Branching out from Dogs

Though I love painting dogs, I’m not selling a lot of dog paintings outside of the ones commissioned. I decided to try my hand at some other animals, and took a crack at a mother and son picture of Abby and baby Travie from her birthday trek to Santa Monica Pier.

Without further ado, I give you “Hippo Lounging.”

“Smiling Lion”

“Friendly Quokka”

“Kangaroo and Joey.” This was a result of a badly painted small dog picture I never finished. I found it in the garage and was going to throw it away but someone in my house said it was good and I should finish it. I didn’t feel like I could do the original painting justice as my source photos were so different from each other I couldn’t get a handle on the dog’s true face. But turning it into a kangaroo was pretty easy.

This is a painting of a dog I saw at a play place with my grandson. I’ve been unable to contact the owners of the dog to offer them the painting so like many others it’s in my booth now, waiting for a buyer. It’s a Mini Bernedoodle.

The photo of Abby and the baby seemed like the perfect thing to paint to capture her birthday and his early steps. She was wearing a scarf in the painting and her face was in profile, shrouded in strands of hair, and heavily shadowed. She also wore glasses. After several attempts to get it right, and failing badly, I decided to scrap the actual photo and pretend the scarf wasn’t on her head. Then her hair would fall and obscure the face. Finally that worked.

“First Steps.”

If you’re interested in any of these original paintings, 8X10 or 11X14 on stretched canvas or canvas boards, please contact me or visit or contact The Vintage Pedler in Simi Valley CA.

New Oil Paintings and Dabbling in Watercolors

Here are some of my newest paintings. My instagram @oilsbytracy has some cool time lapse videos if you’re interested. I’d love more followers!

I’m on a work trip for three weeks and knew I’d be having painting withdrawals so I brought a cheap set of watercolors and some brushes to keep me busy in the room at night and on weekends. I watched a handful of YouTube videos and practiced a bit. I prefer oils but watercolors are definitely a great travel craft.

At the end of week one, here are my paintings to date. Not great but better than I expected for trying this just a week ago. Here’s to the next two weeks of watercolors, and oils as soon as I’m back home.

Stay creative!

Tracy

Black Labs, Beagles, and Humans

First up, a Beagle. I had a Beagle when I was a child. We brought Buddy home when he was seven weeks old, and I was seven years. He quickly became quite a little rascal, and my best friend. This Beagle doesn’t look like Buddy, but it reminded me of him. Buddy passed away in the early 1980s when photography wasn’t as advanced as is it now, for regular 110 home cameras, so I don’t have any sharp, clear pictures to use as reference. It was a nice memory to paint this dog’s portrait and reminded me how expressive Beagle faces can be.

Next up, a black Labrador puppy because who doesn’t love the adorable face of a little lab?

This last piece was the hardest so far. I was attempting to paint a photo I have of Travis and baby Travie. I don’t have as much experience with humans so, as you’ll see in the photos, this was really a struggle. I still have a little work to do on this one, but it’s just about done.

For the Father Son picture, I used a pallet knife for the first time. The lines on their shirts were too precise, the edges of their faces too crisp. Hoping it was a good idea, I followed my old instructor’s advice and deconstructed the painting. I took a piece that was almost done and smeared thick paint all over it. Thankfully, it worked! The baby’s nostrils and mouth need a little more work but that should be an easy fix.

Thanks for joining me on my painting journey.

Tracy

Oils by Tracy- Taking Commissions

The last few months I’ve been on a painting frenzy. All told, including the cover for Goodbye Grandma Anna: A Granola Barr Book, I painted 21 pieces for the book. Below is the cover. CLICK THIS LINK for a time lapse video of the first session of the painting.

The Makers’ Market I attended a few times has closed down, at least for now, so with my “spare” time I’ve been painting friends’ and my family’s dogs, some cats, and also a goat (Ted) who I saw at a Kindred Spirits Care Farm, a non-profit that rescues animals.

Skittles

Boots

Ted

Skittles

After a LOT of practice, I’m ready to start taking commissions for portraits. Prices start at $150 for an 8X10 or 11X14 on stretched canvas. Plus shipping. Local delivery in SoCal can be arranged. Up to two pets included. Inquire if you have a bigger pet family and need to add more.

I’ve recently started an instagram page @oilsbytracy. Please follow me there for updates and new videos. You can order via DM on Instagram, by emailing me at tracy@tracylcarbone.com or through the contact page of this site.

I’ll post new pictures as I finish them. Until then,

Stay creative!

Tracy

Oils by Tracy

It’s been a long time since my days of trying to find and agent or publisher, when I’d spend a fortune going from one writers’ conference to another, flying or driving around the country hoping readers would buy my existing books, or a publisher or agent would take me and my idea on board. It was hard, demoralizing at times. Ultimately, I chose Shadowridge Press as my publisher because they do beautiful work and spend a lot of time on design. I was mostly responsible for my own marketing and since I hate that sort of thing, I have a lot of books in boxes at home, and a lot of stuff on Amazon that doesn’t move. It’s my own fault for not making an effort but in my defense, I spent YEARS trying to sell, and schmoozing, and spending money on marketing. In the words of Bartleby, “I would prefer not to” continue to do that.

But painting is something else entirely. I don’t feel a need to sell, sell, sell. I’m not looking for my big break, one painting that’ll set me for life and pay off my house. I paint because I like it, because when I do a pet portrait, I smile when I’m painting, and the people I paint for smile when they see the final product.

Recently my future son-in-law started making beautiful, high-end cutting boards. Instagram @travwoodworks

He discovered a Makers’ Market in town and signed up for a table. I did as well, figuring since I’ve got a couple of dozen paintings, and am creating more all the time, I ought to try to sell some. I have my originals, prints, and have a shingle out to take commissions for pet portraits. The vibe when I’m doing this for pleasure instead of to support myself is very different. Yes, I want to get paid for work I do, but I also like the events and talking to people, getting to know others, and hearing from passersby that my pups and the paintings are cute.

All the pictures I’ve posted in the past were photos of paintings. To give a better idea of the quality, here are some high-resolution scans.

I’ll be working on the new kids’ book and will hopefully have it for sale at the Maker’s Market in the next couple of months. Keep an eye out for new paintings and shows.

As always, thanks for reading.

Stay creative!

Tracy

Writing and Illustrating a Children’s Book II

The book is just about done, Meaning the rough draft at least. All painting are complete, except one. Once I finish that one I’ll do one more run through for final brush strokes. The narrative parts of the story are also nearly done. I decided to tell the story in poem form since it’s for kids. Here’s a picture of most of the paintings in various stages, plus the “Very formal” outline of the book with notes.

In the next part of the book, where I left off in the last post, Anna tells Granola that it’s time for her to go, for good. She says Granola is ready. Granola is saddened by this so runs away from home, has a good cry on a rainy day, and is finally brought home by her parents. She gets a warm bath and lots of hugs.

Later, Mom sits Granola and Scruffy down and tells them some big news.

In the end, time passes. Granola turns two! She doesn’t see Anna anymore but says she knows Anna still watches over them all. Except she says this in kid-friendly terms, in rhyme.

I’m still working on the cover but here it is, still in progress.

My next post about this book will be when it’s done and ready to read. Until then I’ll be focusing on some of the other paintings and my new foray into Makers’ Markets and selling my work.

Happy Creativity! Thanks for reading.

Tracy

Oil Paintings- A Continuing Journey

Since my last post, I’ve had twinges of longing to write again. I’ve sat down at my laptop and “scribbled” down some badly written starts. In the past I’d persevere until the bad scribbles turned into something good. But with my long hiatus from writing, it’s still difficult to bring myself to write much more than blogs. In the meantime, I’ve been exploring my newfound love of painting.

When I was very young I loved to draw. I wanted to be an artist when I grew up but wasn’t good at it. This was back in the 70s and we didn’t have much money so art lessons in person weren’t even thought of. When we were kids, we played outside a lot and followed our creative pursuits and let our schools lead the way. There was no Internet or YouTube, no online lessons. Maybe there were art books in the library but writing stories came a lot more naturally to me. So that’s what I did. In sixth grade, I still really liked drawing and art class but because of budget cuts (Prop 2 I think it was called) only the tops kids got to pursue art in seventh and eighth grade in a class they called Super Art. I wasn’t chosen, not by a long shot, so that was that with art except for occasional cartoons I’d draw for myself or others.

When I took an oil painting class months ago it was a random happenstance, and I didn’t expect much. I couldn’t draw so I wouldn’t be able to paint. I’ve learned in the last several months that they don’t have to be interrelated. When I paint now, I’ve got the same excitement and enthusiasm I had when I was a child.

Since the last post here are the paintings I’ve finished. I’m throwing fewer in the trash and more are being hung on my wall or sent to people who want them hanging in their homes. This is a wonderful feeling, seeing my work on someone else’s wall. Each day something I created brings them joy. There’s nothing better than that.

Without further ado, here’s my newest stuff.

Scruffy and Granola

Five Cairns Waiting for Dad

Uncle Peter’s Dogs

My Sister-in-Law’s Dog

Best Friends

Old Mabel

A Friend’s Dog

Scruffy

July 4th Granola

Anna in PEI

2021 Christmas Picture

Hanukkah Granola

The Duckpond in Simi Valley

My Grandparents’ House

We’ll see what 2022 brings but for now as long as I’m doing something creative, I think I’ll be just fine.

Here’s to a creative and happy 2022.

-Tracy

Oil Painting- Dog Portraits

I’ve been painting like a madwoman because whenever I start a new hobby I go full force. I started painting dogs for practice and feel like I’m getting pretty good at it, enough to start selling them one of these days. Maybe it wouldn’t be as much fun if I had to do it but I may explore this and put any money earned toward my credit card debt. And if I don’t go that route, I’ll paint a bunch more and hang them to add fun and whimsy to my living room wall.

Here are the ones I’ve completed to date. The black and white ones are all of my Granola. The Australian Shepherd is my friend’s dog, Jasper. The terrier-type dog is my stepfather’s buddy Scooter.

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This weekend I did the two below. The little brown dog, Maysie, belongs to my husband’s coworker. The poodle is my father-in-law’s dog, Bridget.

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I’ve got two more to paint that someone requested and then I’m seriously going to consider opening an Etsy shop or at least advertising locally. I’m a little intimidated with trying to paint humans but I should give that a shot too.

Painting is so relaxing. The materials are a bit expensive but once I have the paints they last a while, except for black and white which I use up pretty quickly. I use Winsor and Newton Paints, Artist’s line, linseed oil and Dammar Varnish. I’ve been using the Winsor Winton Titanium White from Amazon because I use so much. It’s a little thicker but the oil thins is nicely.

I’ve got shelves full of tile and need to get back to mosaics one of these days. The only reason I’ve slowed down, okay two reasons, are the mosquitos that are STILL HERE even though it’s October 31st. Happy Halloween by the way. And second, I used up all the wall I can easily get to that’s not obstructed by plants. Any new work I do will need to be on the hill and it’s a lot harder to tile, lugging up heavy tile, water, and grout.

I hope you enjoy the paintings and feel a bit inspired.

-Tracy

My Mosaic Wall – My Sugar Glider

A lot of people still don’t know what a Sugar Glider is, which is probably a good thing. They’re adorable, snuggly, loyal, and more work than someone would expect for a tiny marsupial that weighs less five ounces. A lot of people buy them on impulse, like Ivy and I did, and then realize they’re not just an expensive, smart, hamster-sized creature that is content to live alone in a cage and chew things. A lot of them end of being neglected or rehomed. Ivy and I had one for eight years until she passed away. Mia, as we named her, had a lot of adventures with us. She was on Pets 101 on the Animal Planet with us, played escape artist and got lost several times in our old place, and spent about six hours a day on average sleeping in my shirt and sharing my lunch when I worked from home.

A few weeks ago I thought it would be fun to add a sloth to a bare spot I had on the wall. I looked at cartoon pics of a sloth and laid out a draft of it on a 12 inch square tile. I was pretty excited at how cute it was and expected this to be an easy project. I used bathroom white tile from the Habitat for Humanity Restore, gray floor tile from the same store, and various pieces of brown glass tile and black penny tiles from Home Depot. I’ve got some Dollar Tree broken plates for the leaves.

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Unfortunately once I added it to the wall it looked terrible. But I wasn’t worried because once I add the grout everything usually falls into place. Except because there was so much white, it didn’t look at all like a sloth.

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So I painted the in between spots with black grout paint. It looked ridiculous. And worse, I discovered sloths didn’t have tails so I had to chip away the tail, much to the annoyance of the husky next door who DID NOT LIKE all that hammering and chiseling. This was the final, which I hated. I planned to go out the next day and chip the whole thing off the wall which I have never done before but I was not pleased with it, at all.

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When I looked at it closely, I saw that it kind of reminded me of Mia, my old Sugar Glider. She was gray and hung upside down from things and resembled this bad attempt at a sloth. She passed away a few years ago and I had failed to memorialize her on the wall previously.

I picked up medium gray grout stain and mixed it with my grout. I chiseled away the nose and the sky where the big ears would need to go. I didn’t want to chip away the sky where the sloth tail had once been, and add the tail back. But Sugar Gliders have long tails. I placed the tail tile over the sky tile, to go give it a 3D look but more so because I didn’t want to start chipping away too much of the long-settled piece beside it.

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Finally, my finished result! Still not great but a lot cuter than it was before and now I’ve got my little Mia to make me smile when I look at the wall.

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Now that I’ve got the gray stain I may go back and work on the Easter Island heads again. If I do, I’ll add an update to the last entry.

Two weeks ago I started an oil painting class so I may be adding pictures of new art one of these days.

Until then, happy creatiing!

Tracy

My Mosaic Wall-Easter Island Heads

Most of my mosaic projects have been small and somewhat abstract. After finishing the hands around the world piece, I got ambitious and decided to put some Easter Island heads on the back wall. We’re doing the yard in Tiki decor and I thought this would be a fun touch. It took me a good two weeks to complete this. Keep in mind, I work full time and do volunteer work, and have life stuff, so this wasn’t a solid two weeks of non-stop work. It was just when I could find time. It was probably a good 20 hours though, all told.

I started with sketches to get an idea of shading, I went through a lot of plates from Dollar Tree and the 99 Cent Only Store. I also used a lot of Home Depot and Lowe’s gray floor tile. I used black penny tiles from Lowe’s as well. The hardest part of all of this, besides the sore neck and back and the heat, was that I had to keep going up and down the hill for supplies. I also do a lot of stepping back from a piece to see it from far away and I couldn’t do that without walking up and down the hill. Good thing I have stone steps built into the hill, courtesy of my daughter and future son-in-law.

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Robert and I are just to the left of the left head, for scale. There was a lot of good, gray color before I added the grout. Once I slathered in the white grout, it started to look washed out.

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Once it was fully grouted, I needed to scrub any leftover grout off the black pieces. I went to Home Depot and bought gray grout paint. The floor tile I used for the gray was porous so I had to scrub the gray grout paint off all the tile, piece by piece, with a toothbrush and wet cloth. It was really hot that day and it dried almost immediately. It was so light gray it was almost white so barely made a difference. It helped a little to bring the piece back to life though.

Next I painted around the eyes, forehead and mouth, and outlines with black grout paint. That made a big difference. When the sun went down a little, the contrast came back. A lot of the faded-out illusion was just the blinding sun. It’s pretty far from the backyard so here are closeups of the UFO and Robert and me. Why did I add a UFO you may ask? Why not.

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Here’s our Tiki yard (in progress) at night with the heads (top right of photo) illuminated by our solar spotlight. All the lights you see are solar. We LOVE the solar lights!

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Until my next post, stay creative!

Tracy