"SYCAMORE" New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Sycamore"

Oil on Canvas

20" x 24"

I have always been intrigued by the warm winter light low on the horizon as it strikes the sycamore trees in their winter state bereft of leaves, so I thought I would challenge myself to paint one...

"LONESOME DOVE" - New, Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Lonesome Dove"

Oil on Canvas

30" x 24"

I've been working on a new series of small works for the holidays. I call the series Western Skies and they are a series of small paintings ranging in size from 9"x 12" to 5" x 7". They are on the website here with a few more additions to come. 

If you live in the area or will be visiting, I'm having an open studio on Sunday, November 6th from noon till 4p.m. where you can see these paintings firsthand as well as other new paintings not yet posted online. I'll also have a "clearance" wall of paintings that I've had in the studio a while that just haven't found a home yet, so if you have the chance, please come by. If you'd like to visit my studio on that day or make an appointment for another time, email me and I'll send you driving directions.

Collectors, I will be having a special "collector's night open studio" on Saturday evening November 5th and if you haven't received your invitation yet, look for it in your mail or inbox, you should receive it this week.

The painting shown below, though not part of the Miniature Show (too big), was inspired by all those sky paintings I've been doing...I just wanted to do at least one cloud painting at a larger scale - I get such great skies here and painting them has been great fun! Dove and other birds often perch on the power lines but when I was gathering reference for this painting there was just this one lonesome dove sitting there and I just thought it would work for the painting. What do you think?

"THE OWENMORE RIVER - BALLYNAHINCH" New, Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"The Owenmore River - Ballynahinch"

Oil on Canvas

24" x 30"

I just finished this one from my Ireland series. It's of the Owenmore River in Ballynahinch, Connemara. I was fortunate to complete a plein air study of this when we were there this past July. This is truly a magical place! Painting so much green is a huge departure for me, but I'm really enjoying it and hope you enjoy seeing this work too!

"DREAMFIELD" New, Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Dreamfield"

Oil on Canvas

24" x 30"

COMMISSION

My daughter is getting married soon and I told her she could have a painting...(I do have a few in the studio). Well, she's always had her own mind about what she wants and really didn't want any that I have already painted, so she shared with me her vision of what she wanted and commissioned me to paint this one. It's a little bit of a departure from my usual style, but I'm really pleased with how it came out - I really like the tonal quality.

"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.

"SIX OF ONE" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Six of One"

20" x 30"

Oil on Linen

Here's my latest painting. I shot the reference for it at the Cedarville Rodeo in August, there was this line of cowboys that I found intriguing. They were waiting to compete, but I thought that changing the lighting and putting them in a different location would give this painting a bit more charm!

"SECRET COVE 3"- New Original Oil Painting By Mike Callahan

"Secret Cove 3"

Oil on Canvas 20" x 38"

Here's another Tahoe piece. I shot this reference about this time of year two or three years ago. I'm still qute taken by the beauty of the lake here, so I just had to paint it again. Enjoy!

"OVERLOOK" New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Overlook"

Oil on Canvas 20" x 38"

Hello Friends, Here's a new Tahoe piece I recently completed from an overlook descending to the eastern shore of the lake. Enjoy!

"MUSTANG" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Mustang"

20" x 16"

Oil on Canvas

This painting was commissioned by a friend of mine as a present for his wife. This is something that I often see out in the Winnemucca Ranch area whose landscape is seen in the background of this painting. You may possibly see more mustang paintings this next year as I really enjoyed painting this one.

"FOREST PATH" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Forest Path" - Triptych

20" x 10" (each panel)

Oil on Panel

After painting the last triptych of the lilly pond, I felt like doing another. This is from the same area near Blue Lakes. As a matter of fact, the path here leads to it; it's just around the bend! ...Enjoy!

"LILLY POND" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Lilly Pond" - Tryptich

20" x 10" (each panel)

Oil on Panel

I know it's been a while since I sent out a new piece, but I have been working on a series that I want to show all at once. These shown above aren't part of that series, but instead are from the same lilly pond up by the Blue Lakes that I just love! This is my first attempt at painting a tryptich and I hope to build a custom frame for it soon. I will try to get painting updates out a bit more frequently, but with the holidays approaching, bear with me!

QUICK TURN - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Quick Turn"

18" x 24"

Oil on Canvas Panel

Last spring I went out to Winnemucca Ranch to gather some reference for some paintings and who do I see but my old buddy Dennis McCroskey chasing this little cow around! His activity provided me with this great little shot...I really enjoyed painting this piece; it was a fun one! ...Enjoy!

SECOND YUBA RIVER STUDY - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Second Yuba River Study"

9" x 12"

Oil on Canvas Panel

Here's the second painting I did down by the Yuba river a couple of weeks ago. This was a great little spot where we painted in the late afternoon light. A beautiful fall day! ...Enjoy!

"TAHOE ROCKS" - Brand New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Tahoe Rocks"

9" x 12"

Oil on Canvas Panel

I recently did a studio demo showing how I approach painting rocks and water. What a better way to demonstrate that than with Tahoe, its great rocks and clear water?...Enjoy!

"SEPTEMBER CALM" New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"September Calm"
24" x 30"
Oil on Canvas

This has to be one of the most blissful spots in the Ruby Mountains...it's at the edge of Favre Lake, late afternoon just about when the fish started biting...Enjoy!

"READY TO ROW" New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Ready to Row"
12" x 16"
Oil on Canvas

Fish and Game folks often leave their rowboats locked to trees during the summer so that they are ready for them to row when they come to check the fish populations or whatever their jobs entail. Last year while doing some camping and hiking around some of these great little Sierra lakes I happened upon this one that just looked like it wanted to be painted!...Enjoy!

"UP LIBERTY PASS" new original oil painting by Mike Callahan

"Up Liberty Pass"
36" x 24"
Oil on Canvas

The Ruby Mountains in Eastern Nevada are often referred to as 'Nevada's Rockies'. Parts are mighty rocky, I can tell you that much! This is another painting from the backpack trip my son and I took last September. We were heading back out of the wilderness area when we met up with this outfitter going in to pick up one of his clients. At close to 11,000 feet, and having already travelled several miles that morning, it kind of made me wish I had a horse!

"JED" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"JED"
Oil on Canvas 30" x 20"
Last September, my son and I took a backpack trip into the Ruby Mountain Wilderness Area. On that trip we ran across this old outfitter and his dog sitting at his camp watching the pack mules while his clients were out hunting Mountain Sheep. I asked him if I could take his photo and he agreed. He wasn't very talkative and really didn't say anything beyond agreeing to have his photo taken. He had on a copper bracelet with the letters JED on it...I don't know if those were his initials or if his name was Jed...Enjoy!

"ANOTHER DAYBREAK ON THE COLORADO" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Another Daybreak on the Colorado"
24" x 32" Oil on Canvas
Here's another painting done from the banks of the Colorado River from the trip I took to Moab last year...enjoy!

"LAST BOAT ON THE LAKE" New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Last Boat On The Lake"

Oil on Canvas 20" x 24

It was late October when I last went up to Tahoe to shoot some reference for this  series I've been doing and when we went to the dock at Zephyr Cove where there are typically lots of boats, there was just this one!