Portrait(s) part II - updates!

Continued from the previous post....
Today was four hours of finding details and molding faces...did a little eye work today.
For me the MOST fun is painting eyes. I just love it. Maybe I will do a canvas of only eyes...not a bad idea!
This top pic is of Nikki she has some qualities of expression like my own Lizz-meister.
And she looks like she could have a tiny bit of the "drama queen" in her personality.
Then I did some facial molding and correcting with Cleo. She is the keeper of the clan.
And a little more eye work but nowhere near where it is going to end yet. :) I was enjoying painting her mouth. Choosing this image was about keeping her smile and open face.

And the most fun today was painting Brandie ...she is a little beauty in the becoming. What a face. I really love her eyes...they are awesome.

I am taking lots of colors from the light background for shadows. When you are painting shadows you find many colors in the reflected light. Now the trick with this is that I am making up the whole sitting so I will tie everything together with shadow and light directions and somehow make it all work.

Being an artist that paints by the seat of her pants I am often very much an observer of my own process and half the fun is not having everything planned out in detail in advance. I would be highly bored and never finish a piece if that were the case.

That is MY way and MY preference to take an idea or inspiration and unravel it or discover it as I go along.

This was the most recent work just finished and I will dive in again tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

Anatomy of a Portrait(s) Commission

Four Dalmatians (one is a mixed Dal ) Phase one is about gathering images that you can work into a group composition. Not an easy task but given enough time to contemplate you get ideas!
Next the size of the canvas, 24 x 3o is the one that I stretched by hand.

Figuring out a layout I liked and the commissioner was good with...Great time to get a feel and make corrections. I made lots of adjustments and do it right on the canvas ....I am not a big sketcher...I like to see the canvas in front of me...sort of like "A blank canvas" and try to imagine the design. I wanted good faces, a pecking order that makes sense to the commissioner and of course some accuracy. There is plenty of room for artistic license but you need to be on the money when it comes to the ones who know them best.

Background was decided...a loose rendering of maybe a porch suggested in the background which gives the viewer the chance to finish the story (they are sitting on steps) that was what I was going for ....also the colors are neutral, light and will fade away from the subjects.

You can see here that I switched dogs and put Maggie down in front. The commissioner also asked that I paint her with her ear folded back as she is often seen that way.

Now I have their faces with some life in them and their eyes are more alive...nothing worse than working on a canvas with "Little Orphan Annies" watching you while you paint.

I have cleared the decks of other work and am focused on this piece. It will be ready for gift giving time. I will be updating this posting as I go and you will see the changes as they occur.

As I always say....this is the ugly phase and I warn the clients don't get nervous...it will all pan out in the end.

To this day I have not heard of a disappointment ...I hope to keep that record going.

The commissioner of this painting asked that I share it here so here you have it.

Please stay tuned...as we travel this road together.

Cheers!

Carol

The World is a Stage....

SUN, MOON, STARS

UPDATED!

SOLD

10x10

oil on canvas

Carol Chretien

...

Shakespeare the beagle who is a lovingly adopted

BONES beagle is the model and inspiration for this new painting.

He has the most beautiful face and huge expressive eyes.

He is beloved by his family and one of his favorite positions in life is to be held in your arms like a baby...blanket is optional.

He is advocating for beagles in need of their own forever homes.

In the spirit of Halloween I thought what better way to dress him but in a SUN costume with a halo of stars and moons.

After all he is the center of the universe in his home.

20% of the sale benefitted the rescue

BONES

is an Art Helping Animals supported rescue.

This, That, & The Other....

A few updates:
Yesterday was the closing date for CHRISTMAS commissions! I will be posting a few pics of one large one in progress. This will be a in a Blog post by itself coming soon.

If anyone is thinking they would like to give the gift of a custom piece of art from me in the form of A GIFT CARD (see my website for details) just let me know. www.carolchretien.com


"Christmas Dale" 8x10 oil on panel now available with 20% to NARA rescue. Posted today on the ART HELPING ANIMALS BLOG and the DAILY PAINTER's GALLERY site.

"Rabbit's Wish on the Moon" is a 5x7 oil on panel and framed as shown. Available now 120.00 makes a great gift if you have someone who is wild about Rabbits! Haunting little piece of work with real "yearning" for a hope...email me. Of course 20% goes to rescue...as with all my work.

UPDATE....... UPDATE...... UPDATE! "I Will Bee Happy" SOLD!

20% of the sale went to help sponsor DEBO's care through BONES rescue.

STILL AVAILABLE and "Debo" the beagle is still up for adoption! Just visit www.bonesrescue.org to read about this beautiful boy!

"A Wish on the Moon" is 10x10, inspired by Debo the beagle and his wish for a home of his own. 125.00 with 20% to BONES.

Halfway through October and the Adventure continues...

STAY TUNED!

October Madness....fall cleaning!

(thought this old painting of mine made a nice illustration! circa 1981)

"The Attic"

I should have taken a picture of the IN PROGRESS major cleaning re-organizing that just was a week of my life but it was too horrible to capture in images...I emptied every room.





In reality I was in the process of "letting things go" after letting things GO for about 3 good years.


You know...clutter can build up in every closet, drawer, shelf, cabinet or cranny in the place as you "put things away" while you straighten up and do routine cleaning. In the last 3 yrs I have dedicated my time to paint for homeless animals and work on helping to make ART HELPING ANIMALS the great fellowship it is by being an active member of the team with my fellow artists.


I couldn't put off the house deep cleaning job any longer...it was time and time was up!


I now have a car load to donate to charity...VHS tapes, music, books, and bags of clothes from storage in my closets...I won't mention what is going off to the dump! Thank goodness for those roomy "contractor's bags"!!!!





Any way....as I recuperate from the hard labor of the past week...I'm not getting any younger and there are muscles in my body that are screaming in protest, to remind me of the fact, AND I dropped into bed at 7:30 everynight to die ... the job is done. I have lightened up and let go of old things that clutter not only your SPACE but your MIND and creative processes.





Happy Day.





The Studio will be buzzing once again as I get back to business...Stay Tuned for new work and October fun!


I'd rather be painting!


cheers, All.

October Madness - FIRST LOOK FUN!

"SUN, MOON, STARS"

10x10

oil on canvas

CAROL CHRETIEN

Using "Shakespeare" the rescued BONES beagle as my model, this is the beginning of a fun October painting with "Shakes" wearing a Sunny costume.

When this is finished it will be offered with 20% for BONES rescue.

All paintings posted for rescue on this FIRST LOOK BLOG are available to be

RESERVED while IN PROGRESS.
all are one of a kind originals.

.***

I am rarely doing prints anymore and mostly for 100% donations to orgs rquesting fund raisers. If you see the piece and love it and want it please contact me.

once they are gone, they are gone

carolchretien@aol.com

Last Day of September - YOWSA!

" I WILL BEE HAPPY"

***

" A WISH ON THE MOON"

Finished and ready to go...

I can't believe this is it...September is almost a memory!

I have completed the last two paintings shown below and they can be found here to PURCHASE:

http://www.arthelpinganimals.blogspot.com/

Right on the ART HELPING ANIMALS blogspot!

You can also find the work of other great artists here who have the single purpose and passion of supporting our favorite rescues who partner with ART HELPING ANIMALS. ( Of course they do other work too!...but as AHA artists we work with one purpose)We try to raise awareness of their animals in need of homes and their dedicated work to save them.

We try to raise funds for these same rescues.

You may not be on the lookout for one of my currently available pieces BUT you may find one of theirs to your liking.

ART is so personal...it resonates with the right person, in the right place at the right time. It touches you and hopefully lifts your heart and spirit. At least we always hope it evokes an emotion. That is my aim.

Don't forget...if you are thinking of commissioning a piece of original art for the HOLIDAYS time is of the essence! Let your favorite artists know soon.

OCTOBER ...here we come! STAY TUNED!

Spooky Happenings Today....BEAGLES! FIRST LOOK!

"I WILL BEE HAPPY"
8x10
100.00
You can RESERVE this painting by emailing me:
carolchretien@aol.com
20% goes to rescue!

"WISH ON THE MOON"
10 x10
125.00
You can RESERVE this painting by emailing me:
carolchretien@aol.com

*************
Today I started the day with gathering some refs of BONES beagles up for adoption. They have several wonderful beagles in foster care they are preparing for their "forever homes"...2 beagles in particular caught my eye and I thought they would inspire some new work. "DEBO" and "BO" are there names.
As I was printing out the images I was thinking of my friend Pam, who is a BONES volunteer, and a few seconds later I received an email with a batch of images from the yearly BONES BEAGLE BASH.
There were a bunch of DEBO in the batch and I suddenly had my paintings taking shape in my mind.
I asked Pam if she could give me some more background about Debo as we hope he can get adopted to his own home and I want to tell his story.
SHE got an email from his foster mom telling her that not 10 minutes before she was just talking about his situation with the wonderful person who originally pulled him from the shelter he was found in.
So today was a day of hopefully VERY good vibes for Debo.
These are 2 works in progress that will be ready to go soon.
***
Both paintings are inspired by Debo and his information can be found
here:
www.bonesbeagles.org

If you see paintings here in FIRST LOOK and love them,
please reserve them for purchase.
When they are gone...they are gone.
Thanks so much for helping homeless animals with art!

One Minute Away From October!

Not sure how YOU are feeling about September, but yesterday I realized that this month, that only just got started about 5 minutes ago, is coming to a screeching end! And very quickly at that.

We have a newer (to us) rescue that we are working with through our artist fellowship (ART HELPING ANIMALS) and this 10x10 oil painting is hot off the easel and ready to be offered with my usual 20% donation to the charity.

SOLD!

NEW WORK FOR BAMA BULLY RESCUE!

"I'll Be Your Little Angel"

by

CAROL CHRETIEN

I saw this dog on their site and the vision of a little

Autumn or Halloween scene just needed to be painted ...and what would

Tig be if he could choose? Well by the looks of his photos...an Angel of course!

***

The painting is based on a reference image of "Tig"one of their adoptable and adorable dogs

waiting for their own forever home...

You can visit their rescue for all the details.

http://www.bamabully.org/Tig.htm

***

Reference images provided by the rescue are used to INSPIRE an idea that will hopefully help these dogs have the best chance at life!

***

PROUD TO BE A FOUNDING MEMBER OF

ART HELPING ANIMALS

***

Sun Spots completed

SUN SPOTS

10x10

befitting

WILLING HEARTS DALMATIAN RESCUE

20% donation

SOLD

On the Easel: SUN SPOTS....

RESERVED!

10x10

newest oil

CAROL CHRETIEN

***

This painting will help

WILLING HEARTS DALMATIAN RESCUE

It will be finished this week and offered for sale.

***

follow my passion:

ART HELPING ANIMALS

~~~

Stay Tuned!

Cat & Mouse Toy Tales...continue!

WHO CAN IT BE NOW?

Emmi and her Toy Mouse, Bartholomew, on alert...

Painted right from the studio as Emmi & Company sit with me while I paint.

The series continues and you can see in the collage (below) she always has a little tale to tell.

It started with "The Storyteller" and is still telling little bits about her day.

When Emmi came back to life from her Thryoid Crisis I took a series of photos of her with her mouse toy. She put up with me posing her for "Ironic, Isn't It?" the painting of her toy mouse on her head. LOL!!!! I still laugh when I look at the pics of that one.

That expression said it all and I was glad she wasn't speaking english.

Now as the ideas or scenes present themselves I paint them.

All the paintings in the series have SOLD to help rescue.

this one is now

AVAILABLE.

8x10

oil on canvas

TO PURCHASE:

125.00

20% to BAMA BULLY RESCUE

Thanks for helping animals in need with art!

Labor Day ... just a little work...

Labor of Love ...

getting another pass on this one and one more to go before we can say it is DONE.

Added a personal touch to mercury's collar to honor his "Dad" ...

it is coming along.

*****





Decided to call it "Turbulance" ... it seemed ok. I got a chance to add some color.

And yet it is much more colorful in real life. That is the nature of a digital reproduction.

****

Soul Work

Just needed to do something to shake things up a bit today...And my Muse was going to have her way and I just had to stop and listen.

I wanted to get a couple of small things started that I had rattling around in my mind and she said...NO.

So here you have her suggestions and my paintings.

"A Rocky Road"

12x12 oil on canvas

"Storm Watch"
10x10 oil on canvas

Interested? Email me: carolchretien@aol.com

Wrapping up some loose ends....

....before the next season begins.

You may have seen some of these in progress and now they are pretty much completed (with the exception of the Dalmatian, Mercury, in the center) which is soon to be done, just need a little drying time between sessions.

The studio is humming along today and nothing is getting in the way.

"FOLEY"

"Portrait of Foley"

Is a gift to the Friends of Bristol Animal Shelter who do work in my local area.

They lost their beloved mascot unexpectedly earlier this year.

My philosophy is that Art is Therapeutic and helps heal hearts.

I hope they can place the painting in an area of their shelter that does just that.

***

"MERCURY"

This painting is for a friend who is missing her wonderful Mercury.

He passed over the Rainbow Bridge recently and is in the best company you could ask for.

I have a little more to do to finish this up but made some real progress today and thought I would share it.

There needs to be one more pass to it to finish it up and be able to send it off.

I met Mercury when he was a youngster and rescued by a loving family.

He got along great with my Lizzie and it was my pleasure to be able to meet him in person.

***

"CLEOPATRA"

This painting was one of the prizes donated to the JRT fundraiser.

Over the years I have done many "win a custom painting" fundraiser.

This painting was a lot of fun for me to do.

And if you would like to read about the org:

http://www.russellrescue.com/index.php4

Russell Rescue, Inc.

A non-profit rescue that works coast to coast and has many regional chapters.

Love Jack Russells?

check them out and rescue a dog!

***
In between these paintings I am hard at work for

ART HELPING ANIMALS

painting for our rescues!

***

AND NEXT....

THE CHRISTMAS COMMISSIONS!

if anyone is contemplating the gift of art BEFORE the holidays

BOOK EARLY ...

LIMITED NUMBER of BOOKINGS AVAILABLE.

JUST A THOUGHT!

stay tuned!

September and a First Look!

"Dachshund Blues"

12 x 12

oil on canvas

CAROL CHRETIEN

***

Oscar models for me again to help homeless animals.

He is one of the fortunate ones and he advocates to help doxies in need!

***

This is the first painting I am offering for

COAST TO COAST DACHSHUND RESCUE!

this is one of our newer rescues

supported by the work of

ART HELPING ANIMALS ARTISTS

***

If you are interested in purchasing this painting:

150.00

20% will go straight to the rescue to help their work

PROGRESSION - Dachshund Art - 3 stages...

As I continue on with this piece you see the progression from last week when I first posted the initial footprint.

Stage 1 getting the basics down.


Next a little defining...

Truly on the easel...will wrap it up on the final pass and bring it all together...

"Tangled Up In Blue...Flowers"

Thanks for looking and please STAY TUNED!

New Beginnings - First Look!

The studio is humming along. Just wanted to share 2 that I started yesterday.
The Dalmatian is in the VERY bare bones stage ...I put in a few markers on the canvas yesterday just to get a sense on a start...This Dal is at the Rainbow Bridge and was an old friend of ours, a "DalPal" ...it is an honor to paint him. He has a gentle soul. There will be many changes to this piece to find "Mercury" in this canvas. I hope to do him justice.


The second painting is a 100% donation winning portrait from the Jack Russell fundraiser in June.
The JRT is "Cleopatra" and this is the second pass ...from here I will correct and detail the painting to capture Her. You can see the difference in the first and second passes of the two paintings.
I always start with a very loose line drawing to put some landmarks down as a guide. In animal or people subjects I start with eyes...after all who wants blank eye sockets watching them paint? And it is the window to the soul...you find "life" staring back at you. Stay Tuned for a whole group of finished work coming soon to an online site near you!
:)

Happy 11th Birthday LIZZIE!

11 years ago today our Spotted Girl was born.

We can't believe how fast the time has passed and how much one dog can be loved.

Well in fact, she was loved before she was born as we waited for her a long time.

***

Lizzie has been my Dalmatian model, a wonderful model who works for food.

It is amazing she is not overweight because food is her life!

The day I brought her home at exactly 8 weeks of age the only way she wouldn't cry as I held her in the car on the ride home was to let her eat little puppy chow nuggets and she cried after each one was gone.

The training of "Mom" had begun and she was on the road to teaching me everything she wanted me to know.

Leo and I laugh at this story ...his philosophy is "They deserve to be spoiled" ...he is not the dog whisperer.

But here is the thing about Liz....she has been a wonderful girl. Happy and full of life, never destructive, trust worthy, yes a tad spoiled, very very smart and extremely loving to us. Pretty darn healthy too. Thank Heavens!

***

So Happy Birthday our Lizzie and we wish for many more birthdays and tons of inspirations for paintings that help ....Dalmatians in Need.

Lizzie was not a rescue Dalmatian...we don't have many Dals at all in these parts but her likeness has sold around the world in oil paintings and those donations are our way of giving thanks for her and her contribution for being my Muse for shelter dogs everywhere!

Donated Art for Charity ...Summer 2008

These two paintings were oils that I was able to do this summer for FUNDRAISERS.
100% was given to the charities.

The top piece, "GABE" was a custom portrait that benefitted an Educational Memorial Scholarship fund in honor of Dr. Lincoln D. Lynch for the Middleboro, MA school system.






"AS FREE AS THE BIRDS" was painted and auctioned for Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay
generating funds to help with the costs of veternary care for some of the neediest Dals in their care. The rescue is in Florida and the painting was won by a wonderful supporter in Texas!
It takes many hands to help the animals who wait in rescue for the chance at a new life.

******

STAY TUNED for the finish of

Foley's Portrait

for

FRIENDS OF BRISTOL ANIMAL SHELTER!

***

as always thanks for supporting Rescue with art!

Recently Painted, Recently Sold.

These two paintings are part of the 8 recent pieces I have been working on in the last two weeks. Both paintings sold almost as soon as they were listed. Much appreciated with 20% going right to rescues!

The top painting sold to help SAVE THE DALMATIANS located in So. California.
The second was listed today for my weekly contribution to DAILY PAINTER'S GALLERY where every Thursday I list a new piece of work representing my artist fellowship, Art Helping Animals. The donation helps TURTLE RIDGE WILDLIFE CENTER.

"Dalmatian: With Ocean View"

12x12

oil on canvas
SOLD

"If Only..."

12x12

oil on canvas

SOLD
****

Both of these paintings are focused on using light to create a sense of atmosphere and

emotional pull.

they were a joy to paint.

***

Stay tuned!

IN THE WIND - March #3 -Year of the Cat

SOLD

IN THE WIND

12x12

oil on canvas

***

This is the latest painting in a 12 painting series the first 2 have sold.

Representing the month of MARCH this painting is inspired by the work being done by

TABBY'S PLACE

a cat sanctuary

150.00

20% of the sale goes to this wonderful rescue.

***

The series is a very fun challenge to myself to imagine this whole group of totally original paintings by either finding the cat that inspires the scene or planning the scene and then finding the purr-fect cat!

Below is a little collage of what we have so far...it is always neat to see them together.

I think it is an elegant series so far and even I don't know how it is going to unfold!

The artist is also the observer...and that is exciting for me.

ALL 3 HAVE SOLD!

The next painting is representing APRIL will be based on my idea for a vintage scene

but the cat model hasn't been decided as yet.

***

STAY TUNED!

Painting away....progress?

Work In Progress....

This is the 3rd stage of a formal portrait of FOLEY it is 14x18 oil on canvas and I have been working away on 8 different pieces of art including this one. I feel like I am making a dent now on this oil...It is for a special purpose. And it is my great honor to do it.

I will post the finish and his story when it is done.

***

When painting a portrait it takes a different kind of concentration and patience with myself.

You need to appreciate the stages...take time to evaluate the details...and in the process you do develop a bond with the subject.

While I have rarely met the subjects of portraits in person, I have gotten to know some of them through their people.

While I paint them I am aware of what their loved ones have told me about them so I have that reference point that I always hope adds the extra ingredient to the meaning

behind the work. People trust me with these captured moments of their most beloved pets

and that is pretty amazing stuff to me.

I haven't taken this work lightly. The deeper and deeper into these waters I venture, the more I appreciate the impact it can make for healing, or uplifting and to even help the rescuers who save some lives they find hanging in the balance in shelters ....it is very humbling to me.

...

Happiness is having a chance to say it with paint!

***

STAY TUNED!

Organized Chaos?

The Organized Chaos... that is my work corner of my studio.
Some things that are currently "works in progress" to share in their earliest stages can be seen below...

The official count is 8 in progress pieces of art but 4 are very near completed.
The following are in the Ugly Stages of near-new. Very raw but it gives a glimpse of how I start if you are interested in my process.

Year of the Cat series # 3 ...MARCH "In the Wind"
*********

The next two are for our ART HELPING ANIMALS
September Focus on Rescue
we will be highlighting
Saluki Rescue STOLA

*****

And lastly...the newest Dachshund Rescue painting in the works
with "Oscar" once again as my furry Muse.
His mom (Pam) keeps me inspired by sending me reference images that I keep on file for that moment when a Doxie is just the right note for helping rescue!

a LONG way to go as you can see.

And it is all good... as I work to wrap them up and look forward to some new plans for Fall,
that will include a special piece for Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay for their
yearly OCTOBER event.
STAY TUNED!