12" x 16" watercolor

I had started this painting en plein air but ran out of time in the field and decided to finish it in the studio. The sheep were very curious as to what I was up to and stood watching me very attentively. I also made a new friend in some kind of mutt that day.  I’m thinking I may try an oil painting of this same scene as a large painting. So far about the largest work I have done is 16″ x 20″, but I’m thinking much larger which is possible now that I have a studio that I can leave set up all the time at home. I hope you all have had a great Christmas and blessed new year.

9" x 12" watercolor

This was done for Karen Jurick’s, “Different Strokes From Different Folks” web site. She posts an image there and then challenges artists to paint it and she posts them back to the site. It is amazing to see all the different ways that people interpret the same image. Check it out.

For mine I decided to try a watercolor. Recently, I watched a video on watercolor painting by Alvaro Castagnet. That guy is amazing. Once again, he is loose and captures the essence of a place with as few brush strokes as possible. Something I strive for. So this painting is a result of watching that video. No comparing please.

“Stoney Point” watercolor – 12 x 16 © Robin Roberts 2008

This was painted as a part of the OPAS plein air painting competition. I ended up doing a couple other paintings over the weekend too. I will get those uploaded later. The weather was outstanding. This barn was fun to paint. I am still trying to find my medium of choice and also my style. I still would like to loosen up a bit but i get started painting and it seems like the tightness just sort of happens. Maybe i just need to paint tight. I dunno. Anyway, I am excited to get out and paint more, now all i need is to find the time through my hectic schedule.

This is also posted on my Flickr site.

The White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, has been extremely important in Ohio’s history. The state tree, the Ohio Buckeye, is named because its nut resembles a deer—or buck’s—eye. Buckeye is based on the Indian word “hetuck,” meaning “eye of the buck.” White-tailed Deer have been in Ohio since the end of the last Ice Age. The deer played a very important role in the lives of practically all of Ohio’s prehistoric Indian cultures. Ohio’s native people used the deer’s meat for food, the hide for clothing, and the bones and antlers for tools. Indians also used the hides, antlers, and bones for ceremonial purposes. There are tons of deer in our area and although there are those who do not like hunting, harvesting of deer through hunting is necessary to control the over-population and allow for enough area for these animals to rome.

What I have depicted here are 3 white-tails that frequent the field behind my house. I live on the edge of a residential area and behind our house is a grassy field then the alfalfa and the wooded area. It is early morning and the deer have come out to eat from the alfalfa. As in most herds the does are the ones that enter the open field first to make sure there is nothing to fear. However the ears up mean she has been alerted to something near-by.

So, my moly is on its way to Anne in Spain. Whew.

This is my first entry in my moleskine for the Moly_X_32. This is part of the international moleskine exchange.

Also cross-posted on my Flickr page.