Happy Valentine's Day from Bailey

 

Bailey

6" x 6"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessoboard

How can you resist this cute face? Bailey is the neighbor dog to my friend Danielle and she comes to visit them in their backyard almost every day. She wanted to have a portrait painted to give as a birthday gift to her neighbor. She asked me to make a print also so that she could have a copy for herself to enjoy as well.

I love painting pet portraits so if you have a favorite photo of a special dog or cat that you'd like to turn in to a one-of-a-kind piece of art, please send me an email. I'd be happy to recommend some size and price ranges for you.

Week 6 Understanding Procrastination

This week in my Jump-Start Your Art weekly challenge for artists, we'll explore the reasons we procrastinate and hopefully check a few of those off of our to-do list!

Here is your free downloadable worksheet.

And 3 boot paintings makes a series

Old Gringo Freedom Eagle Boots

10" x 10"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Encausticbord

SOLD

This is the third painting of boots and you know what that means? It officially makes it a series. These boots are so fun to paint that I have already lined up several more boots from www.bootitude.net that I want to paint next. 

Here is a process shot so you can see that I still used the orange ground color as with my other paintings. I tried a new technique with this pair. I painted on all of the different tones for the brown leather sections, then scraped some of it off which I think gave it more of the appearance of leather. 

Week 5 Start Keeping Track

This month we switch our theme to "Getting Organized." And for Week 5 we'll focus on keeping good records. I still have more workbooks available that I would be happy to mail to your for just $20 to cover printing and shipping. Email me at anngorbett@gmail.com with your mailing address.

Here is the worksheet ready to download.

Giddy-Up with Old Gringo Boots

Old Gringo Double D Ranch Boots

10" x 10" oil with palette knives on Ampersand Encausticbord

SOLD

The second painting of a pair of boots inspired by the beautiful collection from Christy Soloman at bootitude.net.

I found that I seem to be drawn to the Old Gringo boots in her collection. These especially look like ones I would wear. They also kind of reminded me of a boot I made for a floral show a few years ago. I called it Bootanical.

Giddy-up.

Week 4 Choose a Theme

I think this is a fun one. Choose a theme word to keep you focused throughout the year. Below is your worksheet ready for download. Good luck!

 

These boots are made for painting

Swift's (Liberty) Boots

10" x 10"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Encausticbord

I first discovered the beautiful and unique vintage boot collection of Christy Soloman at the Brimfield Antique Flea Market a few years ago. Since then I've followed her on Instagram @bootitude. I am constantly in awe every time she posts a new pair and I hope someday to own the perfect pair for myself. In the meantime, I decided to paint a few of my favorites. These boots by Liberty were the same style as those worn my the one and only Taylor Swift. Sweet.

Week 3 Identify Your Values

 

Today we begin Week 3 of this 52 week year long challenge: 

IDENTIFY YOUR VALUES 

Below is the worksheet ready for download. 

Christmas pet portrait commissions: Meet Tootsie and Daisy

Tootsie

6" x 6"

Oil with a palette knife on Ampersand Gessobord

Daisy

6" x 6"

Oil with a palette knife on Ampersand Gessobord

Loren asked me to paint these two cuties as a Christmas gift for her kids. So how could I say no?

I had previously painted 6" x 6" portraits of her two goldens a few years ago (click here to see Nala and Sophie). She had them enlarged on to 48" by 48" canvas to fill these walls in her beautiful home. She sent me this photo of them installed. Amazing.

Week 2 Give Yourself a Boost

Today we begin Week 2 of this 52 week year long challenge. GIVE YOURSELF A BOOST Below is your worksheet ready for download. 

High on Hydrangeas

Blue Hydrangeas

8" x 6"

Oil with palette knives on board

SOLD

Blue and Pink Hydrangeas

6" x 8"

Oil with palette knives on board

SOLD

Pink Hydrangeas

8" x 6"

Oil with palette knives on board

SOLD

Small Blue Hydrangeas

6" x 6"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

SOLD

I miss summer this time of year so I went on a hydrangea painting rampage to help me get through winter. I've got the perfect frames ready to go to display these three available paintings at the gallery. I think they will look great hung together.

  

WEEK 1 Jump-Start Your Art Challenge

Happy New Year everyone! 

Thanks to all of you who signed up to join me on my 2021 Jump-Start Your Art Challenge. I am so excited to begin this year with a new challenge. Let's make it a great one.

Today we begin week 1 of this 52 week year long challenge. Below is your worksheet ready for download. 

READY?

SET?

LET'S GO!

Merry Red Christmas

The Red Inn From The Road

8" x 24"

oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

SOLD

There is nothing more Christmasy than a red inn on the coast. Except of course, if you add some snow.

Those of you who have followed my blog for awhile will recognize this as a familiar painting. This was a commission and the 38th time I've painted this beautiful place in one form or another. But this was a new size canvas for me and I really liked it. 

Happy Christmas to all! I hope Santa brings you everything you wished for.

Entering Boston

Entering Boston

12" x 12" x 1.5"

Oil with palette knives on Blick Studio Artist Panel

SOLD

I have done many of these Entering signs before for various Cape Cod towns-Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet, as well as one for Foxboro. Now it was Boston's turn. I wanted to have this as my anchor piece for the collection of 10 Boston paintings I completed for the Zullo Gallery's holiday sale, 

Here is a photo I took of them all together before I delivered them to Medfield.

While it would be really difficult to hang them on the gallery wall like this, I really liked how they look all together, especially with the different panel depths giving them dimension. As someone on Facebook described it, "I feel like I just took a nice walk through Boston on a clear day." 

I love that!  

The Seaport, Boston

View from the Seaport District, Boston

6" x 12"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

SOLD at Zullo Gallery, Medfield

This was the last of the 10 paintings I completed for the Zullo Gallery holiday show. I struggled with how much detail to put in to the buildings in the background but I think I ended up in a good place. This walk around the Seaport is great to do during your lunch hour on a beautiful sunny day in Boston. The boats coming in and out are fun to watch too.

60 Beacon Street

60 Beacon Street

12" x 6"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

SOLD at Zullo Gallery, Medfield

I've painted this beautiful brownstone on Beacon Hill many years ago on a much larger canvas (click here to see that version) and I so enjoyed it that I wanted to paint it again smaller for a small works holiday show. There were a lot of windows to paint but the most fun was painting the window boxes with the pretty flowers.

A Slice of Beacon Hill

A Slice of Beacon Hill

8" x 8"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

SOLD

Next up in my series of small Boston paintings is this little slice of the beautiful brownstones that line up Beacon Street. I took the image that inspired this painting from the Boston Common during one of my lunchtime walks while working in the Back Bay area.

Boston old and new

The Old State House, Boston

12" x 6"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

SOLD

My friend Nancy took the photo that inspired this painting of the Old State House in Boston. I loved the combination of the old and new architecture as well as the color of those beautiful green lanterns. The strong vertical composition also appealed to me and so I asked her if I could paint it.

The State House, Boston

The State House, Boston

6" x 12"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

SOLD at Zullo Gallery, Medfield

Continuing my series of small Boston paintings, I had to paint the iconic State House that sits at the top of Beacon Hill in Boston. This painting along with 9 others will be on display at the Zullo Gallery in Medfield MA through December for their holiday show.

Introducing a 52 week challenge for artists in 2021

CALL TO ARTISTS 

Who’s ready to hit the reset button for 2021? I am! And I'm currently in search of artists who are willing to participate in a 52 week challenge with me starting on Wednesday January 6 of 2021. Please note: THIS IS NOT A PAINTING CHALLENGE. These are simple weekly exercises that I've written to help you look inward, focus your work, and grow as an artist along with me and other artists. These challenges could apply to artists at any point in their career. And I'd also love to get your feedback in order to improve it for the future. Best of all-it's free! 

Each Wednesday, I will post the challenge to social media with a link to my blog where you can download the worksheet. To give you an idea of what these challenges might look like, below is the monthly syllabus, a sample weekly worksheet, and how to sign up. 

JANUARY: REFLECTION AND MOTIVATION

FEBRUARY:  GETTING ORGANIZED 

MARCH:  SHARING 

APRIL : GENERATING IDEAS 

MAY:  HONING YOUR CRAFT

JUNE:  REMOVING NEGATIVITY 

JULY:  FINDING INSPIRATION 

AUGUST:  PRACTICE WRITING AND TALKING ABOUT ART 

SEPTEMBER:  MARKETING YOURSELF 

OCTOBER:  GAINING CONFIDENCE 

NOVEMBER:  GIVING BACK 

DECEMBER:  CELEBRATING 

Below is a sample worksheet with a few annotations to give you an idea what to expect:

So who's in? If you'd like to participate, please send me an email at anngorbett@gmail.com to express your interest. If you would like a printed workbook mailed to you for the cost of printing and mailing, please include your mailing address. Thank you and I look forward to a creative new year!