Bull Terrier

© Ellen Blonder

A few years ago, I posted this sketch of a couple of bull terriers in someone's yard in Kauai. It has taken me all this time to finally do a small painting of one of them.

© Ellen Blonder

First I turned him around to face right, working on an 8 x 10-inch canvas panel in acrylics. I like it on the abstract ground, but never seem to be able to leave it at that.

© Ellen Blonder

So I put the dog in a Hawaiian setting.

© Ellen Blonder

And added foliage to give the dog some scale.

Mynah - Final

© Ellen Blonder

I have finally found some time to just about finish this mynah painting. I may play with the bird's feather texture a bit more, but I'll live with it a while first.

Mynah - More Progress

© Ellen Blonder

I'm slowly filling in background, adding details to the plants, still needing to add detail to the stem of yellow orchids.

Mynah - Progress

 © Ellen Blonder

I know I want a spidery yellow orchid to run diagonally across the upper part of the painting, but I'm still looking for plants to fill in elsewhere. 

 © Ellen Blonder

I've been walking, finding ground covers and a bromeliad I can try out.

© Ellen Blonder

I like the subtle reddish plants, but want to avoid bright flowers that would compete for attention with the mynah's extraordinary eye mask.

Mynah -First Steps

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

I've been wanting to paint a mynah in Kauai for a long time. They're very camera-shy, and  always fly away before you can come close. I had to wait until I had a better camera with a telephoto lens, to get reference shots close enough to see details in the beak and the yellow superhero mask. This canvas is 12 inches by 16 inches, and I'm working in acrylics.

Breadfruit - Final

© Ellen Blonder

I haven't done much more since the last post, just added more detail to the leaves. It's time to stop fussing, though, and say this is done. After photographing the canvas, I did add a text overlay, but I don't think I'll paint hand-lettering on the canvas itself.

Breadfruit - 7

© Ellen Blonder

Today, I finally added detail to the cross-section of the breadfruit. I wasn't sure until now if I should even include it. As long as it was just a white blob, it looked distracting, but I like it there now.

It has been interesting to figure out how I might use this as an ingredient. After baking the halves, removing the center brown stem and peeling them, they're creamy and bland, somewhat like a cross between a potato and zucchini. I discovered if I cut the halves into chunks, they browned nicely in a skillet with a little oil, forming a slightly crisp exterior to contrast with a creamy interior. 

Breadfruit - 6

© Ellen Blonder

Coming along, giving the leaves some glossiness and other details. I'm eager to get the leaves done now that I have found a breadfruit and photographed it for reference. I've also baked it and am trying to decide what else to do to it. So many choices--breadfruit can be made savory, sweet, mild or spicy.

Breadfruit - 5

© Ellen Blonder

Got sidetracked last week, but I'm making slow progress. Still looking for a breadfruit that I can cut in half for reference. 

Breadfruit - 4

© Ellen Blonder

All the bare canvas is now covered, but except for the brown branch, everything will probably be painted over again, including the background. I'm still not sure about including the cross-section of breadfruit, and I'm still looking for one at the market.

Breadfruit - 3

© Ellen Blonder

Laying in first greens. More paint will be layered over just about everything.

Breadfruit - 3

© Ellen Blonder

I just had time to start painting first details today. 

Breadfruit - 2

© Ellen Blonder

 Today, I finished sketching in the leaves and painting in a rough background color. I'm still trying to decide if I want to have a cross-sectioned fruit in the picture, and perhaps some lettering. I do love the shape of these beautiful, graceful leaves.

© Ellen Blonder

Goodbye, Donkey, Hello, Breadfruit

© Ellen Blonder

I don't often give up on a painting, but I need to at least set the donkey painting aside until I can feel it more in my bones. 

Meanwhile, I have long been wanting to do a painting of a breadfruit I saw at the McBryde Garden last year in Kauai, part of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. This is the first day's beginning of a sketch, on a section of a 16 x 20-inch canvas. 

Big Goat - Final

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

Finally finished. I decided to stop before overdoing everything. The second photo gives a better sense of the scale of this, and why it took so long to paint.

Big Goat - 18

© Ellen Blonder

I've been working out the orchid structure, frustrating because my key reference shot was blurry and other shots were from different angles. 

Big Goat - 17

© Ellen Blonder

I'll still have to do more to the background, but I want to add details to the orchids first. I've waited a long time for this. 

Big Goat - 16

© Ellen Blonder

Today, I filled in the thin red flower stalks to the goat's right, and added more detail behind the goat's back.

Big Goat - 15

© Ellen Blonder

I want to keep a misty softness to the background as I start filling in the tree trunks and foliage. Today, I started on the red ti plants on the right. I'm saving the orchids for last.

Big Goat - 14

© Ellen Blonder

I finally finished the plant on the lower left and can move on to the middle and background. The first step was giving the air a soft, misty look.