Steens Mountain Trip

I haven't posted anything in so long and that's because I've been busy. A couple days ago my mom, little sister, and I went to Frenchglen, OR and stayed at the Frenchglen Hotel. On the way we stopped by the BLM Wild Horse Corrals and saw some Kigers! We looked for the Kigers in their nature habitat later, but they were no where to be found, probably chillin' out in a little canyon so we couldn't see them. But we did see the South Steens Paint Herd in their own surroundings. We also drove to the (almost) tippy-top of the Steens Mountain. So, here are some pictures of our wonderful trip!

a day of art

Today, I was finally productive with some completions of watercolor paintings!

First on my list was my next July Special, Allie for rottrover. This is the photo which I used as reference.

And I created this painting! And a close up for good measure. :-)

Then I finished a painting I started a while ago of a view at the golf course and started and finished another one. I plan to sell them at the golf course ... :-)

Then I worked on a couple paintings of horses ...

I said hi to my ponies, Lady and Gracie...

And Lucky was enjoying the sun.

my "weekend" and art

My "weekends" are usually on Wednesday and Thursdays because of my work schedule. This is totally fine with me, because my man, John, usually has those days off also. Sometimes it's hard to have schedules to be together since he's up in Portland and I'm down between Corvallis and Eugene. Greyhound and Amtrack usually help with cutting down extended driving.

So, we were able to spend some time together and relax down at the Willamette River in Corvallis. The day before I bought supplies for a picnic since John had a picnic basket he could bring. It was so yummy, even though we misplaced his pocket knife. The spread was Apple Smoked Gouda, Summer Sausage, Wheat Thins (Basil and Parmesan), Golden Delicious Apples, and some Barefoot Riesling. We sat on a log on a gravel bed under a tree and there was a breeze, after our fill we found a tree with long, soft grass underneath to take a nap.

And today since I have a day off I've been working on my next July Special commission for rottrover, it's a watercolor painting of the late and very pretty Allie. I'm also working on a painting or two of views at the golf course I'm working at because more people are noticing the little doodles on the front counter and asking, "Why isn't there a price?"

First July Special Painting: BERT

So, far I've had one commission for my July Special and that is of Bert the golden retriever and his doc.

This was the photo I was asked to use as reference:

Usually the angle of the doc's face can be difficult to depict, but I decided to give it a try. Besides, I'm entering my Thesis year of my BFA and I need challenges. For human shin tones I use a mixture of yellow ochre, a red, and brown to help with tonalities of facial dimensions. I decided that a close up of this emotional moment would create an intimate visual experience, and a background containing the colors would be more interesting than the original photo.

Vickie, Bert (and everyone else) ... I hope you like what I've created for your July Special!

Lucky

Lucky is my family's current dog. He's a 3 1/2 year old Yellow Lab and is a total goof ball. The following are pictures of him as a puppy ...

He came home in a box sitting in my youngest brother's lap.

He loved his toy porkypine.

Ginger would play with Lucky and put up with his craziness.

Rusty (who now is long gone, even from the freezer) would even check out the curious puppy.

And I love this pic of Lucky as a puppy!

Learning about balls at an early age.

Here Lucky is older but still young at heart.

Ginger played with Lucky till the end and they loved it.