Black on Grey on White

We've had a pARTy! Meaning a wee bunch of us (artists) have used one reference pic to create a piece of work. Hugo's photo was the centre of attention and supplied to us by friend and artist  Linda Shantz . Linda runs a small  maternity ward  thouroughbred farm in Canada and Hugo is one of the newborns skipping around the yard. The pARTy rules were very simple. Create a piece of work using the reference within 24 hours. My (homemade) rules a little tougher; create a drawing in under 4 hours, keep loose (cross hatching), keep detail  normal, no tweaking, sign, spray. The difficulty being in the time and the lack of tweaking I allowed myself. Klein Hugo is the result. Not only did I want to highlight his cuteness but also underline delicacy by grounding him with strong edgy shadows. These babies are all legs and I loved the way the shadows extended them even more. Good friend and fellow artist (the other force behind this pARTy) Kim Santini has the full Hug...

Do you have a few equine art fans on your list and still haven't found the perfect Christmas gift? How about an outstanding quality piece of artwork... Here are three outstanding artists whose work hangs beautifully in every home, have made many an animal lover's heart beat faster and make wonderful, unique gifts. Spell bounding quality equine paintings will greet you in Canadian Equine Artist Linda Shantz art world. Her work will have you drifting off into a world of equine beauty, calm and serenity. Visit her website http://www.lindashantz.com/ and be prepared to be transported into a world of equine warmth, elegance and harmony . Oil Linda Shantz. 2010 All rights reserved In time for the festive season, her studio is currently offering an online December Celebration. Until December the 18th, a 25% discount will be given on any of the paintings found in both Linda's Thirty Horses, Thirty Days blog and in her Red Willow Gallery blog. Should a world of Black and White...

This weeks circles are beautifully shaped but still displaying a wild side (which interferes relentlessly with any attempt at time management....) I have just realised it's the end of January and I have still not got round to sharing two new books that have "hit" my bookshelf. The first is: " That's 14 in Dog Years " by Kimberly Santini . Described by the artist as and I quote: " That's 14 in Dog Years" is a beautiful summary of the over 360 paintings that were created in 2008. Including almost 120 pages packed with full color reproductions and text highlighting the year’s accomplishments, this is a book artists and animal lovers alike will treasure." It's a wee bit more, I like to think of it as a "treasure trove book" filled with delicious, bright and vibrant dog portraits. Able to capture in simple accurate brush strokes so much energy, affection and precision, the artist's work come alive on the page. I first post...