Frog of the Day

I’m reading a new book about being more productive, making the most of your time. It’s called Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracy. The basic concept is that if every morning you had to eat a live frog, that’s probably the worst thing you’ll have to do all day so do it and put it behind you. There are a couple of big frogs hopping around me these days, and perhaps inspired by the book, I started one today. It’s a commission, and a surprise, so I won’t be posting my progress here, but today I started working on firming up the drawing. After I finish this post, I’m going to finish that stage. Okay, so it’s not first thing in the morning, but I am due lunch so why not a frog? ;-) Nothing like a new self-help book for some inspiration, eh?

There’s a lot of stuff on the go right now, so some days it can get a little overwhelming figuring out what to do first. Once the horses are taken care of, and the dogs, there are a lot of things waiting for attention. The Royal Winter Fair starts this week, and tomorrow I deliver eight paintings to be displayed in the Tanbark Room. In addition to the commission mentioned above, I have quite a few others to be done – tis the season, right? Because the next two months will be occupied by completing those portraits, the original work gets put on hold. The two I finished this past week for the Royal are probably the last until oh, about December 26! Above you’ll see one of the originals going to the Royal. This is a 14 x 17 oil pastel, titled 3 on 3.

Right now I have a balance between horse portraits and dog portraits, and I’ve just completed a cat. This cat was not a gift portrait, so I can post a photo. You have to agree she’s a lovely cat. Her name is Lana, and she was a lot of fun to do, lounging as she was in the primary photo reference. This is an 8 x 10 oil pastel.

Well, my frog is calling me. Fortunately, my subject is much more attractive than a frog! I would hate to have the client get the wrong impression!