A Beautifully Colourful New Stag Painting
Bright Woodland Colours; A New Stag Painting
Lots of lovely emerald, turquoise and scarlet in this piece. I'm going to add some texture in the final layer when this one is dry in a day or two.
A very big commission
As you can see below, my most recently completed bespoke painting was an enormous painting of a Highland Cow, in lovely warm, Autumn colours. The owenrs were inspired by another of my pieces, from a year or two back, named Islay. They wanted a similar piece, but a lot bigger and with even more orangey tones. Of course no two cow pictures are ever really the same, but the inspiration piece was there in the back of my mind as I was painting. The project took around 6 weeks to complete, as there were four or five layers of paint to build up, and each needed time to dry in between. Its a slow priocess but the final results make up for it - the textures and colours interplay and beautify the surface of the canvas. Close-up, the painting is a tangle of brush strokes and textured paint, when you step back the cow emerges.
If you would like to discuss your own next commissioned piece, dont hesitate to get in touch. I am open to requests until the end of September. hello@suegardnerstudio.com
Safe Arrival!
Hi Sue,
I just wanted to let you know that the painting arrived safely.. She looks absolutely stunning on the wall and we are so pleased with the final product. Thank you so much!! I'm sure we will be commissioning another piece in the future.
All the best,
Bonnie
Painting of Bluebells this week, Spring is on it's way!
Bluebell woods painting 50 x 80 cm
Some new atmospheric paintings of bluebell woods and colourful woodland landscapes are in progress. These are the first in a new woodland series of original paintings.
Backlit Highland Bull
Highland Bull Painting
A new Highland Bull painting, a golden sweetheart against a bright twilight sky, really enjoyed this painting from a new perspective!
Highland Bulls - a couple of smaller works in progress
Sometimes I like to go through my pile of unfinished canvases and turn them into something new. So this week I started these two young Highland Bulls in a similar palette of rust and stormy blue. The guy on the left is 50 x 60 cm and on the right 70 x 70 cm. Both of these will be available for sale when they are finished.
Some photos from the Festival
Participating in Melbourne Festival 2022 was a great experience. My location was in Hourlier Wines, a father, and son business that specialises in French wines. The beautiful timbered brick building and elegant bottles provided the perfect setting for my colourful glossy oil paintings.
Painting session - Woodland Stag
This week I have changed the way that I work slightly to accommodate a couple of restrictions, and it has turned out to be in my favour. I spent yesterday painting this gentleman. I have used the same reference photo in a previous painting several years ago, and it was interesting for me, to return and see the differences in my own approach.
Owls!
A studio filled with aviators ( I'm not one of them)
This is the face of a person who gets a kick out of painting birds in flight One day I’m sure I’ll fly again myself but until that day I shall paint those who do. I was always a very fearful flyer, which, as the daughter of a fighter pilot is perhaps a bit strange. Recently I overcame my fear by watching videos on a You Tube aviation channel during the lockdown and beyond. Thanks to 74Gear I now have a better understanding and confidence, which I have yet to put to the test.
This time its a goat looking on!
My newly available colourful wildflower cow piece ‘Glenclova’ who is surrounded by colours I could actually eat, they are so delicious. And a little goat poking out his tongue behind her back.
Hare paintings For Sale
This piece is 50 x 50 cm and is now sold. Please contact me if you would like to commission your own hare painting on canvas. Hares are one of my favourite animals, perfect as a painting subject with their shabby-elegant looks and beautiful faces.
I like to create atmospheric textures and this piece is a good example of this. The background is made up of four or five layers and dry brushwork in several colours to give this wild and blustery effect.
Two new sheep sharing a canvas
Please excuse the mess of the tray under the canvas shelf- it gets very very painty under there!
Who paints the Colourful Highland cows?
The Story Behind the Colourful Highland Cow Paintings
I painted my first Highland Cow in 2018, from a photo reference of a beautiful brown and very hairy Highland Cow with a quizzical expression. I used the stance, and the lighting from the photo, however I used my own colour palette. The idea was to use some of the rich and beautiful glowing colours present in the gorgeous Harris Tweed fabric, which always reminds me of the beauty of the Scottish scenery. I painted that piece in two sessions, and it all fell into place very quickly. I enjoyed it so much that I began to paint a whole series of these lovely cows. The colours and the expressive brush and finger marks do seem to suit the character of the Highland Cattle, and I enjoy creating the moody and stormy surroundings.
The most famous of my colourful Highland Cow paintings is that first one, simply titled ‘Highland Cow’. I entered the Wraptious artist competition that year, having put together a collection of five paintings , all of the animals, for my entry. I won the competition and was signed up as a licensed artist , and my Highland Cow began to be featured on a lot of their home and giftware that year. He is still a bestseller now and a familiar face in boutiques and shops both in the UK and abroad.
My original Highland Cow painting
Buy a large canvas print of the Highland Cow here:
A new Lion oil painting in progress
Here is a new Lion portrait on the easel, approaching the finish line. This piece is 76 x 76 cm oil on canvas and will be available on my website quite soon.
Forest Sunlight Painting
This piece is 100 x 100 cm I think - I have yet to measure it
I really love getting inspiration from the beautiful National Forest surrounding my home. Especially during the early Spring when the sun is low in the sky, as it makes stunning lighting effects for my work!
Update* This piece was sold, through the excellent Ferrers Gallery near Ashby de la Zouch. Please see my originals page, or join my art collectors mailing list for newly upcoming forest scenes.
Multi-coloured Cow
close up of the painting
Argyle - new pictures showing off my multi-coloured cow and her gorgeous tropical colours! I can’t get over the way these colours shine from this beautiful cow! See more of my available original colourful cows here on my ‘Originals’ page.
Colourful details
Just give me bigger canvases
This is the story of how I came to paint such big pictures.
I came back to art later in life and I soon found that I was so excited about painting that I used to begin at 5 am, and paint for an hour or two before heading to work with my dogs.
About that same time I also began to have blurry vision, the first sign of the disorder that I live with now, although I didnt know it at the time. To cut a very long story short, I was referred to the eye hospital who quickly decided that I may have Sarcoidosis , a rare auto -immune condition, hard to diagnose. I have been having specialist treatment ever since.
As my eye symptoms became worse at work, I was forced to give up my role as a dog groomer. One good thing was that I had time to do more painting. I began to hope that one day I would become a professional artist.
One of my earlier paintings, a pet commission from a couple of years ago
As my skills improved I offered dog, cat and horse portraits . But there were set backs with my health andI remember that I would lie in bed with a pad of paper and pastels and just try to carry on painting. Art was something to dream about during these rather unhappy days.
As my condition began to stabilise I began to create larger pieces, less detailed , featuring wildlife alongside the pets. Small details might evade me but I found that I could learn to paint in an impressionist style, using elements from my imagination, instead of following photographic references closely.
During the first big lockdown of the pandemic, lots of things happened that enabled me to make the decision to became a full time professional artist. At the same time I lost central vision in my left eye, and as a result I made the decision to create large scale canvases exclusively! I got the opportunity to move to a big studio with plenty of room and light. I found a great art courier and packaging company to assist me in the logistics side of transporting big pieces.
The thought that I might have limited time, with useful sight drives me on to make the most of the time that I have. I dont want to leave any painting left unfinished! To misquote one of my heroes, Robert Plant ‘Just give me bigger canvases!’
Surrounded by animals in my studio
I am as big as a bear!
I am making the most of painting in my new studio, where there is a lot of room. Im even using one of the walls as an extra easel. This gentleman is 150 x 100 cm and is nearly ready to appear on my website.
A brand new collection - on the easel!
inspired by a recent commission, I have begun a colourful new series of lion portraits, here is one of those on the easel. This one is 76 x 76 cm and will be available for sale at £600 plus shipping once dry.
Plenty of parcels!
How I ship my Oil paintings
My moving sale was a tremendous success and lots of fun too. The first purchase came ten minutes after the sale opened and by th eend of the week 32 pieces were sold and off to lovely new homes up and down the country and abroad! Im delighted that these pieces will be seen and enjoyed, rather than going into storage after my move. This photo shows the first batch of pieces ready to go. There were cardboard boxes everywhere that week!
A Highand Cow painting in progress video
This is a painting session condensed into two minutes. I am hoping to get better at making videos so this was my first attempt, with the use of a new camera. This piece is 80 x 100cm and will be available for sale on my website when finished.
