Reentry

I'm not sure what happened to my blogging frequency compared to previous years. Somewhere along the way I had days where it felt more like work than fun and I needed a break. And of course, when you get out of the habit of something, the longer you wait, the harder it is to start back up.

Facebook may be another culprit... it's so quick and easy to post pics and updates there. Question: Is facebook is making blogging obsolete? People seem to want quick info these days, and it can be hard to find time to read (and write!) long blog posts.

But in the end, blogs and facebook are two different animals. There's a lot I miss about the blogging world, and feel it's time to reenter.

Due to my lack of posts this year, it may look like I haven't been up to much, but in truth I've been pretty busy with my art. One of the things I've been having fun painting is still life's. Here's a still life I painted of some of my husband's pottery. Shino is a type of glaze.

Shino, 10 x 8 oil on linen

© 2011 Kathleen Coy

Here's another I painted at a friend's house. She made bronze castings of her face and turned them into art pieces around her home. I thought they were so cool!

Still Life with Cast Bronze, 8 x 8" oil on panel

© 2011 Kathleen Coy

I'm finding that still life paintings are a great exercise to really learn to see colors and form, and is a lot different than working from photos. I'm painting a couple small still life's a week as a way to keep improving my work. We'll see where it takes me.

Cloud is doing great. I can't believe he's 10 years old now. Here's a photo from this morning.

My favorite painting of Cloud yet!

Turning on the Charm
18 x 14 inch oil on board. © 2011 Kathleen Coy

I couldn't resist painting this pose of my Rat Terrier, Cloud. He has the most expressive face I've ever seen. This is the sixth painting I've done of him (he is my little muse), and it is my favorite one to date.

Here are a few work in progress photos. In this one, I've laid down some background color and started painting his face.


Now I'm blocking in the main colors, trying not to get too detailed, but paying attention to the way the light falls on his fur. Oh those ears, how I love them!


Most of his face is blocked in now. The next step is to go back and refine everything.


And the finished painting. Not much in the way of a background because I wanted all the focus to be on Cloud. His head and neck have a nice solid sense of form to them, more so than some of my older pieces I think.

I hope you've enjoyed the painting and this series of photos.

Much love,

New Rat Terrier painting - Keeping Watch

Keeping Watch
© 2010 Kathleen Coy
10 x 8 inch, Oil on Ampersand Gessoboard

This is my first dog portrait in oils, and it definitely won't be the last. I'm very happy with this painting, the richness and the bold composition mirror Cloud's personality and intense gaze perfectly.

For those who don't know, this is my Rat Terrier, Cloud, and he's a favorite subject of mine to paint. This is my fifth painting of him, but my first in oils. (The others are in acrylics.) I decided to try oil paints this month because I was getting frustrated with the acrylic paints drying too fast when I paint on location.

So why did I choose acrylic paints over oils in the first place, anyway? True story - my mother paints with oils and I had to be different than my mother! That's it. Dumb reason, I know... **blushes**

Well, the oils really are great and I do love working with them. Oh god, I'm just like my mother...

Just kidding, my mother is a wonderful person! I love you mom!!

I thought you might enjoy this photo I took as I was working. The painting, the reference photo, and the sketch together. Three steps of the process:


Much love,

Summer is...

This Summer is...

Painting on location:

Remodeling:

My husband and Cloud going for a walk in the clouds:

A campsite with a view:

If you're awake to see it...

Flowers and butterflies:

A boat ride with friends:

A beautiful sunrise:

And gorgeous sunsets:

The weather in most of the country is incredibly hot right now, but Summer will be gone before we know it. I hope everyone is having a good one...

Much love,

Not so wordless Wednesday

I'm back from a little blogging break. Coming out of blogging hibernation, so to speak. Not that I haven't been busy....

A solo show at Tazza di Caffe, my favorite little coffee house. If you're in the southwest Iowa/Omaha NE area, my work will be up through March.


The elephant painting is now on display at University of Nebraska in Lincoln for a group show of the Nebraska Women's Caucus for Art until April 2nd.

I'm getting ready to start a new portrait commission of an American Eskimo Dog, and am presently working on a very large painting of a black bear, that I'm not quite ready to show yet. (Very soon!)

Cloud is well and is happy that the snow is melting. We were buried for three months straight!



The geese are honking overhead, spring is finally in the air, and my studio is humming with activity. I hope you are all well and happy.

Much love,

New art - Red Cloud

Red Cloud 18 x 24" acrylic on canvas
© 2010 Kathleen Coy

This painting was an experiment in the use of bold color in a dog portrait, and I'm quite happy with it. The strong color needed a strong and unusual pose to balance it - so once again, here is my rat terrier Cloud modeling for me. This is my largest dog painting to date - 18 x 24 inches. You can see some of the texture throughout if you click the picture to enlarge it.

This is a rather unconventional dog portrait, and I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Wordless Wednesday

Early snow

We had our first snow of the year this morning, and there's a chance of snow this afternoon as well. Last year our first snow was November 30th! I do like snow, but Fall is my favorite time of year and I don't want to skip it, lol. As you can see, there is still plenty of green leaves on the trees:

My plants were NOT ready for this!

It's a shame to say goodbye to my roses this early, but I'm afraid they're toast. We're supposed to have near record lows tonight in the 20's.



Everyone says it's going to be a hard winter this year in the Midwest. And I thought last year was bad! I guess we'll find out.

Stay warm!

Cloud's portrait is finished!

Here it is, the finished portrait of my Rat Terrier, Cloud. 18 x 18 inches, acrylic on Canvas.

Sometimes it's hard for me to find the words to explain what this little dog means to me. All dogs are precious to me, but this one... I've never seen a dog convey the emotions he does, and I've never had a dog SO aware of me. His love and devotion can make me cry. In fact, there were times while I was working on this painting that I had to stop because I would be overcome by the exchange of love that was going on - from me to him through his image on the canvas, and from him looking back at me as he came to life in paint. It may sound crazy, but I know I have readers who understand what I'm saying.

Back to the painting... we all know the eyes will make or break any portrait regardless of species, and they are my favorite thing to paint. The eyes are of course the main focus of this piece - his sweet, trusting, loving eyes mirroring my adoration.

But I'd like to talk a moment about ears. I LOVE painting dog ears! Not only are they fun to paint, (a miniature landscape unto themselves,) but they are a major part of a dogs body language and, certainly in Cloud's case, not only contribute mightily to his expressiveness, they are a huge part of who he is! There's no ignoring those babies... I mean, one of his nicknames is "Ears." (Heehee) So I really try to put a lot of thought and care when I paint doggie ears.

I also wanted the background to express a lot of emotion - somewhat ethereal to express the purity and eternalness of love, yet grounded with my beloved Earth tones to express how solid and real these things are.

I've had people ask if I could ever sell any of my Cloud paintings. No more then I could sell Cloud! When I'm working on a painting, everything I'm feeling about what I'm painting goes into each brushstroke. So selling a painting with that much personal meaning would be too hard for me. Dog portraits are something to treasure for a lifetime!

To give you an idea of the scale, here is a shot of me and Cloud with the painting:

Oh, those ears! I really love the statement big dog paintings make. I had so much fun with this, and look forward to continuing to work large. On my easel there is an 18 x 24 inch blank canvas, calling softly to me...

More progress on Cloud's portrait

If you recall, this is where we left off, with the underpainting completed. Now I paint layers over the underpainting, adding depth and detail. First the left ear:

Then the right:

Starting on his forehead here:

and working my way down:

The next picture shows the painting as it stands now. I wanted to work on his nose before starting the fur on his muzzle. Still a little ways to go, but it's getting closer to the home stretch, stay tuned!