"Wary" Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Wary" Oil on Canvas 24" x 32"
Here it is, the finished painting...you can follow my progress in more detail here.

"Wary" - Painting In Progress - almost finished!

"Wary" Oil on Canvas 24" x 32" (painting in progress)

This is my progress for days five through seven...I've just got a little more of the foreground to finish up, a few details and it will be done! Check back for more progress..more details of my progress here.

"Wary" - Oil Painting In Progress

"Wary" Oil on Canvas 24" x 32" (painting in progress)

Here's my fourth day's progress...I couldn't take it any longer, I had to start painting the Indian. More to follow..more detailed progress here.

"Wary" - Original Oil Painting (in progress) by Mike Callahan

I'm beginning a new painting...I'll try to keep my progress updated here. Above are my reference materials for the painting. I had already painted the study for it, I'll be using that for my color and values. I decided to put an Indian warily watering his horse in the shallow stream. I was able to get a nice shot of a horse that was rather nonchalantly grazing in a nearby field. I didn't see any Indians around, so once again I asked my son Ian to pose for me. He humored me and I turned him into an Indian in the sketch shown above. Just to make sure he fit on the horse, I scanned my sketch, gave it a quick wash of color and put him on the horse in Photoshop. I put the both of them in my original reference shot. Now I'm ready to begin.

"Wary" Oil on Canvas 24" x 32" (painting in progress)

This is the first couple of morning's progress. I've started as usual, underpainting and sketching in my major elements in the wet underpaint. More tomorrow..more detailed progress here.

"Reading the Early Post" Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Reading the Early Post"

12" x 16" Oil on Canvas

See my larger paintings by visiting: http://www.mikecallahanart.com/

Well, this is it, the finished piece. You can see it larger here if you like.

"Reading the Early Post" - painting in progress

"Reading the Early Post" - painting progress

12" x 16" Oil on Canvas

See my larger paintings by visiting: http://www.mikecallahanart.com/

Today I got to paint the most anticipated part of the painting, the figure. Come back tomorrow and see the finished piece!

"Reading the Early Post" - painting in progress

"Reading the Early Post" - painting progress

12" x 16" Oil on Canvas

See my larger paintings by visiting: http://www.mikecallahanart.com/

Here's today's progress on the painting. I spent most of my scant hour and fifteen minutes working on the rocks trying to get them all "rocky"-like.

"Reading the Early Post" - painting in progress

"Reading the Early Post" - painting progress

12" x 16" Oil on Canvas

See my larger paintings by visiting: http://www.mikecallahanart.com/

Here's today's progress on the painting. To the left is a photo reference I'll be using for the place this fellow is standing reading the petroglyphs. I have been graciously supplied with plenty of photo references of local petroglyphs (though not in this specific place shown above) by local artist and Rock Art Foundation member Cherlyn Bennett and I'll be painting them into the scene as well.

Painting in Progress

"Reading the Early Post" - preliminary sketch

pencil on paper

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I'm starting a couple of new pieces for a show coming up in July to benefit the Nevada Rock Art Foundation. They are a group dedicated to the preservation of Nevada's petroglyphs. I wanted to do something a little different, so in this first piece I wanted to depict an early indiginous inhabitant looking at some petroglyphs carved by some of his contemporaries since one must imagine that petroglyphs originally were meant as forms of communication. I researched what this person might have looked like and what he may have worn. It seems, almost universally, in warm weather at least, males wore breechcloths made of either leather or plant material and mocassins with a single seam in the center.
I asked my son to pose for me for reference. Since I posed him in a makeshift breechcloth comprised of a bathroom towel and belt, I thought I would spare both you and him the embarrasment of posting that reference shot. Instead, above you will see my initial sketch. The wild hair he does not have either.

"Reading the Early Post" - figure study

6"x8" Oil on Canvas

Having completed the sketch earlier, this morning I did a small study of how I want to paint the figure in the larger painting. This is 6" x 8". Come back tomorrow for my progress on the larger piece.

Mt. Rose Morning - Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Mt. Rose Morning"

12" x 36" Oil on Canvas

See my larger paintings by visiting: http://www.mikecallahanart.com/

Here's the finished piece, to see it larger, click here...Enjoy!

Mt. Rose Painting Progress Continued

"Mt. Rose Morning"

12" x 36" Oil on Canvas - In Progress

See my larger paintings by visiting: http://www.mikecallahanart.com/

I'm nearly done now, I've finished off the mountain in the back and I've begun the block-in of my foreground. I'm painting the foreground with palette knife to keep it loose...Enjoy!

Painting In Progress (continued)

"Mt. Rose Morning"

12" x 36" Oil on Canvas - In Progress

See my larger paintings by visiting: http://www.mikecallahanart.com/

Top is a closer shot of the foothills of Mt. Rose. I grew up wandering around a lot of that area, so I'm filled with fond memories as I paint this. The bottom shot shows my Tuesday morning progress. Tomorrow, foreground and by Friday I hope to post the finished piece...Enjoy!

Daily Original Oil Painting for May 25, 2007 by Mike Callahan

"Arroyo"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas

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I just love this little piece. I'm currently not offering it for sale because I'm going to use it for a study for a larger painting..Enjoy!

Daily Original Oil Painting for May 24, 2007 by Mike Callahan

"Stormy Skies"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas
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The other day when I was driving home I was noticing how cool it looked with this spring storm blowing in with the turbulent, threatening clouds hanging over the hills that were still basking in the sunlight. I thought the contrast was quite nice...Enjoy!

Daily Original Oil Painting for May 23, 2007 by Mike Callahan

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"Hillside 2"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas
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I'm really intrigued by these little rock outcroppings that "grow" everywhere here on this side of the Sierras. The color contrast and light contrast makes for some real great painting subjects if you ask me...Enjoy!

Daily Original Oil Painting for May 22, 2007 by Mike Callahan

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"Soaring"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas
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I like to go out at lunch time and look for scenes to paint. I found these two vultures catching a thermal out there the other day...Enjoy!

Daily Original Oil Painting for May 21, 2007 by Mike Callahan

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"Roses"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas
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I came across these unusually but beautifully colored roses while shopping for a mother's day gift for my wife. I bought them for her and painted them too...Enjoy!

Daily Original Oil Painting for May 18, 2007 by Mike Callahan

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"Onion and Garlic"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas
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One of the greatest things about still-lifes is that you get to totally control the light and the composition unlike plein air painting where the light is constantly shifting and things may not have grown where they would make an ideal composition and you have to move them around on the canvas. I kind of like that control, but I like getting out as well...Enjoy!

Daily Original Oil Painting for May 17, 2007 by Mike Callahan

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"Artichokes and Garlic"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas
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I love artichokes and now that they are in season I hope to be eating a lot more of them. Of course, they are still a little on the expensive side right now, so before I ate these I painted them...Enjoy! (I did!)

Daily Original Oil Painting for May 16, 2007 by Mike Callahan

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"Girl With No Eyes"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas
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The title of this painting comes from a song by a group out of the sixties called, "It's a Beautiful Day". I know, there's a clue for you, I'm that old! I have this on vinyl, so there you have it! Anyway, I don't even remember what the song is about really, but that title came to mind when I was looking for a name for this little painting that my daughter posed for because the strong, top directional lighting caused her beautiful eyes to be so much in shadow I wasn't able to paint them...Enjoy!