Corado, 20" X 16", acrylic on board

This was a recent commission for a woman with two Warmbloods in California. This is Corado, a majestic imported Hanoverian.

The Goat Feeding, 18" X 24", acrylic

A painting for my good friends Jane and Vern, outside Saint Louis at their farm. The goats get fed grain every 3-4 days, and when they do it's a big deal. I painted this image from a video I took of the goats all running from the big pastures to the barn. The last gal, pregnant I believe, straggling behind with her ears flopping as she goes.... and Vern just chuckling all the while.

Ragazza, 9" X 12", acrylic

This is a friend's 19 (?) year-old cat. I believe her name may be Bella Ragazza, meaning "beautiful girl" in Italian. I have to say though, I wish I'd gotten a video of her, as she has the cutest, short little legs ever! She reminded me a lot of my old bow-legged, fat black boy, Spaghetti, aka Spaz.

Zoe and Miguel, 8.5 X 11.5, watercolor

"Zoe" is my California friend's first young Warmblood; she stands over 17 hands and she is not only a beautiful mover, but she is very smart too. A handful!
Miguel has taken exceptional care of her, and my friend will give this painting as a gift to him. It wass actually not quite finished here but I sent it off without photographing (my corrections to hind hooves, feet and general tightening)!

Impy, 18" X 15.5", acrylic

Impy is 23 and still spunky! This was a commission for friends on Cape Cod. As you can see, animal portrait commissions tend to be photo-realistic... unless I have been given extensive freedoms putting me in charge of design, composition, etc.

Soliloquy (Canada Goose), 11 1/2" X 8 1/2", acrylic

I get so much reference material from down my road - this one here from a threesome of Canada Geese that were slowly making their way through Red River Marsh, out to Red River Beach (Harwich Port, MA), chowing along the way.

Bubble Boys, 12 1/2" X 21 1/2", acrylic

More Sanderlings! All my Sanderlings seem curiously ... in bright sunlight and ...on the beach....
Yes, I can "work" and hang out at the beach too.....!!!

Cling-On, 4" X 4", acrylic

White-Breasted Nuthatch! Cuties they are.

Great Blue in Yellow

Great Blue Heron of course.... I'm trying to loosen up. Wonder if I am just getting messy.

Goldfinch, 8" X 8", acrylic

Summertime.
Male and female Goldfinches everywhere.
Maybe there's a cheerful goldfinch to try and counteract every tear shed, because there are a lot of people hurting ... and a lot of goldfinches right now.

Heron in Marshgrass, 8" X 11", acrylic

This Great Blue Heron will appear in my newest mural for Long Island (L.I. National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center at Wertheim). The painting itself will be at Nickerson Gallery on Main Street in Chatham (Cape Cod MA). Trying for that loose style, but struggling when trying to depict a specific species.

Grassland Fork, 7" X 10", original acrylic

North Bay, 8" X 10", original acrylic

A view of Pleasant Bay with a tad of artistic license.

Two Peeps Playing, 8" X 11.5"

I could paint these guys all day.

Little Trodden Path, 4" X 6", original acrylic

Peeps Parade, image size 8" X 24"

This image is available as a fine art giclee print.

Cape Light, image size 12" X 27"

This image is available as a fine art giclee print.
Please contact me at barb@barbaraharmon.com.

Sanderling Surf Snack, 14" X 11", acrylic

More Peeps!
Sold the one below this so had to replace.
The beach is currently a bit grey and misty, so these pics are a good reminder of the sunny summer.

Peep Flying 2, acrylic, 12" x 12"

Sanderling in flight....
love to emphasize the sand-colored reflected light on the belly.

Peep Flying. 8" X 10", acrylic

When I was an undergrad at UC Berkeley I took Ornithology, and a guy in the class called the sanderlings (the little guys running along the shoreline) "peeps". Cute name for the cutest little birds. Always active - almost like hummers. Most of the time they are feeding along the waves (I got a great pic of one nearly submerged by a wave - generally they escape in time) but then they will suddenly fly off. I was catching rays and great views of these guys last week. Love 'em!

Schoolie Bluefin, 18" X 36", acrylic

New piece for upcoming show at Nickerson Art Gallery, "Soul fo the Sea" Exhibit.

Little Dune Grasslands, 12" X 18", acrylic

Some of the spring mornings this year have been superb; this morning was obviously as bright and clear as you ever get. A first painting after being away illustrating scientific, medical and biological things for some time. I really want to get to some fish, however.
I am going to post my tuna from two years ago - to inspire myself.

Young Yellowfin, 12" X 24", acrylic

I want to paint more tuna and other fast, shiny sportfish like these!
Fun.

As of today, May 20, this image is avalable as a giclee print on canvas.

Marsh View North, 9" X 12", acrylic

The same area as the previous painting; Forest Beach supplies lots of bits of inspiration.

"Stripes", 8" X 8", acrylic

Seems I haven't been able to return to the winter theme.
Spring will be arriving soon, and perhaps I will just skip over it after all. Old photos of summer scenes have been helpful in reminding me that summer will indeed return as well!

"Chicory and Overgrown Vines", 8" X 10", acrylic

It's January 31, and I needed a glimpse of summer.

"November Foot Bridge", 9" X 12", acrylic on board

I have enjoyed the interesting colors of November. Sometimes it's ubiquitously grey here on the Cape, but other times there are subtleties in color everywhere. This image is from Salt Pond in Eastham, a great place to walk with lots of trails, and Nauset Marsh which leads to the outer beach itself. Perhaps at some point I'll do a surf image or two.

"November Red and Green", 9" X 12", acrylic on board

I was walking my pup, it was cold and had just flurried.
In the shadows were patchy bits of snow, giving a super duper cobalt look to them (and if you look at all of my work I do tend to love the blues and purples)... Wow, then the little red buds against that evergreen whatever-it-is... Who knew November could be so charming?

"Bench Landing", 6" X 8", acrylic on board

I have a bunch in the works right now.
This is the last summer scene, then on to some nice fall and winters.

"Dashing Through the Snow", 12" X 9", acrylic

My Christmas card!
I have these available as greeting cards: 8 1/2" X 5 1/2".
Email me if you would like to order. Package of 5 for $15.00. $2.00 shipping.
barb@barbaraharmon.com

"Skippy and Weedie", 14" X 26", acrylic

This commission was done for the owner of the farm where I board Finnegan (my horse). It was a gift for her mother who owns these two (the Appy on the right is the foal of the mare on the left). Apparently when they gave her the gift at Christmas she cried.
In this case it's great when people cry.

Wychmere Harbor, 13" X 26", acrylic

This commission required lots of artistic license.
My main reference shot was from 1965!
The other was from a shot taken in a grey grey November!
Needless to say the buildings on Cape Cod today compared to '65 also have changed. Bigger - lots bigger.
I miss the old Cape but alas, that's progress.
Regardless, the harbor remains and can look lovely in Spring, Summer and Fall. The boats haven't changed all that much. Just more of 'em!

"Cove Peek", 4" X 6", acrylic

A cute view on Town Cove in Orleans in summer.

Stream Edge, 12" X 9", acrylic

This was from a trip to NH last fall.

Round Cove, 18" X 24", acrylic

Please do click on this image to see better color in the larger version.....
This was the last piece finished in preparation for an open studio event I had last night.
The image is from Pleasant Bay, a beautiful and varied inlet here on the Cape which in the summer months is somwewhat overloaded with lobster boats, fishing and pleasure boats and yachts, and little skiffs like this one.

"Grass Abstract", 9" X 12", acrylic on board

When I walk my dog practically anywhere, I look at grasses.
I have had a bit of botany classwork and have done botanical illustration.
I always say to myself, "grass is so under-rated".
I love it. Most of the species are like miniature corn plants, with their teeny-weeny flowers concealed amidst the long spires at ends of stalks. If you look up close at the colors they are almost always subtle and beautiful.
This piece is no botanical illustration, for sure! And even though it features some fairly common species (unknown to me... just because I like grasses it doesn't mean I know one species from another), I hope it sings the praises of grass in some way.

Old Field Road, 7" X 10", acrylic on board

I tried to take a "study" or quickie-approach to this small one. For the most part it worked and went smoothly. A fun scene to work with - with all the lush colors and textures.

Fisher Morning, 12" X 18", acrylic on board

I admit I am into smooth, nice-colored, gradated skies. Same goes for water. It's hard to achieve, at least in acrylic, and I have to tell myself I'm finished when I'd really rather re-paint again and again, to (attempt to) make it PERFECT.

Late Summer Slope, 14" X 11", acrylic

Kind of a quickie though it doesn't look it.
We like those!!
Not so sure about the bright greens... but greens are always difficult and it IS summer after all.

I lost the "squishy" feel of the paint somewhere when I started nit-picking the grass, as usual.
Where to draw the line between realism and the painterly thing?
...still working on that....

Golden Cove, 8" X 14", acrylic

I am trying to experiment with bolder color. Another one on the way once I am done with my illustration projects.

Beachgrass #2, acrylic on board, 8" X 8"

Another beachy scene.

Cedar Path, 9" X 12", acrylic on board

Just a quickie to remind myself I still paint when in the midst of illustration projects.
This is the beach (well, the dunes behind the beach) down the road from me and the location of many of my images.

Cordgrass in Grey, 14" X 11", acrylic on canvas

This was more exciting than I'd anticipated because I tend to paint in heavy contrast and this has basically none.
Grey days can be so very lovely and melancholy. Painting the greyness scared me - I was afraid of it becoming "dead" - but the grey can serve as a platform for the colors to contrast against.... albeit subtly.

Asking For Trouble, 18" X 36", acrylic on board

After the last piece this was very exciting. Bigger blobs of paint, and a subject I love. Plus the large size, although it inevitably takes awhile to complete, forced me to stay relatively loose.
These are my horse's two best friends. Usually they are beating HIM up (as he is the youngest and the biggest troublemaker...). They all "play fight" constantly, and I feel it's great for their development, to spend time just being horses.

Fall Marsh 14" X 32", acrylic on board

This has been sitting waiting to be painted for some time. I blocked in the sky and the deeper grass early on, but couldn't face all the detail for months.
Comments so far have been favorable, however I feel no need to start another like this too soon.

Twisted Survival

An old Bristlecone Pine from my days in California.
Not quite finished... (I guess that's why I called this blog what I did, because I always want to post before I am truly done with them).
I cannot remember the name of the yellow-flowered plant which is so ubiquitous on gravelly slopes of CA. It is a survivor, and so bright and sunny even though the foliage is a relatively dull grey-green.
Need I mention the Bristlecone Pine? An absolutely amazing tree. It feels almost cliche to paint it. I guess my justification is that this one is dead. (..?!)
Painting this made me think of my good friend Heidi with whom I took so many botany trips out there in the 80's (... and I am happy to say I am planning a trip in July to Montana to see her and my old botany instructor...YIPPEEE!!)
My ongoing task with the paintings is to work on getting the gist of living things with fewer brush strokes - rather than being compelled to paint every leaf and stem like such a (damn) illustrator.

Running on One Tree Hill

Another very photo-realistic piece, but I wanted to paint this image, and feel it needs the specificity.
The image is my thoroughbred mare Calliope (in an additional post below), at one of my favorite (relatively unknown) places here in Chatham. That is me chasing her. I have witnessed so many great horse scenes up on this hill. The very first time I let her into this 12-acre field she took off at a huge gallop and circled at least five times. She had previously been kept in a small backyard enclosure and surely never got to let her racing genes have their way.
Now my new "child" is a 1/2 draft baby (he's the one in the photo). He will show up on this blog one day too I imagine. Although if I were to capture his personality, I'd surely depict him being very naughty in some way.

Four for Lunch, 12" X 24", acrylic on canvas

I can't get away from the "peeps"! They are so animated and the waves coming in behind them lend action and color, so here is another Sanderling piece. In a previous post, I asked myself "how many Sanderlings can one do?", but I'm now thinking the possibilities are endless! I like them in a group like this too. I think I may try doing some in flight soon.

Leaving Late Afternoon

A little bigger than others lately.
This is an absolutely lovely place near my house where lots of people including myself walk their dogs. There are scores of birds and wildflowers...including Cedar Waxwings in February, Bluebirds in March, and zillions of Goldfinches all spring and summer (among countless others - these are just my favorites), you can imagine the cornucopia of color you can get on some days.
Additionally my Australian Shepherd Tucker sees to it that NO COYOTES spend too much time here, at least on his watch!
The "Lace Field" piece below is also from this conservation area.... and I have others in the works.
There is plenty of material here!

Beachgrass#1

This was a fun, interesting and educational piece. I ended up still being too illustrative but of course that would happen when painting blades of grass! I originally posted it earlier but I made changes and this is the final piece..