Author Archives: Artwithmycoffee

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About Artwithmycoffee

I live in Juneau, Alaska where the inspiration in nature abounds! I love taking photos of this beautiful place and then painting them. In 2013 I left my job in order to devote more time to my artwork. One of the ways I have been learning, is through online tutorials. I have been so encouraged with the amount of information that people share about their artwork. A few of my favorite sites are: Tuscon Art Academy on line, mhttp://thecompleteartist.ning.com/ by Richard Robinson, and http://www.dailypaintworks.com/ with Carol Marine. These have been extremely helpful as I have been working at my painting. This year my goal is to paint almost daily and to try to get outdoors more and paint en plein air (or out doors from life). I also hope to come up with something interesting to blog about it all ( =

Maggie

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Maggie (631x800)This was done for my niece. It was actually one of the more difficult pets I have done. It was difficult to find a photo of her that was detailed enough to paint from. I think it turned out cute, especially with the little dinosaur toy. The background is an interesting thing, I never know what color to use. The panel was underpainted with light red and when I put ochre over it, it came out this orangy tone, which I sort of liked. It wasn’t what I was going for but I thought it worked well, so I left it. I guess it is a good example of one of those happy accidents.

Grayer

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IMG_9464this is  my first attempt at painting a portrait in oil. I have done many pencil portraits and a few in watercolor. This one was particularly fun because it is my grandson. I think that I will probably go back in and finish out the background, but I wanted to put this up here for now. I am really looking forward to trying a few more portraits. I took several cute photos of him while on vacation last month. It will make for great practice! This shot was in such beautiful sunlight that I just couldn’t resist giving it a try.

Mable

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IMG_9463This girl is relaxing contentedly on her cushion. I’m sure it is only after hours of rambunctious play that she finally gave in to a rest. It seems like those eyes are even now, thinking about what sort of play may be up next.

This wiry coat can be tricky to paint. I found myself just the slightest bit frustrated in the process. It takes many layers to build up the depth of color in all those hairs. It can seem like one will never get the final stages. But the end results are worth the effort. Many different colors can be seen. It is especially nice in the sunlight.

Bruno

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BrunoLike most Bulldogs, this guy is just full of attitude! It was fun to paint his wrinkles and that piercing eye. It sort of looks like he is saying, ‘you want a piece of me!’ It certainly seems like the most important part of painting animals is the eyes. A painting can be out of proportion and if the eyes speak to you, then you may get away with it. Hopefully the proportions are correct as well, but I’m just trying to make a point…the eyes are very important.

Buddy the Frenchie

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BuddyThis is a painting that was a little experimental. I used a black and white photo to try to make myself focus more on using warm vs. cools depending on where they were in relation to the light. It was actually quite helpful. I look forward to doing it more. I don’t want to just copy a picture, but use it as a guide to be more creative.

What a Head!

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BloodhoundBloodhounds are such a distinguished looking breed. Doesn’t he look stately! I guess to some they are ugly, but I think they are beautiful! To be honest, I wouldn’t own one, but I do think they are very beautiful, and to think of just how powerful those noses are with all those wrinkles and floppy ears helping to trap the scent for them…fascinating to me ( =

Where is my Groomer?

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Shaggy (2)This shaggy girl is ready for a good grooming! To me she is just adorable as is! Different strokes for different folks, so they say…but she certainly was more fun to paint this way ( =

In case you cannot tell, she is facing back over her left shoulder with just a tiny bit of nose showing through all those curls.

Gabe

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Gabe 1This portrait was done for my brother-in-law who breeds Collies. It is a bit more on the ‘realistic’ side than I am trying to go but it was a pleasure to do. I think I do struggle with trying to paint in a more impressionistic way, and probably always will, but that is what I really desire to do. It usually means that I have to paint things a couple of times in order to become more familiar with the subject and then it seems to be a bit easier to be somewhat impressionistic with my strokes.