There's nothing hard about these darling Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They were posted on my old blog, and deserve to join the other spaniels on this new one. They are wonderful, sweet natured little dogs who make fabulous companions. FOUR CAVALIERS is an 11 x 14 watercolor, and is available as the original painting, as note cards, and as small prints.
So what's the hardest thing? Getting started of course. When I am confronted with a piece of pure, snowy watercolor paper, panic sets in. What if I mess it up and ruin an expensive piece of paper? Am I truely committed to the image I'm thinking of painting? What if I get tired of it part way through? So I tidy the studio, clean the sinks, check on the dogs if they are not in the studio with me, find out where in the house the cat is hiding, have a snack (after all that cleaning and hunting up of animals, I'm peckish), have a drink (Please! I'm talking ice water!), do a couple of stretches, and look out the windows - first the front, then the back overlooking the garden. THEN I pick up my brush, take a deep breath, dip the brush in water, then in paint, and . . . .. . finally get that first blush of color on the paper. And then the image and the paint grip me and I'm off. But getting started - oh dear.
When you've been used to life being quite hectic, a day or two when everything is going well and you can just noodle around becomes a very precious commodity. These last few weeks, there always seems to have been something to make me crazy, but things are opening up to a peaceful day here and there where I can paint again with all my concentration. Bliss.
I embarked on a series of Spaniel paintings a while ago, and I'm finally nearly done. Two more to go, and my set of Spaniels is complete - until I decide to revisit them.
This one is the English Cocker Spaniel, a lovely, lively companion who is quite different from his American cousin in looks. This fellow is a Blue Roan, but they also appear in solid colors and Parti-color (black or any shade of tan/red/blond and white). I don't see many of these little beauties where I live, so every time I meet one is a treat.
This 6 x 8 watercolor is available as the original, a small print, or notecards. Any one of these, or a combination would make a great show award.
HAIR! I love HAIR :-0 And I love these little American Cocker Spaniels too. I've spent time with these cuties and they have lovely personalities and then there's all that hair! It's a challenge to paint, and I find it such fun to work at bringing those long, wavy ears and flowing skirts to life in watercolor. In this 11 x 14 watercolor painting, I've done a BLACK, an ASCOB, (Any Solid Color Other than Black) and a PARTI-COLOR (white with any other color). The American Cocker colors are rich, their coats are sumptuous, and their eyes are melting. Although they are in the Sporting Group, their main career now is that of loving companion. Who could resist?
This breed painting is part of my series on Spaniels, and is available matted and shipped for $400. Note Cards and small prints are also available. Please inquire.
anderson.animalart@sympatico.ca
http://www.heatheranderson-animalart.com/
Jo-Jo the Chipmunk thought it was safe to get into the water. Who knew there was a Shark in the bird bath, just waiting to take a big bite out of him?
Sadly, life is sometimes like that, and a place where we should feel safe and welcome as artists, or as a neighbour or co-worker is home to a lurking spirit, waiting to take a spiteful bite out of US!
Spite bothers me - it's so deliberately mean. And I hate meaness and bullying in all its forms above everything else. They are a coward's weapons.
The way I deal with things that bother me is through humour. My two favourite Chipmunks, Biff and Jo-Jo help me see the humour in things by presenting me with fun images in my mind.
Jo-Jo is in trouble, but his dear friend Biff is about to launch a life boat to rescue him. I've found in life that when something nasty hits, there is always a friend or two who is there to help us with just the thing we need.
So "When the Dog bites . .. When the Bee stings" (My Favourite Things - Sound of Music) let laughter put things in perspective for you. That mean ol' shark? it was just an inflatable thing, easily punctured after all :-0
We're starting into my favorite time of year. I love late summer and Autumn. The garden has gone through the sometimes blistering heat of July and is settling into the more peaceful days of August. I'm hoping this will be an allegory of our lives. In these past months, we've come through a blistering time too, and are hoping that things will be settling into a slower, more peaceful pace.
Some of the earlier blooming poppies are setting seed already, and the pods are dry and ready to have the seeds gathered for next year. I leave some of them to be sown by the air, because that leads to nice surprises, but I like to have some to place exactly where I want them too. This past summer, my choice of place was the wrong one, and the only poppies we had to enjoy were the ones sown last autum by the "wind faeries". They were wiser than I.
The Lunaria (such a beautiful name) is ready to be gathered a bit early too, so I have an envelope of papery discs tucked away for next year.
The Shelties can enjoy a stroll in the garden again, as the mosquito population is slowing down. Sitting on the back porch with a cool something to sip on before dinner is becoming a pleasure again too.
And you know the best part of August now? Neither my Sweetie nor I has to get ready to go back to school in a few short weeks! Life is good :-)
Last week was very strange. Two people went out of my life. One acted out of spite towards me, and I just don't have room in my life any more for spiteful people. So I'm done - they're history. The other, a friend of whom I was fond, took a major hissy fit over nothing and took themselves off. I'm not even sure where it came from, but I'm sorry it had to happen. But things like that do happen sometimes, and all you can do is say "oh well", and move on.
After those incidents, it was a delight to dive back into a painting that I had been working on, a 14 x 18 watercolor on 300 Arches HP called "TIME TO STOP AND STARE". This is a wonderfully peaceful memory I have from my riding days. My friend and I would saddle our Morgans and go out right after dinner in September and early October and ride up into the back fields to where they bordered on a cornfield. We'd stop the horses and take time to watch the geese coming in to land for the night for some food and rest. You could hear the wind, the creaking of the saddles, the soft blowing of the horses, and the rustle of the corn as the geese landed and wandered through, pecking at bits of dropped corn. The sky was a glory of golds and pinks, and we'd stay as long as we could and still get home before dark. SO wonderful! We were each in our own peaceful world, almost as if we had ridden out alone. I have to think that our lives would be more relaxed, more at peace, if once in a while, we all took the time to stop and stare.
A week or so ago, my trusty little Canon digital bit the dust. Well, not dust exactly, but a battery seemed to have sprung a leak, and when I tried to take a photo, nothing happened. Because I had just put new batteries in it, I had a look, and found "stuff" all over the bottom and inside the camera. Not good. I may at some point have it repaired if possible, but I needed a camera 'now'. This was the camera I often took along just in case I saw something I wanted to photograph. So I went shopping, looking for something inexpensive this time, but able to do what I needed to do.
I was introduced to a Sony Cybershot, waay more than I wanted to spend. BUT, there was one, lonely last year's model left over, and it was offered to me at less than half price. I am now the happy owner of a great little camera that takes great photos, is slim enough to fit in any handbag, something the other one was not, so this one really can go everywhere with me, and best of all, it is a delightful shimmering crushed raspberry in color. Well YES, color is important! :-0
While we were driving along the other day, I commented how beautiful the roadsides looked, now that the municipality is no longer spraying them with weed killer. At this time of year, they are thick with Queen Anne's Lace, blowing and billowing in the breeze. So I whipped out my trusty little camera, and now I can share our beautiful country roadsides with you. Have a lovely day everyone :-)
Heather Anderson . . . . . .Sheltie Hollow
http://www.heatheranderson-animalart.com/
