"Monte" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

sold

"Monte" is for Liz.  Monte is a 2-year-old Havanese.  He loves being around people.  He likes to run around the house at top speeds and when he is tired from that, he snuggles with his family and takes a nap.

On a sadder note, he has to have surgery this Thursday because he has a condition common to small dogs.  Both his hind legs have "trick" knees; his knee caps keep popping out of place, which is quite painful for him and can lead to bad arthritis and serious walking problems later.  He will be out of commission for 8 weeks, but the good news is that he will no longer have leg problems after the surgery.  Let's keep him in our thoughts and wish him well!

If you would love to see your beloved pet painted by me and shared on my blog and Facebook page, please email me at kimstenbergart@gmail.com. Send me a picture or two, preferably taken in natural light without flash. I will do a drawing at the end of September and give one painting away!

"Pampered Life" (oil on linen; 6" x 8") sold

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Ethel the beagle leads a pampered life with two layers of satin pillows and all.  "If only someone would play with me, it wouldn't be so dull around here.  I am going to take another nap."

"Charlie the Yorkie" (oil on linen; 7" x 5") sold

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Charlie is an 8-year-old Yorkshire terrier, who is luckily not inflicted with hair bows.  A furry ball of joy he is to his human parents.  His mom told me a very cute story.  After his first veterinarian visit, his vet came out of his office with Charlie on his shoulder with a big smile and told her that the puppy was a good one!  I haven't seen him for years although he lives just down the street where I live.  He hasn't grown at all.  He and Finn the Westie are brothers.  Finn is not a big dog, but next to Charlie, he looks like a human hanging out with a hobbit!

"Cutie Westie" (oil, 7" x 5")
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"Spring Robin" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

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We have a couple of robins who live in our property.  They behave as if they own it during the nesting season.  One year they nested in a holly bush in front of our front door.  Oy! Whenever we approached it, there was a rush of flight, a loud squawk warning us to back off, etc.  We were glad when the baby birds flew off and we got our house back.  The bird in "Spring Robin" is not our male robin.  Its posture happens to remind me of the Intimidator.

"Cutie Westie" (oil on linen; 7" x 5") sold

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Finn is a seven-month-old West Highland white terrier, who belongs to one of my neighbors.  A couple of weeks ago, I saw her taking him for a walk.  I just had to ask her to let me take pictures of the cutie pie.  I am told that he likes to put everything that fits in his mouth and swallow.  I believe her.

As we were talking, we heard him chewing something that sounded like a hard candy.  He probably was checking out the local pebble collection.  Boy, he swallowed it fast when his mommy tried to get it out of his mouth.  He must have a strong digestive system!

"The Itch" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

sold

Reference photo

I don't know if Ethel has lice or not.  But she kept scratching for minutes!  I am sure I made her nervous and this was her response.  I probably didn't make her snout long enough, but I nailed her doleful expression.  Oh, I love dogs!

"Beagle Siblings" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

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Reference photo

Last Friday night, I was at a party.  While talking with other guests, I kept getting distracted by a pair of handsome beagles.  As I have been dying to paint dogs, I tried to take pictures  with my BlackBerry.  Unfortunately they were camera-shy.  I managed to take a few snap shots, but couldn't get my "dumb" phone to email them to my laptop.  (No wonder that RIM, the producer of BlackBerry, is in trouble.)  What you see above is the picture I took of the image on my phone's screen!  When there is a will, there is a way.

"Piping Plover" (oil on linen; 7" x 5") sold

sold

While taking a little break from my California series, I did a bird painting.  According to Wikipedia, the piping plover is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America.  The bird I painted must be a baby since it doesn't  have a black band across the forehead from eye to eye and a black ring around the neck.  If you are a beach goer, you must have seen it running in short starts and stops.

It was fun to paint the lovely avian creature.

"Fawn in Dappled Light" (oil on linen; 6" x 8") sold

sold

Reference photo

It was Wednesday morning at breakfast table.  I was still tired, recovering from the rigors of the workshop last weekend.  I saw the fawn above in my backyard.  Through the kitchen window, I took some pictures, wondering where the mother was. There she was, partially hidden under a tree. 

The thing about deer is that they are rats on hooves.  If you are a gardener, you will know what I mean.  They act as if they own the neighborhood, treat our precious flowers as a salad bar.  Without natural predators, they are wreaking havoc in the eco system in many parts of the country. 

But look at the fawn.  How cute!  Despite my feelings about the species, I was genuinely concerned when I couldn't see its mommy.  If deer look like hyenas, I am sure the public will be up in arms.  We often equate beauty with goodness and ugliness with evil.  Things to ponder about.

"Cardinal on Maple" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

"Cardinal on Maple"
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"Robin in the Evergreen Bough" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Blue Jay at Bird Bath" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Early Spring Robin" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Cardinal in the Snow" (oil, 8" x 10")
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"Winter Bird" (oil, 8" x 12")
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"Duck Pond" (oil, 8" x 10")
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Last fall I decided to do some bird paintings.  To date, I have seven under my belt.  "Cardinal on Maple" is my latest attempt at bird paintings.  As you know, I am an impressionist painter, not a super realistic animal painter.  So if you are an avid bird watcher and I got some avian anatomies wrong, please bear with my errors. 

I am more of an opportunistic bird watcher, if there is such a thing. The other day I spotted a male cardinal perched on green shrubs outside of my laundry room. I grabbed a camera and began to click away. This bird made a terrific model, turning its head to show profile, then facing forward for the front view, and so on. This went on for a while until it decided to retire from a modeling career.  I didn't dare to open the window for better shots (one knows better than that when dealing with a wildlife).  After photoshopping the best shot, I came up with the picture below.  Passable, yes, but the environment in which the bird was sitting left much to be desired.  I did some Internet research and found a picture of a scrawny-looking cardinal on a lush maple tree.

My photo

Reference photo for the maple tree

I got to work and painted "Cardinal on Maple" with joyous rapidity.  My gratitude goes to the anonymous photographer and the cardinal who lives in and is fiercely protective of my property.

"Winter Bird" (oil on linen; 8" x 12") sold

sold

Red berries are heavily laden with snow.  One can feel that it is a cold gray day.  No matter.  The small black bird is intently and happily feeding.  I don't know why this painting induces a happy feeling in me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Sheep Country, Yorkshire" (watercolor on paper, 10" x 6 1/2" each) sold

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"Sheep Country, Yorkshire" was an interesting exercise in Carolyn Gawarecki's class that I took several years ago at the Art League School in Alexandria, VA.  We were to paint a triptych, each painting with a distinct foreground, middle ground, and background.  Then we had to assign the different values (light, mid-tone, and dark) to the three parts in each panel, never repeating the same scheme.  Colors were a secondary consideration and we had to focus on values.  A big headache!

The above painting is what I came up with.  The left panel has a light foreground, mid-tone middle ground, and dark sky; the center panel has a mid-tone foreground, dark middle ground, and light sky; and the right panel has a dark foreground, mid-tone middle ground, and light sky.  As it happens, the left panel has the feeling of an early morning; the center panel, that of the mid-afternoon; and the right panel comes across as a scene at dusk.  How about that!  Good teachers exercise our mind and force us to grow.  Thank you, Carolyn.

"Puppy Love" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

sold

Lily is the newly adopted puppy of my painting buddy Vanessa.  She comes along on our plein-air painting outings to greet passers-by and other dogs.  Last week we went to the Mall to paint the Smithsonian Castle.  It was a hot and humid day, so we sought a shady spot behind the castle in Enid Haupt Garden.  Soon we were bombarded by biting bugs and curious tourists.  After about an hour of torments, we escaped to a nice sidewalk cafe in Shirlington, VA.  There I took a picture of Lilly, now immortalized in my painting.