Kermit

This guy was one of the earlier paint ponies I did  (in August), and I was very pleased with the way the color values described the form.  I did use some lifting to get some whites, but I also used some white gouache to add highlights.  I have decided that using the opaque paint with watercolor is very liberating, and allows me to paint more spontaneously.  What's good enough for Sargent is OK with me! 
I named this fella Kermit for obvious reasons, and though I like him, I know it's not easy being green!


Paint Pony 8
8" x10"
Watercolor on 140# Fabriano paper

Ol' Blue

I painted this fellow as part of the Small Pony series.  Like many of my ponies,  I started with a quinacridone gold background.  Unlike many of them, I left the pony area  white and filled in with color.  This time I used a very pale blue for the blaze, rather than the yellow that usually ends up there.  I think it gives him a more serious look, but I lightened his mood with a few dashes of yellow in his mane, face, and neck, then brightened him up even more with a bold dash of red on his neck.  Even with all the color, he's actually one of my more subdued Paint Ponies!

Paint Pony #34
7" x 5"
Watercolor on 140# paper

Squeak complete and another pony

The Open acrylics were dry this evening, so I was able to add some finishing touches and put in the background.  I really liked the pink (quinacridone magenta), but I felt it took too much away from the cat, so we thought green might bring out her eyes.  I may still add a few touches but she's pretty much done now.

Squeak

6"x6"

Acrylic on canvas board

This paint pony was completed a couple of weeks ago.  At 14" x 11" it is one of my larger paintings.

Paint Pony 30

14"x11"

Watercolor on Paper 

And now for something completely different...

I'm inspired by Kim Santini's work, so I thought I'd try a pet portrait with a brilliant underpainting.  I also wanted to try the Golden Open Acrylics I purchased a while back.  I put in this beautiful magenta underpainting to contrast with the black of the cat.

The good news is, the Open Acrylics do stay wet a long time.  The bad news is, when I went back two hours later to try to add some highlights and more color to the eye, the first layer of paint lifted right up, leaving a very white hole.  Not good.  I went back over it with more paint, but I can still tell it's there.

I'll let it dry over night and see if I can fix it.  I'd also intended to mute the background, but I sort of like the bright color.  I'll think about it tomorrow...



Neon Pink!

This guy was initially painted as a larger 11"x14," complete with an abundantly colorful mane, but the long neck was a little distracting from his vibrantly colored face.  So I did a Facebook poll comparing the full size with the 10"x8" cropped version, and the cropped face view got the most votes, so here he is!

Paint Pony 36

10" x 8"

Watercolor on Paper

Juicy Lucy! (Loose-y!)

This is my first painting in the Small Pony Series.  Following my first outdoor art fair in late October, I took a short break from painting.  I found an 11"x15" sheet I had divided into quarters, so I decided to return to painting by doing a series of small works.  This first one was a very loose style that I love!

The day after I finished this, a woman who had seen my work at the art fair called to commission a painting as a Christmas present!

Paint Pony 29
7"x5"
Watercolor on 140# paper

Even so, I am Thankful!

My most recent painting was a real trial. I wanted the colors to pop, so I'd planned on it having an orange face with a darker blue neck. The orange was just too much, so I started glazing with other colors, red, more yellow, and finally some blues and purples, and I got... a brown horse. Since there are no brown horses in my pasture, I had to pump up the color in the neck area, thus the pops of red and green. And of course the signature multicolor mane!

Enjoy!

Paint Pony 35

14"x11"

Watercolor on 140# Fabriano paper