Brande Arno Art

5 x 5 inches, Oil on Gessoboard - $ 75. Click to Buy I'm building a website and have been a little behind with my paintings. It has given me time to re-think what I'm doing as an artist.  I'm leaning towards painting larger studio pieces and plein air one day a week.  Nature and I are a good match because plein air painting really soothes me, even though the challenges are much different than studio painting. I'm also thinking of keeping a pen and wash journal sketchbook and draw random things around the house, to include Cooper & Cookie...my special doggies.  So, there should be more variety in my postings. 

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.  

"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...

"Imogene" 4 x 4 inches, Oil on Panel Decided today would be a good day to paint a kitty!

Pellet Portrait, 6 x 6 inches, oil on panel- Collection of Artist The weekly challenge this week for Daily Paintworks is "Paint your Pet"  I decided to paint my beloved cat that passed to kitty heaven last week.  He was named Pellet by my husband.  I wanted to name him roofus so I guess I can't complain. Part of the challenge was to make sure your values are correct by making a black and white of the picture source.  I took it one step forward and made a black & white of my completed painting.  I'm happy with the values that make up Pellet, but could have done a better job with making the towel that he's wrapped up in darker than the background.

Puma Bugatti & Cadence Marine 12 x 12 inch Portrait - Sold OK, well this is the final painting for my niece and she has approved it.  She always wanted them painted together and I gave up after the first two days of failures.  I decided to paint them separately.  Well that didn't work either, so I decided to try again.  After a few tries, I finally got them right. One thing that was new for me with this painting was that I used large brushes.  I think that allowed a freshness in the finished painting.  

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.

This is a 2.5 x 3.5 inch watercolor offered at $6.00 .  You'll see this tomorrow on Daily Paintworks. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/ I am wrapping up my work week finishing computer generated work.  Woke up with another migraine and glad to have finished what I have done today.  Thank God for Furicet and Extra-Strength Excederin.