A Fun Perspective

I have transferred the pencil sketch from the last post…here  to watercolor paper and I am thoroughly enjoying working on this painting. It's such a fun perspective of a really great mare who happens to love Peeps. This is the Peeps face!

WIP #1

First and lightest glaze

WIP 2

Pushing some of the darks and some detail. When I start adding the darks the light just starts to appear out of nowhere!

Holiday Gift Ideas From Deborah Bollman Studio

Give the Gift of Art!

     Although it is to late to commission a painting in time for holiday gift giving you can still give the gift of art! I have a nice inventory of horse, dog and NFL Football themed artwork and reproductions available. Here are some offerings! And if you would like to give a holiday portrait of a beloved horse dog or NFL player from your own photo, you can order a gift certificate for holiday gift giving and the recipient can be involved in the process of creating a treasured heirloom. Drop me and email at Deborah@DeborahBollman.com if you have an interest!

Thanks for looking!

Deborah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunsoaked

I love the thrill and action of showjumping and tried to capture that in this painting. This painting depicts a jumper in the warm Florida sun of the winter circuit! I tried to capture that wonderful clear light. I think I have accomplished what I have set out to do! This is a reproduction of the acrylic original.

This  is an 8 x 10 new, giclee reproduction.This image is printed on a 100% acid- free, archival quality, fine art paper and printed with archival inks. It comes packaged in a protective,acid free cello bag with backing board.  $35.00 includes Priority Mail shipping!

To Purchase Sunsoaked

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baroque

The Baroque horse is a thing of beauty. I do adore the baroque breeds and love to paint them. One of my most popular prints. This is a reproduction of the acrylic original.

This is an 8 x 10 new, giclee reproduction.This image is printed on a 100% acid- free, archival quality, fine art paper and printed with archival inks. It comes packaged in a protective, acid free cello bag with backing board. 

To Purchase Baroque 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Set of 3 Daily Riding Essential Giclee Reproductions


This is really fun set of prints that would look really great in a tack room or farm office! A bath bucket and scraper, mane comb and a leather back German body brush.  These are giclee reproductions of the acrylic originals. Each 5 x 7 image is printed on 10 x 8, 100% acid- free, archival quality, fine art paper and printed with archival inks. It comes packaged in a protective, acid free cello bag with backing board.

$60 for the set of three.
I have one set left!
Plus $6.95 for Priority Mail Shipping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Set of 2 ORIGINAL Daily Essential Paintings

Hoof Pick 2 (6 x 8) and Show Sheen (8 x 6) are very familiar items in the tack box. These two little s a really fun paintings make a great grouping for a tack room of farm office! Fun! These are ORIGINAL acrylic paintings on canvas board.

Price for both is $60. 

Price includes Priority Mail Shipping.

Click To Purchase

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This little Border Collie painting is titled What About Me? It depicts my most favorite breed of dog. This one really, really wants to come out to play but can't reach the latch! :)

 This  5 x 7 image is printed on 10x 8, 100% acid- free, archival quality, fine art paper and printed with archival inks. It comes packaged in a protective, acid free cello bag with backing board. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doberman Joy

Doberman Joy captures the unbridled enthusiasm of a red Doberman. 

This is one of my most popular canine prints!

This is an 8 x 10 new, giclee reproduction.This image is printed on a 100% acid- free, 

archival quality, fine art paper and printed with archival inks. It comes packaged 

in a protective, acid free cello bag with backing board. 

$25.00 plus $6.95 Priority Mail Shipping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And for the 

NY Giants fan!

Running For Glory

I just love the excitement of football and those game changing moments. I painted this one in one go. And as usually happens the paintings that get done in one day are usually my favorites. They tend my own urgency in capturing a fleeting emotion. I had this wonderful comment on this painting- "Brilliant! It's seething with power. I think you captured the anonymous brutality of the game. Whether you were going for that I don't know. But it's in there." I couldn't have said it better!

Running For Glory was a finalist in the January FASO Bold Brush Painting Competition!

This is a giclee reproduction of the watercolor original. $35 includes Priority mail Shipping.

To Purchase Running For Glory Reproduction

The ORIGINAL is available HERE 
As well as a large selection of Football Original Artwork!

Horse Work In Progress

     I currently have six paintings going right now It's amazing what feeling inspired will do for you! Three of them are horses and since you have asked here is a Work in Progress of one of them. I won't be divulging the name or final of this boy until it goes to it's new home. 

Step #1

    The sketch. I did several variations on the sketch and I like the composition of this one the best. I'm using Arches 300 lb Hot Press with a very smooth, bright white paper and is probably one of favorites because it is very suited for the way I like to work. This piece measure 14 x 11.

©Deborah Bollman
www.DeborahBollman.com

Step #2  

     Laying down the lightest glazes first and saving the white of the paper.

©Deborah Bollman
www.DeborahBollman.com

Step #3

     Starting to lay in the darks and modeling the musculature. As soon as I start adding some of the darkest darks the light seem to appear from nowhere. 

©Deborah Bollman
www.DeborahBollman.com

 Be sure to follow my blog or sign up for my newsletter for studio updates!

Newsletter Sign Up

Holiday Portrait Gift Commissions

     THe holidays are right around the corner! Time to start thinking about commissioning those holiday portraits. I've already have a few spots spots booked! If you are thinking of giving the gift of a horse, dog or NFL football portrait/painting, please, don't hesitate to contact me. The process is super easy to get started! For more info drop me an email at deborah@deborahbollman.com

©DeborahBollman
Luke, Watercolor, SOLD

©Deborah Bollman
Running For Glory, WatercolorAvailable
FASO Bold Brush Top 15%

Have an amazing day!

Deborah

Children's Art Classes & Showjumper WIP 5

     I have been preparing for the See/Hear Virtual Art Exhibit that will be held at the John Kane House on E. Main Street, Pawling, New York on September 18th. See/Hear, a virtual gallery where artists digitally display and discuss their artwork in a fun and fast paced slide show format.
At the end of our presentation there will be a question and answer session with the artists. Refreshments will be catered by Chef Paul Rubin of Dutch Oven.
Feel free to share with family and friends! The Showjumping WIP that I have been posting here and on Facebook will be part of my presentation and the actual painting, beautifully matted and framed, will be available for viewing.

Here is the latest update on the Showjumper. The background is not blue it is actually white. I am just about finished with this. I added some more glazes to the eye and started the bridle. The bridle is simply a sweep of the brush. I did a bit of lifting and a few more light glazes of color. The last step is finishing up the eye and around the ears, paintings the boots, hooves and jump standards and then of course I will add my drips and dribbles of paint! :-) Getting into the final details is probably my favorite part of painting.
     Showjumper is still untitled. Name suggestions are welcome! Just leave your idea in the comments section!

Children's Art Classes Forming in Patterson, NY

    Classes are now forming for children's art classes at the Front Street Gallery in Patterson, NY. For more information, please, add your name to the mailing list below  or contact the gallery directly at (845) 490-4542


Have a great day!

Deborah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deborah O'Sullivan Art
Epona Studio
Website
Facebook

join our mailing list

* indicates required

email address *

Email Format

• html
• text
• mobile

Close

Showjumper WIP #4

     I headed out of dodge with my dog for a few hours today to recharge my batteries. We went for a hike to a favorite spot where I never run into anybody. I've been feeling a bit burned out the past few days with so much going on with my studio, my son and summer activities. Then it was back to the studio and I had several uninterrupted hours of painting.
    So here is where I left off. After this dries I'll put more time into this later this evening. This painting is a watercolor and the support is a full sheet of Arches Hot Press 300lb paper. For those of you who missed the previous posts see my earlier blog posts for photos of the progression of this piece. I am really getting in there with the darks. I am using a really strong mix of alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna. The pigments are not thoroughly mixed on the palette .  Instead I charge a large squirrel mop and really load the brush so the colors can mingle on the paper. This prevents the darks from becoming flat and dull.
I am really careful to keep a lot of soft edges at this point by wetting and softening with a brush any hard lines that appear. I save most of the hard edges for the final details or any place I want to place emphasis.

    The eye is now getting it's initial glazes. I start by working wet on wet. This keeps soft edges as I start to describe the shape of the eye and ears and find the expression. In addition the values around the muzzle and nostril have been increased. As I push the darks the initial lightest glazes start to take on a very cool glow. This is the part I love about watercolor.

k

Stay tuned! This is coming down to the finish!  You can click on any of these mages to get an enlarged view.

Deborah O'Sullivan Art
Epona Studio
Website
Facebook

Showjumper WIP #3 & Children's Art Classes

 Showjumper WIP #3

   Today's post is the latest update on the Showjumper WIP (Work In Progress) . I have to admit I approached this last night with a LOT of trepidation! I am liking it so far and watercolor is not very forgiving.  I got into the zone working n this stage where I  just lost track of time. I love it when that happens

    My original plan had been to  do the eye and get rid of the creepy-mask-horse and just get some life into the piece.  I can paint eyes in my sleep.  But... because I was afraid to get in there with some darks I knew that THAT was where I needed to start.  I got a lot further then I had planned and when I took a break a breathed a sigh of relief! I haven't killed it yet!

When I  lay down the glazes in a piece by looking for different shapes  I can get away from fussy details because  the viewers eye fills in the rest of the information. I do like to use unorthodox colors in my horses and  even though I ramp up the saturation in the initial glazes I will go over all of it with a light uniform glaze of ,say, Burnt Umber to pull it all together.

You can get a larger view of the image by clicking on it.

Watercolor Classes For Kids

My children's watercolor art classes are a go! Starting in September I will be teaching art classes at the Front Street Gallery in Patterson, NY. I will offering 6 week courses  for homeschoolers during the school day  and after school classes for children attending public school

We will cover basic techniques, such as getting to know our materials, wet on wet, wet on dry, finding basic shapes, basic color mixing and color value. We will then jump in and explore the fun world of watercolor. Students will work from still life and photograph reference material.

If you have an interest or would like to sign up , please, add your name to the mailing list for information and updates.

join our mailing list

* indicates required

deborah@deborahosullivan.com *

Email Format

• html
• text
• mobile

Close

Life Goes On

      I have been getting  emails from so many of you these past few months and I just want to express how much I appreciate the support from each and every one of you. It means a lot to to me to know that there are so many people sending me good mojo! I am doing really well.  This divorce has been coming on for a long time and I am in that place now where I am n ot even looking back. No regrets, no sorrow.  I don't feel anything anymore. It is not numb. Already went there. Not anger. Already did that. I am not.....well.......anything. I believe the word I am looking for is apathetic. Let me put on my Google fingers and look that up.... yup ...indifference. The opposite of love... for me.. would be indifference.  It is a great place for me to be with this. I am happy and I have an incredible sense of relief and freedom.
    My little boy is having a harder time of it lately and he so anxious to move to our new place. So keep sending him those virtual hugs.

Our moving date is coming up quickly and I am still looking for other sources of income. My art is selling well but I can't live soley on my art income yet. "Yet" being the operative word.  I'll get there! I do have a few really good possibilities in the works. I think I would also like to teach some riding lessons again. So all of my horsey friends..if you know of anything...Please, send it my way!  But I am open to any and all offers of any kind either locally or online. If you know of anything email me deborah@deborahosullivan.com  I want to be able to completely support myself and my son asap.

So what does this have to do with art, horses or dogs? Well, my state of being has everything to do with what I create My art is becoming more spontaneous. I am having having fun painting again. My art is one of the ways I express myself and in that way my art helps define who I am.  You can always tell what kind of mood Deborah is in by what flies off the brush! I am increasing drawn to just working in watercolors now and painting the light. That elusive search for the light! It is so beautiful when you get it right.

This quick, little sketch is titled Pat's Rooster. Watercolor, 5 x 5 on Arches 30 lb Hot Press paper. This painting is heading off tomorrow to it's new home. Til next time ..have a great one!

Deborah

Dressage Horse Watercolor, Dogs & Landscapes

I have to apologize for my blogging lapses. My little Apple laptop is not recovering from it's kernal panic attacks. I loose everything that I am working on when it crashes. There will be a new laptop in my future.
Art show deadlines have been keeping me busy and I have several pieces that I am completing. I have about 6 paintings I am working on plus a daily plein air. So I am busy, busy, busy again. I am going to be doing a little studio sale on Ebay in the next week so keep an eye out. I'll post info here and I will send out the info in a newsletter. You can have the latest info delivered right to your mailbox. Sign up here... Newsletter
The above image is a fun piece that I am working on. I am playing with this one and seeing where the water and pigment takes me when I push it around the paper. The eyes are in the initial glazing stage so they have a scarey mask-like appearance. It still amazes me how these paintings develop with each glaze. Sometimes I think they will never work out and then all of a sudden they start to throw a shape. This is painted on a quarter sheet (14 x 10 1/2) on Arches 300 lb, hot press paper. This is a super heavy, thick paper with a lovely smooth feel. Just wonderful for pushing paint around.

Still on the easel in my Newfoundland puppy. Starting to push those darks now. She is in the very blue stage! Many of my black dogs start out this way! Getting there!

Since the computer seems to be cooperating I will go ahead and post 2 plein airs that I did. En Plein Air means that they were painted on the spot and not from photos.
The first is a painting of our barn done from the driveway from our house. It was SUPER cold out and the painting water was icing up! But I did get to use my new Cheap Joe's Field Easel! This is a 7 x 10.

This second one is quite large. It meaures 14 x 12 (or there about) and was painted during a break when we had torrential rains that washed away the snow! This is a tree that sits next to my driveway. There is something about this one that I really like.


I don't want to push my luck and have a computer melt down! So signing off here! As always your comments are always appreciated! Have a great day!

Deborah

Last Commission Completed!

 I have been so busy painting, packing and delivering artwork that my blog writing has suffered terribly. I have finally finished my last commissioned holiday gift. This should reach it's destination before Christmas. I cannot post images of the latest portraits just yet. Don't want to ruin any surprises! After I deliver several packages to the post office I can take a deep breath and take some time to enjoy the holidays! I am also looking forward to hitting my watercolors again. All of the portraits have been done in acrylics. While I certainly do enjoy this medium I have to say that watercolors are my favorite!
 
On that note I have some plans for some wonderful new horse art.  Be sure to sign up for my newsletter for updates! Newsletter

I need to build up my inventory again as I have sold most of my original equine paintings over the past three months.  I want to welcome my new patrons! I am delighted that my work has touched you all.....


Reproductions are still available of my most popular images. I have had many, many requests for large format reproductions of Collection and Connection. I have set up an account with Imagekind to pruce these for me. You can order straight through them. I recommend you select the Ultrasmooth Fine Art Paper or the Somersett Velvet. You can select the paper by clicking on Customize rather than Add to cart. These two images have a lot of impact! So here you go guys! Enjoy! To order go to to http://Aquarelle.imagekind.com/ 

Collection

Connection

It certainly feels like winter has arrived in this part of the country. Sunday we got caught in what looked like some innocent light rain when the streets became glazed with ice. We (my husband, son and I) ended up sitting on the road along with hundreds of others motorists for several hours.  The salters and sanders couldn't even get anywhere! It was wild. But we came through it fine.

Yesterday we headed over the border into Connecticut to pick up our raw milk. I feel like a smuggler with contraband. Apparently it illegal to buy raw milk in New York. Anyway we stopped at a lovely park that has some gorgeous waterfalls for a nice walk. The falls are starting to freeze since the temps have been so low. So I took a photo for you guys to enjoy. This is my son giving the thumbs up!

Kent Falls

Hoping everyone is enjoying the Season!

Deborah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deborah O'Sullivan Art
My Website
Twitter
Facebook

Border Collie Joy wins the CAG Helping Paws People's Choice Award!

So much news this week. I have just about resolved my internet issues. YAY! I have switched dsl companies so hopefully I will now have consistant dsl connection. I get hooked up tomorrow!

Border Collie Joy Wins the Canine Art Guild's Helping Paws People's Choice Award!

First, I want to thank each and everyone of you who voted for Border Collie Joy which is in the Canine Art Guild's 2nd Annual Helping Paws Online Exhibit. The painting Border Collie Joy connected with the most viewers and earned the First Place People's Choice Award! The dog in the painting is named Luke and he was the founder's of GHF  first BC Rescue. He inspired them to go on a make it a life's mission to rescue these wonderful dogs.Glen Highland Farm will get a nice donation of $100! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote!! This means so much to me!

Border Collie Joy

Watercolor

Canine Art Guild's Helping Paw Online Exhibit

First Place People's Choice Award

To Benefit Glen Highland Farm Border Collie Rescue

Sunsoaked! Sold

This week I sent off Sunsoaked to it's new home. I do love this piece and I have to say iit is one of my favorites. It is in the running for the HITS (Horse Show in the Sun) 2010 Winter Program Covers for Ocala, Florida and Thermal , Ca.  I hope it gives as much pleasure to it's new owner as has to me in it's creation.

Sunsoaked!

16 x 20 Acrylic

I have so much more to report but I will save it for another blog post! I need to get up to speed and get my posts more regular again! So check back tomorrow!

Have a great evening!

Deborah

Jumper Painting

I haven't completed a large horse painting in quite a while so last night I hit the canvas and came up with this. The color was literally flying off my brushes. I had a lot of fun with this. I have been doing a lot of dog commissions this holiday season...it's funny last year was mostly horses..this year it's dogs. And I have also been immersed in watercolor landscapes. So it was about time to get back to the horses. Anyway, this is titled Sunsoaked! It is acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas and measures 16 x 20. I have an agenda for this one but it is also offered sale. Inquiries will have to come to me for now as it won't go up on my website until I have a better photo. I fired these off what my iphone! :)
So if you would like to see this hanging on your wall or would like to give it as a gift email me! deborah@deborahosullivan.com 

I sent off my Fall Newsletter by snail mail this morning. If you would like to receive a copy drop me an email with your mailing info and I will get one in the mail to you or you can sign up for the electronic version of the newsletter by going here.

I am off to go have a nice mocha latte now.... my on true vice in life! Have yourself a great day!

Deborah

 Deborah O'Sullivan Art
My Website
Twitter
Facebook

Fall Studio Sale!

It's that time of year again! The Fall Studio Sale! This is a great opportunity to get a jump on your holiday shopping! I have listed dog and horse originals and reproductions for super great prices. I have even included 2 new releases. Check them out here..
Epona Studio Fall Sale

Jumper Schooling on the Flat WIP2

More on this little jumper painting. I had fully intended to finish this little painting last week but I wasn't feeling great. Those darn ticks got me again. I have Lyme...again... This is becoming my spring right of passage. Please, guys, check yourselves and your animals thoroughly for ticks after being in the great outdoors.
Okay, so back to this painting. When I first started out in horses I did the jumpers. I had a super Amateur Owner (A/O) horse named Mr CJ Bonkers. He was a super, super TB (ex racehorse) that I picked up cheap by paying his back board. His owner didn't want him anymore and he was just left in his stall for a couple of months when I found him. He was a very difficult, complicated spooky guy. But we clicked and we had a blast together. He was very accident prone..needed to be wrapped in bubble wrap....:) ..constantly getting stitches for this, cold hosed for that. He couldn't be tied and he spooked at everything when I first got him. His name was actually very appropriate! :) But this boy could jump and jump well and he was super fast. And I loved him dearly. We competed very successfully on the East Coast in the jumpers until I retired him at age 14 because of odd lameness issues that no vet could diagnose. Turns out he had LYME disease! Seeing a theme here? This was back in the early 80's before vets around here would routinely check for it. He was treated but never came 100% sound so he was lightly ridden, hunter paced, etc for fun .He loved to do stuff. He had an untimely, tragic death in a pasture accident at the age of 18 on Thanksgiving morning. He was an incredible boy. I am sure some of you have known a special horse like this. I'd love to hear about them!
So what,you may be thinking, does any of this have to do with this painting? The horse in the reference photo that I used for this could be his twin. So I will be using some of CJ's photos to complete this. I really will have this finished tonight.
This one is for those special horses. Let's hear about yours!

Jumper Painting

I just started this new painting of a jumper working on the flat this evening. I'm taking a little break so thought I would post the work in progress. I pretty much just blocked in the shapes here and will start to tighten things up a bit but not too much. I want to keep it loose and painterly. This measures 10 x 8 and is acrylic on canvas board. I apologize for the glare I took it with a flash but you can get the basic idea.
I listed a new quick sketch 5 x 7 painting yesterday in my Etsy store. It is a small acrylic sketch of an in- foal Gypsy Vanner from a reference photo from the Wet Canvas reference library. Painted on gessoed hardboard it can pop right into a stock frame and is ready for hanging. This is titled Gypsy Mama. 

SOLD

Maplebrook Art Show

Saturday evenings art opening was a great success. Great people, fabulous artwork, wonderful food, big Derby hats and a thrilling race! When we arrived there was a brass band outside dressed up in red and white stripes. The first person I saw was equine photographer extraordinaire Juliet Harrison. She made a rosette out of film for her hat. Very clever! Be sure to check out her website to see her wonderful work. Juliet Harrison Photography

That's me on the left with my crazy Derby hat with Juliet on the right.

My derby hat. I found this hat in a consignment shop and then just stuffed it with fake flowers and rooster, turkey and Guinea Hen feathers. My roosters are not very happy! ;-)

Juliet with one her entries.

Two of my pieces on display.The painting Eyelashes depicts an inquisitive little foal.
Below that is Power & Lightness which I have previously done a WIP here on the blog.

Tilly Strauss is a wonderful local artist who participated in the show. I adore her work as I find it both whimsical and haunting. It can catch me off guard and make me think. There is something in her work that I can really relate to. Be sure to check out her website and blog.
Tilly Strauss Website
Tilly's Blog Showing Up For the Muse

The art show runs until June 7 and all artwork is available for sale. See link for details.
Maplebrook Art Show