The Boxer, a Clown of a Dog, 6x6 inches. Final.

The finished painting ….

SOLD

"Christmas with Noah" aka
The Boxer Clown, mixed media
watercolor, colored pencil and ink pen on paper, 6x6 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2014
Thanks to Leisha Stinchcombe for permission to paint from her photograph. 

Sale proceeds from this painting will benefit Lone Star Boxer Rescue in Texas.

I'm happy with it, the painting that is. A good thing about painting ownerless dogs is that I can paint freely with only myself to please. I can experiment with new techniques. Yes, I'm happy with this one. 

The dog in the painting is Noah. I mentioned in a prior post that my dog Thor is a Boxer. Thor perfectly defines clown with his antics. Always I am amazed at how high he can bounce. Jump, yes, but the word bounce creates a perfect word picture for his exuberance. He is such a happy go lucky boy. More about Thor boy later. 


Use wisely what you have been given and you will be given more.  MATTHEW 25:29

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Christmas with Noah, The Boxer Clown

Clown of the dog world … the Boxer … a work in progress … image 2

Reserved. Sale Pending. 

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"Christmas with Noah"
The Boxer Clown, mixed media work-in-progress #2
watercolor, colored pencil and ink pen on paper, 6x6 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2014

Sale proceeds from this painting will benefit Lone Star Boxer Rescue in Texas.

With one more pass of color on this piece, I will call this painting done. My friend Leisha granted permission to paint from her photograph of Noah. Leisha is also a friend of Lone Star Boxer Rescue and does much to help Boxers without owners. 

Use wisely what you have been given and you will be given more.  MATTHEW 25:29

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Clown of the Dog World, the Boxer

Clown of the dog world … the Boxer … a work in progress … image 1

Contact Vernita here to reserve this new painting. 

To receive the next progress update via email, subscribe to this blog.

The Boxer Clown, mixed media work-in-progress
watercolor, colored pencil and ink pen on paper, 6x6 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2014

Sale proceeds from this painting will benefit Lone Star Boxer Rescue in Texas.

Clown of the dog world, the Boxer makes a friendly, loving pet … unless something goes terribly wrong. 

My dog is a boxer. Boxers are known as the happy, friendly, bouncy breed and make great pets unless all the circumstances go wrong as they did in a tragic situation last week in Arizona. A man was killed and his wife seriously injured as they tried to break up a fight involving their six dogs. Their cocker spaniel started a fight with the boxer. The other four dogs, including what is described as a "Shepherd

Daily Sketch of Banana Trees

13014

Daily Sketchbook Journal

Sketchbook Art
Windsor Newton plein air watercolor paint
with Sharpie ultra fine point permanent marker line work. 

Banana trees are starting to grow out back. This is a cartoon sketch done while I sat on the patio watching the dogs play. 

Daily sketching is necessary for growth as an artist. I've not been sketching much over the past year or so as I've been busy with other life responsibilities, but I'm starting up again after seeing the growth that two of my artist friends Suzy Pal Powell and Kay Smith have made with their sketch journals over the past year. Sketching is a good early morning or late evening practice. 

Somehow I've misplaced or used up my fine point ink pens. I'll be ordering replacements.

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

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas. 

SandBoxer Portrait

13010. SOLD

for the benefit of Legacy Boxer Rescue in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. 

SAND BOXER • watercolor and ink • 5x7 inches
on 140# Arches cp paper
© Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2013

animal, dog art, pet portrait, illustration

I'm painting as fast as I can but not fast enough. This painting is of Dexter, a white boxer who is deaf ... but Dexter doesn't know it. Dexter acts as though he could hear. Dexter loves a sandbox. When I saw this kiddy pool filled with sand, I thought "what a great idea!" I bet my Thor boy would love that too.  I took a little artistic license and changed the background a bit, simplified the plastic pool design, but with the portrait I remained true to Dexter's look. 

This technique used in Dexter's portrait is an illustration style of watercolor wash and ink line.

Tonight I'll be on to the next boxer portrait on my list.

~

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

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas. 

Five Golden Rings, 12 Days of Christmas, illustration

December 30

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me—

Five Golden Rings 

In the painting: my grandmother's wedding ring, my mother's wedding ring, my engagement ring, my wedding ring, 
and my husband's wedding ring

Four Colly Birds 

Three French Hens 

Two Turtle Doves 

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree 

According to tradition, the five golden rings represent the first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch:  1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy...


Note:  I began painting this series a couple of years ago. Then life got in the way and postponed the series. I finally got back to the Five Golden Rings painting. The 5th Day of Christmas is actually December 30, but I am posting now.  I will keep all the original pieces of this series in my art archives until the series is complete. 

Queen for a Day

"I would venture to warn against too great intimacy with artists as it is very seductive and a little dangerous."
—Queen Victoria. 

Queenty
pet portrait of boxer
watercolor and ink
20x16 inches

ART. The portrait of Queenty has been completed. I am happy with the results and so is my client. Colors used include cerulean blue, cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, cadmium red, raw umber and Payne's gray. The fractal background relates to the reflected light from Queenty's tiara crown.

To view enlarged detail, click on either image.

Living with the portrait while painting creates an intimate bond between artist and subject. One day this week, Queenty will be leaving me to travel to her home in Luxembourg. I will miss her presence in the studio, but she belongs with her mommy person.

Queenty
face detail

LIFE. On photographing the detail of the face, I realized that my digital camera doesn't catch as much detail as my iPhone camera does. The time has come to purchase a new, high resolution digital camera so I shall be on the lookout for a good one when I have sold another painting.

If you can suggest a good digital camera, please leave a comment.

My not so little Thor puppy is now nine months old. I have been warned by the boxer people that the "tweenager" will test me. Oh, so right they are. Every day is a test-test-test. Thor's newest pastime is to jump up on the couch or the easy chair or up on top of my bed. Although some pet owners allow their pets to sleep in bed with them, I have never done so in my history of pets. Thor's trainer recommended NOT allowing him to sleep on the foot of my mattress. She says in order to train a dog, I must think like a dog and become the pack leader. If he is allowed to sleep on the furniture or atop the bed, then he has elevated himself to my position and in order to remain the pack leader (and boss), I must stay elevated above him. That thinking makes perfect sense to me, so I have been busy with the OFF command which he continues to ignore. I can keep him off the bed by shutting the bedroom door, but the couch and chair are another challenge. He knows he is testing me because every time he jumps up on the couch, he turns and looks at me to see how I will react. "OFF, Thor! Off."

Any questions about commissioning a portrait (pet or child), click here to contact me. My mediums include oil paints, watercolor, and pastel.

If you'd like to cut to the chase and view my available daily paintings without the ramblings, check out my redesigned One Painting a Day blog.

Happiness

The summit of happiness is reached when a person is ready to be what he is. —Erasmus (c. 1466-1536), Netherlands. 

ART. Early morning studio time is the best! I always paint freely and the painting takes shape quickly when I paint early in the day. This morning my progress on the Boxer Queenty was good.

Portraits go through stages: the conceptual drawing, the first application of color washes, the buildup of color and the detailing. Somewhere in between the application of color and the painting of detail, there is what many artists call an ugly stage. I like to think of that "ugly stage" as a prenatal stage before the canvas gives birth and the subject comes to life. This morning Queenty was born. Now she only has to grow a little before she is ready to make the trip home to Luxembourg—happy in her own skin.

LIFE. When ready to be what you are, you will be happy in your own skin. Apply this thought to your work or your personal life and think about it. Are you most content and happy when you are doing what feels most natural to you?  Erasmus was a 16th century Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian who criticized then contemporary popular Christian beliefs because he held to the Catholic doctrine of free will. I have located three websites with history on Erasmus. Maybe you'll find these sites interesting. I did. Today's quote is such commonsense; however, many of us take a lifetime to be ready to be ourselves. Life is such a learning process.

• http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/erasmus.html
• http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/erasmus.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderius_Erasmus

Any questions, please click here to contact me.

Sunflower Corner

The journey through mortality will take you all over the place. —Martha Beck.

Never a truer statement have I heard. I would never have dreamed the places this journey would take me, not necessarily geographic destinations but experiences and life events I never expected. Life does not always go the way we think it will.

Sunflower Corner
Mini Art Card 3.5x2.5 inches
Watercolor and Ink on Arches 140# cp paper
© V. Bridges Hoyt 2011

Any questions, please click here to contact me. 

If you'd like to cut to the chase and view my daily painting without the ramblings, check out my redesigned One Painting a Day blog.

Sunflowers Two, watercolor and ink mini-art

"Do you treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you?" —The Secret.

Sunflowers Two, 2.5x3.5 inch mini-art card illustration
watercolor and ink on Arches 140# cp paper
© V. Bridges Hoyt 2011

ART. I've painted these two sunflowers previously in another medium, specifically oil paint. Now I have them in watercolor and ink illustration. Maybe pastel is next. Unless noted otherwise, I paint from my own references whether photos taken or live set ups in the studio. This one was painted from my photo of a still life set up a few years ago in the studio.

Any questions or to collect this painting, please click here to contact me.

LIFE. Facebook was really hopping this morning. Political discussions abound after the killing of Osama bin Laden. I won't go into it here. You can find me on Facebook by clicking the link in the blog sidebar.

I've set up a new gallery page on my website to show All Available Art on one page. No more scrolling through pages and pages of blog posts.

If you'd like to cut to the chase and view my daily painting without the ramblings, check out my redesigned One Painting a Day blog.

Sunburst Sunflower

Experience the magic. —Deepak Chopra.

110502
Sunburst Sunflower
mini art card by V. Bridges Hoyt

~ 

ART. Sunburst. 2.5x3.5 inch mini art card. Watercolor and Ink on Arches 140# cp paper. The petals of this sunflower grow in a radial sunburst pattern with a couple of petals appearing almost as solar flares.

Google "sunburst" and find references to solar flares, Nostradamus' predictions, the end of the fifth age in 2012 and more, but come back here and experience the magic of sunflower art painted from the pure love of sunflowers with no subliminal message other than to remind you to experience the magic of life.

four mini art card illustrations © V. Bridges Hoyt 2011

I've set up a new gallery page on my website to show All Available Art on one page. No more scrolling through pages and pages of blog posts.

Any questions, please click here to contact me.

Advice to the Young at Heart

This is your life, these are your dreams, and you deserve happiness. —Julie Morganstern.

110429
Border Collie "Young at Heart"
mini art card

ART. Another freehand watercolor and ink sketch delivers art from my heart. Border Collie Brooke was the model for this original art card illustration. She is 13+ years, but I'm not sure if Brooke really looks as old as I've painted her. I have heard that every painting is a self-portrait of sorts. Perhaps that is true.

"Young at Heart"
3.5x2.5 inch mini art card
on Arches 140# cp paper
$25

LIFE. Don't let it take a lifetime to realize that this is your life, these are your dreams, and you deserve happiness. Julie Morganstern wrote:

Release the constant, frantic search for someone else's approval and acceptance of what you desire. This is your life, these are your dreams, and you deserve happiness.

Morganstern says don't get locked into anything but pick one or two goals for now, knowing they can change if it's really not what you want to do.

Remember that life is nothing more than a series of decisions and corrections. There is no right answer.

Realizing the above, whether young at heart or young in years, will reward a person with years of happiness.

~

Just click here to contact me.

The Cow

Today's Quote: "Time's a-wastin'." —anonymous.

110428
The Cow
mini art card

ART. The daily painting art cards are impromptu sketch studies such as I would do in a sketch book. They are small and spontaneous. I have been invited to show some of my art card paintings in a gallery in South Dakota. Now to decide on the best presentation—with or without mat, frame or other creative treatment.

"The Cow"
2.5x3.5 inch mini art card
watercolor and ink on Arches 140# cp
$25

LIFE. I keep reading about "what makes a good blog post" and wonder who sets that standard. The definition of blogging seems to have changed from back when I started my blog when "blog" was short for web log. Oh well, I do what I do and will keep writing the way I write and thinking the way I think and painting the way I paint. Time's a-wastin', and I must get to work now. I hope you have a great day today!

Any questions, please click here to contact me. 

If you'd like to cut to the chase and view my daily painting without the ramblings, check out my redesigned One Painting a Day blog.

Texas Sunflowers in Blue Vase

In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular.  ~Kathy Norris

ART. Texas Sunflowers in Blue Vase, freehand ink contour drawing sketch, color tints in watercolor wash, 2.5x3.5 inch mini art card for collection. My art cards are original paintings and will be shipped in a small acid-free plastic sleeve to fit the art. Some people keep their art card collection in a binder, but many like to mat and frame and add a spontaneous original painting to a wall art collection.
LIFE.  Gas prices keep going higher and higher. The cost of living continues to increase as the years roll on. I won't stop driving to visit my father, but I will cut my budget in other areas that don't bring me much joy, such as clearing out the storage unit and cutting back on the hamburgers and quick food. The only way to avoid rising costs is to check out early, and who wants to do that?  I will keep living and collecting art that brings me lasting joy.

Kathy Norris said, "In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular." Who is Kathy Norris? You can google the name and come up with a long list, so take your pick and read a blog or join a Facebook page or Linked In page. Here is the Kathy Norris site I like—Knitting Muse.

I've set up a new gallery page on my website to show All Available Art on one page. No more scrolling through pages and pages of blog posts.

Any questions, please click here to contact me. 

If you'd like to cut to the chase and view my daily painting without the ramblings, check out my redesigned One Painting a Day blog.

Border Collie Eyes, Mini Art Card.

Opportunities are seldom labeled.
—John H. Shield

Mixed Media Border Collie Dog
Mini Art Card

ART. Border Collie Eyes, 2.5x3.5 inch art card, Watercolor and ink on Arches 140# cp paper.
© Watermark is not on original painting. These little art cards present the perfect opportunity for freehand drawing. The opportunity for you is original art at low cost.

LIFE. The days have been unusually hot here for mid-April. We are into the 90s already and by afternoon it feels like the middle of July, not April. My backyard thermometer registered 82 deg. F in the shade at 7:30 this morning. If I don't hurry up and get some new flowers planted to spruce up my backyard,  the heat won't let them grow. Texas is having a drought that is the worst since 1917 which was 94 years ago. Putting things into perspective, my Dad was a one year old toddler in 1917.

"Opportunities are seldom labeled." Isn't that the truth! I can't even count the times have I said to myself that hind site is 20/20. There must be opportunities in this early Texas heatwave. Maybe it's time to xeriscape the landscape. We (you and I) must remember to follow our instincts and grab those opportunities that are not labeled.

See Available Art all on one page. No more scrolling through pages and pages of blog posts.

Please click here to contact me.

Shades of Pink Dogwood. Small Watercolor Illustration.

Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.
—William Shakespeare

ART. Shades of Pink Dogwood. Watercolor and Ink on 140# cp rag paper. 4x4 inches.
Click here to view All Available Art  with purchase information on one page.

Any questions, please click here to contact me. 

If you'd like to cut to the chase and view my daily painting without the ramblings, subscribe to my redesigned One Painting a Day blog.

I have two paintings up for auction to Help Japan at DailyPaintworks.com—The style is easy to like. Both are oil on panel. Discover the power in my paintings. Bid Now.

1. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/141 ~ Curly Fries, Frame this one in red!
2. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/668 ~ Galveston Waves, Turbulence and Light.

Dogwood Flower Daily Painting, Small Watercolor and Ink Illustration 4x4

Click on image to view detail.
Dogwood Flower. 4x4 inch mixed media, watercolor and ink.

ART. Dogwood Flower. 4x4 inch mixed media, watercolor and ink illustration. 110326. 

An old and beautiful legend has it that, at the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other monarchs of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength it was selected as the timber for the cross, but to be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Jesus in his gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all said to it: "Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross -- two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints -- brown with rust and stained with red -- and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember."~anonymous, from the website of Cathy Anderson.
LIFE. On my trip to the farm last Sunday, March 20, the dogwood trees were fully loaded with flowers. I will be painting more of them.

I've set up a new gallery page on my website to show All Available Art on one page. No more scrolling through pages and pages of blog posts.

Any questions, please click here to contact me.

Aggie Lab. No Joke! a Work in Progress

Aggies Blow Up Chemistry Lab — I recognized the play on words in my title for this painting "Aggie Lab" and I went looking for an Aggie joke to post. What I found was no joke but an example of a chemistry experiment gone wrong at Texas A&M last May 2010. For now, I'll stick to painting and leave the jokes to others.

ART.
Aggie Lab, 7x5 inches, mixed media on Arches 140# wc paper.
Almost done. I will be bringing up the colors a little more.



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I was still seeing spots when I painted this elephant!

Today is the 6th anniversary of my blog Texas Sauce Art Life. Hardly seems possible I've been writing and posting art here for six years. Time really does fly when I'm having fun!

‎"Do not worry about your originality. You could not get rid of it even if you wanted to." —Robert Henri

The Dal-ephant
11x14 inches, matted
print of original watercolor

After painting lots of Dalmatians, I was still seeing spots when I painted this elephant.

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Start of a Chocolate Labrador Illustration

‎"I myself do nothing. The Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me."
—William Blake

work-in-progress
BUSTER
watercolor and ink

LIFE. Ten o'clock already. Tonight I decided against watching America's President Obama speak. I chose a relaxing activity, not a frustrating one, and I painted.  Still trying to catch up with committed paintings, I worked on the illustration of a Chocolate Lab named Buster [more to come as this painting progresses].

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