Portrait for / of a friend....

A friend asked if I'd paint a portrait of his veterinarian friend's dogs (as a surprise gift). So here it is...The big dog is Luke, the little one is Kira. It's an 11 x 14 oil. I took this photo of it while it's still on the easel, unframed. As usual, I've re-sized the image and adjusted the quality for uploading.

A cheerful tree....

Here's an 8 x 10 oil painting I did of a flowering tree (surrounded by a stone wall) that used to cheer me up on my paper route. Glad to have found the time to snap a few pictures of it before I stick it in a frame (that's not a frame in the photo -- it's just laying on a cork board).
As usual, the images have had the size / quality adjusted for uploading.

Thank you!

To who purchased my oil paintings last night to support our local animal shelter:
Thank you --
especially for supporting the animals, because they really need it!
I hope the artwork provides enjoyment for a long time to come.
When I delivered the artwork on April 1, all four oil paintings were recently completed, unvarnished, and unframed.
One suggestion to protect a painting from surface damage and make it easier to handle is to frame it (I would have done that myself if they hadn't sold last night, because I would have kept them).
I also recommend to prevent fading the painting be kept out of direct sunlight.
If any of the paintings ever needs to find another good home, please don't hesitate to contact me (I love those cats!).
To the event sponsors: Congratulations on the success of your event! Thanks for your contribution and for being a valued part of the community!

Newest paintings: four small ones for a good cause

Because I have time to update my blog today --

Couldn't figure out why images weren't getting added to this post until I realized it worked okay if I used Google's Chrome browser instead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer.... 

Anyway...

Here's my latest project: four paintings that may be used to raise funds for a local animal rescue league.

Again, these posted images have had the size and quality adjusted for uploading purposes.

I prefer canvas, but once again the league required the work be done on 6 x 6 inch boards (which they generously provided for free). They asked the work not be framed, which concerns me because I don't use varnish and would like to avoid surface damage. However, it seemed to work out okay last year (I made four paintings for that event, too – two cats, a dog, and a flower -- which all sold). This year’s event is organized a bit differently (different location, criteria, caterer…). I think last year I knew about the event more in advance, too, so I could work at a more leisurely pace.

If my panels don't sell at the show, I'm hoping they’ll be returned to me so that I can have them framed and keep them myself, as the subjects are four different cats which I love a great deal (Simon, Riley, Meowy, and George). In fact, I love them so much, I’ve painted them all before (and images of those paintings are posted somewhere on this blog, although to see them you’ll probably have to go to “older posts” from previous years).

In this series of paintings, Meowy is the tabby on the table with the flowers, Simon is the black shorthair laying on the bed, George is the brown and white longhair shown in profile, and Riley is the fluffy ginger cat curled up napping on his furniture.

I think my next two paintings will be of things I encountered in the wee hours of the morning when I had a paper route a few years ago….