"ANXIOUS" New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Anxious"

Oil on Linen

24" x 30"

I've been working on this one on and off for a while.  I painted most of it last November, but have been fussing with the perspective a bit.  I wanted to paint a figurative piece with a bit more narrative than works done in the past.  We had a beautiful model pose for our painting group last summer and I shot some photos, but I had to find background reference and a public bench reference and then was challenged with making it look like nighttime...blah, blah, blah...anyway, here's the final piece... 

"EVENTIDE" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Eventide"

Oil on Linen

24" x 20"

I've been looking a lot lately at the works of William Adolphe Bouguereau and how he was able to portray such luminous skin.  I had this nice pose from a model so I decided to see if I could approximate something akin to Bouguereau.  I'm quite sure I have fallen far short of that objective, but here is my attempt.

"BUCKAROO" New, Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Buckaroo"

Oil on Linen

30" x 20"

Here's a painting of a buckaroo I just finished from some reference I gathered late last summer. The buckaroo is a specific type of cowboy from the Great Basin. He comes from the vaquero tradition and typically wears a different sort of hat than other cowboys. There are probably a lot of other differences that I'm unaware of as well.

"ERIN & ROBERT" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Erin & Robert"

20" x 24" Oil on Linen

Here's my most recent portrait that I did of a delightful couple named, of course, Erin and Robert. They commissioned me to do this portrait as a gift to Erin's parents and I'm told that they were overwhelmed with delight upon receiving it! This makes me happy!

"LOOKS LIKE RAIN" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Looks Like Rain"

24" x 30"

Oil on Linen

This painting is painted from some reference shots I took from my High Desert Ranch trip last year. It was very overcast that day, but some dramatic scenery nonetheless. Running into this cowboy named Moe was a huge added bonus!

"THE RECALCITRANT" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"The Recalcitrant"

20" x 30"

Oil on Linen

Here's one of my most recent cowboy paintings I've been working on. I shot the reference for this painting at the ranch rodeo in Cedarville back in late August and the background is from out in the Winnemucca Ranch area. When my son was just a little tike, I used to read him a story titled, "The Recalcitrant Calf" and ever since I've thought that the word "recalcitrant" is a very appropriate one for calves!

Portrait of My Parents

Portrait of my parents - Ed & Alyce Callahan
on their 50th Anniversary
24" x 32"
oil on linen
For a long time now, I have been planning to paint a portrait of my parents. As their 50th anniversary approached, one of my brothers told me that this would be the logical time to do it. I was gone on vacation two weeks ago, so I had to get it done in an inordinately short amount of time, but I pulled it off somehow and so, here it is...stay tuned, next week you should start seeing paintings that come from my vacation trip - hint, think sailboats, ocean, ...

"Self-Portrait" - Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Self-Portrait"
24"x28" Oil on Linen
I did this painting mainly because I wanted to enter the American Artist Magazine's Self-Portrait Competition, and secondly because I've always thought it would be a challenge to paint a self-portrait and well, I'm always up for a challenge!