Old Barn, 8x8 Inch Oil Painting on Paper by Kelley MacDonald

8x8 Inch Oil on Arches Oil Paper

Another one from Hersey Farm in Hingham.  Loved painting the weathered wood!  Once again, keeping it loose.  It's funny, when I first started painting I wanted to be EXACT EXACT - totally realistic - photo realistic if I could.   I now think that it is actually harder to paint a good, solid, loose piece.  Carol Marine said once that you progress to a certain point, then you have to decide - extreme realism or expressionism.  The masses certainly admire extreme realism ("Ohhh, it looks just like a photo!" *cringe*).  But at this point I"m leaning towards a certain degree of expression.  Even though my darling husband will inevitably say "Couldn't you paint the shingles?

Well, here in our little corner of the world, we have had 2 beautiful days after the 4th of July.  So.... for all the kvetching and napping and reading that got done on the 4th - good!  Sometimes it takes an act of God to make me relax.  So... thank You!

Is That A Wookie?, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

What a mischievous, inviting face!  I've got some real charmers to work on!  Please continue to send me inspirations… although I won't ONLY do pets, I find them fun and refreshing.  kcareymac@hotmail.com I think I saw some pups like this at Westminster Dog Show last week.  A real little imp, I think.  What was so great about the show (and as I get my photographs, 80% of which were blurry - time for a camera evaluation) is when the owners were also the handlers.  LOVED seeing the dogs get a little kiss or hug as they waited for their turn.  Those dogs were so much more relaxed, and CONFIDENT.  

I know not everyone can show their dog.  And I also know that AKC dogs are definitely not the only dogs that are amazing. (Hello…Paco????)  But it certainly was fun to see the competition and to see if I could pick the winners.  Breed by breed, I do OK.  But the evening competition where the best of the breeds competed?  Bet against ME!

Party Girl!, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

Finished this late in the day, and could not get a good light to photograph it.  So this image will be updated by noon on *Valentine's Day* :)

Freshly back from a WONDERFUL time at the Westminster Dog Show, I'm beyond high on dogs.  But having posted a couple of dog paintings, I wanted to start up with something different.

I had asked for photos of some of your amazing pets.. and THANK you!  I have a wonderful assortment to choose from, and am always looking for more.  Please just email them to me at kcareymac@hotmail.com!

This girl is a Princess.  I can just tell.  I felt like her coat was very festive!  A glorious, luxurious Calico… she has, as well, an all - knowing look.  She's got your number!

When my oldest son was very young (a week after turning 2) our cat had kittens, 2 orange and 1 calico.  We told him he could keep his favorite.  He chose the calico.  For some reason he decided to call my Mom 'Calico' at this time (no, she had highlighted hair, but it was not tricolor).  All I can say is the name stuck, and for the rest of her life all the family kids called her Calico.  It's even on her headstone.  Truth is stranger than fiction, I think.

Cat'll Get Your Tongue! 6x6 Inch Oil Painting of a Pug by Kelley MacDonald

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Well, Blogger is behaving badly tonight, and I am just hoping that this little guy gets posted!  Sweet little face.  Lots of pugs have that 'tongue sticking out' thing - but usually AKC breeders are careful not to get tongues that are too long.  

See, when we mess with the anatomy (breeding the snout shorter and shorter to be pretty much non-existent, don't get me started on  us modifying animals.... much as I love dog breeds) we take lots of chances.  To minimize the bad results that could occur (just think - the muzzle gets shorter, but loops, the tongue stays long, or the palette gets shoved back into the esophagus (sp), the eye sockets can be too shallow, etc. etc.) breeders go back a few generations on BOTH parent's sides and see if any of those dogs/bitches have had any problems.

When people do not do this and they just have 2 cute dogs they want to breed, they take big risks - and hey, the puppies are so CUTE, right?  But that's what you pay $1,000 or so per puppy for, to get the lineage clear.  Nothing's ever guaranteed in life, so things could still pop up, but things that can go wrong can go SO wrong, and break your heart, and cause such sickness and sorrow for all concerned - really, really think before you purchase a dog that is a purebred without papers.

End of lecture!

Happy Guy, 6x6 Oil Painting of a Seagull by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & $10 S&H

The skies are blue, the wind is calm, he's just cracked a nice big clam and has a full belly.  Things are good for this seagull!  He survived Hurricane Sandy, and has no idea a new storm is coming our way.  Lives in the moment, he does.  Maybe it's a better way... worry wears us out, and rarely prevents the stuff we fear from arriving, anyway.

I'm going to take a page from his book, and try, just for today... to put the worry away.  

Here's last night's show:

And a reminder:

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Happy Halloween everyone!  I've been unable to post because of Hurricane Sandy, and I hope you are all safe and intact.  My heart goes out to those NY, NJ, and CT people who were hit hard.  We keep them in our prayers.

This is my little orange boy Harry.  I painted him all morning and then wiped it off.  This was try #2.  I think I need to study the animals and paint them more.  Thinking of challenging myself here.  I've got two cats.  I have one dog and know lots of other people who would let me paint their pets for practice.

Harry is a wonderful pet (to me) and I tell him he's the handsomest cat in the world, but actually he has very small eyes for a cat.  Odd, huh?  So, like people, some cats have larger or smaller features, longer noses, rounder heads, etc.  I think painting them will exercise my 'eye'.  Now... it being Halloween, please keep your kitties inside today and tonight.  Better safe than sorry!