Friday, February 4, 2011

Work In Progress


My goal for the year has been to get back to painting larger works.  I had forgotten how long larger paintings take and so wanted to finish this one today.  You can take a gander at the 'getting there' process for this 12x40-inch canvas.  The canvas size is kind of fun and one that I have never used before.  I think I like it.  The painting is my horse, Cayenne.  She was out in the pasture pretending not to see me but of course she saw all and finally came over and tried to eat the camera.  This is pre eating and just lounging.  You can also see my messy studio.  Be like Cay and pretend not to see my piles.  I am also posting today to say, good-bye to the Fresh Paint Daily Painters group that I have been posting with for the past few months.  Fresh Paint has a great group of artists and I love being part of the group but have decided I need to concentrate on my larger paintings and to do that I need to cut some of my posting activity.  Painting my old friend, Cayenne, has made for "A Painting Day".

"Cayenne"  12x40 -inches, oil/canvas by Ruth Andre Work in Progress
www.ruthandre.com
andre@ruthandre.com

25 comments:

Maria's Watercolor said...

I really like this, it is very nice, and I like the canvas size too.

Lorraine Shirkus said...

Beautiful painting! Cayenne (love the name!) has a commanding presence in this narrow format. I love the grayed greens against her rich, warm tones. Shenandoah is also beautiful with the grayed back palette. Wonderful sensitivity in capturing the spirit of your subjects, like Cooper . . .

Theresa Paden said...

Big Cay is beautiful and it's fun to see your studio, too!

Carol DeMumbrum said...

What a beautiful horse! Love the canvas size. So sorry to hear you will no longer be on fresh paint, but I love seeing your work in such large scale.

Linda Shantz said...

I love this, Ruth! I'm in the same boat, trying to finish up some larger pieces after a couple of years or concentrating on smaller/daily ones. This is a brilliant composition.

Katie Wilson said...

Oh my, Ruth, this is beautiful! I love the composition.

Pam Holnback said...

The colors and composition are great! What a great size! Perfect for a horse.

shirley fachilla said...

I think the dimensions on this are wonderful so right for your subject. The design is striking. I find your larger work inspiring for I hope to be doing some larger stuff as well.

Susan said...

This is just fabulous, Ruth! The format is so unique and your composition makes great use of the size and shape. Cayenne is one beautiful horse!

David Larson Evans said...

Beautiful and impressive.

martinealison said...

Cayenne s'est parfaitement bien pliée au jeu et je trouve qu'elle pourrait être un top modèle parfait... Elle a ce côté provocateur et aussi sensuelle pour séduire et grâce à vous, à votre talent et l'amour que vous lui portez, je suis subjuguée par cette peinture en cours...
Gros bisous à vous et bon week-end.

Debra Keirce said...

Ruth, I saw this posted on the Fresh Daily Painters site today...Love it!

Bruce B. Hancock said...

Ruth...it's just terrific! I am so glad to see you working in the larger format. A very unusual shape..very unintuitive for the subject matter, and it works so well.

Caroline Simmill said...

Very beautiful work, the colours are especially nice.

hmuxo said...

Beautiful work Ruth. Cayenne is more beautiful with its larger and different shape of the canvas. Great job.

Johanna Spinks said...

interesting composition. your work is so sensitive.

Meowlissa said...

What an absolute beauty! I always love your use of color. A large, fabulous piece!

Unknown said...

Awesome composition, Ruth. One of my favorite color palettes. So beautiful.

Claudia Hammer a Painting a day said...

WOW! this painting is fabulous! Love the color and composition. I am a big fan of cropping. Will miss you on FP but I can see you on DPO!

Kimberly Kelly Santini said...

Ruth, I just adore this painting. Seriously just love it. :) thanks for bringing Cay into my world!

Mary Anne Cary said...

Sorry you are leaving, but I know exactly how you are feeling, the thought crossed my mind. Beautiful work, I love this size and shape. Good luck!!
I volunteer at a mustang rescue here in Maine, and I am always thinking of painting the horses, you are an inspiration for me to get going!

Carol Schiff Daily Painting said...

Fantastic painting and I love the format too. Would not have thought to put a horse in that format but it works wonderfully.

LindaHunt said...

I really like the large painting...the size is perfect for the horse. She looks like a character! I love the painting that you did for daily painters today!

Kim Vanlandingham said...

Wonderful work and love that mess! Right! (It's who we are sometimes!!!!) I miss my horses while we're here in Florida. Hearing you talk about yours makes me miss them even more.

Karen Bruson said...

Wow, this is a large painting. Beautifully done. We will miss you on Fresh Paint.