Decisions! Decisions!

I don't even know what project to take up!

Niccolo & MaeBella
Work in progress.  Acrylic on panel. 16" x 20"
©Xan Blackburn 2011

I've got two paintings currently in process; Fluffy, and Niccolo and MaeBella (yikes! that's colorful!)

I got stalled out on N&M two whole years ago, when I ran out of technique, and my muse took a hike.  Now, I can see not only how I got stuck, but how to proceed.  Thank goodness!!

Fluffy is moving along.  I'll show you more of him shortly.

I have a marketing deal in the works with a dog registry, but I'm not sure how much effort to put into it as they seem to be in flux, and communications are spotty.  It could mean an opening into a market I might not otherwise show up in, or ... not.  I'm still inclined to follow up on it, though.  That's why I was asking for reference images in an earlier post.  By the way, I still need references!  I'm open to any breed currently in the ICKC list, since that's the market I'm aiming at.  My idea is to do four 8" x 10" sample portraits to be carried around to the various events with my biz cards, etc., in return for which I'll take a discount on a portrait of this year's big winner to be given as the prize for winning.  So, that's four paintings I need to do just for that.  Soonish, if you please!

Then there's Dewey coming up.  Greyhounds Reach the Beach, in Dewey Beach, Delaware, has been a major focal point for the last several years, where I've sold my art in various forms.  This year, it's looking like I'll be bringing precisely not a single thing.  Unless, you know, I suddenly manage to make a bunch of art for that!  

ScrapCat: Coco
Work in progress.  Gouache on matboard.
©Xan Blackburn, 2011

Oh, and let's not forget my painting of Coco, which I didn't quite finish while at SnipFest.  I want to get that done, and get it sold, for the benefit to WeSnip!    Here's a detail shot of where I am with her as of today.

ScrapCat: Coco
Work in progress. Gouache on matboard
©Xan Blackburn, 2011

The event itself was LOTS of fun.  I didn't sell a whole lot, but I didn't really expect to, since my stuff is so specific, and there aren't a whole lot of greyhound owners just wandering around Birch Bay looking for some holiday cards!  Just the one gentleman, who did buy a print and some cards.  (Hopefully, his greyhound Becky will come visit my greys soon.)  I did draw a lot of interest from painting on the spot,
and talked to a lot of people about various types of commissions, so we'll see what comes out in the long run.  In the mean time, I got to chat with my neighbors, and listen to some great music from the stage about 50' away (my pet sitter performed!  Go Jenni!  :D)  Mostly, I wanted to show my support for WeSnip.

SnipFest, view from my booth

SnipFest, view from inside my booth over my
painting table

Well, I do have Fluffy on the table, with paint on the pallet, so I guess that's what I'm doing!  

Thanks to those of you who've already signed up for my "Commission Alert List".  If you want to know more about that, look to the right sidebar.  I know I have to get my price list up.  It's on my project list!  

Harry's development, which I forgot to post about!

What can I say?  I was hungry!

Anyway, I wanted to talk a bit about how Harry's portrait evolved.  I had a brave idea last night as I was going to sleep, to push the warm, even red, into Harry, while keeping the background all in blues.  Red is scary.  It's a very powerful color.  A little bit goes a long way.  But, it's the color of blood, which we're all full of, and which does sort of glow through our skin, and even through hair and fur, in certain lights.  I felt like, if I could keep control of it, it would be a great way to separate Harry's darkness from the blue sea and sky.  So, this morning, I went in with a mix of cad red, and burnt umber, into all the darkest areas, which is what you see here.

I really wanted his darkest areas to be dark-dark, so I used a mix of payne's gray (a very dark greenish-gray) and the burnt umber in those areas, layering up with cool and warm blues, more red, even some raw sienna and naples yellow.    In the finished portrait, the red doesn't show as red, really, but it's there, warming the shadows, and fading into the highlights.  I'm pretty pleased with how that worked out.

I thought it might be fun to see him in this red stage, to compare with the finished painting, so there ya go.

Now, really, I'm off to go flop on the couch with the fur-people.  Have a nice evening!

Portrait Marathon update: Harry DONE

Nancy's Harry, staring with full attention out over the waters.  This was his first time at Dewey, as a fairly recent adoption.  His world was still revealing new things to him at every moment, at every turn, on every walk.  I'm always amazed at how well greyhounds hold up at Dewey (Greyhounds Reach the Beach is a huge, week-long event where greyhounds and their people take over a couple of beach towns in Delaware), but even more when I'm told, "Oh, we just picked her up from the track on the way here!"  Holy moly!









I'm managing *about* one a day, in case you're working out when your turn is coming up.  Here's who's still on the list:

1. Leslie's Skye 
2. Lori's Tuck
3. Jennifer's Tiger
4. Christine's Hamilton 
5. Carrie's Morgan 
6. Sara's Bella 

So, Leslie's next!  

Off to feed the dogs, cats, and myself.  Have a lovely evening!

Portrait Marathon: Who's next?

Nancy's Harry, a handsome black greyhound with a roman nose and toothy underbite, is up next.  We had some trouble to come up with a good reference photo, but she just sent me a wonderful one of him at Dewey Beach, DE, looking out over the waves.  I think I can make that work, so he's next!  After that comes Leslie's Skye.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves!

While I was waiting on Nancy, I did get some prep work done on Skye, so her portrait will be ready to go quickly when Harry's is finished.

On to Harry!

Bring me ... a HOLE PUNCH!

Yeah, so, if you're coming to Dewey, first of all, make sure you come see me/us.  Second of all, come on Monday and bring a hole punch.  Tuesday at the latest!  :D

Oh, well.  I guess I should probably plan on finding one between here and there for my self, huh?  Fine.  I have to do everything around here!  LOL

Yesterday, I spent folding cards, counting them, pairing them with the right number of envelopes, carefully stuffing them in boxes, finding I didn't have enough envelopes, frantically ordering more to be sent to Dewey to meet me there, finding that the bags I had to re-order (twice!) because I ordered the wrong size, were coming to my home, not to Dewey, and getting that sorted out (re-shipping is really taking a bite out of my profit margin!  :P ), and telling myself that I'm still in ramp-up learning mode!  Then getting back to printing business cards and bag labels (running the print utitility to fix glitchy prints, replacing ink, powering it on and off because it seemed not to accept the ink cartridges - then realizing it was just telling me to replace them all, not just one!), cutting the labels and cards, and stuff like that.

Caution!  Work Zone!

H found his copy of QuickBooks to help me keep track of orders and inventory, which is great, but it won't work on my Mac, so he loaded it on his old Windows laptop with the broken hinge for me.  My business takes TWO computers already!  LOL

I dreamed this morning that someone answered my question that yes, I DO tend to "go on a bit".  Heh.  Okay, I'll go.  It's feeding time for everyone anyway. 

See you in Dewey, I hope!