Thursday, February 2, 2012

Welcome Isabelle~

After much anticipation, and many two oclock in the morning checks.....Isabelle is here~
Proud mother Bud is one of the farm favorites. Her real name is Izzy, but the boys started calling her Bud when she was a calf, and well it stuck...so Bud she is~
She is so friendly and loves to be petted and hugged~  Matt took Grandmother Iva to the fair when he was a young boy, and Great Grandmother Iris was one of my all time favorite cows. Iris was short in stature but everynight when the cows came in from pasture, she would blat at the top of her lungs to annouce the herd had arrived. Bud is somewhat vocal too...I wonder if she will mature into her Great Gramas hooves ~lol     

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

New Limousin painting...Momma's Boy

The large commission turned out wonderful. I can't wait for her new owner to get her, they are always much nicer in person. The custom Christmas stocking is also done. Yes, I know, we just got Christmas over with, but people are still ordering custom stockings....and truthfully it's better to get them ordered now.
So with my work all done it was time to play. I have spent days following Butterscotch and her calf around, hoping top get a good mother /son shot. I probably took hundreds of photos...not one was what I was looking for. Then I came across this great photo on a photo website. A special thanks to Morgan who allowed me to paint his fabulous composition of a cow and her calf....it was exactly what I had been attempting to capture~!
  It is a Limousin cow and her calf. Limosuins are such pretty cows....okay, well I think they all are, but Limo's have a softness about them. Prints of this and other paintings are available on the fine Art America site~
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/laura-carey.html

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Large Holstein Commission~

I was recently commissioned by a lady in Omaha about doing a large painting for her dining room~
When I first started selling my art, I would only sell what I had already painted. There was no pressure.....if someone liked it they would buy it, if they didn't they wouldn't~
Doing a commision can be a challenge, but it can also be wonderful. Trying to bring to life someone else's vision~ It can be tricky, I like to get lots of information...palette's and styles can vary. But ususally when someone finds an artist they do so because they like their particular style~
Amy wanted a large painting. After some debate we settled with a 24 x 30 inch canvas. She wanted a barn, some sunflowers, maybe a couple of cows out to pasture, and the main focus of the painting a black and white holstein.....a personality shot~!
I gave her several cow photos....and she settled on one with a kind of 'fish bowl ' effect~
I was worried that she wouldn't look right. But my job is to make her work. When I based her in, I knew, she would be great~
I have been working on her all week~ Here is a progress collage~   


Friday, January 6, 2012

New Simmental...the obsession of painting

Painting can be consuming. I feel some resentment at all the other things in life that take me away from my art. It is an obsession .I often spin my wheels when getting ready to paint. Mulling over hundreds of photos....narrowing it to a dozen. Then I may go over and over them, sometimes for a few days.....till I have finally found the perfect picture. After I have choose, it is all systems go and there is no turning back.
Time slips away. I can get all set up, begin to paint,  when I reemerge back to reality and look at the clock it is hours, not minutes that have passed. When I am truly inspired about an idea, or in the middle of a large piece, sleep is disrupted. I find myself glancing  at the clock every couple of hours, waiting for the sun to rise.
One of the definitions of obsession is a persistent idea or impulse that continually forces its way into consciousness, often associated with anxiety and mental illness. It is interesting because the obsession actually allows me to escape, it is a total Peace, and in someway an unconsciousness.
I wear myself out trying to capture that personality of my subject, most likely one of my cows. It's a dream that won't come true. No set goal achieved satisfies what my imagination has thought up.
This special girl has been in my top ten for awhile now. I LOVE how she turned out~
She belongs to a neighbor of mine,,..who doesn't name their cows.....so I am still waiting for the perfect name to come to me.....I was thinking she looked like a Bell.
 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Goodbye 2011

Happy New Year~
Goodbye 2011~ I hope I have learned the lessons you brought me,  keep the good memories that were made, and let the bad ones fade.
December brought a few new collectors and I saw the return of many customers ~  Once again the calendars were a hit and are sold out~   A big Thank you to all~

My newest gurl is Doris~ She is very nice in person and gets many comments here~ Someone recently commented that they she looked as if she needed a hug~ I thought it was a perfect comment~
She is a larger painting 18 x22 ~

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Bertha Beltie

When I was first married my husband and I were taking a drive when we came across cows I had never seen. Loving cows, I was delighted and intrigued by the black cows that looked like someone had painted their middle section white. People call them the Oreo, or Panda cows. I asked my husband what they were (and I thought) he said 'Dutch Bells'......I thought how cute is that Dutch Bells. I called them that for years....until one day I was straightened out, and I was a bit embrassed. They are 'Dutch Belts'......get it belts, arout their tummies~lol   I still call them Dutch Bell, somehow it seems romantic. I hope to maybe have one someday. ~
I thought the breed needed explaining, because both of my kids who are now adults asked what happened to her sides when I showed them the newest painting 'Bertha Beltie ' ......guess they haven't come across a field of the Oreo cows yet~! lol    

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Don't fall of your chair !

Anyone who knows me at all, knows.....I am a COW person. I love them. I am asked quite often why I don't paint horses. Well there are many reasons. The first one is I am a cow person, and love painting them. But also, there are so many awesome horse artists, so I leave it to those who are passionate about horses. On the advice of my daughter, who mumbled something about challenging myself, when I showed her my latest cow painting, I decided this week I would do that.......along with a 'large' painting of three cows......... I would paint a horse. (Yep, my friends are now on the floor)  I have to admit, I also had ulterior motives . I am getting ready to order my 2012 calenders , so people will have them for Christmas gifts. I thought this year the FarmYard Art calender could have a horse ......maybe I will call it a pony....makes me feel better~
So here she is.....BettyJoe
Calendars are $22.-
If you are interested in ordering one, I am currently taking orders !
( for orders that aren't local please contact me about shipping costs)