More Baileys from the September 2011 Challenge

I received so many wonderful paintings of Bailey for the September Challenge  so did not want to race choosing my favourite which I have finally managed to do.Trust me, the decision this time was a very difficult one but I will shortly be sharing the winning painting. Before I do I wanted to post a few more gorgeous paintings here and explain why they appealed to me.

Being Unique as an Artist.

Lindy Cullen

We are all very different. Aiming to be unique as an artist really is  so important especially in a challenge such as this when everyone is painting from exactly the same photograph. Which is why Lindy Cullens Bailey stood out from all the paintings I recieved. It  is very unique, shows creativity and wonderful use of the artists imagination. The detail is not all there, a sense of movement is evident and as a viewer I can clearly see  the painting is of a dog but I am drawn into the composition by suggestive brushstrokes and placement of colour. Bailey  has his  head poised ready for action or could be looking inquistively at me waiting to see what I would do next.This painting makes me think about it which is brilliant!

Bailey wonderfully painted by Lindy Cullen

Unique composition,movement and exciting use of colour.

Bold use of Colour

Patty Schwarz

There were many paintings painted using very soft use of watercolour which were really fabulous to see so when I opened a composition that showed the artist knew how to use the medium with strong bold use of pigment it made a terrific change. If we all painted  softly,  viewing watercolours could become very boring.We need these changes to show our own style. Out of interest I often find in my classes that blondes tend to paint paler and gentler watercolours whilst brunettes and artists with dark hair often paint with stronger shades. This has  become more evidnet from  living all over the world and learning from international artists.

This painting is by Patty Scwharz who caught my eye by her use of depicting fur and  great strength in the shades used. Well done Patty.

Bailey by Patty Schwarz USA

Patty Swharzs Bailey looking right at you with strentgh of colour and character of my dog! I love the shadow area under the chin which is beautifully painted.

Contrasting backgrounds

Mo Teeuw

The photograph for the challenge showed Bailey sat in the garden so the green grass of the background led many artists to painting what they saw. Green as a background. Quite a few clever artists chose not to follow the photograph and added new shades to contrast with the subject. Artist Mo Teeuw was one who created a great effect with not only a warm background but use of textural effects which added contrast to the directional lines of the fur in the foreground on the dog.

Bailey by Mo Teeuw

Cling film textural background gives a 3D effect which in turn makes the longer fur seem more effective. The warm background shade also harmonises with Baileys beard section bringing connection throughout this piece. I love the variety of colour in this painting as the pink/violet in the lower section also tells a beautiful story of what is happening.

Use of White Paper.

Sharon Whitley

Soft watercolours do work very well on animals such as cats and dogs because they lead us to seeing the gentle side of the pet. This next painting by Sharon Whitley also caught my eye. It isn't so much just the way Sharon has painted Bailey as the fantastic idea of his head sitting above  white paper space hinting at the lentgh of his body which is left to the viewers imagination. When you look at this painting you may not see what I do but the very clever position of the dogs face and  brushstrokes leading into the white space says so much is happening in this piece. More than if the whole paper had been covered with colour. The pose is brilliant and captures Bailey perfectly.

Bailey by Sharon Whitley

With clever use of white paper.

Notice on this painting how the artist has kept the white of the paper for the white fur and it looks clean,fresh and stunning!

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When I teach I always see the very best in an artist and ask them to focus on what they can do well, stretching their imaginations and  aiming to create paintings that are 100% unique. I also give tips away constantly that can make all the difference to an artists results.Writing my new book has been such a pleasure as all the tips given to me over the years from all over the world are going to be held within the pages and I cannot wait for its release next year.

Everyone who joined in the September Challenge forwarded such amazing paintings and I am thrilled with them all.To share every single one would take far too much time so selecting a few that showed great skill  I thought would be more beneficial.

There are some great tips in all of the above paintings and comments.

Artist Tips

1) When painting from a photograph don't paint just what you see,

2) Choose colours effectively

3) Think about composition

4) Be unique!

I am aiming to write a personal message to everyone who forwarded me a painting because if you took the time to join in I feel it is only fair I should take the time to reply. I also feel, as the standard of work was so high, rushing to choose the winning painting would not do justice to the gorgeous paintings of Bailey that were sent to me.

Again,thank you so much to everyone who sent  me their paintings and I will be sharing my favourite soon!

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The October Challenge of the lion has been set and I have recieved the first of the paintings already! Have fun with it and maybe if you haven't started painting it yet the tips in this blog  entry may inspire you!