A Pet Portrait Break

I thought I would take a break from showing you my pet portrait work and share with you how I plan out a landscape piece. Last week I went out to Oxford, PA to photograph cows in landscape for two large commissioned oil paintings that I will be doing in the next year. Late afternoon light was what I was after. My client is very specific about what he is looking for, so I will ride out that way a few more times. Though I enjoy being paid to sit outside looking at God's glory through a lens, it is hard work and I look forward to getting back to the studio once I find my inspiration. There is always a surprise on these adventures and this time was no exception.

During my hours of taking bovine pictures two interesting happened. The top photo shows a blue heron that flew by my precious cows. Sure, if I were a great photographer like Joe Pulcinella I would have gotten a few good shots of the bird. No, I'm just a painter and a camera in my hands is merely a rough tool. When the heron flew by, I was busy looking elsewhere not realizing I had my camera set to a mode that was unfriendly to action photography. That's right people, I can't use the manual settings. I let the camera think for me. My brain power is saved for the painting. Unfortunately this was one of the best photos I took. That's ok, it is a good memory for me and my client has no interest in flying things in his cow painting. How did I know the bird was there? Of course the cows told me. Seriously, they did.

The second photo shows a crafty critter running across the street with his treasure of the day. Corn and the husks seem to be very popular with the woodland creatures. Every morning the squirrels rip apart the farmer's corn in the field behind us and litter our lawn with it. Gracie rather enjoys looking for the cause of the mess though she is never successful. Hope springs eternal.

So on this glorious Friday I look forward to a martini with my name on it and quiet time with Joel. I have to admit I enjoyed just that very thing on Monday after my oncology appointment. Though I have not had my CT just yet, the blood tests are good. Nobody expected anything bad but we had reason to celebrate all the same. Thank you everyone that emailed me well wishes for good news.

Next week I will share with you the progress on "The Veil" and "Buster", the Golden Retriever dog portrait. Also, don't forget that on the 25th you can visit me at my booth at the Woodstown-Pilesgrove Business Expo. I will be demonstrating graphite pet portraits. If you need more information please check out my scheduling page. Finally, I've updated the "Inside the Studio" page so you may want to view that as well. Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the splendor of fall.