This is an original oil painting of a Siamese Cat and is for my daughter Krista. She has two Siamese cats and the other one Smokey I did not have a good photo to do him.

I painted a cat last year she used to have named Precious and it was a stray that came into her life after she was married.  You can see it on my portfolio under Wildlife/Domestic Animals, Precious.

Psalms 24:1 "The earth is the Lords; and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwelleth therein."

I had the inspiration to do this painting because I enjoy painting ducks as well as geese. This is an autumn scene and original oil painting by Ruth Housley on 8x10 canvas. I have painted ducks and geese in the past as well as dogs, and cats. 

This painting as well as the geese painting that I did a couple weeks ago are both small paintings but nice for a gift or someone special that  likes outdoor wildlife and maybe a hunter.

Psalms 24:1 "The earth is the Lords; and the fullness thereof, they the world and they that dwelleth therein."

 

Lilacs
 

Aside from Roses, there is no flower as beautiful and aromatic as Lilacs.  Of the two, Lilacs have a stronger scent that carries quite a distance.  Unfortunately, Lilacs bloom for only a brief couple of weeks in the spring.  To prolong their presence in your yard, grow a variety of Lilacs, including, early, mid and late varieties.  With variety and luck, you may be able to see Lilacs in bloom in your yard for up to six weeks.  Weather will have a lot to do with how long your blooms last.  Once the buds begin to open, pray for a cool dry spell.  Once the blooms are over, you still have a nice shade bush, but you have to wait for up to fifty more weeks to see them again.

 

Lilacs in the United States date back to the mid 1750’s.  They were grown in America’s first botanical gardens and were popular in New England.  Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew them in their gardens.  Lilac bushes can live for hundreds of years, so a bush planted at that time may still be around.  Lilacs originated from Europe and Asia, with the majority of natural varieties coming from Asia.  In Europe, lilacs came from the Balkans, France, and Turkey.

 

Rochester, New York is the Lilac Capital of the World.  Its love for Lilacs dates back to 1892 when Highland Park horticulturalist John Dunbar planted 20 varieties on the sunny southern slopes of the park.  Highland Park in Rochester is the scene of an annual, two week long Lilac Festival, with over a half a million people attending the event each year.  This park has over 500 varieties of lilacs and more than 1200 lilac bushes in the parks’ 155 acres.

 

On August 18, 2006, New York State Governor George Pataki proclaimed the Lilac as the State Bush.

I love painting flowers and have painted many but there are more for me to paint that I have not considered yet.

 

Duck Season

I have enjoyed painting ducks, geese, birds as well as domestic animals. 

The ducks in this painting are flying over the pond at autumn time with the log in the water and the bright colored tree on the right side of the canvas.  Hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed painting it.

 

Siamese Cat Kristie

 

This is a Siamese cat that my daughter owns and she named it Kristie.  The other one that looks like Kristie is Smokey.  I cannot tell them a part but they know.  I only had a good photo of Kristie so that is the one that I painted. I have painted cats, dogs, and old homesteads in the past for clients.

Until next time enjoy my paintings and hope everyone had a nice Valentines Day. I did get some photos of the snow we had on the 11th of February.  The snow was so pretty and hanging on the trees limbs was so beautiful. 

I found some notes that I had for a long time in Self-Critiquing your art work. 

Does your painting portray emotional excitement, or is it dull, strained, and sterile?  Did you capture a mood, or just mimic a scene?  Did you take liberties to communicate the deeper psychological meaning of the scene?  Did you make others feel what you felt inside?  What emotional theme did you portray? Verbally identify it.  Is it cheerful? Somber? Dreamy? How did you portray that theme?  Through the color or value scheme?  Dramatic linear movement?  Textural qualities?  Emphasizing, downplaying, or omitting objects?
Remember:  the color and value of a preliminary tonal wash can set the stage for your message, suggesting the time of day, atmospheric conditions, and even the season.  Did  your preliminary tone work for or against you?

Is the canvas shape and size consistent with the mood of the painting?  Did you select a comfortably rectangular shape for a generally peaceful scene?  A vertical canvas for a forcefully upright composition?  A long, horizontal canvas to complement a flat, barren panorama?  Or a squarish canvas for a starkly solid or angular subject?  Did you  choose a large canvas to enhance a majestically grand subject?  A small format for a delicate theme?  Experiment with various sizes and shapes to find the format that best conveys the mood you want.

How did you divide the space in your painting?  Did you make the scene predominately a landscape, skyscape, or closeup?  Or is your decision ambiguous and unclear?  Did you divide the picture in half horizontally or vertically ___ creating a boring composition?  Is the horizon line decidedly above or below the halfway point on your canvas?  Think in terms of unequal divisions:  thirds and fifths are more intriguing than halves.  Within the compositon, did you divide anything into equal portions with another object, for instance, did you place a tree at the center point of a building, visually dividing it in half?  Also check the spaces between the edges of your canvas and any objects, such as buildings or bridges.  If you placed fence posts or trees within these spaces, did you accidentally divide them in half rather than thirds or fifths?  And have you extended the principle of unequal portions to the lighting____creating a predominately sunny or predominately shaded scene?

Did you guide the viewer along a visual path to the focal point and on through your picture?  Have you created a rhythmic linear movement from side to side and front to back____leading into the picture, not abruptly out of it or into the corners?  Have you chose a definite compositional scheme, such as an L-shape or a coil?  Are your lines compatible with the mood you want____lively, zigzagging diagonals or lazy, horizontal lines?  Is this skeletal framework too obvious?  Did you subtly echo the linear movement using stops and omitting unnecessary objects?  Check how objects meet:  be sure they don't just tickle each other or the edges of your canvas.  Remember:  time spent planning and organizing your painting is never wasted energy.

Did you arrange the objects in the scene artistically____using mostly odd numbers and placing things with rhythm and balance?  Have you echoed the shapes, repeating with variety?  If you used just two objects, is one large and one small?  Have you aimed for an odd number of groups with an odd number of objects within these groups, including any windows or doors in buildings?  (I hope you did not make your openings look like dark holes?)  Remember:  don't center objects.  And take special care in placing animals and people.

Did you attract the viewer's attention and hold it?  Is there a single, clear focal point?  Does anything distract from it?  Have you used contrast (light/dark, warm/cool, bright/dull) to emphasize your focal point?  Squint your eyes, reducing the scene to three values, and look for any spots of contrast that distract from your focal point.  Did you control the degree of contrast at the center of interest, keeping it in line with the mood of the scene?  It's best to reserve strong contrast for dramatic themes.  Did you establish the strength of your center of interest early and then key the rest of your picture to it?  Don't forget the strong psychological effect of people and animals, as well as certain manmade objects.
Is the center of interest well located on the canvas?  Remember: don't center the focal point or place it distractingly close to the edges or corners.  Instead, place it at a point that is a different distance from each edge.

Has the perspective gone awry, making the scene unbelievable?  Or, at the other extreme, did you make the objects mechanically correct, but stiff and boring?  Remember:  a slight distortion can be personable and entertaining.  Also explore raised or lowered vantage points.  If you placed the objects in your picture in boxes, is the perspective on those boxes correct?  Mentally trace perspective lines from the basic geometric forms to their vanishing points.  Is the pitch of the roof correct?  Check the angle with a straight-edge.  Are enough building corners visible to create a balance between the need for mystery and for security?  Are centered doors and windows correctly located?  Do they slant accurately toward the vanishing point?  Are trees and other organic objects properly drawn according to their relationship to the horizon line____above, below, or head-on?  Did you taper the tree limbs correctly from trunk to limb to branch to twig?  If your painting includes a river, road, or path, does it lie down, or is its vanishing point correctly above the horizon line?  Check the perspective on your clouds and cast shadows too.  Finally, are manmade objects and living beings the correct size for their surroundings?