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.  

8 x 8 inches, Oil on Gessoboard- Sold There is something good and wholesome to work a field and harvest hay and wheat.  Humans get sustenance from the bread made with wheat.  Farmers feed the hay to horses and other barn animals.  I remember working the field on a wagon behind the baling machine. Pulling up the fresh bales and dragging them behind me, so the adult could lift and stack them in rows.  Good hard work that gave me an appetite.  I was a skinny kid, so having an appetite for supper was a rare occurrence. I painted this field with the bales nestled in, still part of the field.  I drove by the field recently and the bales are gone.  Stubble of hay remain with the job to protect and feed the soil during our winter season.  And in March, while it is still cold enough to keep me inside, the farmer of this field will be turning the stubble back into the ground. The soil will be laid bare and warmed to make ready for the spring so...

8 x 8 inches, Oil on Gessoboard -NFS There is a lot of imagination in this piece as the most of it is memory painting.  I let the painting take me in a direction I usually don't go with colors.  I enjoyed every minute of painting today and I highly recommend the practice of memory/imagination painting to my artist buddies.

8 x 8 inches, Oil on Gessoboard $ 150. Click to buy The other day, my doggy, Cookie was growling at the window, which caused me to look.  I saw a sweet young deer that I think is a yearling.  All alone and beautiful.  Then I remembered I took the cover off my strawberry bed.  So I snapped a few pictures and dashed out the door.  I knew the deer would run and it did, but I rescued my berries. Today's painting is inspired from one of my photos.

8 x 8 inches, oil on panel - NFS I'd like to introduce you to McLovin, who I like to call The King of Hunters Ridge. (Street I live on)  He is a royal feline.  He fears no leashed dog and he owns the pavement.   A few weeks ago, I spied him in this very pose.  I grabbed my phone and snapped a few pictures knowing a painting would be in the future. McLovin is a multi-tasker as he accomplished more than just sunbathing that day.  He not only was sunbathing, but did it in the middle of the road, proving he owns it.   But being the royal feline that he is, he picked the road in front of my house...driving my two dogs inside crazy.  

8 x 8 Inches, Oil on Panel Mother's day, 2015 was quite meaningful for me as my daughter and granddaughter made a 4 hour trip to visit. When you live more than a fews hours away from family, warmth fills the heart when you're in each other's company. My mom, who will be 87 next month, lives with me and my husband. How blessed we were to have four generations present at the table. My daughter carried in roses. Beautiful roses, a dozen each of coral and magenta. As I put them to water in vases, I was being bit hard by the inspiration bug. I bided my time. I generally have common sense when it comes to barking up the wrong tree, but not when it comes to painting florals. I say this because I always have problems when painting florals and roses in particular. Over the years, struggles and trials at the easel have resulted in resolve to accept what I can do in the "roses" department. I like the outcome of "Mother's Day Roses" it's j...

"Amare" 8 x 8 inches, Oil on Gessoboard Sold - Thank you. Amare is finally finished. Me to Amare's pet mom: "Oh what a beautiful cat!  I've never seen a cat like yours...I just have to paint him" That came right out of my mouth just as I was thinking it. Amare is a beautiful cat, but painting his portrait, even with great photography would not be easy for two reasons: 1.  He's all black and therefore very hard to see and paint enough contrast to show his bone structure. 2.  He has very thick and long fur, which creates the same problem for seeing bone structure. All you artists reading this know just how hard it is to paint "form" when you can't see cast shadows or enough of a value range.  Items look flat.  Deep down inside my artist soul, I was up for a challenge.  I was challenged.  The Amare muse and me wrestled for almost three days to include scraping off  and trying another time more than once.  I think I got...

"Blue Jay No. 2" 8 x 8 inches, Oil on Gessoboard Buy with Paypal I've been enjoying a visit from my granddaughter, Corina.  Between being a grandma and getting ready for my only outdoor art festival  "The Clothesline Art Festival" I  haven't had much time at the easel.  But this past Saturday my daughter, Amy did and in my studio too.  From her Saturday session:    She has not painted in oil before and  although she has talent, she is in the throes of a stellar Military career and between that and raising my teenage granddaughter, doesn't have time to paint.  So this is a very exceptional outcome and I'm a proud mom.

"July's Daisies" 8 x 8 inches, Oil on Board  $ 120.   Click to Buy I've been working at creating this painting longer than I thought.  Florals are deceptively difficult to capture in paint.  I'm sure if I painted more flowers, I'd have a better plan of attack.  Anyway, the daisies are from my daisy patch, which is bursting with blooms.  

"A spotted Foul", 8 x 8 inches, Oil on Panel- Sold I got inspired to paint a goose today.  Years ago, I took some pictures while plein air painting of some bad-boy geese.  They were being bad because they stole small bags of feed packaged to sell so children could feed to the ducks.  They walked right up and helped themselves.  Although there was witnesses, no one was able to stop the crime.  I remember those geese were using their honkers to clear the crowd. I've read that Geese make good guard dogs.  I guess I agree.  But this little fella is a very well mannered goose.  That's because he's a painting.

"Thomas Iguanas" 8 x 8 inches, Oil on Panel OK, I couldn't resist two things today.  First was painting this iguana.  Second is his name.  Those of you who took religions of the world in college know the pun. The photo source for this guy comes from my daughter's facebook postings.  She is currently honeymooning in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and has spied more than one iguana on the beach.  I couldn't get this guy off my mind this morning.   I felt that I HAD to paint him today.  I felt so inspired that I took in process pictures and they are on my facebook.   Click here to see . My dogs, Cooper & Cookie desperately need grooming, but I guess that will wait for another day.   

Question:  How do you take your eggs?  Answer:  Anyway but on my face! Oh -I had egg on my face right after I found out that Puma is a female feline, not a king of the jungle.   My niece was very gracious about the assumption on my part, that Puma Bagatti had to be a name for the king of the jungle or at the very least, the king of her apartment.  So I got back to work this morning giving Puma the eyes she should have had yesterday.  I did a little more work on her ears, whiskers and collar.  She looks like the princess of the house that she is.  Unfortunately for  Puma, she shares her kingdom with another feline princess, Cadence Marine.      

Puma Bagatti, 8 x 8 inches oil on board, sold Puma is my niece's kitty and more than a month ago, she commissioned me to paint him.  I think I captured the attitude of most cats with this portrait.  They are so the kings of their life.  Maybe it's that Puma doesn't like Mondays.   In process photos are posted on facebook.