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, ...

"TRAILER HITCHED" new oil painting by Mike Callahan

"Trailer Hitched"
20" x 20" oil on canvas
I'm sure I really annoy people when I drive; I'm constantly looking around observing things, looking for things that really lend themselves to a painting. This painting is one of those times, my wife and I went out early one morning in search of some dramatic lighing on the landscape and as I was driving along the road, there were these to beautiful Paints hitched to their trailer readied for a ride. I hit the brakes and pulled out the camera...this painting is the eventual result.

"INDIAN PAINTBRUSH" - new original oil painting by Mike Callahan

"Indian Paintbrush"
10" x 8" oil on canvas
Sometimes when you are hiking in the desert, something catches your eye and repositions your view from wide angle to close up...that's what Indian Paintbrush flowers will do; they are such bright, energetic and unexpected flowers usually growing where nothing else will...enjoy!

"COWBOY'S RIB" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Cowboy's Rib"
16" x 12" oil on canvas

"This painting is the second to last from the Tule Peak/Winnemucca Ranch series I've been doing...it's called 'Cowboy's Rib' because that's the name of the ridge that we climbed to get to the top of the peak. This is a view looking up the canyon that runs along the rib near the base of the mountain before things started getting really steep...enjoy!"

"LONELY AT THE TOP" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Lonely At The Top"
12" x 16" oil on canvas
"During last summer's trek to the top of Tule Peak, I was intrigued by the tenacity of the Juniper trees that grew on the rock outcroppings near the peak. This is one of those lonely, ardent strugglers. Even though it is only at about 8,000' in altitude, it's close to 4,000' above the valley floor a mere three miles away! Aside from snow, I have no idea what water it may ever get, and it has to grow in near constant wind. I guess that explains why there are so few of these up there at the top!"

"TULE SPRING" new original oil painting by Mike Callahan

"Tule Spring"
12" x 16" oil on canvas
"This is Tule Peak just a few weeks ago with the last dusting of snow falling on it over night - but alas, spring's triumphant advance continues, evidenced by the greening of grasses and underground springs yeilding their abundance. This is another one, like last weeks, where I was thoroughly taken by the early morning light on the mountain broken by retreating clouds in the sky - I've done my best to capture that here...enjoy!"

"Dogskin Peek" Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Dogskin Peek"
12" x 24" oil on canvas
"This is Dogskin Mountain with the spring's last dusting of snow on it peeking out behind the foothills a few weeks ago. I just loved how the sun kept highlighting certain features as it broke in and out of the clouds early one morning. I've tried to capture it here for you...enjoy!"

News from Oil Painter's of America National Juried Show

Mike has received the Classic Framing Inc. Award of Excellence
for his painting "Wild Mustangs" at Oil Painters of America's National Juried Show
in Missoula Montana... Click for details!

"MULE DEER MORNING" - New Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Mule Deer Morning" 24" x 20" oil on canvas "It's been a while since I've painted any wildlife so I thought I'd paint a nice buck looking for a secluded place to bed down for the day...enjoy!"

"THE STILL, RAGGED EDGE" - new oil painting by Mike Callahan

"The Still, Ragged Edge"
20" x 24" oil on canvas
"This is a shot of the Southeast side of Long Lake as seen late last fall. I was taken by how the still water contrasted with the ragged edge of the shore with its sharp rocks and broken trees...enjoy!"

"Sierra Splendor", original oil painting by Mike Callahan

"Sierra Splendor"
40"x60" Oil on Canvas
SOLD!
I just finished this commissioned piece...it's very large and I had a great time painting it...I've posted a tutorial for it as well, you can see the painting progress by clicking here.

"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!

"Valley Floor" - Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Valley Floor"
24" x 30" oil on canvas
"This painting is done from a shot I took on my recent visit to Arches National Park near Moab. We were in a hurry to get back up to Delicate Arch while we still had sun (it was being obscured by clouds intermittently all day) but when we found this spot near the trailhead, I just had to pause to photograph it knowing it would make a great subject for a painting. Enjoy!"

"Aspen Path" Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Aspen Path"
Oil On Canvas - 24" x 30"
"We got a very early snow this fall and as a result, there were lots of Aspens turning color with snow on the ground too which is sort of unusual for us. I shot the reference for this painting on a glorious afternoon in October on the trail that goes around Spooner Lake. Enjoy!"

Last Week's Studio Demo

Untitled - Studio Demo 02-03-08
16" x 12" oil on canvas
"I painted this piece from the many reference shots I have of Tahoe. Actually, the participants of the demo chose it; I gave them a choice between two. There was a great deal of interest in how to paint water and the clear waters of Lake Tahoe gave me ample opportunity to demonstrate."

Get a Free Download Open Edition Print

"Wild Mustangs"
High Res Download (2.3Mb) Requires Adobe Acrobat
Click Here

"Long Day" - Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Long Day"
36" x 16" oil on canvas

My good friend Dennis McCroskey is the model for this painting...he's the real deal and this is from a photo he provided...at least the cowboy is, I shot the clouds that I used in the background. The unstable weather that we get on the Eastern side of the Sierras yield some pretty impressive clouds from time to time.

"Tim Finnigan" original oil painting by Mike Callahan

"Tim Finnigan"
8" x 10" oil on canvas

This is a fun little portrait I painted of my daughter-in-law's little brother Tim.

"Snowpile" Original Oil Painting by Mike Callahan

"Snowpile"
10" x 8" oil on canvas

This is piece was done as a challenge that I gave to the critique group I'm in. The challenge was to paint something "ugly", but paint it well...this is my effort toward that end!

"Sierra Buttes Ridge" - original oil painting by Mike Callahan

"Sierra Buttes Ridge"
8" x 12" oil on canvas
Study

This is the second study I did for a proposal for a larger painting...the clients chose this view and I'll be painting it much larger (40" x 60") in the following months...stay tuned for my progress in here and on my site.