I haven’t been doing as much painting as I’d like this year.  How are we already deep into September and I have only had one or two original art sales this year?!  I don’t think there is a simple answer for that, but it’s been a lot of things.  I focused a lot of attention on gardening through the Spring and early summer.  I worked on some behind-the-scenes writing projects that took up a lot of my time.  And this fall has been a tricky season with our high school senior taking all college classes except two.  We’ve had to juggle rides from one school to another throughout the day until he gets his license (which will be happening soon!)  It’s really eaten into my day and I’m trying to fit a full-time job into part-time hours.  I actually said to Jeff the other day that I felt like I have no account for what I’ve been doing the past few months, but I know that’s not true.  Some productivity is instantly available and visible to clients and customers and some needs time to work its way through a process before there’s any noticeable fruit.

But, fall is typically a very productive time for me.  The cooler weather gives me motivation to do more projects outside and the impending holiday season pushes me to get things completed.  As the temperatures drop further, there is less to do outside and I can spend more time at my easel.  But, I still fit a few paintings in here and there and I’m trying to rework my schedule to make painting time daily.  Until I have another original art sale, I thought I would release a few of my favorites as new prints on Society6.

Even though I would consider myself more of a cat person (Sebastian thinks he’s a cat so he’s okay with that), I really enjoy painting dogs.  I specifically love painting bird dogs, pointers, hunting dogs, and other breeds that are classically represented in paintings.  I’ve been working on collecting photos of these breeds so I can paint more.  I think there is something about a dog portrait that is sort of whimsical while also being traditional.  This was a favorite from last fall…

Here is the inspiration photo provided to me by a blog reader…

I put this painting in a lovely old frame, but I didn’t get a picture of it in the frame before it sold!  I can’t believe I didn’t do that.  Here it is leaning against a cabinet with some other works…

I just love what an old frame does to a new piece.  You can find prints of this painting HERE.

I painted this horse last fall as well and decided to keep this painting for my hallway.  I used to rarely keep my original paintings, but I’ve started hanging onto one here and there and I think that speaks to the fact that I am owning the word artist more than I used to.  I used to see it as practice, fumblings, and beginnings, and now I can look at pieces and see them as art.

A follower on Instagram has been so generous in offering photos of his hunting adventures with his friends, horses, and dogs with me as reference photos to paint.  I’ve always loved traditional horse paintings and would like to do more.  Which, by the way, if you have photos of dogs, horses, or rabbits that you would like to share with me to use as a reference, please do!  You can e-mail them to marian@missmustardseed.com.

You can find prints of this painting HERE.

And my most recent painting is of these two adorable rabbits I found on Instagram.  The owner gave me permission to use her photos as references and I love how this one turned out…

The original is already sold, but I’ll be painting more of these two cuties.  I also reached out to a local rabbit farm to see if I could come out to take some pictures one day.

Like horses and dogs, I like the classic nature of painting rabbits and it allows me to paint portraits without offending anyone if I made them look too fat or old or wonky.  Dogs and rabbits just don’t care!

Here is the inspiration photo…

You can find prints of this painting HERE.

Society6 is running a 25% off sale right now, so it’s a good time to snag a canvas, print, or some cards.