"Harlequin Rabbit", oil 12x12

Harlequin Rabbit was painted for the Oregon Society of Artists November 2014 show, "200 Paintings for Under $200". This painting will be for sale at the show. The show opens Friday, November 7th, 6pm to 9pm, with a reception at the gallery.

"White Things", oil 12x12

A still life of white things: light bulb, a milk pitcher, egg shells and a white table cloth. This painting will be for sale in the Oregon Society of Arts November Show - "200 Paintings for Under $200". Show opens November 7th, with a reception, 6pm to 9pm. Here is the painting start and finish.

Mushroom, 10x10 oil

Today's painting is of the rabbit Mushroom. This is a commission on a 10x10 birch cradle board, may favorite painting surface. Here is the start; as usual I started with the eye. This is the most important part because it draws the viewer in. I will post more pics as the painting progresses.

As you can see I always tone my canvas before painting. I normally use a burnt sienna wash just enough to get rid of the white. If you draw an imaginary line from corner to corner diagonally you will see that Mushroom's eye is dead center of the canvas. Here is the progression of Mushroom's painting.

And the finished painting

Best in Show!

The Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts is this weekend. June 20, 21, 22, 2014. I won two ribbons in the show - Best in Show for my painting "Silver and Red Strips" and Honorable Mention for "Moo-na-Lisa I". Over 500 artists showing and over 1000 paintings. Wow, am I a happy camper!!! Many thanks to the Juror, Mark Woolley. (Sorry these photos aren't very good.)

Desert Cottontail, oil, 12x12

This guy has notched ears from his rough and tumble life in the California desert country. He is a native desert cottontail. Many thanks to David Gray for the photo this painting was taken from.

Snowflake + Apple is the Gold Medal winner

Snowflake + Apple was the Gold Medal winner in the 2014 Emerald Art Center's National Juried Show. http://emeraldartcenter.com/njs.php

Around Oregon Annual - May 29th to July 5th - Corvallis Oregon, Art Center

Join me at the 12th Around Oregon Annual art show in Corvallis Oregon. My a painting "Guacamole" has been selected for this annual show. For more infomation on the show so to the Art Center's website. http://theartscenter.net/upcoming-in-our-galleries/

Emerald Art Center Show - Juried Show, April 30th to May 30th.

Emerald Art Center 500 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon 97477 (541) 726-8595 Open Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 4pm My painting "Snowflake + Apple" will be shown at the National Juried Show at the Emerald Art Center in Springfield, OR. Fine Art Painting Competition April 30 - May 30, 2014 Reception is May 3rd. The Emerald Spring Juried Art Exhibition is held each May. Emerald Art Center exhibits 60-70 juried art pieces selected from entries submitted from across the United States. This exhibition expands the horizons of area artists and residents, giving them the opportunity to view quality fine art on a broad scale from artists around the country, while bringing national recognition to Springfield.

Gallery Show at VERUM ULTIMUM - Streetwise

I am one of the participating arts at the Streetwise show. The show runs April 24th to May 24th. Location is the Verum Ultimum Gallery at 3014 NE Ainsworth, Portland, OR. The opening reception is Last Thursday, April 24th, 2014. See website for more information. http://www.fineartvu.com/About-Us.html My painting "Bumper to Bumper in Fog" will be in the show.

Freddy II, oil, 12x12 on panel

Here is the second painting of Freddy. This painting is done with cooler light and colors. I have several new tubes of Gamblin oil paint which I used because I wanted to try out their new colors. In this painting I used Gamblin's Portland Grey Cool, Portland grey Medium, Cool White, Portland Grey Warm, Titanium Buff, Titanium White and Warm White. I also used Terra Rosa and a cheap Paynes Gray from Winsor Newton. The background is Gamblin's Titanium Buff. I love this color. The Paynes Gray was crap so I throw the tube away. No more cheap paint. Gamblin paint is so much better I am sticking with it.

Freddy I, oil, 14x11 on panel

I took several photos of my daughter's rabbit, Freddy, while rabbit sitting him. Freddy is a beautiful silver chinchilla with black tips on his ears. Here is the first of 2 paintings I did of him this week.

Sandland Silver Lustre, 12x12, oil

Here is another still life with a little cream pitcher of Sandland Silver Lustre. I found this little pitcher at the Goodwill. It was a marvelous find. It is the same piece in the large still life I did with peach satin.

Peach Satin and Silver, 24x18, oil

Though I paint many animals, particularly rabbits, my real love is painting still lifes. This is a painting I did for the Oregon Society of Artist's 2013 Fall Juried show. It won third place.

Great Horned Owl, 8x10, oil

My neighbor, Jim, is a photographer. He took a wonderful photo last summer of this Great Horned Owl. Thank you Jim for sharing your photo with me.

David's Bobcat, 10x8, oil

Last August we met friends at Pt. Reyes California for a week of hiking. Their son had spent the previous weekend with them and while on a hike spotted this bobcat in a gully protecting it's kill. He took a dramatic photo of the bobcat. David was kind enough to share the photos with me. Here is the painting I did from David Gray's photo.

Tabasco and Peppers, 12x12, oil

This painting took first place at the Oregon Society of Artists show, "200 for under $200". I was so surprised. There were so many great paintings and fantastic artists at the show I didn't expect to win anything.

Alan, 10x8, Oil

Another painting of my cat Alan.

Celebration of Creativity, Fine Art Exhibit and Sale, March 6 - 9, 2014, Beaverton, Oregon

Southminster Presbyterian Church is having their 36th Annual Exhibit. Location is 12250 SW Denney Road, Beaverton, OR 972008. I hope you will stop by one of the 4 days to see this fabulous show. This is my second year in the show. I have 9 rabbits paintings on display. Here are 5 of the 9 paintings I will be showing. Friday, March 7th from 7pm to 9pm is "Meet the Artist". I will be present at the show at that time.

Three new commissions in January, Abigail - Louie - Brewster, Oil

Three commissions for January: Bichon, Louie, 12x12 Corgie, Brewster, 8x8 Rabbit, Abigail, 12x12 Thanks everyone.

Paws and Claws, 14x11, oil

Paws and Claws finished.

My website: www.lorrainebushek.com

To see more of my paintings please visit my website. www.lorrainebushek.com Thanks.

Painting Alan

My cat, Alan, is the subject of this painting. He was relaxing in the sun on the living room floor when I snapped the photo I used for this painting. I show here the steps I go through when painting. First, I tone my canvas, in this care, with Gamblin's Perylene Red. Once the canvas is dry I work out the composition. I draw the layout with a brush in raw umber and turpinoid. I use turpinoid because it is easy to wipe out what I do not like as the drawing progresses. Once I am satisfied with the brush drawing I let the painting dry. Even when dry I can go back in with turpinoid to make changes to the composition if needed. It took about 3 hours go get the brush drawing where I wanted it. Once this stage was dry I painted in color. As you can see I started with Alan's face. When I have a good start on the face I go directly to the eyes. I spent a lot of time getting the eyes correct. The viewer naturally is drawn to the subjects eyes so that is where I put the most detail. After the eyes are complete I paint the body. I spend much less time on the body and I don't put a lot of detail in Alan's stripes. The subject of this painting is the cat's paws and claws so I have made them a bit bigger than normal to emphasize them. The rest of the painting is support for the main subject and, therefore, I painted it with less emphasis.