Weathering the storms

This commission is oh, so close to being finished, which I was planning to do yesterday. That was before our electricity went out midmorning, in the middle of a raging thunderstorm, and it was so dark all day that we could barely see to get around the house, let alone paint!

Our power was restored last night -- hallelujah! -- and today when the rain finally started letting up (and in spite of televised advice not to go out on the roads if you don’t absolutely have to), I ventured out to get groceries. I ran into flooded roads in three directions (yikes!), but after a little more exploration I finally found a little grocery store I could get to -- again, hallelujah! -- about 25 minutes north of us. I figure they must be getting more customers than usual (like me), because the shelves were completely bereft of some basics like bread and milk, but I was relieved to see that they did have the most important items on my list -- whew! -- dog and cat food.

Tomorrow I plan to have this painting finished, and another little one available for sale.

Meanwhile, here are some photos I took on today’s adventures.

Here’s one of our neighbors stepping out on his front porch, which has been transformed into a dock by the flood. See how their propane tanks (over to the left of the photo) are half submerged.

This is a double wide just up the road from us. We almost rented this while we worked on our house. To give you an idea how high the water is, the garage is an extra tall one to accommodate an RV and the bottom of the front door is about five feet off the ground. The family that lives there now had to use a boat to evacuate!

Loggy Bayou, now up to the bottom of the overpass.

Tuxedo Tabby Cat painting step by step

SOLD

Jo  © 2016 Karen Mathison Schmidt

6 x 6 inches • acrylic on museum quality GessobordTM

private collection • Poway, California

Getting back into the swing of painting every day, working on finishing up a commission, some large landscapes for a show coming up at the end of the year, and challenging myself to finish at least three or four of these smaller paintings a week.

Here’s a fun one of our Jo lounging on a comfy teal blanket on this stormy day. And it’s been a while since I posted step by step progress photos, so here we go!

Starting out with a pencil sketch, loosely blocking in with washes of black mixed with ultramarine, bright blue and naphthol crimson. Her eyes look mean here, but not to worry, it’s early yet!

Blocking in more areas, and starting with a dark green (a glaze of phthalo green mixed with orange) as a base color for her eyes, knowing that as the painting progresses I will add lighter colors and highlights.

As I continue adding layers, I keep sort of painting around her whiskers, and her “antennae.”

Notice how her expression is softening up now, even though the shape of her eyes are basically the same as when I started. The different is in the position of the pupils and the highlights. This never fails to fascinate me. Remember, the eyes are never just one color. In addition to the color of the iris, there will be reflections of color from nearby objects. 

I love the looseness of the turquoise blanket, so while I continue lightening up the background, I make sure to keep my strokes quick and loose.

Lastly, I do the really fun part of adding a little loose definition to her whiskers, and adding the bright white to her nose blaze and her fluffy chest. And speaking of blazes, see how her forehead markings look like a flame? That’s our Jo!

Happy painting!

Tess, portrait of a Rhodesian Ridgeback

SOLD

Tess © 2016 Karen Mathison Schmidt

6 x 6 inches • acrylic on ⅛" Gessobord
private collection • Poway, California

Glimpses of spring

Spring is when you feel like whistling 

even with a shoe full of slush.

DOUG LARSON

Today I’m working on a painting of our road, and I plan to post progress later on tonight.

Meanwhile, even though we still have a little over two more weeks until the official first day of spring, there are already plenty of glimpses of that glorious season all around us ... 

Hmmmm. I wonder how this one got in here?

Heart Art

 Though My Heart Is Torn © 2011 Karen Mathison Schmidt

Since I added this heart as part of the design of the February update on my website, I’ve had several requests for prints (thank you all for your lovely emails!) 

So I just wanted to let you all know that this week I added Limited Edition fine art prints of this art to my eBay store in three sizes (starting at $45), and also in Collectible Art Cards ($7.75)

CLICK HERE TO SHOP in my eBAY store!

Shifting Shadows

 Shifting Shadows  © 2016 Karen Mathison Schmidt

16 x 12 inches • acrylic on 3/4" cradled GessobordTM

SOLD • private collection, Elk Grove, California

Yesterday afternoon was beautiful and spring-like, perfect for a little plein-air painting. My portable French easel is still in storage, but I didn’t let that stop me! I dragged my big easel and a chair out to a pretty spot out a ways from the house, loaded up my little red wagon with all my supplies, and spent a glorious couple of hours painting away. 

The challenging part was that it was late in the day so the shadows were changing pretty fast. After I had the gist of the painting on the board, I brought it back to the house to finish in my studio.

A change in scenery

Yesterday morning was really dark and stormy, with a heavy rain for just a few hours, and by noon the sky was almost completely clear again. I took a little break about five o’clock to go for a short walk. Walking in the woods is one of my great delights. Even in the middle of winter, so many colors, and an almost overwhelming abundance of textures.

As I was walking back toward the house (you can just make out the peak of the roof in the center at the top of the photo), the sun was just dipping below the tree line behind me, so that the last rays were lighting up only the very tops of the trees in the distance ahead, making them look as if they were all aflame, and making me catch my breath and feel really glad I had grabbed the camera on my way out the door.

Throughout the year I’ll be working on a series of large landscapes for a two-artist show in Shreveport in December and January. This view is definitely a top contender for reference material!