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Showing posts from 2009

Reclining Nude

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This nude is an exercise in foreshortening. Hopefully we will be done with nudes soon!

Three Feet

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These feet belong to my daughters Elizabeth and Emily. I think I am going to have to do another piece to go with it to show Emily's other foot and maybe Matthew's big ol' feet. Charcoal, 2009

Drummer

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These are the hands of my husband, Andy, done for Figure Drawing, Charcoal, 2009

Portrait of Lori McNeil

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This is my friend Lori who was kind enough to pose for me for this portrait. Charcoal, 18x24", 2009

Tootsie Pop

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This is Elizabeth's hand holding a Tootsie Pop. I did thisfor Figure Drawing. Charcoal, 2009

Coupe

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This was a piece I did for extra credit in Figure Drawing. I am happy with it except for the foot on the floor, I just couldn't get it to turn out right. I may work on it more later on. Charcoal, 18x24", 2009

Still Life

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I did this one for Analysis of Form. The drape in the back is my favorite ballet dress. The point shoes are also mine to use, as is the violin. I was really happy with how this piece turned out. It was a lot of work. The pearls alone took three hours to render. Charcoal, 18x24", 2009

Right Hand Red

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This one cracks me up, no pun intended. This is a nude I drew for Figure Drawing. It looks like he is playing Twister naked. I am really temped to put the Twister game underneath him. It looks like a really uncomfortable pose....I wonder if he had to stay like that for very long? 2009, charcoal.

Torso

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I just finished this one tonight for Analysis of Form. Charcoal, 18x24", 2009

Study of Bernini Sculpture

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I am very happy with this piece that I did for Figure drawing. It is a study of a sculpture by the artist Bernini. This has to be the most detailed piece of work that I have done to date. This is charcoal, 18x24", 2009

Study of Michelangelo's Libyan Sybil

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This was an exercise for Figure Drawing, a study of Michelangelo's Libyan Sybil. Yes, it is a woman----I wondered the whole time I was drawing it, "Is it a man, or is it a woman?" I looked up his finished painting, and it is indeed a woman, and not nearly as lumpy looking as the sketch.

Nude 3

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I just finished this nude for week 5 of Figure drawing. Can you see the improvement compared to the other two I did? I am pretty happy with the way this one turned out. I think her right foot could use a little more work which I probably will do later.

The Guardian

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This is one of the eagles perched on the Baker Towers, on the corner of Main and Auburn in Baker City, Oregon. This is done in charcoal. This will be on display and for sale for the month of October 2009 at Short Term Gallery on Main St.

Shelly

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My kids named this pen and ink drawing "Shelly", because she is holding a shell up to her ear. This was one I sketched when I first began creating art again. I donated this to the 2009 Annual Benefit Dinner and Auction for Harvest Christian Academy.

Cutie Patootie

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I hardly created any art from the beginning of my marriage. Rearing children became my life,and I did not have the energy or any block of time to concentrate on painting or creating fine art. I made crafts...painted rocks, wooden items, made jewelry, did counted cross stitch and silk ribbon embroidery, but no fine art. Then one day, almost out of the blue, it felt like God had released me to begin pursuing fine art again. So I told everyone I wanted oil painting supplies for Christmas. I got them for Christmas, my inlaws found art supplies at yard sales, and before I knew it I had everything I needed to start creating. So this if my first oil painting created as a married adult. It is my daughter, Elizabeth, contemplating whether to get in the pool at her grandparents' house.

Roots

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Right after high school I went to an Assembly of God Youth Convention in Salem, Oregon, and on the way there, our group stopped at Multnomah Falls, a very beautiful tourist area. Armed with my parents' manual focus 35mm camera (back before the days of digital photography) I set out on the trail up to the top of the falls. This mangled old tree trunk was at the side of the trail and I thought it was so neat looking, the way the roots seemed to writhe and twist around each other, so I photographed it. It is one of the best photographs I have ever taken. This summer I pulled it out of my photo album and decided to try to paint it. I sketched it out on my canvas, then I painted in the lines and values in a sepia tone, then added wash after wash over it until I was almost satisfied with it, then I painted in details and sharpened up some of the edges. This is Roots, in oil, 2009.
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This is just a little pen and ink sketch I did of a South African man as photographed by Monte Loyd.

African Child

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I started and finished this tonight. It is based on a photograph taken by Monte Loyd. It was done in charcoal, 11x14". I never thought I would like working in charcoal. It is so messy and I don't like being messy, but I am really enjoying experimenting with charcoal.

Analysis of form project week 3

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This is another school assignment for week 3 of Analysis of Form.This took about 7 hours of work. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, although I think I might have to darken the core shadow on the teapot just a little. This was done on 18x24 charcoal paper, in charcoal, September 2009.

Analysis of Form project for week 2

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This was my project for last week in Analysis of Form. I spent eleven hours drawing each shape separately and then finishing up with the "grand finale" of all four shapes together. I am having a great time in my classes. It is challenging, but very fulfilling.
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I painted this little oil painting right out of high school. I really like it. It is based on a photo of an Indonesian rainforest. I can remember painting this on a Friday night, and I even remembering my friends calling me wanting me to "cruise the strip" with them, but I was so in the zone with this piece that I just wanted to get it done.

My other nude sketch

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Here is my other nude sketch that I just now finished. I am really happy with the way that these turned out.

I Am Now an Art Student!

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Three weeks into my college classes at The Academy of Art University and I am loving every minute of it! Currently I am taking Analysis of Form, and Figure Drawing. This piece is one that I just finished a few minutes ago and I am very happy with the way it turned out. It is on 18x24" newsprint and was done in charcoal.

Miniature South African Sunset

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This is a fun little miniature oil painting measuring 4x5", that I did after finishing my larger South African Sunset. I would like to find some more of these little canvases to make more mini paintings....I'll put that on my to do list. Sold, July 10, 2009.
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This is my first acrylic painting. It is the Ison Home in Baker City, Oregon, one of the most beautiful buildings in Baker City, it now houses the Bank of America. It is located on the corner of Washington and Resort streets.

The Master Hunter

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This is my husband, Andy, the mighty hunter. He has been searching for the elusive monster elk for days, finding traces that elk have been nearby, but never seeing them. Will he ever find it? What is that noise? Is that an elk bugling? It sounds so near! But where is it? Where could it be? Oil, 11x14", 2009

Blaecleah and Janelle

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This was a commissioned portrait in pencil that I did for a friend of mine, Monte Loyd, who had it made for his wife Janelle for Christmas 2007. It is based upon a photo of Janelle and their daughter, Blaecleah. I was very pleased with the way it turned out.

Geisha

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My sister Kelly bought me Memoirs of a Geisha a few years ago, which sparked my interest in Geisha. I then read other Geisha books by Mineko Iwasaki and Liza Dalby and I just had to make a painting of a Geisha, so here she is. I am not good at flowers and might try working on them a little more after they are dry. Except for the flowers, I think I am happy with this piece. Geisha, 2009, oil on canvasboard, 12"x 16"

Victorian House

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I love drawing Victorian buildings. This was done during summer of 2008, and is a house here in Baker City which is now turned into apartments. This is one of my favorite houses to drool over here. Baker City is full of gorgeous houses and buildings from the 1800's and early 1900's. It is a beautiful town with a rich history. I would like to make some kind of tour book of all the old homes of Baker City with my drawings as the pictures. I need to do some research on the homes as well. It is a large undertaking, who knows how long it will be before I accomplish this? It might be a lifelong work, but will be fun. I entered this piece in the 2008 Baker County Fair, and it won First Place, and also Best of Show. Victorian House (until I know the name of the building), 2008, Pen and Ink

Storm Warning

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A few months back I had a dream. In it, my two daughters and I were in a church. I looked out one window and saw a tornado approaching but it was still quite a way off. I looked out another window and a tornado was just right there. I got my girls and we hid under a pew and I told them to pray, everyone in the church was hiding and praying. The tornado blew wind through the windows and doors, and blew stuff around, papers were flying everywhere and it made a mess, but no real harm was done. After the wind stopped blowing, I took my girls and got in the car, and I looked back at the church, and I saw storm clouds directly above the church. They were very dark and menacing, and in the clouds there was a dark cloudlike form that looked like a castle or kingdom. From the bottom of the cloud there formed funnel clouds, all pointed toward and hovering over the church. They looked like they were just waiting there, they were not touching the church and I got the feeling that they could NOT to

Monte in Africa

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Here is a pencil sketch I created for my friend Monte Loyd, based on a photograph of him in Botswana , Africa. He's the white guy in the center, bottom row. He was given the honor of speaking (with a translator) at a small church I believe near Gaborone, and these were some of the children and young people who attended. I made this for his birthday the year that he traveled to Africa. Thanks, Monte, for the use of your photography.

African Boy

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I just finished this oil painting based upon photographs by Monte Loyd. I started this one over a year ago and things just got so busy I put it aside. It has been calling out to me for a long time, and so I got it out last week and put the finishing touches on it. The background is from a South African game reserve, and the little boy was from Botswana, playing near his mother who was selling her wares on the street. As you can see from my artwork, my heart's desire is to go to Africa and to make a positive impact somehow with my art. African Boy, oil on stretched canvas, 16" x 20"

Church Hill Classics 2009 Scholarship Entry

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I am always looking for scholarships or ways to fund my college education because I do not want any debt if at all possible. I created this pen and ink sketch for the Church Hill Classics 2009 "Frame Your Future" contest. In this frame of my future I am in Africa, painting portraits and other subjects that I find there. I would like to sell my art and use the proceeds not only to take care of my family, but also to help out those in need all over the world. My entry didn't make the cut to win the prize, but that is okay. It was fun doing it. :)

South African Sunset

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This oil painting was done last summer in one day, and is based on a photograph that my friend, Monte Loyd, took while on a trip in South Africa. I would love to travel to Africa some day, this is actually one of my goals, to spend a few weeks or a few months there, taking photographs and creating art based on what I see there. This is my favorite of my own paintings. I entered this painting in the 2008 Baker County Fair and it won first place. I wish all my paintings happened as effortlessly as this one did! "South African Sunset" , oil on canvas board 11"x14"

Welcome to my blog

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Hello, and welcome to my blog, where I will document my adventures in art. My name is Amy, I am married and have three kids, Matthew, Elizabeth and Emily. I live in a small town in Eastern Oregon, where I have lived all my life, and I love it here. I am in my mid-30's and on September 3, 2009, I will begin a new adventure, as I go to college for the first time, and I will be working toward a degree in fine art. I am very excited, as I have wanted to go to art school since I was in high school, and now I finally have that opportunity. I have never had any formal training, and know that there is much to learn that I do not even have a clue how to do. I am looking forward to being challenged and stretched. I hope to become a high-quality artist, and have my work hanging in whatever galleries will take me. I would like to try my hand at children's book illustration eventually as well. I would also like to travel the world and paint and draw what I experience. Wouldn't that be a