New Paintings & Finished Painting

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We went to Karen's cousin, Nomi Silverman's house. She always makes way too much food, and she always makes a gazillion different dishes (she obviously loves cooking, so I suppose to her it's not too much or too many). I brought along my requisite Tofurkey, non-dairy garlic mashed potatoes and wheat-free (for Karen) stuffing.

We got to look at a series of Nomi's new work for a show that opens this week in CT. It was very powerful, graphic b&w etchings and lithographs dealing with Matt Shepard's beating & murder at the hands of two homophobic men that happened several years ago. She used the stations of the Cross as image inspiration and metaphor.

Tuesday I finally finished up the portrait of Tatum's (deceased, R.I.P.) Scottish Terrier. I also continued work on Wilfredo the Chihuahua and started a new commission of a lop-eared rabbit wearing a pirate's hat. It's times like these that I thank whoever/whatever's responsible for my being paid to paint Pirate bunnies. It also reminds me of my own childhood bunnies, Dudley & Kimper and their little duckling pal, Gomer.

More Dog Portraits

The portrait of the Scottish Terrier is almost done. I thought it was finished, but there's something not quite right with the background....it's a little too sparse. I might scumble in some texture or something.

I started working on a new portrait of my first long-term girlfriend's current girlfriend's chihuahua. I was getting very frustrated with the face because Wilfredo (the chihuahua) has a very cute & expressive punim that I just couldn't capture correctly. I rubbed out his face several times, and I think I at least got the proportions correct this time. I'm going to let it dry for a week and try again 'cause it started to get muddy.

Tatum O'Neal's Pet Portrait Progress

I got some more work done on Tatum's scottish terrier (R.I.P., little guy). The fluorescent lights really throw off the color in this photo, but you get the idea. My father-in-law's suggestion to obliterate the ochre/greenish color at the bottom helped immensely. That guy's a genius when it comes to painting. Some of the drawings he did during the 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott were bought by a museum in Oberlin, OH, so if you happen to live there, be sure to keep an eye out!

Pete Meat

I just finished another pet portrait in the traditional style. It's my childhood friends' dog "Pete Meat". I think it turned out pretty well. I don't know why I'm drawn to keeping the backgrounds so vague and ethereal. Is it because I'm lazy or is it because I want to draw all attention to the subject? You decide.

Now I'm working on a posthumous portrait of Tatum O'Neal's scottish terrier. I liked the very very loose quality of just blocking in the darks that I did the first day so much that I'm tempted to stop working on it and leave it as is. I should probably take it as a sign that this portrait will go well, though, and keep going.