"Ellie"

"Ellie", oil on 8x10 board

Ellie is a retriever rescue dog Emma and Justin's second dog who lives with Bentley the St Bernard. 
This painting has taken longer than I expected but decided it was finished,
Sent a copy to Emma and Justin who approved it! Emma said " I think her eyes come off as mischievous and playful, while still being innocent.  Which is exactly how she is."
I was more than happy now it has to dry and framed and hopefully we can pay a visit and deliver the two family fur babies!

Babs

"Bentley" the Saint Bernard

"Bentley", oil on 8x10 board

Bentley

This painting is from a photo, we met Bentley in November when visiting relatives, and he came to greet us !

.

He is big boy lots of fur and lovely eyes and he has a best friend a golden retriever. They are both lovely furry creatures who were rescue dogs. They are well mannered happy souls both quiet seeing it was the first we had met them! 

I was happy to know they both found their homes and each other for company.

Having  not painting as often as I would like Bentley was quite a challenge but I think I have managed to do justice, it has inspired me to keep paintina little more often!

Owners are Emma and Justin, Emma is John's Granddaughter now a parents of a lovely baby girl so they have their hands full! 

Babs

"Ready for Halloween"

"Ready for Halloween" oil on 8x8 board

A little pug that belongs to a friend and neighbour close by, he is the cutest well dressed dog in the neighbourhood
this little painting I call all ready for Halloween.
Fun to paint!
Babs

"The Royal Pug"

"Royal Pug" oil on 8x10 board

Our Blog has been very quiet lately,due to unforeseen ailments along with a broken right shoulder, but we have more or less come through all that, and very grateful to be on the mend enough for brushes and paint to be used!

When I saw this little pug all dolled up in his red scarf and looking quite royal it gave me a smile and a little motivation to paint him on 8x10 board in oils. 

I will say I found the red scarf quite a challenge especially the light and shade to make it look silky.

Hopefully I will get back into the groove and looking forward to what might take my fancy for the next subject.

Meantime John is painting but not on canvas,we decided to paint the stairs not a nice job,but, it's coming along slowly and will perk up the hallway for Spring, he is hoping to finish a large picture half done on the easel since last September

Time flies! 

Thanks for the comments it will,speed me along to bigger things! 

Babs

"Princess Pink and Redneck Rich"

"Princess Pink" Oil on 8x10 board

Princess Pink and Redneck Rich.

This American bulldog is part of a young family who happen to be my grandson Mitchell and his partner Courtney they live in the country on 9 acres of land which is ideal for three rambunctious dogs 2 American Bulldogs and Toby a great friendly  water dog,who has his own pond!


Courtney has a  love for her babies and Toby Mitchell's dog. They have a busy life with jobs, nine acres of land 2 trucks one a Ford and the other Courtney's a Chevy.


Even started a business Redneck Rich to add to an interesting mix of a very busy happy life.


They keep us in touch through Instagram pictures which gave me an idea after seeing this picture she posted.I thought it was a good opportunity to paint 'Princess Pink for Courtney
as a surprise, just hope she gets a kick out of it.


Babs

Redneck Rich can be seen here:

http://redneckrich.ca/

Grackle Coffee. and Roots

The owner of the local Coffee shop  had  2  poodle standard type dogs one all white, they found in a ditch some years ago and took him home they named him Frank  the other dog also a rescue was all black both had lots of hair named Roots, they became close friends, there is a little white terrier too in the mix and a cat that lived for 22 years!

Amanda has a high regard for animals,she owns 2 horses one of which has been retired for many years and the other she rides taking the dogs to the Stables so they can run and enjoy the country air.sadly just a couple of weeks ago Frank became ill  and past. I thought I would update Roots little painting as a surprise. .

There is nothing sadder when a pet dies and hopefully Roots will have many happy dreams of his mate Frank jumping over fallen logs and scampering in the fields. see the movie here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuSKEVUAZQk&feature=youtu.be

Roots picture is of him relaxing he is the most sweet &friendly dog and loves a good pet patrons at the cafe like to give him some attention when he's around. 

Painting Roots was fun I could see many colours in his fur from reflections. He seems to be winking in his picture not able to see his eye due to so much hair! 

He has now had his spring/ Summer Salon Cut recently and probably looks very different maybe pop in and see him sometime. I borrowed his picture from Facebook . https://www.facebook.com/GrackleCoffee

Babs

Crafty Christmas!

The Wood work being admired by Woodie

The Arts and Crafts member of our family Darryl, has just finished his Christmas piece for this year.
He really loves working with wood of any kind  including furniture, but his specific trade mark ,  is display pieces for all the holidays which are always done to perfection and the detailed painting of the figures shows how much he enjoys his work.

Woodie, the dog,  keeps him company too.

Of  course  living in the Country with farms all around us a John Deere piece of equipment is a priority for the Season. 

Good Stuff,  just to get us feeling Christmas is around the corner.

Winsong Farm, again!

Two horses enjoying a beautiful November day

Yesterday we visited Winsong farm to deliver a finished painting of Zelador the beautiful white horse. The day was gorgeous, all sunny and bright after the cold, snow and rain of the previous week.

Winnie has a new passion, she is training her dog "Trooper" who is of the vizsla breed, to do similar tricks to

Trooper

what she has taught the horses.

Trooper is a lovely animal, full of fun and excitement, doing his tricks with great speed to get to the treat.

With his favourite toy, the Bell

Before Troopers tricks we met Bill riding Zeloso, the
half brother of Zelador, and he seemed keen to meet us.

Zeloso

We were very thrilled also that Winnie gave us a small Sculpture of Zelador sitting on a cushion, which is now on display.
The sculpture was made by Ann Clifford

"Ty" a family dog

"Ty" oil on 11x14 board

Wendy of Onice Farms wrote:
"This is his end of the day look. Ty is an energetic Border Collie who loves life. I have had dogs my whole life and can honestly say he is the best dog I have ever owned. His loyal character and friendly personality make him very special. I look forward to coming home from work everyday because I know he will be waiting for me. He gets down on the ground and gives me the look you see in the photo. I think he's saying "What took you so long" To have a dog like Ty is the best feeling in the world. My heart melts when I'm away from him for to long. He will be 2 on Feb 8 2014. He is considered to be our Family dog but I think it's quite obvious who he loves the most ( Me.... The one who feeds him)   Good luck with your painting and thanks for doing this     Wendy"

A painting of a well loved young Border Collie "Ty". hope you like it Wendy?!

Babs

Study of Dee Dee

"Dee Dee" oil on 8x10 board

Study of Dee Dee

I decided to paint a study of DeeDee from a photo, I liked her steady gaze into the distance. I believe she must be black as I found magenta,ultramarine blue and browns in her.

At a later date I would like to paint her larger, it was interesting working with a dry brush blending the colours her coat looks sleek and shiny, I think she's lovely.

Babs

"Tribble" the Sleepy Dog

"Tribble" oil on 11x14 board

Palgrave  Eventing  August  10 th

A quick decision to have a day out and we watched the goings on of horse and riders going over the jumps. It was a lovely sunny day and we were ambling around the event John taking pictures. When we spotted this little dog sitting in a Golf cart, it seemed  concentrating on the horses and taking it all in probably working out the Points,
I loved this little scrap of humanity he looked like a friendly Tribble from Star Trek
Babs

"Willow" Smile for Me!

"Willow" Oil on 8x10 board

I met Willow a lovely lab at our Local Potters Studio last year, I had decided to work on some pots for fun. Holly, the potter, would let Willow come into the studio and after some attention to us Students she would settle on her bed in a corner of the room, dozing as she listened to us girls chatting away quite content.

I loved her colour and her enthusiasm, bright button eyes just sparkling and full of fun.

It went through my mind I would like to try and paint her if I ever got the chance. That came when I asked Holly if I could have some pictures of her horse Sequoia, Wanting to get a close up of her for painting or
practice painting her.

We managed to pick a bright sunny morning and met Holly at the Stables, as it turned out Holly, Willow and Sequoia were already out in the sunshine. Willow gave us a great welcome,as Labs do, then off she went for her morning run around.

John took pictures of Sequoia and then had the opportunity to catch Willow just right. So I was happy with our trip going home with some good pictures.

I have a Favourite site a couple who live in Wales making a super job of their work painting animals very realistically. Pet Portraits by Melanie & Nick.

My paintings have a long way to go but, I would love to achieve a similar style. Willow's painting is far from looking "like" it seems. We all have our own style of a painting,

Willow's coat was interesting to work on the more I looked the more subtle colour came through. lavender grey, tones of sienna mixed with white and yellow ochre. generally I think there is a good likeness, I have to practice squinting and recognizing subtlety of lights and darks. It never ends!

The more you know the more you realize the process is never ending. It must be a passion !

Babs

Charlie & Woody

"Woody & Charlie" 11x14 oil on board

Charlie chocolate lab and Woody English lab.

I had painted a picture some years ago of these two boys when Woody had just joined the family. We were amazed that Charlie was obviously quite happy to befriend little Woody and this was the result. Since of course little Woody has fully grown and his personality is vastly different from Charlie who is of the more nervous variety and not fond of water, while Woody is always carrying his ball as soon as he hits the grass he's ready for a play for hours if that was possible. Charlie however is quite content to sit by anyone and watch the goings on.

The reason I have worked on this second painting was to to see the difference of style and Hopefully increased ability of Painting. I know I am tooting my own horn but, the family have awarded me encouragement to keep my practice up.

That's a good sign I think!

Babs

What's her Problem?

"What's her problem" oil on 11 x14 panel

Black and white dogs.

I have had this photo for a long time and just thought it was about time I should try painting in black and white. I like the composition and feel a lot of expression are coming from the puppies.

Just caught in a moment it looks as though Lola is having a good laugh and her mate looking on quizzically as if to say 'what are you laughing at'?

The painting went reasonably well but, I missed the colour hoping
the background isn't too fussy spoiling the picture.

Babs

Millie the Orchard Keeper.

"Millie" oil on 6x6 board

Pine farm Orchard and Millie the grounds keeper.

She was 14 years old Millie was a feature of the local apple orchard, she would make her way down the hill where she lived and be looking forward to seeing us Apple pickers drive in for the weekly treat picking or popping in for tea and buying a bag of apples already for us to take home.

As we got out of the car she would toddle towards us for a pat and leave to greet the next car coming in to do the same, she loved to lie in the sun close by to watch people and enjoy her day.

She passed away last week leaving a saddened family and many patrons like us who will miss her greeting and funny little walk.

She did her job so well!

Pine Farm Orchard in Spring By John Bradbury oil on 16x20 canvas

I painted a picture of Millie around Thanksgiving, amongst the pumpkins she fit in well with the colour at the time. So this little canvas will be going to the owners of a well loved pet for happy memories of her time with Pine Farm Orchard.

Thanks Millie for your company!
Babs

Pine Farm Orchard

Pit Bull Commission

"Pit bull" oil on 8x10 board

This lass was a rescue who had a bit of a bad time, until her happy day of finding a special person who loved her very much.

The dog became a very kind,gentle pet. Unfortunately she died about three months ago and is very sadly missed. It's good to know she had some time loved and cared for before the end.

Pit bulls are sadly maligned and thought of as savage through no fault of their own. All pets no matter what breed need love and attention and give back 100% back to their owner. Some get lucky and dogs lovers are grateful having rescued a pet turning out to be a faithful companion.

O K Pit bulls aren't exactly pretty it's what's inside that counts!

Thanks to all the Rescue agencies who give their time to and energy to help abandoned creatures a donation will be sent to help to one of them.

This painting was a bit of a challenge, a white dog with wide spaced eyes that must have had the photo taken in a darkened room although I could see unusual colours coming from her coat probably from the flash of the photo.

Babs

Let Sleeping Dogs lie!

Sleeping Westie oil on 8x10 board

He's a bag of energy all day but certainly takes his nap seriously.
Babs

Red Setter

"Red Setter" oil on 8x10 board

Red Setters, especially this one, have beautiful colouring, a mish-mash of red tones that to me are very appealing. 

The eyes desperately want to "get on with it!". 

I couldn't resist painting him against the blue blanket he seems to be enjoying.
Babs

Watercolor - Painting or Paining?

For Christmas we were given an unexpected gift, a set of watercolour paint!

We have both talked about water colour painting on an off for a while, and here we were with no excuses and decided to try them as soon as we could..

Having all the equipment necessary to start a few days ago we got down to business and worked on our first project I picked some roses. and came up with this:

I am so used to painting with oil paint and realized trying this new medium is certainly a very different technique from what I am used to. I found the paint thinning to hardly a colour and building the petals slowly hardly using the brush and waiting for parts to almost dry before applying similar colour to mix into the petal.

Next my favourite subject, a doggy:

I realized you have to have a different mind set from painting with oil. I managed after a fashion to complete the picture but knew by the end of it my patience had been slowly draining and concentration certainly giving me a hard time. I thought it would be a good idea to show the work I did, but, now at least if I decide to continue, like anything you want to do when it comes to creativity is practice,
Practice ,practice so hopefully watch this space !!

Babs




I tried using watercolours about 8 years ago and after much splashing came up with this:

Last week I used a photo of some hollyhocks resulting in this:













And today a photo of a water-lily led to this:

Watercolour paints are so different than oils it is like learning another language, You have to rely on the paper colour to capture white, it is impossible to predict the results when painting wet on wet. But somehow the process is quite relaxing.
I suggest if you meet anyone who paints with watercolour bow your head and give due respect.

John