Steve and Gayle are artists in their own right. I’ve been honored to be asked by their friends to do two memorial portraits for them (Sadie, and Katie), so when their daughter, Rachel, asked me to do another of the legendary Alex, I was thrilled. I had a crush on him that was tragic: I never … Read More ““Alex”: A Christmas Story”
Jilly BeanRIPacrylic on canvas panel, 8 x 10© Xan Blackburn A dear friend to many, a mascot to the greyhound community, a girl who has taught many foster hounds to respect little dogs, Judy and Mike’s little Jilly Bean passed away on Dec. 18. That afternoon, a mutual friend asked if I’d be willing to … Read More “Jilly Bean Memorial Portrait”
HajimeAcrylic on canvas, 5 x 5© Xan Blackburn Hajime, or Haj, is a chow-husky mix, which you can see in his blue tongue and very direct glance (or, that’s what I see, anyway!) He’s drop-dead gorgeous. He is devoted to his mom. This portrait is a gift from a friend, which is always so cool, … Read More “Portrait Marathon: #11 – Hajime”
Sign-ups are open now for the Pre-Holiday Portrait Marathon! If you missed it, here’s the run down. For three weeks, starting Monday, Nov. 26, I’ll be busting through as many small portraits as I can get to, in the order you sign up. As I start one portrait, I’ll email the next person in line a … Read More “Portrait Marathon: Sign up TODAY”
I realized today that I never did give you the whole picture of this portrait from last November. I gave lots of teasers over several posts because it was meant to be a surprise present, so I couldn’t give it away. Well, the present was given and received, so I’m free to share it with … Read More “Remember that “Mystery Portrait”?”
Spencer-Reference photo Fall Portrait Marathon, Painting #4: Spencer Lisa’s kitty, Spencer, in his sleepy pose, is pretty inviting, eh? Don’t you just want to snuggle your face into that soft warm fur? Mmm. Spencer was a Special Cat. Lisa’s friend Jan told me some of his story. The boy loved ice cream and popcorn, and … Read More “FPM Painting #4: Spencer gets started”
I’ve been processing photos submitted for the Fall Portrait Marathon, wrapping up my big mystery commission (that ran over into Portrait Marathon time! :rolleyes: ), communicating with the winners, and sketching up the first Fall Portrait Marathon (hereinafter referred to as FPM) painting. Hailey-SketchDigital painting, ©Xan Blackburn 2011 I did a quicky ArtRage painting … Read More “Mystery portrait wraps up, and Marathon begins”
Mystery Portrait, work in progress©Xan Blackburn 2011 I was working kind of slowly today. My usual timidity, where I’m sure I’ve forgotten how to paint, and will just mess everything up if I dare to actually put visible amounts of paint on my brush. Nonetheless, I did make some progress with my underpainting. In this … Read More “Mystery Portrait: Friday”
Mystery painting, shading begun That looks so awkward, doesn’t it? Well, I promise it makes more sense when you can see the whole thing together. 😉 I’m beginning to glaze in the shading using Payne’s Gray to keep the shadows cool. My intent is to keep the focus tight and high-contrast only on the faces, … Read More “Mystery Portrait; shading begun”
