Moving Day!

 

Hello lovely followers,  today is moving day.  You may have noticed not so many posts from me of late, I really have been painting but it's gotten way out of hand this outreach process, so I'm simplifying.  You can find new studio posts here http://www.fernwoodstudio.com/#!blog/c22ed  on my website, fernwoodstudio.com or here on my studio studio FaceBook page.  I hope you'll still like to follow me along.

Attached are two studio announcements as a parting gift.... check out the 2016 calendar of my illustrations published by The Horse magazine.  and a little reminder that it's never too late for a painting Gift Certificate to honor that special someone this holiday season!   Happy solstice trails, I hope to see you on my website blog (where there is more info. about both the calendar and gift certificates)  Thanks for your interest!     robin

What I do on my summer vacations....

Enjoyed the opportunity to share my park and wilderness residency experiences with Peninsula Art League membership last night!  Here are two links to guide you in applying for a park residency yourself.  National Parks, AIR program is here;  http://www.nps.gov/subjects/arts/air.htm
Voices of the Wilderness program here;  http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r10/home/?cid=STELPRD3794556   and if you'd like more information including a link to my books about Glacier and Gates of the Arctic (the books are available to read and purchase online, go here
http://www.blurb.com/user/store/probinp ) or check out my website;  www.fernwoodstudio.com   Finally, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!  Happy trails and happy creating!    robin

church was awesome this morning

We went to the early service, the chorus sang better than ever, everyone was baptized.  Hallelujah!

Horse Portrait

Annie, 7x5" acrylic

I paint small portraits for a local veterinary practice (Rocky Bay Equine) of client animals that have died.  They often give a gift certificate to their clients as a gesture of acknowledgement of the singular bond and special value of an animal and it's caretaker.  As a painter, it's satisfying to do, but I don't always have the best reference material to work with.  Even so, sometimes I like the gestural sketches that result.  This is one I like much better than the photograph.  The client is happy, so apparently it also serves its intended purpose of reminding them of their friend.  The whole process seems to be a win for everyone, even in the face of loss, thanks RBE :)

Evening Calm

Here is the first sketch inspired by our kayak trip to Bella Bella, in Canada's middle BC coast.  It's also called the "raincoast" or "the Great Bear Rainforest"... and for good reason!  I got my fix of summer rain.... but you'd never get this special kind of calm without the storm so it works for me! 

On a Roll

acrylic painting, 5x7"

Looking forward to some kayak time chasin' seagulls, maybe sea otter, a seal or two, if we're lucky some whales cruising the shoreline.  Heading north to Bella Bella in the middle of the Great Bear Rainforest and source of oh so much painterly inspiration!  See you when I get back, cheerios! 

Evening Falls on Summer Pasture

It has been a welcome break in the heat around here.  True Northwesterners are flapping their webbed feet in excitement to see some rain!  With all the fires the sunsets are spectacular.  Field hay has already been cut once, may get a second cutting if it rains enough to keep the grasses alive.

Portrait Documentary, Fox

This is a portrait documentary.  Fox, I don't know a lot about him but I believe his resume included teaching quite a few people how to love horses and dressage riding.  I met him briefly when this portrait was commissioned, unfortunately he unexpectedly moved on to greener pastures since then.  I never got to see him perform, but I'm so glad I got to meet him because even brief impressions are incredibly helpful in creating a portrait painting.  He didn't have ideal conformation and his joints were getting creaky but my clear impression was that of a dignified gentleman.   The series above shows developmental stages of this representative style portrait.  Although I didn't stray far from the structural detail of the photo, maybe you can pick out a few changes I made, keeping in mind that my goal is to capture a presence even more than just a likeness.  Below is the completed portrait.

"Fox"  20 x 24" acrylic on canvas

Resting in his field of dreams

This is Floyd in retirement, a portrait I did recently.  The monochrome view was a preliminary sketch to figure out what to do with the busy grass & flowers background in such a small space (6x8")   Which one do you like best?

Fly like Wind - portrait

Back from backpacking and Ride & Tying but still playing with horses.  This is a painting of Wind and Nelson Mittuch of Northwind Farm in Port Orchard.  Wind is a pensioner now, but still doesn't mind chasing the other girls around the pasture.  I imagine they get together to talk about the challenge of training their human partners and the thrill of a good cross country course.

An Eventful Weekend

They call a horse that has power to spare when jumping fences "scope-y".  This characteristic is a real asset on the x-country course where the obstacles are huge and the pace is just short of mach V!  Had a great time at the Aspen Farms Horse Trial last weekend.  I've wondered about the fact that most of the things I like to do best require body protection gear, but compared to these upper level event riders I qualify as rather sedate.

Discover the Great Bear Rainforest

Paintings at Blend in Key Center the month of June.  The white black bear or Kermodi bear is an icon of this unique coastal treasure.  A % of any painting sale goes to help protect the region from current threats by short sighted politics & big oil.  This is a place worth saving!   

First Race

This is a sketch that I made for a larger painting a while back.  I'm posting it in honor of American Pharoah and his amazing running talent.  Whether you like horse racing or not, you can't make a horse take ownership of the racetrack like he does.  I used to gallop racehorses.... long ago and I wasn't particularly good at it (they tended to set their own pace and get me in trouble for letting them go too fast)  but there is nothing like the rush of power and lift into flight without wings.  I will never forget that feeling.

Golden Days

Happy dogs are always fun to paint!

Baby Face

Someone spilled the paint bucket!  Can't help it, it's just that time of year! 

Mudding

So, it was one of those days... hours swiped off into the mud bucket.  Decided if everything was going to turn into mud maybe I should just paint that.  It was a lot more fun at least.

Although we haven't seen much mud around here lately, it's definitely a nod to the intrepid nature of event riders.  A little water, a little more challenge, all in a days ride!

Fly Like Wind

This is a 5x7" sketch for a larger painting.  I like the limited palette and it also helps work out value issues without the distraction of full color. 

Commissioned Art

Recent commissioned portraits.

Sweet Dreams

Moms of all sorts are happy when their offspring finally take a nap, but they are always on watch duty, because, well, they're moms.

The Green Season

On the DailyPaintWorks site there was a challenge to "paint green".  I have to say that around here the real challenge right now would be not to paint green.