041917 16x12 Hot Spring Day in the Forest

This is the second, spring, plein air oil painting that was trapped in my camera phone when my SIM card locked up.  The phone company sent me a new SIM card but I used a burner phone for the next month until it expired.  So I am just now uploading these shots.

My field notes on the back of the painting say, "Downright Hot!  80 degrees, cloud sun mix, Lovely spring day.  Wild purple phlox."

I love this spot in the forest on a bluff overlooking the creek.  Kendra, my dog, finds a spot down by the creek to curl up on.

I set up my pochade which is already pre-loaded with oil paint.  I pretty much know how much paint I need for a 12" x 16" painting.  There are always the challenges of working around trees, limbs, creeks, rocks and other obstacles to get the right vantage point.

I sketch out the basic scene on my pre-tinted panel.

Here's a longer view with Kendra down by the creek.

I mix a nice earth tone using Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue and start blocking in the creek area and bluff.

Using combos of violet and a spring green, I block in the forest both near and distant.

I start adding the trees and blocking in the sky.

The sky color is added to the reflections on the creek.  I cover the entire surface with the major shapes and values and then start adding details.

Here's my set up with the creek in the background.  I keep adding details like the purple phlox and the redbud in bloom.

Kendra patiently waits until she sees I am packing up, finished with the painting.  She seems to instinctively know just how long it takes to complete a painting and starts stretching just as I am wrapping up.

And here is the finished painting:

"Hot Spring Day in the Forest With Redbuds and Purple Phlox, April 19, 2017", oil on panel, plein air, 16" x 12", c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh

Thanks so much for follwoing along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene 

041717 16x12 Spring Plein Air in the Forest

This blog and the next are spring, plein air paintings that were on my camera phone when the phone SIM card locked up.  The phone company had to send me a new one and one thing led to another and I didn't get it reactivated until one month later.  So, these next two paintings were both done in early spring in April.

The day was overcast and gray with spring bursting forth.  The day was warm but got chilly towards night fall. I select this spot int eh forest to paint.  you can see my path heading off deeper into the woods.  My dog is settling in.

My palette is pre-loaded with paint so I can just get the pochade set up and get started with a quick sketch of the scene.

 I blocked in the dark edges of the creek using a mix of Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue.

In early spring, the colors tend to be the bright spring green and soft violets that mix together to make soft ethereal hues.

I take off my glasses to paint on location.  Being nearsighted means the distant details are blurred out letting me focus on the big picture and not get stuck on picky details.

 Once the entire surface is blocked in, I can start to adjust values and add details.

Here's my set up right next to the creek.  I did this painting between 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.  I often lik eto paint in the late afternoon when the sun is not so high and glaring.

"April 17, 2017, Spring in the Forest", oil on panel, plein air, 16" x 12", c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene

Lilly, 051817 S 12x12

UPDATE:  Lilly has been ADOPTED!

Lilly, a cattle dog/pit bull mix, is another painting in my Homeless Shelter Dogs series featuring dogs up for adoption at the local Brown County Humane Society.  Everyone recognizes Lilly by her "one ear up" that makes her absolutely adorable and unique!

Lilly's features are particularly delicate with lots of light golds and pinks.  So the darks were minimal from the get-go.  Just a little black around her eyes, nose, mouth, and ear shadow.   

I mixed a wide variety of values of golds and pinks and oranges for her fur.  I took these photos while working at night so the color is a bit wonky.

I mixed up various shades and values of violet, the complementary color to yellow and gold for shadow areas.  Yellow and violet work well together to mix a wide range of hues and values that include the ethereal gray neutrals that lean either to gold or purple.  I used white with a touch of the violets for her white muzzle.

I mixed up more violets for the background color to contrast and pop against the predominant golds of her fur.  At times, I may turn the panel on it's side or upside down to be able to more easily manipulate the paint the way I want it to go.  I was able to paint the negative space next to her left side by turning the panel sideways to slide the palette knife along the edge of her face.

Her eyes are very wistful and I had to get them just right to capture her expression.  Final details like her whiskers and muzzle fur are added last.  Here is the finished painting:

"Lilly, cattle dog/pit bull mix", homeless shelter dog, oil, 12" x 12", Code #051817S 12x12, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh. Lilly has been ADOPTED!

Thanks for reading about the homeless shelter dogs.  Please contact the Brown County Humane Society if you would like to adopt any of the dogs featured in my paintings or visit your local shelter to find that special new member for your family.  

Luckily, I just learned that several dogs featured in my paintings have been adopted so I will keep the blogs updated as I receive new information.   

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene

Thunder, 051617 S 12x12

Update:  Thunder has been ADOPTED!

Thunder is a homeless, catahoula leopard dog looking for his forever family at the Brown County Humane Society in Nashville, Indiana.  This painting is part of a series of portraits of homeless dogs available for adoption.  They have so much expression on their hopeful, sometimes sad, faces!

I start with a drawing on a pre-tinted panel and then mix up a black with Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Red Medium and block in the dark values.

I mix lighter values adding more red and yellow and a touch of white to paint in the brindle markings.  I use a hue with a bit more blue for his nose and shadow in the white areas on his neck.

I add the light pink to his muzzle using a mix of Primary Red-Magenta and Titanium White.

For the white on his muzzle and the stripe on his face, I use Titanium White with a tiny bit of yellow and red to make a warm white hue. 

Finally, I paint in his beautiful, sleepy eyes using Cadmium Yellow Light, a tad of Cadmium Red Medium all mixed with a touch of Ultra Blue.  A speck of white in the corners of his eyes is the finishing touch to get his expressive look.  For the background, I use the Ultra Blue and Cadmium Red mix, heavier on the blue that helps unify the entire painting

"Thunder, Catahoula Leopard Dog", homeless dog series, oil on panel, 12" x 12", Code #051617 S 12x12, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

You can adopt Thunder from the Brown County Humane Society in Nashville, Indiana.  Plan to attend the Dawg Gone Walk and Fiesta on Sunday, May 21, 2017.  
 
Update:  Thunder has been ADOPTED!

Thanks so much for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene

Simon, Black Lab, 051217 S 12x12

Update:  Simon has been ADOPTED!

This painting of Simon, is part of a series of paintings of homeless shelter dogs and is available for adoption at the Brown County Humane Society, Nashville, Indiana.  Shelters often report that black dogs languish, overlooked and unadopted.  I am hoping this painting shows some of the personality and uniqueness of a "plain black dog".   Yes, I am guilty  of using that phrase once when someone brought me a black dog.  My first comment was, "She's rather plain."  But I kept her anyway and loved her for 13-14 years.  I have had many plain, black dogs ever since, over the years.  I hope that people will take a look at the dog's personality and joie de vivre and give them a chance.  I think Simon is the perfect ambassador for the job.

Here's my set up ready to start painting.  I have already drawn Simon on a pre-tinted panel.

 I start with all that black fur in the shadow areas.  I use the palette knife to "carve" out the fur and give it texture.

A lighter value is mixed with Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red and/or Primary Red-Magenta, with Titanium White and used for highlights on the black fur.

I mixed up a hue with more red in it to shift it to violet.  I add the nose and tongue.  For the tongue, I used three values of the Primary Red-Magenta, a rather transparent color, mixed up using Titanium White.

For the eyes, I mixed a golden brown using Cadmium Yellow Light with a touch of violet.  I also used a golden brown with a touch more red in it and mixed a black pupil.  The highlight to his soft eyes used a very light violet mixed with Cerulean Blue and Magenta.

 

I added the background using the golden and violet colors that I had used on Simon's fur and eyes only with more white added.  I continued fine tuning the details in his fur and shadows.

Here's the final painting:

"Simon, Black Labrador", homeless shelter dog, oil on panel, 12" x 12", Code #051217 S 12x12, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

If you can give Simon a good home he is currently available for adoption at the Brown County Humane Society.  Update:  Simon has been ADOPTED!

Thanks so much!

Cheers,

Charlene 

P.S. I love to hear from you so please send me an email or leave a comment or even use the old fashioned telephone!  I still have a landline with great reception.

Serious Tito, 051017 S 12x12

Update!  Tito has been adopted! Yeah!

This painting is part of a series of portraits of homeless dogs at our local shelter waiting to be adopted.  Tito is an American Bulldog currently up for adoption at the Brown County Humane Society shelter.  He has such a serious look on his face!  He seriously wants to find his forever home!

Here's my set up to start the painting.  I have drawn his mug shot on a pre-tinted panel, set out my palette, and am ready to paint.

I start with the darkest blacks, especially around his eyes, using Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue. 

For the rusty browns on his face, I used more red and Cadmium Red Light mixed with the blue.  For the blue shadow on the right side, I went back and forth with that using Cerulean and/or Ultra. Blue, scraping it off a couple of times.  The entire surface had to be covered before I really got the right value I was happy with.  You can see in the final version I went with a lighter value in Cerulean Blue.

For his white fur, I used various mixes of Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Medium and Light, and Primary Red-Magenta mixed with Titanium White. 

Then I painted his eyes which were very intense.  I mixed his eye color using yellow, a touch of red, and Ultramarine Blue to gray down the color just a tad.  I added a black pupil and a highlight to make the eye moist and glistening with the sparkle of life.

Finally I start adding the background using some of the color that is in the shadow on his white fur in the lower right.  Using the color elsewhere in the painting helps balance and unify the image.  I add and fine tune the details overall.  And the final painting:

"Serious Tito", homeless shelter dog, oil on panel, 12" x 12", Code #051017 S 12x12, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

If you can give this handsome boy a happy home, please contact the Brown County Humane Society about adopting him. 

Thanks for checking in!

Happy Trails. 

cheers,

Charlene

Dresden, the Smiling Dog, 050617 S 12x12

This is one of a series of pet portraits of rescue dogs currently up for adoption at the Brown County Humane Society shelter looking for their "forever homes". This handsome boy, Dresden, is described as "always smiling" and I wanted to capture that happy energy he exuded.

I drew out his picture with charcoal and kept the reference photos nearby.  You can see my set up (above).

I started blocking in the black shadow areas on his face using a mix of Ultramarine /Blue and Cadmium Red Medium.  I mix a rust color for his fur from the Cad. Red Med. and a touch of blue and yellow.

I used a touch of yellow mixed with white for his white fur and used a purple mixed with white for the shadow areas of his white fur.  Alizarin Crimson with a touch of white was used for his tongue.

I used green in the background since it is the complementary color to the reds and would visually vibrate adding to the excitement and cheer of this exuberant dog. I mixed a nice golden color for his unique eyes, adding a black pupil and a touch of a white sparkle. 

 "Dresden, the Smiling Dog", oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. Charlene Marsh, Code #050617 S 12x12.  SOLD

If you are interested in adopting Dresden, please contact the Brown County Humane Society.  This painting will be on exhibit at the Dawg Gone Walk and Fiesta fundraiser on May 21, 2017.

Thanks for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene