Watermelon II

18 x 24" original oil

sold

I began this painting the first week of November. I worked on it in the background while I was finishing a commission and three little dog paintings for Gallery MAR due for a late November delivery. I got a phone call one day from somebody who missed one of my art shows but wanted to come to my studio to see what I was painting at that moment, so I invited them over, they saw this painting in progress, and bought it on the spot. It's now finished, drying, and will be delivered soon. I feel blessed. 

The story behind this painting is this: I had been painting a lot with yellows and was feeling a bit like I was in a rut, so I looked through my reference photos on the computer and came across this one, gasped, was immediately intimidated by the crazy colors and shapes, but loved the light. I'm going to paint it again, but I haven't decided how big or when. I love this image so much that I can't use it just once.  

I enjoyed have Nathan and Suzie over to watch me paint while I worked on the upper-right corner of this painting. I hope Nathan gets the urge to pull out the oils and paint!  

detail

detail 2

Olé

 

6 x 6" original oil

sold

This month I needed to paint three dogs to send to my Park City gallery and this is the third. I'm sad they're done. I am having so much fun and I can't wait to send them more. Each dog painting has such personality. 

Thank you to my niece, Liz, who sent me photographs of her bulldog, Cletus, who appears in this painting. What a guy. His stand-off  pose along with his breed name just screamed "Olé" at me, and the red background was then an obvious. I hear Cletus is quite the sweetheart and will even snuggle little kids.

look at all of those color changes and brush strokes that make up fur

Georgia

14 x 18" original oil

commission

I have a collector who commissioned me to paint them a salmon-pink poppy. She helped me choose the reference photo, cropping and the finished painting's size. I really appreciated her input and involvement, because it took out the awkward element of commission surprise: "Ta-duh! I'm done! Do you like it? Oh, you wanted it totally different? Hm." 

The biggest challenge of painting Georgia was that my reference photo was the size of a postage stamp by the time I cropped what I would be using from the patch of poppies. My husband came in while I was painting and said "How can you even see what colors to mix? The poppy you are copying is so tiny!" I told him I just had to look really closely. :) 

I know the title is obvious, but I can't paint a large, zoomed in poppy and not be thinking of Georgia O'Keefe the entire time. I figure with at least the title I can nod to her well-known subject matter.

I love the center's shadow

Say Cheese

6 x 6" original oil

sold

 

My dog Buttercup totally knows how to smile for the camera as she is in this painting. I also love how she's sitting to one side, relaxed and happy. She and I had just finished playing Frisbee when I had her pose on the driveway for this picture.  I love how her face shows how happy she is to just be. Dogs teach me to live in the moment. This painting is drying and headed to Park City's Gallery MAR around November 26th. 

a detail

This is a photograph of an 18 x 24" painting in-progress on my easel right now. It just sold to a new collector who saw it like this and fell in love with it before it was even finished. I feel thankful. 

Time to begin on a poppy commission! My husband has the 14 x 18" panel built and it's been gessoed and is now dry and ready for paint. I haven't painted a poppy in forever. It will be very O'Keefe. 

I will be at Alpine Art tonight for the opening night of Honoring Utah Artists. If you are in the area, come see me and see my painting in the show. Concord II is the painting that will be for sale at this show:

Concord II

Rockstar

6x6" original oil

sold

Gallery MAR is my Park City gallery and they do a great job of selling my little 6x6" dog paintings. I have been looking for a variety of dog breeds to paint and when I saw this Chinese Crested at a park I laughed out loud and immediately knew it needed a hot pink background with a Rockstar title. I love the personalities of dogs and the quirkiness they add to life. My own dog is a yellow lab and I paint her the most. If you have a dog breed you think I'd like and want to send me images of your furry friend outside in the sun on a patio or sidewalk (grass hides their paws), your dog may just end up in a painting. Send images to afharpers@gmail.com.

detail

Concord II

 

10 x 10" original oil

sold

Alpine Art is having a show November 16 - December 21, 2012 called Honoring Utah Artists. The show will feature Utah artists who "have been influential in the arts during the 2012 year." I am so humbled to have been nominated to participate. I am also very excited to see the other artists' paintings. We had to keep the painting under 16x20" but that was our only restriction.

My studio smells like varnish and is in a state of "excited messy" when it's slightly chaotic and crowded with completed paintings ready to be loaded up and taken to shows! October was nuts. Last year I averaged four paintings a month; last month I painted ten. That is the result of long hours, a good massage therapist and chiropractor, lots of paint and patience, and lots of good music. 

I have three shows in November, all listed here. Tonight I will be at Terra Nova Gallery for the opening of Great Things Small Packages, then next week I will be at the Zions Bank building on the 8th for their one night Artist Reception, then I'll be at Alpine Art on the 16th for the opening of their Honoring Utah Artists exhibition.

I'm taking a lazy beginning to November. Today I slept in, played some volleyball, talked to a friend, and now I'm going to bake some cookies. Hallelujah for lazy days after crazy days. 

detail

another detail