And the winner is..

Thank you to everyone who joined my mailing list and by joining entered my pet portrait contest.   The winner is Emma Storey, who has very graciously accepted her prize. Congratulations, Emma. Emma has and has had many pets and will have to decide which will be the portrait subject.  I'm looking forward to seeing her choice.  I will post the painting here once it's completed, likely in the new year.

In the interest of fairness, I cut up my mailing list and drew one name from the pile

To those of you who didn't win this time, I am happy to accept pet portrait commissions any time.

A Caribou is a Reindeer, but not an Elk

A caribou is a reindeer by another name.  Both belong to the species Rangifer tarandus, although their long separation across continents--caribou in North America and reindeer in Eurasia--means some differences have crept in over thousands of years.  As far as I know, for example, Canadian caribou don't fly.

Woodland Caribou, oil on panel 8" x 10"

Even so, I painted this Woodland Caribou for last year's Christmas postcard.  The original painting is available for one more week at the Red Brick Cafe in Guelph where my solo exhibition continues until December 13th.

We Caribou You! postcard © Shannon Reynolds 2014

And, of course, neither a Caribou nor a Reindeer is An(ne) Elk.

A languid Elk at my brother's family's campsite in Jasper this summer

Painting from a live model

There's really no substitute. I love to set up my portable paintbox and tripod and paint with a limited colour palette in one burst of intense concentration.  There was a great turn out last Wednesday night for the sustained pose at the Cambridge Centre.  Here is my oil painting of our lovely model, Irena.

Irena, portrait study from life, oil on gessoed board (detail)

Irena, portrait study from life, oil on gessoed board, 9" x 12"