Portrait step-by-step

When I got this dog portrait commission I was like, "Yea!" Because, it's a load of fun bringing pets to life on canvas.

So, this is a painting of Abby. She recently died, and her owner (sweet lady) wanted a painting to remember her by. The lady described her as gentle and a little mischievous.

Here's a synopsis of the week-long project:

After receiving the photo via email, I sketched out the portrait on notebook paper (just the cheap spiral kind...why not?), then used tracing paper to transfer the image to canvas. This was followed by...more sketching. One of my least favourite steps, the sketching process takes me FOREVER. Okay. Moving on...

Finally time to paint!

And, yeah, I know these first steps look really sloppy. During this part, I just take deep breaths and tell myself it'll get better. 

 I start by just blocking in the main colours, moving my rake brush in the direction the fur is growing. Also, I choose the darkest shades of fur, lightening as I add layers.

Adding detail to eyes, then to fur, painting lighter layers of fur over darker layers to create depth, using poor sentence structure... 

Starting to look like a dog at last! Same rule of thumb here: light layers go over dark layers. I paint the brown and yellow into the eyes to give them more animation, and enhance the brows.

Then I paint the background. 

Right. I know you're thinking this looks like a weird canine version of the Cheshire Cat...don't worry. I'll fix it.

See? She's not a floating head! (sigh of relief) But she kinda looks more like a golden Newfoundland instead of a golden Lab. And she's supposed to be a golden Lab. You knew that...right?

 Okay, thinned her down a little.

 I add a mixture of white and yellow for the top details of fur, then darken the muzzle and define the nose better. But she's not done.  Is that left ear driving anybody else crazy? And she needs to look younger.

There! I made her a little more "youthful" by adding gold to her face, defining her muzzle a little more, and cropping her body.

Mrs. K (owner) was satisfied with the pic I sent her, so (yippee!) I mailed the finished product today.

Well, I'm sure there must be some clever and tactful way to wind up this post, but I can't seem to think of one. So, I guess I'll just stop here.

Thanks for lookin' in!

Yours,

callie

A non-witty post

You've been warned. This post is one hundred percent lacking in wit. No, seriously...listen to this riddle:

 What never stops running, but always stands still?

Wow. How'd you know? Okay, joke for the day is over.

Anyway, we finished the wire stretching a couple of weeks ago! Now all we have left is hanging the gates, then we can turn the sheep loose on all that delicious grass. 
Yep, just talking about grass makes me hungry...you?

Daddy and Emori, bradding T-posts.

Finishing touches...that is, if pounding something with a sledge hammer can be termed a "touch."

Okay, Daddy doesn't have anything in his mouth. That's the post hole digger handles in the background.

Emori, you look like a nineteen thirties cotton picker.

"Yep, that's a nice tight pull."

*   *   *   *

Event number Two:

Emori's twenty-fifth birthday!

(By the way...is it okay to fit fencing and a birthday into the same post? Well, I hope so.)

More than ever, I so appreciate my big sister. Her good sense and encouragement have helped me out so many times this year...so, happy birthday, Emori, and God bless you always! 

Katie made a scrumptious Swiss Chard quiche for breakfast, then we had a quiet morning. You know, just enjoyed Saturday and each other...and gifts, and cake.

"Here you are looking at a genuine (imitation) gold bracelet...with a five petalled flower...any bids?"

 

 Chocolate pound cake. Hum....I think that's the same cake Emori requested last year. Needless to say, it's a favorite around here.

 

 And why shouldn't it be?

That afternoon we visited the M family for a cook out. By the way, they have the neatest tree house I've ever been in...and, their real house is really neat too. I mean, seriously, it was very inspiring to see all the diligence they put into their place!

 

 We and the other families enjoyed the food - and the Ultimate Frisbee afterward - a lot. Thanks for having us, M family!

Thanks for enduring my post, readers!

Yours,

callie

Fence Post

OK, so, Daddy and his..."four person team," are slowly but steadily fencing in the upper field. 

Actually, right now we're just at the post-digging stage. But it's neat to see the outline of our future fence coming together.

Emori and Maura

Dropping the corner posts (actually, these are recycled telephone poles, cut into eight foot lengths...Daddy found a great deal).

Measuring between posts.

Daddy, marking the spot with his Ph.D.

We had to chop through this area with our bush axes and machete. Reminded me of "Mosquito Coast." (Anybody seen that movie? You know, where the crazy scientist clears a jungle village and builds an ice machine? Weird movie, but educational. Anyway, moving on...)

Emori, tractor operator.

Startin' to look like a fence line!

Okay, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Yours,

Callie

Daisies

Here's another tin ceiling tile project (those things are so neat to paint)!

 This one is for Mamaw's outdoor room, (hm...maybe that's better termed a "veranda"?) and she wanted white daisies painted on it. Mamaw's a daisy kind of person.

So here's a brief step-by step:

After sanding and wiping the surface, I start on the fun part. I set out my paints, dial the radio to "Rick and Bubba," and get going!

 I sketch out the daisies and apply the first coat of paint (white with a tad of black and yellow mixed in).

Then I spot in the centers, leaving some "empty spots" so that the color of the tin can create a shadow illusion. The stems I outline in black first.

Then I start adding green to the stems,

As well as a few leaves. I highlight in yellow and white. 

This isn't a very detailed picture, but what I did to finish this was to touch up the petals with white and yellow, then add some shadow to help define. 

The ridges I painted black, just to frame the daisies a little. So, that's it.

Except that...well, I wasn't able to spray my transparent protective coat over it because my spray can ran out (downer). But not to worry. Mamaw said, "Just bring it anyway, honey! I can get some and paint that myself."

Just like Mamaw.

Thanks for viewing!

- callie

May day

 God's blessed us with another year together. I'm so glad I have such great sisters!

Katie is now twenty. Yep...I'm still in shock.

As usual, we pooled our back-to-back birthdays (4th and 5th), and celebrated them both on a cold, rainy May day. 

 

Without, it is cold and dreary...

 ...within, it is warm and happy.

 Maura made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Wish you could eat this picture? So do I.

The power briefly went out that morning ("Ahhg! What to do? I miss my computer!")

I got out my notebook.

Mama got out baby pictures. Of me and Katie. Yes, we were that cute.

Not like looking at baby pics wasn't fun...but we girls opted to play Wist and Nertz, while consuming this amazing trail mix Maura made.

"Oh, tea and cards. How proper."

"I'm diggin the tea."

Adding up the Nertz score. Why am I always last at this game?

Opening presents.

Maura said I was constantly folding up the wrapping paper while we opened presents. Well, somebody's gotta do it. Right?

 Emori, enjoying life.

Ice cream cake a la Maura: Seriously. The best. Cake. Ever.

Old Friends

So, earlier this month we finally had our dear friends the C's over to visit. I've known Mr. Wallace and Mrs. Nell for...pretty much as far back as I can remember.  

We'd been after them for years to come visit, because actually...they helped build our house. Yeah, Mr. Wallace is an electrician, and he was kind enough to aid in the wiring process year ago.

Well, anyway, I could go on and on about these folks! But I'm sure you're busy, patient reader. So, on to the pictures:

 

Yacking.

A beautiful couple, stopping to smell the...

...roses.

They went with us to spring luncheon at Mamaw's Church. Here's the fellowship hall before it started filling up.

Aren't those pretty settings?

Hey, Maura.

"Dear me, when shall the guests arrive?"

Following morning, Maura and Katie made a delectable send off breakfast.

I, well, contributed the table decor.

Biscuits'n eggs. God is good!

"Come and get it!"

Oh, here's a picture of what the sky looked like that morning. So neat, huh?

We really enjoyed have you, Mr. Wallace and Mrs. Nell!