White Fluffy

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas panel

sale to benefit the Oklahoma Emergency Fund

Available through DPW gallery/auction

My water lily painting has bids on it already - and those proceeds will help the Red Cross help the people of Oklahoma. Now I also want to help the animals!

This is a white, fluffy dog & her name is Zoe, but you can rename her, she won't mind at all. This fluffy dog is up for auction at DPW - with 100% of the proceeds going to help the North Shore Animal Leagues Emergency Rescue Fund. If you're not familiar with North Shore, they are one of the largest (the largest?) no-kill shelter that also does nationwide animal rescues. When there is a disaster, they are there.

They have already deployed to (& are on site in) Oklahoma, to help both pets & owners that were affected by the tornado. They help in search & rescue of animals, help those that are lost, those that are injured. And they work very hard at reuniting owners & their pets. They also help owners by caring for their pets when they have no home & no means to do so - only to give their pets back when the owners get back on their feet.

A wonderful organization that I can't praise enough - here is the link to their emergency rescue fund:

http://www.animalleague.org/rescue/pet-rescue-programs/emergency-rescue/ok-tornado-rescue.html

Head over to the DPW Help Oklahoma auctions and place a bid on this white fluffy puppy! Free shipping in the US & 100% goes to the rescue fund. Help me to help them! Thank you!

Water Lily

Acrylic on 8x10 canvas panel

Available through DPW gallery/auction

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I have put this painting up for auction at DPW - with 100% of the proceeds going to help the Oklahoma Tornado victims. Also, free shipping in the US on this one! Click here to go direct to the auction page!

This is an older painting of mine that I recently came across. Thought I would spruce it up a little & post it. Love the bright green lily pad in front and the yellows in the center of the flower. 

Pet Portrait Giveaway!

A giveaway! 

Special giveaway - a painting of your pet 

No pet, no problem! - a portrait of your favorite animal

Or a painting of a friends pet - it would make a great gift!

Dog - cat - bird - reptile - horse - llama - whatever

(no people portraits - sorry)

You supply the image, I will create the painting.

And it's simple to enter:
Simply "Like" my Facebook page
or sign up to follow my Blog by Email
(do both to be entered twice!)
You can use the handy entry form below to enter.
That's it!

But don't delay - contest ends midnight, June 1st!

Painting will be acrylic on 8x10 canvas board of 1 animal. Winner will supply photos of animal to be used for reference. Winner will receive a jpg via email of finished painting along with a PayPal invoice for shipping costs. Final painting will be shipped via USPS priority mail.

Nan Johnson retains the copyright to the painted image, and it may be used for various promotional items and/or prints.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bleeding Heart closeup

Acrylic on 8x8 canvas panel

Available through DPW gallery/auction

Variation #2 of the bleeding heart, done as a cropped closeup. Both Bleeding Heart paintings (yesterdays & todays) are part of this weeks DPW challenge -  to do 2 different "looks" of the same image/subject.

Unfurling

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas panel

Available through DPW gallery/auction

I love when my bleeding heart plants unfurl in the spring. They are one of the earliest in the garden, poking up in April when things are dull and quiet. They stretch up, then spurt quickly. Their long branches roll out with tiny pink buds on them. Then they unfurl with many tiny red hearts. 

I have painted the Bleeding Heart often - it is one of my favorites in the garden.

Simple Rose

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas panel

Available through DPW gallery/auction

In honor of today, a simple rose. 

A very Happy Mother's Day!

White Rose

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas panel

Available through DPW gallery/auction

This is the new work-in-progress I captured in photographs, as per Leslie's marketing challenge from yesterday. This was a painting I had started before her task assignment, but thought it would be a good candidate for the study. This is the final piece (above). I've had a particular fascination with artists Roger Akesson of late: (http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/RAkesson-1725). His style fascinates me - probably because of my background in graphic arts. There is a touch of his style in this - although I was hesitant to go too far with the value & color changes. 

This is step one - or actually, where I started to take photos of the work in progress. Using a #2 filbert brush, I started to work in the various areas of paint & color. Yes, it is called a white rose - and yes, I always see colors in white! I'm still not sure what this will become, but I am roughing in shapes of color. You can also see my background sketch on the canvas - these are indicators of the shapes that I need to form into petals.

In step two, I am working out from the one center point to continue to "grow" the flower by adding more petals. (sorry this photo is a bit darker than the others). I am still roughing in only shapes, usually with 2 different colors of paint on the brush at one time. I step back often at this stage, to check if I like the shape of the shape (does that make any sense?). I adjust things as I go and sometimes go back to an area already roughed in area to change tint, value or shape. 

Step 3 is the entire rose roughed in. I started working with different colors in some areas, adding more "darks" down deep within the petals. Long ago, I use to think I was done at this stage - that I had captured the image. Today it becomes my base for additional lines, shadows & highlights. Compare this step 3 to the final product and you will see the changes done. While the image in step 3 is all there, it seems a bit flat. Adding the lines, shadows & highlights help to make it pop & appear more 3 dimensional.