Working on Flamingo's head and eye

Here is the progression I've made on the flamingo's head.

It looked like this with its initial layer of paint.  

See the difference?  More to go but it's a good start.  

I had to move the pupil, so there is a little shadow where it used to be, which I am slowly covering with paint.  It will take a few layers.  

I truly am enjoying painting this flamingo but it comes with it difficulties!  Here I thought when I took the photo, it was difficult to get him all in the viewfinder, and how I was on a bridge backing up to get all of him in, but that was the easy part.  

The nice thing is the original photo is blurry in feet area, but the beauty of painting is you can paint it to look clear and I have, it's such an advantage us painters have over photographers!  

The deadline to have this entered is December 4th, 2013. 

If I make it into the show, it will be on display February 1st to March 9th, 2014.  I want this so bad I can taste it.  Best of show is $2,000, and the total show prize money is over $6000. 

I could care less about the money or prizes, my goal is to just make it into the show.

PRAY for me!  

Working on Flamingo's legs and feet for National Show

I hope this isn't too hard to see but I'm working on the flamingo painting for the National Show.  

I completed (for now), the webbed feet (with the sand pushed up around them), and the legs as well.  

So happy the legs didn't come out looking like sticks.  

Now on to the head and feathers!  The fun parts!  

"Harvest of Art"

Here are my two paintings (on the bottom) in the art show.

Funny thing is, the painting above was what I loved to paint when I lived up north.  All I loved to paint were old barns.  Now living in Florida since 1985, all I want to paint are palm trees and seascapes....although I do paint other things.  

This is my friend Wanda Carter.  She won a special portraiture award for this portrait she did.  Her work in pastel is amazing.  Well deserved for a talented, nice lady!

This is the brochure for Harvest of Art.  

The Harvest of Art is Charlotte County's oldest and most prestigious annual juried exhibit...and I got juried into it!  

If you look close you can see I'm number 9 & 10.  I was located in the main hallway. 

This has inspired me to keep going!  

By the way...the painting below titled "Halogen"?  

Halogen didn't make it into the juried show, so I decided to post it on "Daily Paintworks" where I have my artwork online to sell.  That website chose it for their "Pick of the day", proving one man's trash is another man's treasure.  

And that is why I don't let judges get to me personally, it just proves everyone has their own taste!  

What a great week!