Friday, February 29, 2008

Rachel's Horses, Daily Painting

"Rachel's Horses"
9 x 12 inches
Acrylic on hardboard


This is a preliminary painting for a mural I am starting next week. Rachel is one of my students and I have been commissioned to do this in her bedroom. Before it is done we will probably have bunnies and butterflies too! It will be fun.
This painting may be available for sale in a month or so.
Thanks for looking!

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Yielding Spirit, horse, daily painting



"Yielding Spirit"
8 x 10 inches
Acrylic on canvas
SOLD

This is another one for a fund raising event. I really got carried away with it and put way too many hours into it. I just got caught up in the muscles and the great disposition of this horse.

I started with five reference photos of different colored horses in similar poses. Some had their heads up and others had it down. I had to reverse some of them. Then I drew different sketches to find the right angle of the head in relation to the neck. The legs were difficult at first, as I kept getting them too fat and too short.

Next I drew the horse the size it needed to be onto paper, working out most of the problems. Then I drew it onto the canvas.


Usually this approach saves time because I can paint from my detailed drawings and not worry about things being out of proportion. But I kept changing my mind and painting things in differently than the drawing.

In the end it was worth it.

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Rucks Road 3, Plein Air Painting

"Rucks Road 3"
16 x 20 inches
Acrylic on canvas

I didn't get today's painting finished. So I am posting this one it's place.
I did this back when I first started doing plein air painting. It took a couple of days to get it done because it is so large for a plein air painting. It was hot and the bugs were horrid. I almost hung up plein air painting all together! 

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

Click here to see what others say about my work! 

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Shore Bird, tricolored heron,daily painting

"Shore Bird"
8 x 10 inches
Acrylic on canvas board
(Canvas mounted on hardboard)
(Ready to frame)


This is actually a painting I did quite a while ago as a monochrome. I wanted to try some thin glazes over the top and experiment with different effects. But when I was done playing around with that I wasn't happy with the results. The water was too brilliant and too colorful and the heron was no longer the focus. So I went back and painted the colors in with thick paint until I got the balance I was after.
I had a great weekend at the Okeechobee Top of the Lake Art Fest. Sold lots of paintings, won a second place ribbon, and met so many interesting people!
Thanks for looking!




Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

Click here to see what others say about my work! 

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Up the Creek, Daily Painting


"Up the Creek"
9 x 12 inches
Acrylic on hardboard
Sold


I have an art show all weekend, so here is an older painting that I am very fond of. It is the first of four in this series from last December 2006 (when I first began doing Daily Paintings.) I love the reflections and the colors. I keep wanting to turn the painting over!


Thanks for looking!

Click here to see my gallery pages!


Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

Click here to see what others say about my work!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Late Morning, Plein Air Painting

"Late Morning"
8 x 10 inches
Acrylic on hardboard
$625.00

Plein air painting (on location) done at Lake Okeechobee. This is down by the boat ramp at Lock 7. Can't even see the lake anymore. It is on the other side of all this brush. This little boat channel will take you around the brush and into the lake, but not too many people go out anymore. Air-boats seem more popular now to get through the shallow water. I did see some small flat boats.

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

Click here to see what others say about my work!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

New Eagle Bay, Plein Air Painting

"The New Eagle Bay"
8 x 10 inches
Acrylic on Canvas

I went up on the levee early this morning, and painted this old favorite spot of mine. Off to the right used to be thick tall grasses and trails of marshy water. Since the whole thing was dredged and dug up it is mostly all sparse grasses. At least the water is coming back.

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Make a Wish, equine art

"Make a Wish"
18 x 24 inches
Acrylic on canvas
Ready to frame
$1,000.00

When I was young my mother would say "Look, there is a white horse! Make a wish!" so when I see white horses I still think about making wishes.
I painted this a while ago. It started as one of the thin watercolor style paintings that I did a series of. Then I layered the thicker paint on top. Acrylics are great for many different approaches. You can change your mind all you want and it doesn't hurt anything.
I love this painting. It has a nice feel to it.

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

Click here to see what others say about my work!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Old Wagon, Daily Painting

"Old Wagon"
6 x 6 inches
Acrylic on hardboard
NOT FOR SALE

This is the old wagon that sat up in the corner of Grandma's yard. I didn't see what the big deal about it was at the time. Just an old broken down wagon to me. We were not allowed to play on it or near it. Now I am sure it must have been an antique.
The Blue Spruce off to the left is a tree my Grandma planted. She loved the bluish green hue. I didn't see different shades of green until she pointed that out to me.
I have started a larger painting of her back yard with the deer in it. May take me a while to complete it. I have a couple of shows coming up and this week will be full!

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

Click here to see what others say about my work!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Love Flow, Abstract Flower

"Love Flow"
6 x 6 inches
Acrylic on cradled hardboard
Sides are painted- framing is optional



This painting started out as a geometric abstract design, kind of looked like a cliff and a road in the beginning. After I added some curves it started looking like a flower. So I added some petals at the top, and created the center. Then I gave the petals some highlights. It was fun to just see where the paint would take me.
Just felt like we all can give love and help others......

Enjoy


Click here for prints of this painting

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for information about having your own custom painting created. 


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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Early Snow, Winter Barn, Daily Painting

"Early Snow"
6 x 6 inches
Acrylic on cradled hardboard
Not for sale

I have been going through the old photos. This is a side view of the old bunkhouse where my brothers slept at night in the summers. I was up early after the first big snow that season and took lots of pictures. I was fascinated with the snow and ice clinging to the twigs and branches.

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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

Heavy Laden, Daily Painting

"Heavy Laden"
6 x 6 inches
Acrylic on cradled hardboard

Did this from memory. The snow used to pile up and bend the trees over in interesting shapes and clumps.
My last winter in Libby Montana (years ago) it was 40 below zero for about a week! It was 20 below the week before and the week after. I can still hear Grandma say "Hey look, it is UP to zero today!" Then she laughed. That became our saying after that. "Is it UP to zero today?" It hasn't been that cold for that long again, but this year they have had more snow than they have had in over ten years!
I know Grandma has to be laughing because they couldn't have a grave side burial service! So we are going to have a memorial for her at the end of May when the mountain passes aren't closed and most everyone can be there. My whole family has not been together in over twenty years.


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Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Heaven's Harmony


"Heaven's Harmony"
6 x 6 inches
Acrylic on cradled hardboard
SOLD



My grandmother passed away this past week. I was thinking about heaven and wondering how happy she must be to see Grandpa again.


I started this painting as a simple abstract of warm analogous colors. Slowly the painting evolved into mountains and grass. Then I added the trees.


My grandmother loved the pine trees, and she loved the mountains. She saw beauty in everything, even things that I thought were so insignificant. She gave me a thirst for nature and it's grander. The deer would come down the hill behind her house and eat from her garden, and I would get up early so I could watch them with her. She wouldn't let me get to close to the patio window because she didn't want me to scare them away.


Click here to see my gallery pages!

Email me at: fmcneillbarr@gmail.com for availability and/or information about having your own custom painting created. 

Click here to see what others say about my work!