Little Red Rover...

"Zero G Walkies"

18x24", Oils on Canvas   Price: $ 1000.00

 In my rush to get paintings done for the two big shows early this year,  I realised that I did not have anything representing my ongoing Birds 'n' Bots series for the shows except old design drawings. There were always going to be more Rover paintings, and more robot and bird paintings of other ilk in my creative future. But I just hadn't gotten around to any by the time the deadline was bearing down on me. So, I went back through my old design ideas, photos and thumbnail sketches and rediscovered some of my references for something I'd only ever called 'Walkies'. The initial premise was set in space, as you see in the finished painting, but not happy with how that was gelling, I at one time placed the setting in a garden with a tall 'owner' robot instead of the space ship. I did the sketch for that one some time ago but also didn't do anything with it. So, back to basics. I woke up one morning with the composition finally set in my mind...by adding the globe with the bird in it. Rover is chasing the bird in the remote control space globe. He is hooked up to the ship by a very long leash. Someone asked me why a robot dog would need to 'go walkies', euphemism for going outside to go to the bathroom. Well, I said, there is not only the obvious reason for putting your puppy outside, but to get the rambunctious little bugger out of your tiny spaceship cockpit before he accidentally presses any more buttons he shouldn't....let alone the self-destruct one or depressurization. 

"Lullaby Run" 

9x12", Oils on Linen  Price: $500.00  SOLD 

In the middle of the fever heat of creating for my shows, I woke up one morning with a complete Rover painting idea. Simple, elegant, lots of fun. However, none of my old reference photos of Rover worked, so I set up an elaborate dark setting in the middle of my new studio, went outside and rounded up some twigs, gathered up Rover and the camera and had me a little robot photoshoot. I took a bunch of photos and the resultant painting was a combination of two of them. Have you ever taken your babies out driving in your car to lull them to sleep, or seen someone else do it? This is what Rover is doing. He's rolling along with his two tiny passengers, trying to get them to go to sleep in the darkening evening. Hence, the title "Lullaby Run". One owlet is asleep, the other is resisting it, and Rover is just enchanted. Consider this a cute version of my painting "Branch Line".

I will always enjoy painting my robots, but Rover is close to my heart. Even as just a toy wind-up robot, he has loads of personality. He still hangs around my easel in my new painting digs.

More to post soon. Thanks for stopping by,

Cheers,

Marianne

Space Station Epics...

Starborn Station

(8x10", Oils on Linen)   Price: $250.00 SOLD

 Making a change from plain rocketship doodles, I created these two paintings to add to my display at a recent show. I love noodling nebulae in oil paint. The first one, 'Starborn Station' depicts one of my little space stations against a nursery of stars swirling colourfully in the night sky. Hence, the name 'Starborn'. I can see scientists living and working on the station, earnestly studying why, where, and how stars are born...waking every morning to that spectacular view.

Blue Horizons

(8x10", Oils on Linen)  Price: $300.00 

 I've been wanting to paint 'blue space' again for quite some time, now. Saw a space photo in a magazine and went... "I can do something with that". Bit of tweaking, bit of colour saturation in layering French Ultramarine, Pthalo Turquoise, and Cobalt Blues came up nicely. I added the rocket to give it balance and purpose. The title, 'Blue Horizons' is self-explanatory. What a view to wake up to!


My palette encompassed the usual suspects, along with the extra blues in Blue Horizons:  French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Red Light, Alizarin Crimson, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre.  Paint brushes included a few size 0 and 1 rounds, a half inch Wedge Flat, a size 6 Filbert, and a big fluffy blending brush, and an itty bitty ragged round blending brush.

There is much more to post. I have been slack in posting the new Rover paintings and bird paintings, but I plead a crushing schedule this last four months. Will add new paintings soon. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Cheers,

Marianne