Trot Through the Forest

Trot Through the Forest 4x6 acrylic on canvas paper

This little piece was very fun to do, as well as a little challenging. Artist tend to get stuck in a rut of constantly drawing the same pose , and this was my attempt at trying to get away from that rut. I always tend to draw horses facing left (oops) and standing with a profile head. Action shots are hard, and different angles are annoying. So, I realize the horse is still facing the habit way, but it's not standing still!

In order to improve at anything really, one must constantly challenge their abilities. Getting stuck in a rut is safe, but frustrating. You know what you can do well, and do it over and over and over again. And while you can do that one thing very well, let's face it- one trick ponies are boring. This painting took me awhile to sketch out because of the difficult angle the horse is in, but over all I am extremely pleased with how it came out. From now on I'm going to be trying for more difficult subject matters so I can constantly be on the upraise of my artistic abilities :)

First Commission of the Year!

"Yin and Yang" 11x14 Acrylics on board

Like the post title says, this is the first commission of the year! A cute pair of Chihuahua's. This painting was a HUGE challenge for me to undertake. Namely because I have never drawn this breed of dog before. Despite all the challenges involved I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this painting! I went a little slow with this one to make sure I nailed it, and I'm happy I did. The thing that really threw me off with this painting was the coloring of the dogs. I've never painted anything with their colors before, so I was a little stumped for awhile with what to do with them. I ended up just sitting and staring at the painting and my available colors a lot trying out different combinations and patterns in my head, and when I thought I had it I put the plan to the canvas. The results were just what I was hoping for!

Sketch Book Fun

Icelandic Pony Study in sketch book, Colored pencils.

I've been sick the past week, so I apologize for the lack of up-dates! There are several year long art challenges I have joined for 2010! And I am hoping this will help me further improve my drawing skills. Most of the challenges are bi-weekly, and I will certainly be posting the results of each project on here.

This sketch was a challenge from 2009 that was going to be studying a breed a week before it fizzled out mid July. I am really hoping the 2010 art challenges I joined will go strong through out the entire year! I only have 24 pages left in my sketch book! I'll have to go buy a new one to fit everything in it!

Happy Painting!