving this one for a couple of days to see if any final tweeking is needed, but for now it is done!  And here is my final update for today. Still a long, long way to go, but am feeling the finish in sight! 
I'd started another in my series of the Spinone Italiano earlier this week. It's been slow going but I'm moving along(like a turtle, LOL). This one is also in Pastel, size is 11 x 14, on pastel board(Ampersand). I'll post a slideshow of the WIP so far, since I didn't update this blog as I progressed. I'll update now with each progression. A huge Thank you goes out to the photographer, Alison Nick, for granting me permission to use her photo for my painting. The dog represented in this painting is called Sofia. It's Sofia's first duck retrieve, so I've titled the painting "First Duck". It's also MY first duck painting attempt, so Sofia and I have something in common. Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'm in love with this little guy! I finally finished this Spinone Italiano pup's portrait! I'm quite happy with the outcome, even though it was a struggle for me, I believe I achieved my goal. I will be offering prints of this painting very soon, so check back, or keep an eye on my site for a Prints link to come soon! I've decided the Title should be "Caught in the Act". Now, on to my next one!  Whoo Hoo! Weebly, my website hoster, is feature packed and I just realized I can create a blog from my site! So, here I go, my first Blog post! I've been trying to redesign my site lately, and I'm happier now with the overall look and ease of use. Check it out! I've also been working on a rather large project, I have decided to begin the exciting task of doing alot more dog breeds paintings. As you may know, I love the Great Dane, and so alot of my dog paintings focus on the Dane as my subject. So, I am now focusing on a less well recognized breed, the Spinone Italiano. This breed is not only a gentle companion animal, but is used as a working gun dog as well. I am currently working on a Spinone pup. the ref. photo was generously provided by Tracy Davies. I still have the finishing touches to do, mainly on the nose an muzzle area. It is a Pastel painting, an 8 x 10, on Ampersand surface. I'm titling it "Puddle? What Puddle?" Enjoy!  | Barb YatesLiving to Paint, Painting to Live! Pet portraits are my passion! Always striving to create that special painting that evokes emmotion from the viewer. Be it from the expression of an animal, or from a beautiful landscape, that reminds you of someplace dear, I paint with a passion! Archives |
RSS Feed