The Fur of a Gray Cat is Full of Color

Over the Labor Day weekend, I completed the watercolor portrait of Harley Cat. Here is the final image along with an enlarged detail so you can see the many colors that make up the fur of a gray cat.

Portrait of Harley Cat
watercolor and ink illustration on Arches 140 lb. hp paper
 8x8 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2013

Check out the detail below. I hope you enjoy! You can click on either image to see an enlarged version.

Detail of Harley Cat Portrait
watercolor and ink illustration 8x8 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2013

I love painting on the smooth surface of Arches hot press paper. I'm able to capture just the right balance of smooth wash vs spontaneous watercolor doing what watercolor does by nature, which is to flow.

This painting is expected to reach Harley's family on Wednesday, September 4.

It's been nice talking with you about art, but now it is time for me to get a little beauty sleep. Tomorrow is another full day. 

Thanks for following my Texas Sauce Art Life.
V. Bridges Hoyt

A work of art has no importance whatever to society. It is only important to the individual.
Vladimir Nabokov 

Paintings available to help homeless dog rescue (click on title below):

1. Lady in Black Pearls
2. Enchanted Evening SOLD

Sneak Peek of Zeke

I am enjoying this illustration style of painting with the watercolor wash and ink line. Here is a sneak peek of Zeke the Boxer. 

Sneak Peek of Zeke, a work in progress
© Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2013

Wash and line is completed quickly when using a hair dryer to dry the watercolor washes, or the technique is good painted over a day or two in 15 minute increments of found time. The paint dries naturally in between time segments, and that is my preferred way to paint with watercolor. Air drying preserves the natural glow of the paint whereas blow drying can dull the paint. 

Zeke's portrait still needs detail on the second eye and nostril (the ones you can't see) and another glaze or two of color in the background. 

Want a portrait of your pet in this style? Email vernita@txsauce.net with Dog Art as your subject. If you want to give a painting as a Christmas gift, the time to order is now. 

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings.

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas. 

Bailey Boxer Pet Portrait

BAILEY BOXER, watercolor, 10x8 inches.

Click image to view larger detail.

Last night I placed the final brush stroke on the painting of Bailey Boxer. Bailey took some time since I painted her in 15 or 20 minute increments over more than a month. Bailey is the second "Pay It Forward" promised painting I've completed from my list made almost two years ago. My next painting off this list will be a sunflower. As I said, these paintings are typically slow since I paint them in found minutes.

The painting of Bailey began with a freehand graphite sketch. Creating freehand allows me to capture the subject's personality. Besides, I enjoy the challenge of striking a good likeness through my own hand. Maybe you thought that all works of art are created freehand. They are not.  Many artists follow the practice of tracing a photograph to place not only the contour lines but also the color markings, shadow and light markings on their paper or canvas before filling in the areas with paint. That is just another method that is used to create paintings in today's busy world. To each his own methods. "Different strokes for different folks." In the case of artists, we can take that quote literally. [need a smiley face here]

These small paintings and bits and pieces I have been showing you in my last posts have basically been warmups before I could get back to painting portrait commissions. Finding my muse after Dad's death in May has been difficult. Two weeks ago I was at the funeral of my Aunt Mollie. Last Friday I said goodbye to my good friend and loyal companion Border Collie Brooke as she crossed over the rainbow bridge. With the completion of Bailey Boxer, I do feel ready to paint portraits again.

Tea Party Portrait in Progress

This image is a practice portrait to check out skin tones as I go about painting another oil portrait commission. 

Tea Party, a work-in-progress oil painting
wet paint

As you can see, this painting is far from finished and will probably take some time because the commissioned portrait takes priority. I can not show the commissioned portrait (it's a surprise), so I show you the study of the tea party portrait.

The reference photo for this painting came from Ann Buckner, who is one of my painting friends.

Thanks for following my Texas Sauce Art Life.
V. Bridges Hoyt

Charlie Boy Boxer Portrait

CHARLIE BOY
watercolor and ink on Arches 140# cp paper
8x8 inches

Charlie Boy is my pet portrait showing the character of a fine Boxer who was rescued by Lone Star Boxer Rescue in Houston, Texas. Charlie's foster mom fell in love with and adopted him 4 years ago. Not too long ago, Charlie was diagnosed with mast cell disease. His mom knows that her time with Charlie will be short and reminds herself daily that the quality of time spent with Charlie is more meaningful than their quantity of time together. We would all do well to remember that in our relationships with pets or people.

Thanks for following my Texas Sauce Art Life.
V. Bridges Hoyt

The Wee Ones, Small Paintings and Portraits

Oh my goodness! I haven't blogged in two weeks. Guess that means I've not completed a painting in the past two weeks. I did start one—a small watercolor still life—but I haven't finished the painting yet. Honestly, I don't know why I am painting a small one. The wee ones take much longer to paint than the large paintings.

PORTRAIT OF BROOKE AT 5 YEARS
pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

Until the watercolor still life is finished and ready to show, I will share a detail of this portrait painted in 2005. Click here to see more of my portrait work.

Commissions Accepted.

Thanks for following my Texas Sauce Art Life blog.
V. Bridges Hoyt

Better Video of "Bananas" Oil Portrait of Children

A couple of days ago I edited the original "Bananas" video to what I think is a better version. The new video has smoother transitions between images, new music and shorter viewing time. Please take a look. This will take less than two minutes of your time. All my videos can be viewed under "Texas Sauce Studios" in the far right side bar of the blog.

Now is the time to order a portrait of your children or grandchildren for giving next Christmas 2011. Heirloom quality oil portraits take weeks or months to paint depending on the complexity. If you order early, I can get your portrait on my schedule. The calendar is filling quickly and already, my painting time is scheduled through March.

Order now. Cut off date is August 1 to commission an oil portrait for next Christmas. By ordering early, you are assured of

1. an easy monthly payment plan and 
2. me having time to do my best work on your portrait. 

I hope to hear from you. Portraits of children make wonderful heirloom treasures to be handed down from generation to generation.

Contact me here or here for more information about my painting process.

Framed Painting A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW mixed media portrait

Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. --Steve Jobs.  Click on Steve Jobs name to watch the video of his address to the Stanford graduating class, "How to Live Before You Die."

A Light in the Window
portrait of the "birthday boy" • mixed media on canvas
© Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2010

ART. I paint from my soul or from the muse, I sometimes call it. A painting must stand on its own. I never paint for a specific wall with a specific location in mind, but the painting "A Light in the Window" just wanted to be on this wall in my house. The wallpaper in the 33 year old (dry) wet bar was looking more than a little dated but still in perfect condition. Maybe the wallpaper has been waiting on this particular painting to hang upon and add a little life to it. The palette knife background of this painting flows right into the wallpaper. I could not have planned that if I had tried. This is one of those times I recycled a canvas. Underneath the portrait is a 35 year old painting of the king of the jungle, an African lion ... rather appropriate for this portrait, I think.

I like the dark walnut wood frame selected for the expressionist portrait of Sean. The frame around this painting wanted to be simple to give the painting center stage.


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The 1st Portrait of Jenny

Sometimes paintings take a long time. The commissioned portrait of Jenny unintentionally slipped into that category. During the midst of family responsibilities and health issues, my muse slipped away as the painting of Jenny, a most beautiful Dachshund, transitioned through many phases and revisions.

I want to share with you the process that began after an initial contact in September 2007.

This was my first interpretation of Jenny painted from photographs sent by Jenny's human. The initial sketch went well, and the portrait was soon completed by mid-October. However, the client declined this portrait although he called it a "loving portrait." I had not understood that he wanted one of my Dachshunds in Hats. I offered to repaint the portrait of Jenny in a hat. 

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This painting is not available.

Brooke, a work in progress

This is the start of a painting I've wanted to do for some time. I will show you more of the full composition as the painting progresses, but this is the start of laying paint over my drawing which, by the way, is totally hand drawn and NOT traced from an overhead or digital projection of a photograph as many artists do today. I'm not saying that is a bad way because artists are winning big awards with that technique, so it must be okay; it's just that I like the challenge and the process of hand drawing my portrait subject and manually laying out the composition. To me, process is more than half the fun. For this particular piece, I did the drawing on a piece of architectural 'butter paper' so I could make all the corrections before transferring it to the canvas. After I was satisfied with corrections, I transferred my original drawing to the canvas via a piece of graphite paper. 

The first image above shows the first wash of oil paint thinned with turp used to tone the canvas and define the subject. Through the years I have learned to work on more than one painting at a time. One canvas dries while I paint on another. It keeps me from overworking any one piece and gives time for the muse to ponder what is best done next.

This second image shows an early stage with the base skin color on the face. Please watch for updates to come in a few days after this layer of oil paint has dried. This portrait will be slowly built up with layers of paint, not painted alla prima as I do on the daily paintings. 

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You can't wait on life. If you do, you're living some life that's "gonna happen" instead of the one that's happening right now. --Ann Richards, quoted from The Book of Texas Wisdom compiled and edited by Criswell Freeman.

Recent Works

I pulled together this composite of recent paintings to see where I am headed. With the exception of the sunflowers on the upper right, all works in the image are completed. A few of them are sold. Still in the studio are the revised doll portrait, the Cardinal, "Patch" to help Old Dog Haven, the still life of copper and stein, and the trio of unfinished sunflowers. Click on Sunflower Artist to view this work in progress. It appears I am headed toward more sunflower paintings.

Images are copyright V. Bridges-Hoyt 2008. All Rights Reserved.

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Click here to see more of my daily paintings: One Painting a Day

Portraits and Studies

I have put a number of my portrait studies and a few finished portraits in a video format for youtube, but you can view it by clicking on the start arrow here.



For years my intentions have been to paint more portraits to leave behind as a legacy when I am gone. I think every artist paints wondering if their paintings will survive the years to come. It would be nice to think that I still have time to finish a few more portraits and that those portraits would be valued over time. So I dream on ... and paint on.

The past two years of painting pets and animals has been of threefold benefit: 1) I've contributed toward the $41,000+ raised by Art Helping Animals to benefit homeless pets and other animals in need; 2) I've gained terrific painting practice for capturing the essence of life in the painting of people; 3) I've met terrific artists and made such good friends who give me great inspiration and support. As I embark on painting more people, I will continue also to paint the the animals. It's all about painting LIFE.
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Click here to see more of my daily paintings: One Painting a Day
See more art to benefit animal rescue here: Art Helping Animals

Canine Art Review

As I reviewed art painted throughout the previous year, I was amazed at the numbers of dogs or other canines I had painted and sold. Each of the paintings in the video below was painted to benefit an Art Helping Animals approved animal rescue organization. I hope you enjoy watching the video.

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Click here to see more of my daily paintings: One Painting a Day

Dalmatian Pup, a work-in-progress

Here is another sneak peak at the puppy I am painting. After a few more details, this one will be finished.

© Vernita Bridges-Hoyt 2008

Painting has become such a necessary part of my life. On days without painting I feel that something is not right. During January and early February, I painted hardly at all. In this past week, I've used the brush a time or two. Painting appears to be addictive. It's getting into that zone of space and time that holds the power, and today I found the portal.
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Click here to see more of my daily paintings: One Painting a Day

Another Beginning

I love beginnings. I couldn't resist putting paint on a blank canvas, and I've made another beginning on a small gallery-wrap canvas. I'm using a white-on-white technique which is a different method for me. I haven't painted a pup in some time, but I'll let you watch the development of this one without me saying more than it is oil on canvas. I've no idea yet what to title it. I may need your help in naming this one.

work-in-progress

© Vernita Bridges-Hoyt 2008

Quite by accident, I discovered that my blog is being covered by BeefmasterStock.com. If you click here and then scroll down their site about half way, you'll see a link to my Beefmaster Bull Calf painting. My dad will be so tickled to hear this and know that his bull calf was listed right alongside the other Beefmaster stock for sale at $1200, $1800 and more.... hmmmmm, maybe a small price increase.

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Click here to see more of my daily paintings: One Painting a Day

Poodle portrait in oil

Final: This is the finished poodle, and I have included the previous stages in this post for those of you who have followed the work-in-progress stages.

In the final, I added a glaze of cobalt blue over the warm background. The blue brings the dog forward and pushes the background back. It also softens the stark shadow. I have also added many layers and colors of paint to the poodle's head and body.

I'm calling it finished, and now it sits up on the shelf drying for the owner to take it home.

Another artist told me a few days ago, "Vernita, you paint Impressionism with a Texas twist." I consider that a great compliment. If ever it was true, it was true on the poodle. I really enjoyed painting this one.


Stage 4: This is the next update on the poodle in progress. Friday I added the darkest shadow. I have not worked on it since. Hopefully Tuesday.












I have several paintings in progress. This is my first poodle to paint. What fun! This little one is just growing out of the background paint and feels almost sculptural as I paint.

Stage 3: I am skipping the second stage since it was just more build up of the first stage shown below. In this third pass, I have added white, cad yellow medium, and cobalt blue. It is amazing what the addition of blue did to the overall painting. The background that previously looked so pink and crimson has been toned down and muted by the blue. It is an optical illusion, but now the background seems to have an orange cast. In reality, it does not. Next I will add spots of white mixed with alizarin and a touch of raw sienna in the dog's body. Then I'll darken the shadow under the dog and come back with the highlights, hopefully to call it done.








Stage 1: My palette on the poodle is even more limited than usual. So far, I have used alizarin crimson as my main color in the background, eyes and very darks, a little cad yellow medium in the ears and head, and white. Oh yes, I used a touch or two of cad red in the poodle's lip along the left side. I love this stage of the dog's ears. So Impressionist. Some day I'll do a painting and leave it very loose like that, maybe one of Border Collie Brooke to hang on my own wall.

artist@vbridgeshoyt.com

Poodle work-in-progress

I have several paintings in progress. This is my first poodle to paint. What fun! This little one is just growing out of the background paint and feels almost sculptural as I paint.

Stage 3: I am skipping the second stage since it was just more build up of the first stage shown below. In this third pass, I have added white, cad yellow medium, and cobalt blue. It is amazing what the addition of blue did to the overall painting. The background that previously looked so pink and crimson has been toned down and muted by the blue. It is an optical illusion, but now the background seems to have an orange cast. In reality, it does not. Next I will add spots of white mixed with alizarin and a touch of raw sienna in the dog's body. Then I'll darken the shadow under the dog and come back with the highlights, hopefully to call it done.








Stage 1: My palette on the poodle is even more limited than usual. So far, I have used alizarin crimson as my main color in the background, eyes and very darks, a little cad yellow medium in the ears and head, and white. Oh yes, I used a touch or two of cad red in the poodle's lip along the left side. I love this stage of the dog's ears. So Impressionist. Some day I'll do a painting and leave it very loose like that, maybe one of Border Collie Brooke to hang on my own wall.

artist@vbridgeshoyt.com

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Subscribe to email previews of V. Bridges Hoyt paintings here.
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View art helping animals at the AHA Art Gallery.

Dachshund - Portrait of Jenny, oil on canvas

This is a commissioned painting of Jenny. I am painting a second one of her in a hat to be shown a few days later.

Portrait of Jenny
oil painting
8"x10" gallery-wrap canvas
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2007
certificate of authenticity included

Inquire by email
artist@vbridgeshoyt.com

20% of sale will benefit DARE • Dachshund Adoption Rescue & Education.


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Subscribe to email previews of V. Bridges Hoyt paintings here.
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View art helping animals at the AHAA Art Gallery.

Dog, Airedale Shadows, oil painting

I am painting again and will show you this Airedale today. It was painted partially with a palette knife to build the texture on the Airedale's wiry fur.

Airedale Shadows
oil painting, impasto
11"x14" canvas panel
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2007

Inquire by email
artist@vbridgeshoyt.com

This will be offered on Friday through my Ruby Lane Shop. See blog sidebar listings.




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Subscribe to email previews of V. Bridges Hoyt paintings here.
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View art helping animals at the AHAA Art Gallery blog

Back to the Future

Going through some old artwork, I came across this forgotten self-portrait sketched in the fall of 1988.

It's hard to believe those days at the University of Houston happened nineteen years ago. I entered the College of Architecture in mid-life, and I thought I was old then. Now I see that I was still a youngun. I hope twenty years in the future I look back at me now and think the same thought.

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For a daily dose of architecture, visit my blog at Bridges 2 Design.
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