Two Year break

I took two years off from painting and wasn't even sure that I would return to art, but I bought a 1956 house trailer and set it up on my ranch under some eucalyptus trees.  I painted it and moved my supplies into it and slowly I've begun. In the last two years I've moved my ranch a mile down the road and gotten a divorce.  I've changed my name back to Debi Ireland, so I've changed my blogger address to http://www.debiireland.blogspot.com

Some People Have Their Act Together and Some Don't

Here is a quote from a Facebook friend:
"I'm at the DMV and the woman next to me is wearing Jack Daniels jammies. Some people make me feel like I have my act together."

Wow! Has It Really Been That Long?

I can't believe that I haven't posted in 17 months. A lot has happened, but mostly I finished taking care of Grandpa back in March, 2010. He went to live with his two daughters up in Oregon. As grandpa was leaving however, we purchased another ranch property about a mile away from our old house and spent over 6 months rehabbing it. We added an arena and barn and changed the driveway and entrance and gutted the house down to the studs. It's pretty much completed now. I'm really ready to get back into my painting. I have lots of canvases, plenty of paint and my own cabin/studio on the new ranch. Here's a photo of the four horses turned out to pasture on the new property.

Four (5)

I finished another in the "Four" series a couple of weeks ago. It's been drying down at the barn. I don't really have anything to add. It's not my favorite one and it's a little smaller than the others. The horses look a little like how I feel - weighed down with responsibilities. Now that this one is finished I can start on the first one of three very large canvases that I purchased.

The Black Sheep

Fourth in my series called "Four" - This one is interesting. The horse on the far left is at odds in color, tone and light vs.dark value with the other three horses and your eye struggles to find a resolution. The resolution seems to be in the strong turquoise background. A sort of resting place. Sometimes life is like that. We have huge conflicts about how we feel. The trick is in the resolution. 40" x 30" oil on canvas.

Four (3)

I did the underpainting for this last year. How wonderful to finally get back to painting! We hired a great lady to help Dan and I take care of Grandpa, so I'm going back to my painting. This one is 36" x 48" oil on stretched canvas.

Molly

Can you believe how long it's been since I've painted or posted? This one is for Lynn's sister who recently lost her black lab Molly.

Pablo

I have some friends who lost their dog in March and went with them last Sunday to the animal shelter. I saw a chihuahua mix who was so much like Joshie (my little dog that died from old age in January) that I went back later that day to interact with him. I talked it over with Dan and Grandpa and on Tuesday I adopted him. The Escondido Humane Society.

Four 2

Here is the second in a series of paintings called "Four" - It's been over a month since I've painted, but I think it was worth the wait. The models for this series are the four horses that I keep here at my place. Oil on Stretched Canvas 36" x 48" I slammed my finger in a stall door last week so I have a broken index finger on my left hand and my fingernail is a mess.

Check out my new web site: http://www.mcswainfineart.com

Texas Painted Bunting

Hi All,
Here is my painting of Jean Levert Hood's photo of a painted bunting. See her blog This is a large oil on canvas 40" x 30" - painted with a palette knife. I took a little artistic license with the tail to balance out my composition.

Sky Hunters

I haven't gotten around to painting this month yet, but I'm getting ready to do a large painting of a tiny bird called a painted bunting. I just wanted to say that the group where I serve on the board is having a general meeting this Saturday and it's all about raptors. If you live in the San Diego area, come join us. Get all the details at http://www.hellholecanyon.org - See you there!

Four

I finally was able to paint this large piece. Last week I sketched it out and I have been painting it for the last two days. I painted it for my personal collection to have as a record of my four wonderful horses. From left: My four year old - Fierte, My 15 year old - Cody, My 5 year old - Vinnny, and My 10 year old - Georgia. This was so much fun to work out the composition and do the under sketching. I took each horse out of its stall and sketched it one by one to capture their unique shapes and personalities. After the drawing was finished, I was worried about ruining it when I painted it. Oh well. I just dug in and painted it down in the barn. I'm happy with it and I will put it above my fire place when it is dry. Oil on canvas 4' x 3'

Cornie

Father Bob Cornelison died on April 23rd and we went to his memorial last Saturday. This is my interpretation of him. He had very striking hands, and a loud frequent laugh. I've never heard so much laughter at a funeral service. He often wore colorful sashes and wore one the day he married Dan and me. We found out at the service that his colleagues called him Cornie. We love you Father Bob. You are already greatly missed.

Oil on stretched canvas 24" x 48"

Iris

I was surprised and happy to discover that today was a painting day. These two pieces have been sitting on easels in the garage waiting to have color added. Today was the day.

Lot for Sale

The town of Seligman, AZ a stop on old Route 66

A photo of the property

I'm selling my 2 acre lot in Bridge Canyon subdivision in Seligman Arizona. It's a beautiful piece of property. The elevation is about 5,600 feet. It's a level lot with beautiful pinon pine trees. Nice straight dirt roads to the property about 6 miles outside of Seligman. No other improvements have been done. You can dig a well or put up a 2,000 gallon water tank and have water delivered. I was told by the county that electric is nearby or put in solar. $10,000

Iris

I have gorgeous gigantic purple iris blooming in the yard now for the second year in a row. My neighbor gave me the bulbs a couple of years ago and I planted them and forgot them. Last year I had a few blooms and made a nice painting that quickly sold so this year I wanted to be sure to paint them again. One is a commission for a neighbor and the other one will be available. Here is the underpainting so far from this morning. They are both quite large pieces - one is 40" x 30" and the other is 40" x 24"

Dancing Monk

Well my sister pointed out to me the other day that I haven't painted since March 14. It's true. I've sat down to paint a few times and nothing came to me. I just felt blank. Yesterday I worked with my collage materials. I never made anything or glued or painted anything, but a few arrangements intrigued me especially an Asian looking lady with an oversized upside down butterfly on her head for a sort of cap. I sat down to paint today and the dancing monk came out. It's very large 4 feet by 2 feet. Oil on canvas with a limited palette - orange, yellow, green, and brown. Now off to the doctor with Gpa.
2' x 4' oil on stretched canvas.

Shipwreck

A fast and loose piece because I have to ride, get to a horse show in Del Mar and then get back and ride another colt before dark. I dropped this canvas and got paint on the carpet. See what happens when we get in a hurry? 8 x 10" oil on canvas panel.

Is He Cold?

This painting is called Is he cold? It's about my little dog Joshie and his trip to Paris. When we went to the rotisserie chicken store to buy our dinner, the dog would shake his whole body from head to tail. One evening the man asked "Est-ce qu'il a froid?" and I replied" Non. Il a faim." Is he cold? No. He's hungry. That's what's written in french on the painting. It's very large. 36" x 48" Painted in 2000.

I finally got my inventory site pages together. I'm happy that the procrastination is over. Be patient! .mac is a little slow. There are nearly 100 paintings available for sale. Not all of the prices and sizes are complete, but I'm publishing it today anyway. I hope people start buying my paintings now that they can see everything that is available. I need $1,200 towards Fierte's new saddle. Thanks in advance.
Debi

The Following

I made a few little changes to this one. I added some human footprints and some water reflections on the horses and changed the color of the orange horse. I like it better now. My black colt is the right age to fit him for a new saddle. The one I really need and want is $2,200, but Dan doesn't want me to spend that much. I will have this saddle for years and years, so I need a good one. If I raise about $1,200 from selling my paintings, I'll feel better about buying it, so I'll be working on a web page where I will inventory every one of my available paintings. I hope this gets my sales going again.

Glory of Horses

Today's painting I finished with the Glory of Horses project in mind, but I'm not that excited about his painting. I did an underpainting with brushes and then went over it with a palette knife. It's 20" x 16" inches on gallery wrapped canvas.

A crop shot of the horses in the rear.

The painting I finished today reminds me of this painting (bottom) that I did of horses on my trip to Montana. This is a large piece that my neighbor now owns. I think it is about 40" x 18"

Maybe I used to be a better painter. What do you think?

Maybe this daily painting thing has reduced that quality of my painting.

Storm Warning

Here is a fast loose seascape. I had to take Gpa to the Dr. today for an MRI. They wanted to check his brain for stroke damage to rule out Alzheimers. I guess if it's alzheimers they can give a medication now to slow it down for two years. He got in there and they put some hood or helmet on him and he got scared and furious and told them to take it off and he wasn't having the test. Oh well. I don't blame him.

Seahorse

A whimsical piece painted this morning with a palette knife using one of my sketches from earlier in the week. This isn't for the Glory of Horses project. That one is a little more ambitious on a 20" x 16" I felt like warming up this morning on a 5" x 7" canvas panel. These palette knife pieces take a long time to dry but I've noticed that they look better and better as they dry.

I've Been Sketching this Week

I've been sketching instead of painting this week. Here is one of the sketches that I'm working on for the Glory of Horses Project companion piece. Dan today took a very nice photo of my black colt and I. We are starting to work together now and it's a lot of fun. Not as scary anymore.

Tribal Sun - Tony's Collection

I haven't painted this week. Too many errands to run and Grandpa is getting bored and restless and had to go to the doctor for his blood pressure and knee. He got a shot of cortisone and different blood pressure medicine and is doing better now. He had is 90 th birthday today. Here is a painting that I did last year for a friend of mine in San Francisco. It was a series of three. His web site: Faster Barnacle - He's got a fascinating story. I hope you check it out.

Beach Day

Gpa and I went to the beach today. I am trying to fit my colt with his very own saddle and I had to return a few to a shop in Del Mar. We drove over to watch the waves and then had a nice lunch at The Beach House in Cardiff where you can sit practically on the waves and eat. This picture was taken at the little park at Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach. He said he hadn't been to the beach in years, so it was fun! The news said the waves were huge yesterday. They have gotten smaller today, but there was a continuous swell.

Stoic

I'm very happy with today' painting. It shows that stoic quality found so often in the retriever breeds. 5" x 7" oil on canvas panel. $45 includes shipping

Happy Birthday Mom!

It's my mom's birthday, so I'm sending her these two paintings. The floral is a large 36" x 18" and the other is a little 6" x 8" that I took the time to make a funky metal frame for. I patinaed the metal and then rubbed on three different colors of acrylic paint to make it look kind of grungy. I hope she likes it. After all she says she's my number one fan.
No new painting today because I made the frame and am getting these ready for shipping along with a belated birthday present for my sister. Happy Birthday Mom. Happy Sunday to everyone else!

Ready

I took a photo of the paint colt the other day because I liked the way he looked alert down in the paddock. I tried to capture that look of alertness and his ready to go attitude. This is a very textured fun little 5" x 7" painting. The top photo shows the changes I made today. It's very cloudy, so the photo has glare, but I will probably change this some more tomorrow.

A Horse of a Different Color

See! Maybe that collaging/mixed media stuff is helping my painting. I'm pleased with this one today. It's a large piece 36" x 12" with gallery wrapped canvas 2" deep. The model for this one is my black colt Fierte. He's a 4 year old and we are currently both learning dressage from Jo Moran. Monday is going to be his first trailer ride over to my trainer's ranch.