Daily Painting, “Eyes to the Sky,” contemporary expressionism dog painting

© Carolee Clark, “Eyes to the Sky,” 10″ x 10″, acrylic

“Eyes to the Sky”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Once again, Katie Johnson, a professional photographer, allowed me to paint from one of her amazing photographs.  This is her gorgeous little boxer named Sprigg.  Click here to go to her blog.  Check out her pet photographs by clicking here.

© Carolee Clark

Daily Painting, “Give Me a Hug,” contemporary painting of a woman and a dog

© Carolee Clark, “Give Me a Hug,” 10″ x 10″, acrylic

“Give Me a Hug”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

The reference photo I used for this painting was from Katie Johnson. Katie does a wide range of superb photography, including some great pet photography.  Check out her blog by clicking here.

Daily Painting, “It Wasn’t Me,” contemporary dog painting

© Carolee Clark, "It Wasn't Me," 10" x 10", acrylic

“It Wasn’t Me”
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$75 + $10 shipping and handling within US

Click here for larger image.

Yesterday, there was an odd email in my box that said, paraphrasing, “seriously, expressionism, not abstract.”  It was only a few words and didn’t mention a particular painting.  I wasn’t sure what to make of it and I wish I could find it now because I know I didn’t delete it, but … it is one of those gems that make you think.  I know that my work is not abstract in the sense of non-objective abstract because there is a clear subject matter, but I have “expressed” it in a very personal way.  Pete @ whatever …… was right.  How does one pigeon hole their artistic expression?

Daily Painting, “On the Watch,” contemporary cat painting

© Carolee Clark, "On the Watch," 10" x 10", acrylic

“On the Watch”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

I haven’t done a DPW challenge in a while, but this one appealed to me.  It is a “Up Close Animal Challenge.”

© Carolee Clark

Daily Painting, “Prim & Proper Pedalling,” contemporary painting of female cyclist with a dog

© Carolee Clark, "Prim & Proper Pedalling," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Prim & Proper Pedalling”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This painting reminds me so much of Mary Poppins!

Daily Painting, “Feeding the Chickens,” contemporary figure painting

© Carolee Clark, "Feeding the Chickens," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Feeding the Chickens”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Katie Johnson, a professional photographer, has once again given me permission to paint from one of her amazing photographs.  How lucky am I?  Click here to go to her blog.

© Carolee Clark, "Feeding the Chickens Sketch," 4" x 4", pen

Daily Painting, “On Equal Footing,” contemporary painting of a woman with a dog

© Carolee Clark, "On Equal Footing," 10" x 10", acrylic

“On Equal Footing”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Daily Painting, “Sherlock,” abstracted basset hound dog painting

© Carolee Clark, "Sherlock," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Sherlock”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Daily Painting, “Will You Share?” farmyard chickens

© Carolee Clark, "Will You Share?" 10" x 10", acrylic

“Will You Share?”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

The reference photograph for this painting was provided by the wonderful professional photographer, Katie Johnson.  She has only had her blog since September 2011 and she already has over 885 followers!  She is showing some wonderful photographs that people (including me), like to see.  Click here for her blog.

© Carolee Clark

Daily Painting, “Preening,” abstracted parrot painting

© Carolee Clark, "Preening," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Preening”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Alisha B. Whitman sent me a photo of this parrot a while back when I asked if anyone had any bird photographs they were willing to let me use for reference material.   Check out her blog as she has a great landscape painting of trees with a super sky posted right now.

I’d love to see your high resolution, small bird photographs if you would give me your permission to paint from them!

© Carolee Clark

Daily Painting, “Best Friends,” dogs playing

© Carolee Clark, "Best Friends," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Best Friends”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Katie Johnson, a professional photographer,  has taken a wildly fun photograph of her dog with some of the puppy’s playmates.  I have taken Katie’s photo (with her permission graciously given) and painted two of the three dogs.  Check  Katie’s photo from which I worked by clicking here. 

These playful friends are boxers (Sprigg on the left and Nyx on the right).  I’ll do the American Bulldog in a later painting.

Daily Painting, “Elaborately Dressed,” abstract bird painting

© Carolee Clark, "Elaborately Dressed," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Elaborately Dressed”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Creative Catalyst (great art instruction videos) has reprinted one of my newsletters in their blog.  If you didn’t receive my January 2012 newsletter and want to see one as an example of how I can go on … click here. 

There is a permanent link on the right side of my blog to the Creative Catalyst home page (see Great Art Instruction Videos).

Daily Painting, “A Quizzical Look,” abstracted dog painting

© Carolee Clark, "A Quizzical Look," 10" x 10", acrylic

“A Quizzical Look”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

The reference photo I used for this painting was from Katie Johnson.  Katie does a wide range of superb photography, including some wonderful abstract images.  Check out her blog by clicking here.

The dog pictured here is a boxer.  Doesn’t she look like she is asking a question?

Daily Painting, “Avian Distinction,” abstracted bird painting

© Carolee Clark, "Avian Distinction," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Avian Distinction”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Daily Painting, “That WasTasty,” abstracted cat painting

© Carolee Clark, "That Was Tasty," 10" x 10", acrylic

“That Was Tasty”     sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Once again, Katie Johnson has given me inspiration to paint.  Her beautiful portrait of her Kitty Grimm is posted today for her “Saturday Silliness” post. 
Check the photo from which I worked by clicking here.  Her cat is a beautiful, graceful black cat which I did try at first to paint elegantly. Then my own Saturday Silliness took over and I changed the painting with a nod to my wild side.  It is definitely more me.  Sorry Katie!

Other news:
I have sent out my quarterly newsletter.  I talked about “Developing Style” and showed some of my work over the last 10 years.  If you would like to sign up for this infrequent newsletter, please do so below.

Subscribe to our newsletter

This is different than signing up to get my daily posts. You will get four newsletters a year with a variety of topics. 

If you want only this newsletter, just email me and I will forward it to you (without signing you up for future ones).

Daily Painting, “I’ve Got Your Back,” contemporary dog painting

© Carolee Clark, "I've Got Your Back," 10" x 10", acrylic

“I’ve Got Your Back”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This is Iris & Sprigg.  Emily Davis took the photo which I thought was absolutely adorable!  How could I pass painting this!

Years ago I remember seeing a magazine advertisement for insurance.  I don’t remember any of the specifics except that it was a little dog next to a big dog with the caption being something about having enough insurance.  I laughed out loud.  I hope that seeing this painting will give you the same pleasure.

All the best to you in the New Year!

Daily Painting, “Knocking About,” contemporary dog painting

© Carolee Clark, "Knocking About," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Knocking About”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

The reference photo I used for this painting was another joyful  animal photograph from Katie Johnson.  Check out her wonderful blog by clicking here.  The dogs pictured here are a Boxer and an Australian Sheperd mix.

The sketch was the third attempt.  It still wasn’t very good, but at least I knew how to position the dogs on the canvas.

© Carolee Clark

Daily Painting, “Say Cheese,” contemporary dog painting

© Carolee Clark, "Say Cheese," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Say Cheese”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This reference photo for this Bernese Mountain Dog was submitted by Alisha B. Whitman.  See her great watercolor painting of the same dog by clicking here!

Daily Painting, “Winged,” contemporary abstracted bird painting

© Carolee Clark, "Winged," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Winged”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$67 + $10 shipping and handling within US

Daily Painting, “Attracting Attention,” abstracted peacock

© Carolee Clark, "Attracting Attention," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Attracting Attention”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

A while back I asked if anyone had some bird photographs they were willing to let me use for reference material for my paintings.  Alisha B. Whitman sent me some “simple” bird photos of peacocks and cranes.  I still might have to try a crane …

Check out Alisha’s beautiful watercolor paintings by clicking here.

Daily Painting, “Come On, Let’s Go!” contemporary Australian Cattle Dog mix

© Carolee Clark, "Come On, Let's Go!", 10" x 10", acrylic

“Come On, Let’s Go!”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

The reference photo I used for this painting was another exquisite photograph from  Katie Johnson.  Check out her pet photographs by clicking here or her wonderful blog by clicking here.

© Carolee Clark

Daily Painting, “Lulu,” contemporary abstracted doll-faced Himalayan cat

© Carolee Clark, "Lulu," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Lulu”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Judy Woodfill sent me a lovely photo of this gorgeous feline with amazing blue eyes.  I hope that I did her justice!  Judy is a quilt artist and you can check out her wonderful work by clicking here.  You can find photos of Lulu on her website as well!

Daily Painting, “All Played Out,” contemporary abstracted dog painting

© Carolee Clark, "All Played Out," 10" x 10", acrylic

“All Played Out”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

The other day I asked if anyone had some high quality photos that I could use as references for my animal paintings.  I was absolutely thrilled when Katie Johnson generously came through for me with many wonderful photographs from which I could choose.  Check out her blog (click here) to see if you can find this gorgeous little boxer.  Here is another of her blogs.

© Carolee Clark

Daily Painting, “Leyla,” contemporary abstracted Belgian Hare painting

© Carolee Clark, "Leyla," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Leyla”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

I enjoy doing these abstracted animal paintings but the only ready subjects I have are cows and cats.  The photo that I worked from for this Belgian Hare was from Matt (I don’t know if he wants his last name mentioned so I won’t add it to protect his privacy).

I’ve been trying to take some more bird photographs without much luck.  I never seem to have my camera when the birds are around, and then if I have my camera, the birds aren’t there!

If you have a good, high resolution photograph of an animal (bird, rabbit, dog …) that you have taken and would give your permission for me to paint, I would love to see it!

 

Daily Painting, “Zed,” contemporary abstracted dog

© Carolee Clark, "Zed," 10" x 10", acrylic

“Zed”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas