Labrador, second installment, WIP

Photo I'm working on for this project. This photo is not one of my own, I found it on an artist challenge project in a forum I frequent. I'd credit the author, but they didn't list their name. When my painting is finished, I'll be posting it in the challenge results.
Here we are again.

I have discovered reasons I love to paint and I'm only in the second day of this experiment. The experiment is- After a summers vacation, of taking photos only, I want to know if I'd like to continue painting and taking photos, or go to photography completely and forget the painting.

Reason number one for me to continue painting is this: When I woke up at 5 am, I immediately remembered this painting was sitting on my desk, ready for some more paint! Painting gives me a good reason to get up. I don't lay there and waste an hour, waiting for daylight. As winter approaches, I'll have even more hours to paint before daylight arrives.

Reason number two: The funny things that happen when you're painting.... For example, I layered burnt sienna over this dog, then hit it with the hair dryer and a long brown booger ran out of the dog's nose and across the rest of the painting. Now that was funny. You might have to click the image above and see a larger version to get the full effect.

Reason number three: In 20 minutes time, I've drawn my dog, and even though it has rough spots, it looks like a dog. One of my most fun reasons to paint...to take raw materials, and create something that wasn't there before.

Reason number four: In 20 minutes time, my dog is complete with shadows, and light, form and shape, and the beginnings of personality. I've corrected the placement of his eye, and corrected the angle of his nose-need to do more work on the nose..... I've noticed his forehead is wrong and will be working on that next. I'm totally involved in the process of painting. The painting has taken on a life of it's own, and it's telling me what it wants me to do next. I absolutely love the feeling this painting has created inside of me.

Reason number five: Even though I work from photos, I draw the image myself. I begin on a plain white sheet of paper, and draw with my paint brush. It's so hard to explain the connection I feel between the image and the end of my paint brush, but there's an incredible pull from the image, directing my lines onto the paper, it's like I'm not doing this myself, but I'm pulled into the process. It isn't a push, or a nod, or a bump, it's a strong, steady pull, from the subject to the end of my brush.

I've painted animals from life, and although the process is fun, I don't enjoy it like I enjoy working from a photo. I don't want to have to worry about what the animal is doing next and try to imagine how they looked in the preceding five seconds.

And taking the photo itself is part of the process. When I'm taking photos of an animal, I get to know who that particular animal is...I see if he's funny, or smart, or kind of dumb and clutzy.

I like taking the photo that best captures his personality and habits.

Reason number six: There's something about painting that takes the photo one step further. The photo requires a mechanized process and a type of machine (for better words) to make the image happen. But the painting is "MINE"! No other person could copy this painting exactly as I painted it. Look at all the work around this country that's copied, the copy never looks exactly like the original.

You can go to an art class, where 30 artists in the class are working from the same photo, and no two paintings will look exactly alike. When I post this image to the forum, it won't look like all the other paintings the rest of the artists will paint.

So, you can see, I've discovered my photos and paintings are both part of my process. I guess I'll keep doing both. If I find more reasons I like to paint animals, I'll post them in my next post.

Remember, you can feel free to leave a comment before you go! Perhaps something I've posted has got you thinking....

Perhaps you don't agree with something I've said....

Maybe you'd like to take some art lessons, and try this yourself. If so, don't be afraid, jump right in and do it! The feelings you receive while you're painting are worth it. Let me know, and I'll help you get started.

Maybe you're painting and wonder why you do it! I'd like to hear the reasons you continue....
Donna Ridgway

Email Me if you have questions, or want to inquire about purchasing a painting.

Remember, you can find horse art , Western art, Mule and Donkey art
wildlife art, cow art, and animal paintings. My reference photos are for sale on my website.

I'm not so invisible as I thought I was.

Hi Donna,

I just spent the morning hours looking at your sight. Thank you for the inspiration to paint. I am new to watercolor painting. I am trying to learn from a book. I have messed around for a year. I keep thinking I need to take a class but I really don't want to. Time and travel is difficult to manage. So, I web searched horse watercolor and came across your site. OH THANK YOU. I read as I looked at how you took photos and then painted. I have tons of photos of my cows, horses, dogs, chickens and kittens. I kept telling myself to paint what I like. I have to learn to be more "free" with the color and brush strokes. NOT to be so exact on line. I had become frustrated and no longer had the desire to even try. Reading your messages really got me excited today and I am going to go out and paint something...I don't know what yet...but it's out there. Thanks again!!!

(Name withheld for privacy reasons)

_______________________________

I received this wonderful letter in my email this morning. It couldn't have come at a better time for I was feeling totally invisible upon this earth.

Many years ago, when I was a kid, working on the farm with my dad, I asked him why we were put on this earth? He responded to me, "We're here to make this world a better place for other people who are here now and to make it better for people who live after us."

I guess because he's my dad, I believed him and I've used his words to create what you might call a "foundation" to my life. Lately, it seems I haven't done anything to help anyone, and I was getting pretty frustrated at my lack of results.

Right when you're down in the dumps the lowest, God gives you what you need to perk you up again! For John noticed I had placed an incorrect link to watercolor-online.com. So now I know people do read this blog, and there are things on here of worth to someone, and that makes me happy.

Of course to get to the good stuff, you have to put up with everything else I write....I thank you for doing that, now that I know someone is out there!
Donna

Artist Resources

I've discovered the most heavenly site for artists.... actually two of them. One is the empty easel
and the other is watercolor online.

So don't expect anything much out of me in the next couple of days, I'll be busy exploring. :) And learning. There are some sites I can go to, where the knowledge is so nicely presented, I can soak it in like a sponge. It doesn't seem like study, where you work hard to learn something, it's actually enjoyable! Both these sites were like that to me.

On another note, yesterday, I was in a completely destructive mood, so I went out to the studio, which is now blocked and leveled, and tore a closet out of what was once the back bedroom. The hot water heater is in that room also, so I tore out the closet around it also. I used a big hammer and did lots of pounding and banging and ripping....it felt good as I've had some especially frustrating experiences in the art world lately.

I take things to seriously, get frustrated and worked up about them, so it was good to freely destroy something! Ever the creator, I carefully saved what I could save. Little bits of quarter round, clean pieces of paneling.....screws, nails, boards....so I can reuse them when I rebuild the wall in what is going to be the display area of the studio.

The back room is going to be shelved for storage all the way around and possibly, if there's space, will have a table for framing in the center. The room is about 12'X14' so this should all be within the realm of possibility. Now the dreaded closet has been removed, it looks like it's going to be perfect for what we need.

There are some holes in the flooring I need to fix, there's a hole in the back wall on the tin on the outside, we'll fix that. Then we'll lay down the linoleum, put in the shelves and table, and that room will be functional.

Next to that room, is a small bathroom. I'm going to tear it apart also. The shower will come out, the toilet will come out. The sink will come out. I'll have wide shelves where the shower and toilet are, for my watercolor and drawing papers, mat boards etc....The storage is going to be wonderful for my art supplies have a way of taking over our lives. :)

I'm getting anxious to see the studio finished up but we're totally out of it with this cold we caught...it's a miracle when I feel like doing anything and now Robert has caught it also.

But we will prevail, the cold will go away, and we can get back to work.

In the meantime, I've got these two wonderful websites to explore....
Donna