Veils of Time, horse art, watercolor painting by Donna Ridgway

This painting was a great learning experience.  I've done what I call my dribble paintings before I created this one, but the others were much brighter.  I kind of liked the earth tones in this one, it gave the painting an ancient feel.

I'll try some with brighter colors, and probably do more like this, with the earth toned back ground.  It seems there's always something to learn and something to experiment with!

Donna

Turning into a Witch's Knot, horse painting.

I kept painting away and this seemed to turn into a witch's knot in Murphy's mane.  I never know when I start painting, what will happen next.  It seems every painting has a mind of it's own and you might as well follow along with the plan and let that happen.

I'm still working on this one, kind of feeling my way into it.  Not sure what the background wants to be at this point.

And I also hope I don't do something that wrecks the entire painting ...there's always the chance of that.  That's why it's sometimes difficult to post your progress as you are painting.  It's much more a sure thing if you take your photos as you go along and only post after the entire painting is finished.

Once again, wishing you a lot to be thankful for in the coming year!
Donna Ridgway

Another update on the horse watercolor.

I'm working to portray, I think, a wild-windy mane on this horse.  I can see I'll be changing a lot of things about the mane, I'll just keep working on it until it becomes what I want it to be.

I used one of my photos of a horse named Murphy to begin this painting.  He was my cousins' horse, he's no longer with us.  I rode him up behind Split Mountain, west of Dupuyer, Mt, one time on a cold, windy day.

Murphy had large ears, and a very expressive face.  I've used his image in several paintings just because he had such "presence" in the photos I took of him.

Hope you enjoy the updates, leave a comment if you wish!
Donna Ridgway

I'm working on a horse. Water color on Yupo paper.

This is the very beginning drawing, just laying in color with a brush, in the general shape of a horse's head.  From this point, I'll begin to refine the lines, fill in the mane, fix things I see that need fixing.  My favorite part of  creating a painting is this lay in stage.  I love to take a blank white page, to the point where it begins to come to life.  Where there was nothing, you now see a horse.

Because I've created paintings since I was 5 years old, I've refined my process to the point where this step takes from 15 minutes to an hour to complete.  If you counted the total of hours painting to get to this place, I'd probably have 20,000 hours in painting!  I really have no idea, lol!  But I know it's a lot of hours, a lot of lessons, a lot of work.  To coin a cliche, a labor of love. :)

Watch for updates as the painting comes along.

This is the last day of the Thanksgiving holiday for 2014, I'm wishing you will have many things to be thankful for in the coming year.
Donna Ridgway

Come see the dog with the crooked nose snarl!

"Will I bite, or will I not bite?  That is the question!  Let's ask Ceasar Milan, he would know!  Is this dog mean or is he just insecure?  

No matter what he is, he's really fun to see with his snarfy attitude and funny face.

This was another TAG!!! painting from my art page on facebook.   Come by the page, tick the like button to see the updates and take a chance to win a painting like this. 

My Etsy shop, Stormy Ridge Studio, has other fun things you might like to see!

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Second give away painting in the TAG!!! game.

This painting was a 4X4 inch watercolor on Yupo paper.

Our yard bunny was on high alert, watching out for the neighbor's dog when I took his photo and then painted this from the reference photo.

Carol Peterson Hopkins was the winner of this painting!  Congratulations Carol! 

If you'd like to play the TAG!!! game, click the tag link and come on over to my art page. 

When you see the word TAG!!! at the top of a post, and nothing else, that painting is in the game and if you are the first person to respond beneath the painting with the word TAG!!!, you win the painting.  Each person is eligible to win once a year.  So every one has a chance to win a painting!  I'm not being stingy with the paintings, I'm creating a lot of them for this event.  So come on by!  Join in today!  Just tick "Like" to join the page, and watch for the TAG!!! paintings to roll by.

The TAG!!! game.

This was the first painting I gave away in the TAG!!! game.  This is a game going along on my facebook art page.  I post a painting, and if the word TAG!!! is at the top of the post, the first person who responds with TAG!!! under the painting posted, wins the painting.

It's so easy.  I had a lot of fun creating this painting wondering who would be the first person to see my post!  The painting did not last for two seconds, so if you want to win, be sure to keep an eye on that page!

Congratulations to Kathy Tilander-Doyle for winning the first painting!

Come by and play the TAG!!! game and be the next winner!

Alcohol Ink Artists Valentine Theme Week! My entries.

On ebay this week!

Come by and place a bid, it began at .99!

I'm Purrrr fect for you!

Come by and place a bid!

Valentines Theme Week challenge

Alcohol Ink Artists

On ebay this week, Be Mine

Alcohol Artists Valentines Theme Week!

Come place a bid, he starts out at .99

These are my three entries in the Valentine's Challenge for theme week in the Alcohol Ink Artist group on facebook.  What fun!

To see all the Alcohol Ink entries, just type AIArt Valentines Theme Week in the search bar!

Don't forget to place a bid on the art!

Paper sculpture, toilet paper roll faces, cowboys from the old west.

Cowboy faces made of toilet paper rolls.  These cowboys have built in strings for hanging.  You can hang them from your Christmas tree at Christmas time, or you can hang them up around your house.  You can also take them to the car and hang them around the rear view mirror.  They're quite fun!

36 cowboys in production! Paper sculpture using toilet paper rolls.

 This cowboy was created to hang from a pickup mirror.  You can take him everywhere you go!  I love his bushy mustache and the fierce look in his eyes!  He's a true rider of the range.

And here are 36 more cowboys in various stages of construction.  Each one has his own special character and personality.  It's kind of fascinating to see Western Art created from recycled toilet paper rolls. :)  Each toilet paper roll face comes with different wrinkles, different expressions, maybe a different colored hair or eyes.  Some of them are old timers, still smoking cigarettes, some of them just have big mustaches.  Some of them are old codgers with grey hair and wrinkled faces.

No doubt about it, you gotta have one!  I'll be posting them in my etsy shop, Stormy Ridge Studio, as soon as each one is completed.  Give me a few days to finish a few and get them posted!  This is your sneak preview of what's to come. :)

Using a reference photo, how to get a bargain!

 

Each of these paintings, were created from one reference photo!

 

Here's the deal with a reference photo: reference!  You use it for reference, you don't have to copy it exactly like it is.

 

1. Use it for a detailed painting.

 

2. Add a different background to it each time you use it.

 

3. Add different colors or styles to the subject.

 

4. Create the painting in different mediums.

 

5. Use one photo and see just how many paintings can appear!

 

And that's an artistic challenge for you to try for 2014. :)

 

 

 

Free reference photo, for you to use! Big Horn Ram.

 

 

 

Here's the deal!

Download this photo, and create a work of art from what you see.  Use the photo after this to create all the works you can.  It's free for you to use.

 

1.Send me a jpg of your painting/artwork, no larger than 600 dpi on the longest side.  Be sure you watermark your image, with your copyright notice if that is important to you. 

 

2.Send a link to your facebook page, or your blog or website, and I'll add the link with your work.

 

3.Send the jpg to artistreferencephotos@gmail.com.  Please use "reference photo entry" in the subject line.  You can also add a little blurb about yourself, which I'll copy and paste into this post.

 

It's that easy!

 

I'll upload your photo here, in this post, and place a link for you to advertise your work.

 

I have one entry all ready!  Which you'll see below, please check out her photos, they're wonderful!

 

Paper Moon Photography

 

Thank you for entering my contest!

 

 

 

A Blue Horse painted with Alcohol Inks

Do you suppose it's midnight?  Is this why he's blue?  Maybe there's another reason?  Maybe I ran out of paint and only had blue and green left?

Honestly, I don't know why he's blue, I think it's because he wanted to be blue!  And you have to admit, he looks good that way.

This is a 4X6 inch painting done with alcohol inks.  They're what I call a "fleeting" medium.  You can be painting away and have just what you want, when suddenly one tiny drop wrong, and your entire painting is ruined!  No matter how long you worked to get it perfect. :)

And today was no exception.  I had this finished, and because I have no patience, I didn't wait a day or two to spray it with varnish.  And to my horror, the painting dissolved in front of my eyes and went running off the Yupo paper!

What fun!  I sucked it up, roughed up the paper, and switched over to acrylic paints...and finished the painting.  So this is what you call mixed media, and that is the reason why.  I call that desperation painting, Lol!

Anyway, he's for sale in my Etsy shop, Stormy Ridge Studio.