Proud and Proper

This is another digital painting which I did using the Procreate app and Apple Pencil on my iPad Pro. My 3 year old son sat next to me while I worked on this. He was using Art Flow on his Kindle. It's so nice to be able to create art side by side.

Proud and Proper
Procreate on iPad Pro
PRINTS AVAILABLE ON ETSY

M&M iPad Puppy Portrait

Monty and Maggie
ArtStudio App on iPad

I painted this portrait of two sweet rat terriers using the ArtStudio app on my iPad. This is a great app with may features similar to the ones in Photoshop on the computer. I plan on doing an app comparison between ArtStudio and Procreate in my next post but the short of it is, in my opinion, they are both great apps so it comes down to personal preference.

Monty Detail

Maggie Detail

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Hawk on the iPad

Hawk
Procreate App on iPad
Prints available on etsy

There was very little down-time over the holidays however I was able to sneak onto my iPad a bit and I  painted this Christmas week. This is from the same hawk photo which I'm referencing for the oil painting (which I'm still working on...).

I really enjoy the vibrance of painting on the iPad and though I recently did a painting in the Art Studio app (I'll be posting that soon), I still find Procreate to feel the most natural to me. Procreate has recently added some upgrades as well which I'm really pleased about! They now allow you do save Procreate files as native files in dropbox. This allows you to remove them from the iPad to save space and load them back on later if you want to work on them some more. There is also the ability to export as a layered/editable Photoshop file, png, or jpg file. As a graphic designer/illustrator, I own Photoshop so I love this! I am able to make changes on my computer if I want. Usually I'd just make the changes in the original file on the iPad, but sometimes I see a little thing once it gets onto my computer and I love having the option of making the adjustment there.

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Coming Up for Air...Gus Portrait Final

Between getting ready for the holidays, experiencing the holidays, and being crazy busy with my graphic design business (Bendt Design) I am just getting a chance to post some new artwork. I was commissioned to paint this lovely boy for a Christmas present. I really enjoy painting portraits and this one was no exception!

Gus
14x11
Oil

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Baby Portrait

I decided to try a portrait on the iPad, here's my first go! I used lots of layers and started off rather bland color-wise then built up as I went. I simply love the Procreate app! It feels like I'm actually painting and I'm quite pleased with the results. Next I think I'd like to try my hand at a digital charicature! Now to figure out who that should be of...

Baby
Procreate on iPad

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Lily of the iPad

This weekend my PenGo stylus came in so I played around with that quite a lot and I love it! Now I just need to find or make a little case to carry it in so I don't lose the extra tip or scratch up my iPad when I throw it in the iPad case.

This is a painting I did over the weekend on my iPad using the PenGo and the Procreate app. I worked from a reference photo which I took a couple years ago while visiting Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA. I have looked at this photo numerous times with the intention to paint it and the iPad just seemed like the perfect place to finally do it. I do love making a mess with traditional paints but I think I equally love having the option NOT to.

Water Lily—Callaway Gardens, GA
Procreate App on iPad
Prints available on Etsy

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Buzza Buzza Buzza Buzza

Here is another digital illustration which I had a lot of fun with. I started with a pencil sketch of the bee then once I redrew him in Illustrator I created the rest of the scenery, then I recreated it, then recreated it again, and again, and here it is. I decided on flowers, you can't have a bee without flowers and what better color flowers than purple! A hive, every bee needs a home. Additional bees because a bee needs his friends! And sun, ahhhhh sun! As it's getting cooler out nothing sounds better than finding a warm spot in the sun!

Buzza Buzza Buzza Buzza!
Print Available on Etsy

I also reworked the background of the cat illustrations and added an orange kitty to the mix.

Black Cat
Print Available on Etsy

White Cat
Print Available on Etsy

Orange Cat
Print Available on Etsy

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Sophie!

Sophie sounds like quite a character and I was so happy to get to paint her! She seems to go just about everywhere with her people from the beach, to camping trips, to taking rides on a motorcycle! Such a little cutie who's obviously very loved!

Here are the photos of the finished portrait:

Sophie - Detail

Sophie
Oil
16x16

Below are the work in progress photos:

Underpainting

This is the wild and crazy color phase!

In this round I added more detail, lightened up the background, put some of Sophie's natural coloring in, and added more definition to her body.

Here I simplified and lightened the background up a bit, both of which makes  Sophie stand out more. I also added the final touches here and there, refining it until I was happy with it. For this phase, I leave the painting sitting where I will pass by it frequently. Each time I pass, I have an initial reaction and I may or may not see something which jumps out at me which I want to tweak. Once I get to the point where I walk by and nothing jumps out, I photograph it and sent off for approval!

Once Sophie dries, I will paint the sides, apply a certificate and hanging wire to the the back, scan it in, wrap her up and ship her to her new home!


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Major and Tula Portraits

Tula

18x18

Oil

Major

18x18

Oil

Above are a couple of portraits which I've just finished and delivered today. The puppy on top is Tula, a very sweet Rhodesian Ridgeback. On the bottom is Major, an equally sweet German Shephard.

Below are photos of the work in progress and details for each portrait:

TULA

Tula - Final

Tula - detail of eyes

Tula - detail of nose

MAJOR

Major - Final

Major - detail of eyes

Major - detail of nose

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Happy Birthday Jeanmarie!!!!

Strike a Pose
11x14
Graphite

My niece turns 10 today! Jeanmarie is a fun girl who's into many things including Art, Reading, Lacrosse, Soccer, and most of all Horses! I have watched her go through my web site and pick out pieces which she likes, mostly I have seen her point to the horses. So, a few weeks ago when we were talking about what to get for this special little girl on her birthday, the idea of my doing a horse portrait for her popped up.

I had a lot of fun working on this, not the least of which was based on whom I was creating it for. It's a lot of fun to give presents from the heart and I poured my heart into this. I find that working on graphite renderings puts me into a very peaceful place, I haven't done one in a while so I was reminded of this while I worked "ohmmmm...."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEANMARIE! I hope you enjoy your present as much as I enjoyed making it for you!

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Colorful New Orleans

Colorful New Orleans
11x14
Oil

It's been a while since I participated in the Virtual Paintout. This month's location is New Orleans. I wandered around looking for something which caught my eye and ended up here. I set out to complete this painting in one sitting and was happy to have accomplished that. I started out with a brush but in the end used a palette knife for most of it. The actual image was rather drab but that just didn't seem right to me. Having never been to New Orleans, I tend to envision the area in the bold colors so I used those quite liberally here.


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eAbstract

Abstract
Procreate App on iPad

I love abstracts, they are so much fun to look at. I made an attempt at one a while back (click here to view), it was a small 5x7 oil painting. Here's my second one, this time created using the Procreate app on my iPad.

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Draft Horse - Final

Draft Horse
14x11
Oil on Masonite

Detail #1

Detail #2 - Palette Knife Strokes

A while back I posted the first stage of this painting. After completing the painting I was debating about changing a section of it so I've been staring at it for a while. I have made the decision to leave it as is. So, finally, here's the final! 


I used a combination of paint brush and palette knife in this one and am happy with the affect. It was fun to use the knife as it allowed me to apply paint in larger quantities and to blend in a different way. I will certainly be using that more in the future.

Vito - Complete

Vito
12x12
Oils

My latest pet portrait is of a glorious sheepdog! I was very happy to use this aqua paint color which I had found right before I was contacted about painting Vito.

Morgan - Final

Morgan

12x12

Oils

Morgan, Morgie, Magoo, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pants, PumPum, Pajama Bottoms (Indian name), Baby Girl, Nellie, Nellie Nugget, Nuggie, Nuggie Bump, Naughty Norkin, Squash, Kirplunk...All are names for my beloved puppy. It's funny how we do that, I know I'm not the only one who dons my animals with a variety of nicknames. I don't know a more loving dog and I'm so lucky to spend my days with her.