Opie in progress 3

I've laid in the underpainting for Opie where his coat is in shadow, and left the golden ground color for his sunlit areas and rust markings. From this point on, all my work will be in colored pencil over the underpainting. Pencil is a "transparent medium", so I've put in the colors that will glow through the pencil in each area. All that dark brown paint on Opie saves me a lot of coloring-in with brown pencil! 

I spent a lot of time studying the different photos Barbara sent and reading what she wrote about Opie, before starting on him. That allows me to feel connected wtih him so I can get his essence across in the portrayal.

Opie in progress 2

The masking is removed.....See? What did I tell you - smooth washes! 

Misty mountains, clouds, and a lake are taking shape.

The washes make a sweet glow of sunlight, hard to achieve any other way. Since my medium is transparent, I've used the golden color of the ground to influence the colors washed in over it.

Opie in progress 1

I've decided to do this painting on a golden-brown ground, called "Bisque" by the 500-year-old French company that makes it. The choice of ground color is important since my medium is transparent, and this ground showing through will give the whole painting a warm glow. I also chose this color because of Opie's brown coat. As you can see, everything in the painting has been drawn in with white pencil.

 Parts of the painting are masked off using a self-stick plastic film that is cut with a sharp X-acto knife (Opie's head), and pieces of waxed paper (far left and far right). The intricate parts of the tree branches are masked with a liquid latex that is painted on with a brush and let dry, and afterwards will be peeled off. Masking all these areas will allow me to go across the mountain background with smooth washes using a large brush, and not have to worry about stopping to paint carefully around the tree and Opie - which would ruin the smoothness of the wash.

Opie in progress - inspiration

One day out of the blue, Barbara Ross emailed me this photo of 10 year old Opie. It brought tears to my eyes as soon as I looked at it. I emailed back, "I would love to do that as a painting, with his whole soul showing out of his eyes like that." 

Barbara agreed, then told me it's been 3 years since a spinal surgery that left Opie paralyzed. She described his great heart and will to recover, and his accomplishments. These photos tell the story, along with Barbara's comments....

10 years old. It was clear immediately that Opie is a well loved dog. Barbara wrote: 

"He was waiting for George to get into the van and drive him to his Chiropractic appt. Opie had surgery in '07 to remove a 'mass' on the spinal cord. It left him paralyzed for 4 months before he could walk on his own. It's been a long three years."

"He's a strong minded, rather stubborn, individual. WIth a Heart that is bigger than any dobe I know. He's tolerated so much from the time of his surgery. Don't know of another dog who could have gone through what he has and still be trotting along at 10 yrs of age. He's a people dog. He thinks that everyone that comes to the house is coming to see him."

Opie's first water therapy after his surgery in '07....

"He could not stand or walk, but used his neck and head to get around if someone didn't move him on time. He had to be wheeled to the PT building from where he stayed. He actually lived in the hospital 24 x 7 for a couple of months..."

"This photo was taken a week after he started to walk by himself."

Now we jump back in time, to a win that most dog-owners only dream about, "Best Stud Dog" at the Doberman Pinscher Club of America Nationals. Barbara describes the scene:

"Back in Denver in '06 it sure was a shock when we won the class. Not only to me, but to the handlers with the top twenty dogs, as the audience also. Adrian Woodfork was the judge, and he would pick out a stud dog and his get and place them in the middle of the ring on a diagonal. He kept doing that until he filled the ring from one corner to the opposite one. Then he still had 4 to 6 sets of dogs left on the outside. He moved them again, and then pointed to Esteban and OPIE. What a thrill. ...Faye Strauss called Adrian Woodfork a week after the National and asked him why he picked the dog that he did. He simply told her that the dog and his get looked like they were stamped out... It was 3 mo. later that they found the mass on the edge of the spinal cord."

In only 10 breedings Opie produced 19 Champions, including a number with working titles. In the litters that he has sired, they all inherit his great temperament.

Opie's registered name is CH. Patriots Opposites Attract, WAC.

Dam: CH. Patriots Black Pearls, sire: CH. Cambria's Cactus Cash.

(Photo at age 6, by The Winning Image)

While I was in the sketching stages for Opie's portrait, I got sad news. Barbara wrote:

"Opie is no longer with us. We had to take him to our Vet in N.J. a few days back. He was in a lot of pain and could barely stand without panting. He did walk to his feed bowl for breakfast and didn't leave a morsel of his food. He walked outside to do his business, his body looked great, he was bright eyed and as stoic as could be, even though he was in pain.

I haven't been able to gather the words to put in a message to the Doberman Fancy.........as it still hurts too much to talk about it. Just wanted to let you know."

Now I begin the portrait of a great dog. 

This will be a major piece, with a background scene designed to enhance Opie. My concept is a mountain scene, with towering rock faces rising up behind him to symbolize Opie's strength of spirit. (Initial rough sketch shown here.)

I'll be posting "in progress" pics of Opie's portrait taking shape "in real time" over the next three weeks. I hope you enjoy watching the process.

"Twilight Roses"

I was so taken with that Twilight ground (Nooka portrait, below) that I decided to do a study of 4 roses on it. Roses are the only flowers I paint. To me a rose represents the beauty of a woman. I love women, and painting them, so I love painting roses. You can see a whole garden of my roses at kevinroeckl.com. 

Please share this with your friends who love roses.

Portrait of Nooka

Finished a simple portrait of "Nooka" Peterson. 

Done with Prismacolor pencil on "Twilight", a beautiful purple ground made by Canson, a 500-year-old papermaking company in France. (Yes that's right, they've been in business for 500 years.) They make the finest art papers in the world.

Count-the-butterflies winner

The winner of my "Count the butterflies" contest is Mary Nanez. She will receive a personalized Doberman bookmark. 

The correct number of butterflies was 8. Several people got creative, finding more butterflies in the dog's ear, chest, etc.!

Count-the-butterflies Contest

This painting of a red Dobergirl is called "Attack of the Butterfly People". How many butterflies can you find in it? A winner will be chosen randomly from the correct answers. The prize is a Doberman bookmark, inscribed to you personally with the Roeckl signature! Go to this link to see a large, detailed picture and submit your entry. The winner will be notified on August 20.

ABOUT THE PAINTING: 

A portrait of Kobe (CH Pinnacle's Tres Jolie), owned by Tammy Kaplan. Kobe was a Top Twenty show dog for two consecutive years. Her theme was butterflies. This painting was featured on the front cover of Doberman Quarterly magazine (Fall 1991 issue).

Franz's Garden

I wanted to share this painting from very early in my career (circa 1980) because I hope your experience of my work is like walking through a gateway into a beautiful garden.

"Franz's Garden" was named after the collector who purchased it because one of the little boys reminded him of his son.

Honey

I want to share this portrait of Barbara and Gary Neal's "Honey". When Gary went in the hospital he missed his dog so much, so I made an 8 x 10 print of the portrait that said "I love you! XOXO, Honey" on it. Barbara said that meant a lot to Gary, he took it with him every time he went to the hospital until he died.

All of my full-size portraits come with notecards of the portrait also.

Portrait of Casper

"Casper" was commissioned by Cheri McNealy as a gift for her sister after the loss of her beloved Casper. This is the 9th Roeckl portrait Cheri has commissioned since 1991. She asked that Casper be looking straight at us. When she saw the finished portrait, Cheri emailed:
"You DA man!!!!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! You NEVER fail me!"

Cheri then posted the following on Facebook:
"As usual, Kevin, you have not disappointed. The cat is "Casper" who died a month ago from a nasty Cancer at 15. His original owner died 3 years ago but nobody wanted a 12 year old cat...I took him and then he went to live with my "non" cat sister. He was her first - and he made a believer out of her. He was a great kitty with a big heart and lots of love and lessons to teach before he left. We all miss him but with Kevin's work to look at every day, it'll almost be like he's not gone.
THANK YOU KEVIN - YOU HAVE GIVEN US BACK SOME OF OUR BELOVED PETS OVER MANY YEARS AND SOFTENED THE BLOW OF THEIR LOSS."

Portrait of Casper - in progress

Started a cat portrait for Cheri McNealy on a pearl-gray background. The face is halfway finished...

Junjie

A simple pencil portrait of a little dog being held in his loving owner's arms. 

Commissioned by Sandy Romer as a gift for Junjie's owner, Zach.

Bernie

"Rain, Rain, Go Away"

One of my hand-painted Doberman prints is being auctioned by "Special Needs Dobermans" to benefit a very special Doberboy, Mr. Cobey, who is battling osteosarcoma. His front limb has been amputated and he is undergoing expensive chemo. The great folks at SND have worked tirelessly for years to raise funds to help these special-needs Dobes.

The artwork is a print made from one of my pen-&-ink originals, hand-painted by me with watercolor, making it an original work of art from the hand of the artist, not a machine. It is beautifully matted and framed. Art and framing donated by Irene Jansen.

The auction ends April 10 - check out the eBay page and I guarantee the photo of Mr. Cobey and the story of his loving supporters will bring tears to your eyes. Here's the link:
EBAY AUCTION 

Vienna Boys Choir in Brookings, Oregon

When I heard that the Vienna Boy's Choir would be performing in this small, remote coastal Oregon town, I thought, "That must be an error!" But it was true. Last Sunday I was privileged to hear these world-class performers in the intimate setting of a small town church that seats about 350.

Concert-goers who had arrived 1 1/2 hours early for good seating were kept back as the Vienna Boys Choir filed out of the church where they had been warming up their world-class voices. Some of the boys were jostling each other and the term "Dumkopf!" was heard. One boy near the end of the line had his thumbs busy twiddling a small electronic device as he walked along. After the whole column had passed, one more boy ran out of the church to catch up. Boys will be boys, and these were first of all boys. 

Before they were introduced, we were told that no cameras or recordings were allowed, and to remain in our seats until after the Choir had exited. There were security guards in the foyer. The boys came in, dressed in dark blue sailor suits, ranging in age from 10 to 14. (Being in a wheelchair, I was allowed into the church first, so got a seat right near the front.) Maybe being a portrait artist, I particularly notice faces: their faces were the faces of real boys, each one different, each an individual, the faces of boys you would see on school playgrounds anywhere. I was struck by the variety of nationalities; there were faces that looked Chinese, Japanese, East Indian, perhaps some African blood. Then they opened their sweet mouths and exquisite, angelic voices soared into the high interior of the church. More than once during the performance, my eyes were wet with tears, the beauty of their singing was so profoundly moving.

I wasn't sure what kind of music the Vienna Boy's Choir would perform. I expected mostly hymns and devotional music. Yes there were some of those, evocative of the pure essence of God, but boy was I surprised what else! Selections of music from around the world included Hebrew chants, a native American song originally sung by Geronimo, an Austrian lullaby. Solo singers came forward throughout the performance and the sound of their voices was magnificent; the power and passion of these young but extremely highly trained voices, ringing out into the high vault of the church.

The Choir was conducted by Mr. Florian Schwarz, young at age 36. Mr. Schwarz's skill as a pianist was a treat in itself, as was his playing of classical Spanish guitar to accompany the Choir. On one number the guitar was paired with a hand-drum, skillfully played by one of the boys, for a wild, rousing song of swelling voices.

Mr. Schwarz's introductions of the music had a witty charm that kept the audience in relaxed laughter, a sympathy to the performers. For one number, Herr Schwarz taught the audience to sing the refrain - in Austrian - to a yodeling song. Individual boys singing solo opened their throats and rang out the verses, and the audience yodeled along with the Vienna Boys Choir for every refrain.

The choir came off the dais and spread themselves before the front row of the wide, shallow church, nearly touching the knees of the audience in the front row. As they began to sing, the boys broke apart and began moving individually up the aisles of the church as their voices filled the room, an arm's reach away from their rapt listeners, and wove back and forth across the cross-aisles and the stage in an intricate pattern. If I understood this correctly, twelve separate melodies were being sung each by four boys, so that we heard all twelve melodies at once, as their beautiful voices wove around us. Many people could not resist a standing ovation when the Choir broke for intermission.

After intermission the Choir returned and arranged themselves onstage. Then, a lone boy came down the center aisle, a petite boy of nine or ten, playing a boy-sized blue accordian. He took center stage, his small child's fingers dancing over the keys of the accordian as the Choir broadcast a spirited Austrian folk tune.

When two young soloists stepped forward, one of them sat down ever-so-briefly on the steps of the dais before he stood in his place, a suppressed grin on his face. The soloist next to him - a round-faced boy of about 10 - could hardly prepare himself to sing, his lips were pressed so tightly together (boys being boys), trying not to laugh at some private joke they shared. (I don't think Mr. Schwarz saw that, which was maybe the point.) It was utterly charming. Then they opened their mouths and voices that would melt the soul of a rock came forth into the open air of the church.

Again the Choir performed a set of surprisingly varied pieces, such as a sailors' work song in which the boys stamped their feet in unison to a rolling, rhythmic tune. There were American songs, they sang a set of three Leonard Cohen melodies, including the hauntingly beautiful "Hallelujah." Again, my cheeks coursed with tears at the sheer and utter beauty of their singing. The slow and heartfelt applause of the audience that went on and on showed that many felt the same.

Of course there was a standing ovation, and no one in the audience wanted this once-in-a-lifetime experience to come to an end. After an exhilarating encore, the boys finished up with "Goodnight Sweetheart(s), Goodnight" as they left the church, the crowd still on its feet, clapping for all we were worth.

What an incredible gift to be treated to this world-class performance right here in Brookings, Oregon. (Sponsored by Brookings Harbor Friends of Music. Photo scanned from front of program.)

"Grandma's Mirror" - In progress 5

Every painting has what I call a "punchline". In this one it's Maddie's face in his grandma's mirror. 

When I photographed Maddie playing with Grandma's mirror, he was turning it every which way.... and just for a split second he turned it past the spot where his eyes met mine in the mirror.... and his face lit up.

The talent of a truly skilled portrait artist is to capture the soul and essence of the person, not just their likeness. My goal with this painting was to capture the sparkling essence of Maddie. 

"Grandma's Mirror" - In progress 4

All my work is done with Prismacolor pencils. Maddie's skin and the mirror are tightly rendered; as I move farther away from those important areas I make the strokes looser, more gestural. The blue and green of the clothing gives a cool balance to the warmth of Maddie's skin.

"Grandma's Mirror" - In progress 3

Maddie's hands are added. 

I love all the colors - peach, pink, rust, lavender, blue - that can be seen in skin.

"Grandma's Mirror" - In progress 2

The next part of the painting I worked on was Maddie's face. I usually focus on the face first, that is the critical part of a painting, and if I'm not happy with that, there's no point in continuing. (That rarely happens, I'm happy to say.)

I love Maddie's profile! (scroll down for closeup) Technically this will be a "double portrait" because a frontal view of his face will also be reflected in the mirror. The most important thing I want to capture is that mischievous Maddie twinkle in his eyes.

"Grandma's Mirror" - In progress 1

Maddie was playing with his Grandma's mirror. I tried to get him to turn the mirror to that precise spot where I could see his little face in the mirror. He was vigorously turning it every which way. Just for a split second he turned it so his eyes met mine in the reflection - his face lit up - and I got the shot. (I have a really fast shutter-finger after 36 years experience with a camera: I started at age 16 with pro-level equipment - thank you forever, Dad.) 

The sketching process was completed (below), working on a charcoal-grey ground, 20 x 26 inches. Today the first thing I draw is Grandma's hand-painted wooden mirror. (scroll down)

"Grandma's Mirror"

Recently I photographed the grandchildren of Anne O'Dell, a brother and sister, Paige (age 18) and Maddox (age 3). Paige had graciously agreed to pose for a series of paintings. I got some very nice reference material of Paige to work from. Maddie was running around while we were shooting, so I included him in many of the shots. 

In the following days I studied my photography of Paige, choosing the photos that inspired me to paint, and beginning the sketching and layout processes. 

Oddly enough, the first image that inspired me to start on a painting, is one of Maddie.... (stay tuned, more soon)

Satisfied client

After receiving the portrait from Carolyn as a surprise Christmas gift, Tammy Cunningham sent the following:

Kevin, 

I want to thank you so much for the beautiful portrait you did of my DaisyBleu. You truly captured her essence. The picture is so life like, that her brother Elliot (black Dobie) barks and runs away from it when he looks at it. Daisy has a tendency to push him around a bit. 

The portrait is really wonderful I will treasure it forever. You are such a talent. I can't wait until we can have portraits of the other 3 dogs done.

...

Cheers,

Tammy

Cloud monster in the sky swallowing the moon

I saw something amazing in the night sky on New Year's Eve.

Storms have been washing the Oregon coast. Late in the day, almost evening, there was a break in the rain, so I went for a walk. Day was falling to darkness as I was coming back to the home meadows (I live in the country). Shut the driveway gate and walked out on the open top of the hill where I live. The rain clouds had thinned to patterned bands flowing across the night sky, and the moon - the full moon - was out. I stood on the hilltop, and watched and watched. I saw clouds flow across the sky and engulf the moon. Then I came in and drew it. 

The moon is silver leaf; when light catches it, the moon shines. I've been experimenting with precious metals in my work, I call it "jewelry for your walls". 

And this is the blue moon (second full moon in a month) - a lucky, magical moon bringing in the New Year.