A Day in the Life ...

LIFE.   When in the midst of a life transition, it helps to change one's rituals. 

Since Dad came to my house last Saturday, January 21, I have changed my studio time to sketchbook time. I will need to figure out his schedule and change my painting and blogging rituals to fit. Here is the first freehand sketch from my journal. Thor is a handy model. 


Life Lesson: Be flexible but maintain my focus.

From the Sketchbook Journal of Vernita BridgesHoyt
Click on image to view detail. 

January 24, 2012—Thor snuggles with me every morning until his hunger overtakes his need for companionship. Sketches of Thor must be quick because he repositions himself as soon as he gets a whiff of the ink coming from my pen. When I look at this sketch I am amazed to see what a large dog he has become. Thor is allowed to snuggle with me and the crocheted afghan in our early morning ritual, a special time for us. 

 

My Dad and Thor Boxer
January 24, 2012
(12 days prior to 96th birthday)

Thor is most attentive to Dad, frequently checking to see that Dad is safe. Dad likes Thor and pets him all through the day.

Today's Blessing:  A large tree fell on top of Gina's car this morning while she was driving. Although the car was totaled and a limb or two punctured the door and windshield, I give thanks to God that Gina didn't get a scratch. Gina is my son's girlfriend.

V. Bridges-Hoyt

"Painting the Sauce of Texas"

animals • flowers • people • places

To commission a painting or portrait,email txsauce@txsauce.net

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website V Bridges Hoyt Design
blog One Painting a Day
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shop Cards &
Gifts at www.zazzle.com/txsauce* Don't forget the *

Year of the Dragon Art

DRAGON BREATH #1
artist Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2012
watercolor on 8x8 inch Arches 140# cp paper 

According to Chinese Astrology, 2012 falls under the Year of the Dragon, starting the 23rd of January 2012 and ending the 9th of February 2013. The Year of the Dragon is said to bring luck. We could all use a little bit of luck this year especially after the recession we have experienced in the past several years. Yes! A little bit of luck! Luck is what we need. 

How to Hatch a Dragon

Liking the idea of a year of luck ahead, I decided to paint a dragon to commemorate this most auspicious event. Having never painted a dragon before, I began to notice children's books, dragon books, dragon illustrations and dragon how-to books at the book stores as well as the arts and crafts stores. Eventually I bought a how-to-draw-dragons manual from Michael's Arts and Crafts store, and then I studied it. The painting shown here is partially out of my imagination. I will give credit where credit is due for the drawing composition—Michael Dobrzycki in a Walter Foster manual. 

Detail of Dragon Breath #1

The placement of the dragon in the broken egg came from the manual, but the paint, the colors, the fire and how-on-earth-to-show-it are straight out of my mind, and that might explain why this painting is a bit cartoonish. The how-to manual shows a pencil drawing dragon with pointed scales on its back; I decided that the scales of a newly hatched dragon wouldn't be developed yet, but the hatchling just might break through the shell of its egg with a newfound fire of Dragon Breath.  I have included cropped images showing a bit of my process in bringing this painting/illustration to a finish.  

Dragon Breath, stage 5. 

Stage 5: I added more shadows throughout and began detailing the fire coming out of the hatchling's mouth. These final shadings and details are coming from my mind as I think about the light source in this scene. Hope I get it close to right. This is a colorful painting for cheer on a gray winter's day.  I have just a little more work before completion. The final 8x8 inch watercolor painting will be shown in the painting's full square format. This is my practice dragon.  The next dragon will be totally of my own invention.

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Dragon Breath, stage 4. 

Stage 4: I added more blue glazes to the foreground, spots on the egg, shadows, and more red to deepen the background. All the while I am puzzling over how I want to paint the dragon's breath.

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Dragon Breath, stage 3. 

Stage 3: Here I've painted colorations on the dragon's head and body and detail in the eye.

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Dragon Breath, stage 2.  

Stage 2: A red background seemed appropriate, and I laid the washes for that and a blue foreground.

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Dragon Breath, stage 1.

Stage 1: After my initial sketch in colored pencil, I began to add first watercolor washes and the addition of the hatchling's first breath of fire. Click on image to see my freehand sketch lines.

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Shipped— 4 Colorful Cows, pastel 9 x 9 inches
Collector commented, "Love the piece. Thanks." 
January 11, 2012

Thanks to a collector in Austin, Texas, for purchasing my pastel painting 4 Colorful Cows via TXsauceStudio.Etsy.com. What fun this piece evokes!

The blog sidebar gallery has been updated. See the grid of painting images on the right side of the blog page.

Thanks for following Texas Sauce Art Life.

Rainy Day Planning

Officially, Texas is still in a drought; however, today the clouds weep on Greater Houston. Rainy days evoke memories of early painting days when the young girl would gather her paints and find a piece of cardboard on which to create something new and colorful. Wish I could be that young carefree girl on this rainy day, but today I am planning and organizing.

Bear Creek Chapel, a Historic Texas Church 
8x10 inches unframed • oil on panel
Available direct from the Artist • frame sold separately
Contact Vernita.

Already the new year is a week old. That first week was a wash for me with two holidays for New Year's Day on Sunday and Monday, a trip to Crockett on Wednesday, and a birthday on Thursday. With the beginning of a new year, I am thinking of new ways to market paintings, puzzling over what, who and how I want to paint, and taking a studio break while I pull my thoughts together and work on tax reports and home organization projects. Yes, January will be a time to organize my thoughts, my studio, my house and my life. February will be the time for painting. There is a time for everything.

The Artists of Texas fall exhibition at the Dutch Art Gallery was successful for the Gallery and for some of the artists, but I am thinking that Dallas may not be my best market. My four remaining Texas church paintings were juried into the exhibit, but the right collector didn't come along. I will investigate other venues. Historically, my most loyal collectors have been local or have come through my internet sites. I have been fortunate and blessed to have good internet sales—that works for me.

I thank all of you who commissioned or collected my paintings in 2011. I plan to show you new exciting works in 2012.

Available paintings and other handcrafted items are now showing on the blog right hand sidebar. New items will be added weekly and sold works will be removed.

Picnic Tulips Still Life Oil Painting

I painted this still life in a plein aire setting from a live arrangement at The Woodlands Art Festival a couple of years ago. This painting is now in a private collection near Huntsville, Texas. 

PICNIC TULIPS  • oil on canvas • 16x20 inches • Still Life
collected, archived art

See more of my paintings at TXsauceStudio on Etsy.
Click here to view Back Room Art.

Tulip Love Framed Oil Painting

An original oil painting of tulips by American contemporary artist V Bridges Hoyt. 

TULIP LOVE • oil on illustration board • 5x5 inches • framed
Valentine Flowers

"Inspiration for this painting came from a gift of tulips. Knowing that potted tulips rarely last and wanting to preserve the memory, I painted a series of tulip paintings from the real thing." 

Show your love on Valentines Day. Give a lasting gift from the heart. Click on above image to view the framed painting, price and availability. 

2012

Have a MOOry Christmas!

Christmas Flight 

Archived Art • Not For Sale 

A butterfly and a cow share a Christmas moment in time. In Texas this could happen—a butterfly hitching a ride on a cow during the winter—for our Texas winters are sometimes very mild until after New Year's Day. This year happens to be one of our mild East Texas winters.

May your Christmas be merry and bright!