Petey #5

Petey #5, originally uploaded by debifitz.

So sorry I have been bad about posting!!!! I can not believe that September is almost gone... my mind is still in August! Which between that month and February... can't decide which I dislike more! I am also doing my taxes :/ I have always filed in Oct... nothing like waiting to the last minute! Especially when you LOVE doing them (NOT!) I will try to get the rest of poor Petey's pics up soon!! He will be getting a complex from only being half complete for so long!!

Petey #4

Petey #4, originally uploaded by debifitz.

Working left to right... top to bottom. Usually I do this pose vertically, but the client wants it for a space over her fire place where a vertical will not fit. This background however becomes a subject in itself and makes up for it! I have been taking my time with it because the client is extremely particular about everything!! Do not want it coming back for touch ups!

I have also been working on the 2014 calendar cover for Danny and Ron's Rescue. The iPad and it's brilliant new Spider Arm has come in quite handy. I took some photos of it in action.... I can't show the calendar cover until the first of Oct... when it comes out! But you get a little sneak peek here! Also a glimpse into my studio...

Petey #3

Petey #3, originally uploaded by debifitz.

Sorry I have not been on in a while... I just acquired an iPad!!! Been pining for one for a while now... to use in art work of course!! NO really! I have seen that a lot of artist are using them in place of photos for reference. I have started having issues with the co that does my printing. The photos always come out darker than what I am uploading from my computer. And my home printer's color is off. Not to mention, I was seeing the possibilities of using the iPad on the road as a portfolio and to show clients the photos that I take. I have a lap top that I have been using for a while now and I am worried about it dying on me. This way I have a back up for that also. But every time I save a few pennies, something comes up and empties the piggy bank! Well... Danny and Ron's Rescue to the rescue!! I got the most wonderful care package from them in the mail the end of last week.... an iPad 4!!! So I have been playing around with it all week. And I have started using it on their 2014 calendar cover that I am working on at the moment. I ordered an iPad armature for my work space... so that I do not have to hold it while I work. Got that yesterday and it is working beautifully! You should have seen what I rigged up while waiting for it to arrive!! I will post a pic of the new set up soon! Still getting used to the retina display instead of a photo. I will probably use both. But it is great for getting close ups for detail like hands and feet!

Back to Petey!! I do love the way this bg has turned out! In reality, the horse could not be standing on flat ground... there is a steep hill going up to the client's barn and home.  The client asked me to make it more realistic by changing the perspective of the ponds and fencing. That would have bunched them all up in the bottom third of the portrait. But compositionally, I like the way the fencing and ponds break up the piece horizontally. Petey and the pine tree are such strong vertical elements. And then I love the diagonal lines from the tree shadows soften it all.  I think this is one of my best back grounds!

Char with Rita,Bruiser,Doc,&Ellie

Char with Rita,Bruiser,Doc,&Ellie, originally uploaded by debifitz.

I am sort of jumping right to the end of this one! The rock was a lot of "busy" work but it allowed me to use most of the colors that I have been working with in the subjects. Even a little of the greens from the back ground. Helps to tie the whole painting together. The dogs were easy but small... always filing down the pastels to sharp edges to get those little details in. Char's boots came out nicely also... I try to keep all those scuffs and scratches in there. Some people want me to make everything perfect... but I have had clients come up to me long after the portraits are done and hung on the walls to tell me that is one of their favorite parts... they KNOW that those are their boots! All those scuffs and scotches tell a story all their own!

MaryClara & Scout #9

MaryClara & Scout #9, originally uploaded by debifitz.

pastel on PastelMat
private collection
19"X26"

www.djfitzgerald.com
www.facebook.com/D.J.Fitzgerald.Art

All done! I am just so happy with the way this one came together. I love how I could repeat the colors from the back ground to the subjects and fore ground. I think that this is the sort of thing that no one really notices, but makes a big difference in the final piece. For instance... the purple grays from the spanish moss in the trees are also in Scout and Emma's chest. Also some purples are in MaryClara's jeans. And then I also have some of the blues from her jeans repeated in the grass. When I am working I leave all the pastels that I have used in the back ground in a wooden tray so that I can keep track of the colors. When I am finished with a piece, I always try to put all my pastels away. They are stored in an antique printers cabinet... each color has its own drawer.  When I start on a new piece, I can start fresh and do not have to hunt for specific colors. Also give me a chance to sweep up the dust... to make room for a new set of dust!

Lily

Lily

Lily, originally uploaded by debifitz.

This is the photograph for my next pastel. It is the second time I have done this mare... the first was for this client's mother. She is rather special... especially to them! The plan is to do a more detailed progression. But I do have some time constraints... I need to get this done so that I can personally deliver it on my trip the end of this week... We shall see about that. I think this one is going to take a while.  It was requested that I do more progression photos of the back ground process... I have 4! The bg that I am using for this piece is not the one behind the horse. I chose to do another one from the same farm. A little more picturesque and with more depth.

Lily #1
pastel on PastelMat
private collection
19"X26"
I have started by placing where I want the trees and the darker areas. I try to work from left to right and from back ground  to foreground.  I use this hatching technique that helps to set the bg apart from the subject.  Although I do a hatching on the subject also, in the bg I will be a little loser, more impressionistic.  The idea is to have the back ground    enhance the subjects.

Abe,Sara,&Clayton

Abe,Sara,&Clayton, originally uploaded by debifitz.

oil on canvas
private collection
28"X36"

www.djfitzgerald.com

This one was really a challenge and the reason I have not been blogging this summer! I have been working on this one forever it seems! The initial photos were taken 6 years ago! They finally decided what they wanted to do 2 years ago ... but they wanted a more recent photo of Sara. So I took a few head shots of her... at the correct angle with the right lighting etc... I have done this before, but for some reason this one was harder to make it work. Another thing... the initial photos were 35 mm and of the whole bodies.... so cropping down to the upper half left me little details in the photos.... I am so spoiled to digital! I still feel like I could work on it some more. But I have other clients that are getting impatient, not to mention some bills that would like to get paid! So I have to let it go.... I delivered it to its home yesterday and the client and subject were happy... She wants me to do a portrait of her son and another one of her two dogs! So all is good!