Wildhorse Ranch Rescue Fundraiser for Einstein!

One of my favorite rescues to work with is Wildhorse Ranch Rescue in Gilbert, AZ. Not only is the founder and chairman Kim Meagher a wonderful person, she's a dear friend. I just love her. She is one of the kindest human beings I know. She started Wildhorse Ranch when she discovered the plight of homeless horses in 1995.

She and her children privately rescued horses until 2000, when she applied for non-profit status for WHRR. With the help of many friends, volunteers, and donors, Kim and WHRR have been able to help save many horses from abuse, neglect, and death.

This past week, when they were travelling back from an event, someone on the freeway slammed into  the horse trailer, resulting in serious injuries for Einstein, a much-loved horse rescued by WHRR.

Einstein (pre-accident)

In order to help raise money for Einstein's care and recovery, I volunteered to make some artwork featuring Einstein. We are auctioning these paintings, the proceeds from the sales of which will be donated back to WHRR. Scroll down to find bidding links.

Here are the paintings, both acrylic on canvas with color wrapping around the edges.

"Kick Up Your Heels" - 24x30 inches. This piece is large and stunning with vivid colors. This image celebrates the energy and joy of a rescued animal, rendered in the brilliant colors of the Southwest.

Click here to bid.

"Little Sister" - 16x20 inches. This piece is smaller, but no less vibrant. It features an image of Einstein meeting his new little herd sister, Pixie the burro. The original reference photo hangs in the barn at the ranch. I love it because it reminds me of the unfailing generosity and devotion of Kim and the rescue angels at WHRR. That a strong bond can be formed between the most unlikely of friends.

 Click here to bid.

Auctions will end on Sunday night, February 1st at 9pm. Please share this post with your friends and your network to spread the word about Einstein and WHRR. 

Want to see how I made the paintings?

Click here if link doesn't embed.

Second link.

This Book's Gonna Make Me Famous!

I got that quote from this video:

Here's the link, in case the vid doesn't embed on your mobile device.

Whenever I start a new project, I say "This _______'s gonna make me famous!" to my husband. He smiles indulgently.

But seriously, this book is awesome. In case you haven't been paying attention and you don't know what I'm talking about, I put together six step-by-step projects for Walter Foster Publishing for their new book, The Art of Painting in Acrylic. My work is being featured with five other amazing artists. Here's a sneak peek.

Whose artwork is that on the cover? Could it be...? Why yes, that would be DAWGART.

So those of you who want to know all of my deep, dark . . . well, just painting secrets, run over to Amazon to preorder it right now! It comes out in August!

20% OFF SALE! 2/25 - 3/3

For a limited time only, DawgArt's 20% off sale is back!

Visit the Prices page for easy-peasy transactions that accept 

Paypal AND all major credit cards.

Visit the Commission Guidelines to find out the process of ordering custom artwork.

Visit the Frequently Asked Questions to find out even more.

Sale ends March 3, 2014.

WHRR Barn Opening

I'm so glad to be in The Valley of the Sun for winter. While the summers are hellish, the winters are lovely and the weather is perfect.

I was invited to paint at Wildhorse Ranch Rescue's barn grand opening and it was a delight to be around so many animal lovers, rescue workers, volunteers, and equine animals. There were some cats too, I think, and dogs. But I was mostly looking at horses and burros. Here are a few photos of my time there.

 Photos by Bud Anderson

Along with the finished paintings:

Yeehaw!

How To Paint With Acrylic

I have received several requests to share my process with somewhat more of an explanation than what can be found on the DawgArt YouTube channel.

There are many valid techniques for the use of acrylic paint. As someone with over ten years of experience with this medium, I have developed my own process that works for me. Changing the amount of water used, the thickness of the paint, and the type of prepared ground will obviously create varying results. Experiment to find the process that works for you.

Step 1. Sketch out your painting. Be sure to mark where the different values will be by making a line sketch of interlocking shapes.

Step 2: Pick out your palette. Working with arbitrary color can be fun and exciting, but also just as easily, it can be scary and overwhelming. For your first painting, try a limited palette, choosing colors in a narrow range that harmonize well with each other. This way, you won't run into jarring juxtapositions of color that can discourage you. 

Tip: Researching artists you admire is a great way to experiment with color. Find a painting you like and try to emulate the palette.

Step 3. Set up your supplies. For each painting, I use professional grade, heavy body acrylic paint, water, two or three brushes, paper towels, and a triple-primed, cotton duck or linen canvas. Put the supplies on a tabaret or tabletop near the hand you'll be using, so you don't have to reach across your canvas every time. Set your canvas on an easel at an angle that is upright, but comfortable.

Tip: Don't set your canvas flat on the table top, unless you can lean directly over it. If you sit in your chair and paint on a canvas that's stretching away from you, your final painting will be stretched and distorted when you hold it up at eye-level.

Step 4: I always start by blocking in the darkest darks. To do this I use dioxazine purple. Every time. It doesn't matter what the final painting palette is going to be, I always start with this color. I don't paint with black. Choose a color in a dark shade and block in the darkest parts of the image, creating a value painting using only that color and white. For the darkest portions, the paint goes on thick, with very little water added. For lighter portions, the paint is applied to the brush, then dipped into the water briefly, excess tapped onto a paper towel. Mop any drips. 

Tip: Value is king; value refers to lights and darks. Value is the most important part of what will make your subject believable. No matter what colors you use, value is what will cause your subject to make sense. If you want your subject to appear to have volume, where you put your lights and darks is key to creating a cohesive and pleasing image. Pay attention to your reference and place your lights and darks accordingly.

Step 5: Choose the next darkest color in your palette and apply it in the areas of the painting with mid-range values. Acrylic paints are somewhat translucent, so the previous layer will show through on each subsequent glaze of color.

Tip: Work from general to specific. This means to use larger brushes at first, blocking in large and general shapes. Work with as large a brush as you feel comfortable with, and don't switch down to smaller until absolutely necessary. You won't work on tiny details until the end.

Step 6: Continue the process, adding new colors according to the values of your reference, working from darkest to lightest, adding white last.

Step 7: Take care of any ragged edges, things you may have overlooked, and tiny details. Check for eye traps, or places on the painting where your eye gets caught, for whatever reason. Acrylic dries fast, so you can paint over things that aren't working and try something else.

Tip: Don't get too obsessed with little details. Don't paint every individual hair. Your painting should feel spontaneous and lively, and noodling too much can bog it down.

Don't be afraid to make marks. Play on the canvas, experiment with color, and just have fun!

Contest Winners!

Thanks everyone for participating in the photo contest to compete for a free 16x20 inch print of an original DawgArt painting featuring your pet! I received so many submissions, and I have to say, there are some cute furbies out there.

The outcome of this contest was based on many factors including: lighting, ability to see small details, my intended interpretation and use, and more. Because these paintings will be for a series of demos I was asked to do by Walter Foster Publishing for a painting instruction book called, The Art of Painting in Acrylic, which will come out next summer, there were certain photos that would work better than others.

HOWEVER, because of the response I received, I have decided to hold this free print contest again. There will be different factors deciding the winners in each contest. So stay tuned and be ready!

Here are the winners:

Olive from Beth Fitzpatrick

Cheetah from Andrea Vissotzky

 Lady Bailee from Johanna Dufort Hunt

 Snot from Lauren Fitzgerald

I know I announced that there would be three, but I just had to add one more. I don't know which of these four will be in the book, but all four will receive a free print of their original painting. Congratulations!

New paintings: Harlem and Sadie

Meet the two newest DawgArt portrait subjects, Harlem and Sadie. They live in CA with their mom, Heather. Their feline sister, Rogue, has since crossed over the Rainbow Bridge, but she is much loved and remembered and forever immortalized on canvas. To find prints of these adorable animals, visit the Etsy shop.

Happy Fourth of July! and also: Remember When I Used to Blog?

It was never a really consistent thing, but it used to happen sometimes.  Here's what's been going on:

Planning and organizing my final show (Lost and Found) in Utah for 1.5 years.
Moved in October.
The holidays.
Last semester of college in a very competitive art program.
(UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY'S ILLUSTRATION DEPARTMENT IS AMAZING.  I love Will Terry, Richard Hull, Perry Stewart, and last but certainly not least, Don Seegmiller.  Seriously.)
Hanging and doing the Puppy Love show in February.
Painting like mad to finish Lost and Found.
Hanging and doing the Sora show in March.
Painting like mad.
Hanging and doing the Lost And Found show in April.
Finals.
Graduation.
Commissions.
Guess what? We're moving again, this time out of state.
Moving in April.
Looking for accommodations/work/galleries in Tempe, AZ.
Going back to Utah to get the rest of our stuff in June.
My purse was stolen during the OUT OF STATE move.
Behind on everything because of the purse and everything I had in it, including of course, money.
Commissions.

And now we are up to speed.  I will start posting here again.  I do like blogging.  It satisfies, if only a little, my need to WRITE.  Here is a painting I did about a billion years ago.  Actually, it was eleven years ago, but that's about a billion, right?  See how awful it is?  Art school was good to me.  Actually I'll post another painting I did this year, so you can see them side by side.

So you see what eleven years of painting and five years of art school (three of them intense illustration study) can do for your art?  I've made hundreds of DawgArt paintings.  And some of them sucked.  I mean, really awful.  Lots of them were mediocre.  I was learning as I went.  But now, I can look at some pieces I've done in the last couple of years and I can say, "Okay, these are good."  

They make people smile, laugh, engage with the artwork and with each other.  The paintings make people think and share and learn something, about themselves, about animals, about how they relate to animals. I mean look at these photos of the Lost And Found show:

These photos make me feel good, because they show me how people interact with the artwork and then with each other because of the feelings engendered by the paintings.

I don't know how this went from "I've been busy" to "I'm pretty awesome," but I guess it can't hurt.  With all the frustrations and stress over the past six months, it's nice to find some positivity inside me still.  Especially when I can't sleep at 3:43 am.

The Lost And Found show raised thousands of dollars so far for rescue, and the unsold paintings will yet raise more.  I feel good about that.

I'm still looking for gallery representation here in AZ, for venues to have shows, for a solid situation for me and my family, for the good karma I've hopefully been building to come back around and make my fortune, so I can send my kids to college.  But I won't give up.  I can't.  Not when there's millions of animals euthanized every year.  Not when there's a gallery SOMEWHERE out there in MetroPhoenix that will want DawgArt.  Not when my eight-year old just lost both his front teeth, and thanks to his dad's genes will have a trainwreck in his mouth soon that will need braces.  Not when there are still people out there who don't know about DawgArt!

Artist Highlight: Lynn Culp

Our artist highlight for this post: Lynn Culp.  I found Lynn on Etsy, and her generous suggestions and tips helped motivate me to get my Etsy shop started last year.  You can find her work on Colormutts.

According to her bio, Lynn received her BFA in painting from Rutgers University in NJ.  In 1999, she returned to traditional painting as a hobby, using bright colors directly from the tube (like me!) focusing on complimentary palettes and utilizing an underpainting.  She started painting dogs in acrylic in 2006, challenging herself to do a painting a day since she was inspired by the variety of dog breeds. Can you imagine?  A painting a day!  Her signature style starts with a red underpainting, bright color palette and deep canvas profile painted on the edge, so the small canvases can hang or stand on a shelf.  Lynn is an award-winning painter who has exhibited at the International Exhibition on Animals in Art at Louisiana State University.  This artist takes commissions!

Here are some of her paintings:

Make note: these are not my paintings, they belong to Lynn Culp and many of them are available for sale here!

Aren't these fabulous?  I just adore the expression she's able to capture.  The red underpainting creates such warmth, and the graphic quality of the outline that comes through makes the pieces that much more exciting.  Check out her artwork at Colormutts.  Great job, Lynn. :)  Your work ethic is admirable and your artwork, an inspiration!