Brande Arno Art

8 x 8 inches, Oil on Gessoboard A few weeks ago, while driving from point A to point B,  I was blessed by a stunning view of a field of simple wildflowers.  Perhaps it was the contrast of the rich dark woods behind the field, or maybe it was the aged texture of the fence posts, or maybe the vast amount of Queen Anne's Lace reminded me of early snow.   I pulled over and took a few pictures. Today, I composed this painting from the pictures.  The composition is simple, but the rich contrast, the aged fence posts and the snow blanket of Queen Anne's Lace all live peacefully in this painting.  

"Snacks and Spots" 5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board Another of my favorite subjects to paint.  The photo reference was completely a side view and for a challenge, I moved her head a bit to the side.  I've observed these ladies enough to give it a try.

"Baby's Nap" 6 x 6 inches, Oil on Panel - $ 70. Click to Purchase  It's amazing to me how much little lambs look like a plush toy.  You just want to scoop them up and give them a teddy-bear hug.  There only competition for cuteness is a fat-bellied puppy or kitten.  

"Rule of Three" 6 x 6 inches, Oil on Panel with Palette Knife S old, Thank you. The inspiration for this painting is from a fairly new sheep farm that is about 2 miles from where I live.  I asked the owners if I could take photos and found  they also  have goats and chickens, all of which got their pictures taken by me. These are lucky animals as their owners keep them and the barn very, very clean and the field they graze has fresh tender green grass.  

"Eleanor" 6 x 6 inches, Oil on Panel Click to Bid Eleanor is one of a herd of beef cows on Post Road in Seneca, NY.  She is a Mommy of a brown and white calf who is adorable.  You'll have to take my word for it or scroll down to the previous painting on this blog to see her baby.  These cows kept me memorized for hours during the recent Billsboro Plein Air Festival.  We were almost on a first name basis!

Westfield Shack, 6 x 6 inches, Oil on Board Click here to Bid Yesterday, I took a few of my paintings to Portage Hill Gallery.   www.portagehillgallery.com On the way back, I snapped a few photos for future paintings.  This painting is the result of one of those photos.  

6 x 6 inches, Oil on Board Click to Bid This little lady had her picture taken by me yesterday.  I went on a field trip hoping to see some brand new lambs but I guess I'm too early.  I don't know who wants their birth more...me or the great with lamb ewe. About 30 miles away from my home is a lamb farm of 100 ewes or more.  Every one of them were inside the barn.  So pretty soon.

6 x 6 inches, Oil on Board  $ 40.   Click to Buy Now This piece is inspired by the Daily Paintworks weekly challenge.  A photo was included to use as a reference of a beautiful field of either Lavender or Purple Larkspur.  Not sure, but purple is probably my most favorite color for flowers.  I especially love purple Iris.  Here in NY, it's not snowing, but Spring is slow to arrive.  Nice to make a painting of the elusive Spring.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board My granddaughter's visit for winter break is nearing the end and we are both sad.  She had to do some homework today and that was a good time for me to log in some studio time.  She hates to do homework (what kid does) so I set her up with cocoa, ice water, cookies and caramels.  This set of shacks are just off one of the main roads leading to Syracuse, NY 

6 x 6 inches, Oil on Board This is actually an adjustment to an older piece.  I repainted the piece adjusting the clouds and sharpening the vineyard part of the painting.  You might think what if this sheep decides to move to the grapes, well most vineyards are protected by wire fences and if you look real hard, they're are in the painting too.    I've posted the older piece below: Cotton Balls, 6 x 6 inches

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board A cute trio of white sheep doing what they do best...mowing the lawn.  I've told my husband more than once all we need is either a dairy cow or a few sheep to replace the gas mower.  While were at it, lets get a half dozen of Rhode Island Reds to de-bug our gardens and get eggs.  And let's get a couple of white ducks to attack the slugs and get a donkey for guard duty.   Well even if he said yes, my neighbors would say NO!  So I'll paint my farm instead.

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board For Auction at www.dailypaintworks.com This painting is inspired from musing through one of my many sketchbooks.  I do live in a semi-rural area with more than a few Horse stables.  My way of sketching animals in a field is to make a quick gesture and then wait for the horse to go back into that same pose.  Generally animals do repeat poses as they graze.  When I get the horse pose roughed in, then I build up the muscles.  I can do this by just observing the horse in whatever pose it's in.  Lastly, I put in a simplified background.  The horse in the background of the painting was what many artists call "happy accidents" and it certainly brings the viewer's eye right back to the center of interest, the main horse   See the sketchbooks all lined up in the back?  They are just the recent ones. Here, you can see real quick thumbnails the side of the actual sketch.  With the resulting pa...

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Board Today's painting is inspired by an older pencil drawing sketchbook.  Although I don't remember the exact location, I do know it is in the county I live in which is Ontario, NY.  Because I was using a pencil sketch reference, I could take quite a bit of artist license with the palette...which is always enjoyable for me.

Lefty & Mugsie 4 x 4 inches, Oil on Board I couldn't resist the naming these two little sheep this title. I took the back way home from an appointment today and on Parrish Road I noticed a small herd of sheep, most of which had the fluffy backsides, but I managed to burn into my brain the exact pair of sheep and decided they had to be painted as soon as I got home.   The resulting painting shown here did have some challenges is the area where lighting was starting to wain because clouds were moving that had thick and deep grayish bellies in the clouds. and this results in cooler light.and warmer shadows,  I am please with the outcome. It will be up for auction on DPW.  Please click on the link.  Thank you  and GOD bless you with a great nite sleep.  I know I'm getting sleepy listening to the debates,,. Bob  Bates is doing a great job with controlling stumping   o

"Cow Bossie" Sold 6 x 6 inches, Oil on Board This is from a photo I snapped on the way back from an errand a few days ago.  The cow in this painting was, in real life, standing behind a few bovine ladies that were lounging.  I tried to include one of them when I started this piece, but found I had to scrape that attempt away.     Scraping away hours of work never gets easier and I should have learned by now to scrape sooner instead of later.   I'm going to try my hand at painting a whimsical purple Cheetah for my granddaughter's 13th birthday.