More on "Man's Best Friend" new title

Back to "Reflections of Me and My Dog" which now has a new title "Man's Best Friend". Harv Toback curator of Gallery 225 in New York City who also represents my work, says the new piece is great and is very fitting for the title of "Man's Best Friend." I loved the title and have decided to change. Thanks Harv, your insight is always brilliant!

This painting is a work in progress and I have been updating the first post, but I don't know if you have been receiving the updates. I thought I would go through the painting steps with you that I have been doing. At first I liked the overall painting, but decided it needed more, as I started working it really needed a lot more.

This was the first view of the painting I sent to you on my blog.

At this point I did some adjusting with the dog and the guy. Added more highlights on the dogs hair and more to the shape of the guys arm and pulled the hair down to cover his hand. Put more paint on the guys face in the mid tone area. It was too much the same value as the shadows on his face and I also accentuated the shadows more.

In this photo of the painting I thought, what are they looking at. Well it looked like a blank wall in the previous photo, so I added the ocean and some sand. Also changed the color of the dice as the other was too much the same colors as the rest of the painting.

In this photo you can see I have started changing the reflections on the car. They were too much like water reflections and it just wasn't making any sense to me and I am sure as the viewer, you were probably not understanding either.

In this photo you can see the changes of the reflections to look more and more like the objects they are reflecting. But now at this point they are now fighting for first position in the painting, which was not my intent. I really liked the reflections on the photo, but this was not what I was after, but I am getting closer. Also the back of the car needed a different value as you cannot see the different between the back of the car and the dashboard.

After letting the painting dry completely, I started glazing the painting on the back of the car and in some of the other areas. I wanted to keep the original shapes and some of the detail, but make them more subdued like they would be on a car.

What are your comments as to the way this painting has evolved? I will let it completely dry, take another look and then see what needs to be changed or remodeled. I will post the finished painting in a couple weeks. Be sure to check back.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. It has been fun keeping track of each step and watching the painting evolve. If you have enjoyed this, please let me know. I would be happy to do more blogging sessions like this. Until next time, ENJOY THE ART!

Terry d. Chacon

Be sure to check my website out. I am having a pre-summer sale. thanks to all of you who have taken advantage and purchased the artwork, please enjoy. If you would like more info, please email me for the flyer. http://www.terrydchacon.com/

Red Hen & Website Sale

"Red Hen" 5 x 7 acrylic on linen board $150.00 (scroll to the bottom for website sale)

This little jewel was painted during my life drawing class today. I know I have told you about this wonderful class that I take on Monday mornings at Ann Bingham Freeman's studio in Yucaipa, Ca.
This morning we had the wonderful model Martin. He is always such a pleasure to draw and paint. He always comes with extra props in tow and they always seem to add a little to your drawing or painting. Today he had a football and a long walking stick. Before he has come with these different style hats, some are pretty silly, but fun to paint. All in all he is one of my favorites.
Well today as I was painting I noticed a group of hens outside the window with the llamas. I was especially drawn to this little red hen. She was so cocky as she walked around and seemed to be in charge of everything and everybody. The light on her was just brilliant showing all kinds of colors in her feathers. I decided to set out one session with Martin and paint the hen. Ann has invited me back to paint the other hens and her menagerie of animals this summer. Our class ends next Monday, so I will be doing this. You might recall the precious "Darling" that I drew over the past 2 years. "Darling" the 17 year old French Bulldog passed away a month ago. I so enjoyed drawing and painting her. The class has seemed a little empty without her. I guess now I will have to paint chickens.
One of the reasons why I really enjoy this class is that you can paint, draw, use whatever medium you would like, even sculpt if you desire. The friendships I have made at this class will last a life time. Everyone has their own style of painting and drawing and everyone is well established in their art careers. It is a great group of artists. The next session will start again in Oct. If you want to be part of it, be sure to contact Ann. Her classes fill up fast.
Until Next Time-ENJOY THE ART Terry d. Chacon

WEBSITE SALE: I am having a website sale starting now until June 10, 2009. Go to my ceramic tile page on my website: http://www.terrydchacon.com/ceramictile
Ceramic tile music boxes Reg. price $75.00 on sale now for $50.00 while supply lasts.
6 x 8 ceramic tiles Reg. price $45.00 now $30.00 while supply lasts.

9 x 12 giclee prints with mat and clear envelope reg. price $75.00 now $50.00. This includes dogs, cats and plein air so visit all the pages to find your favorites.
http://www.terrydchacon.com click on giclee and plein air on the right hand side of the home page.
Price does not include shipping. Please contact me direct to order and if you have any questions. shacone@aol.com

Painting at Heaps Peak

"Mountain Lilacs" 9 x 12 oil on canvas board $500.00

Today we took a little plein air trip up to the mountains around Lake Arrowhead. Luz, Susan and I left my house around 8 a.m. We wanted to go paint the Dogwoods which are now in full bloom. We arrived at Heaps Peak around 9 and took a long nice walk on the path around the area to see where we wanted to paint. Being a purple person as I am when I spotted the Mountain Lilacs in full bloom I knew exactly where I would be going. However, I didn't realize it was such a hike in and out, especially carrying my painting gear.

We walked back to the car and got our gear and all headed down to the same area. We ran into another fellow plein air painter Serena Potter who actually lives in the area. Her husband dropped her off so she could paint with us. It was so funny afterwards that we all realized that not one of us painted the Dogwoods. They were pretty and very unique, but like I said the lilacs had my name on them.

After a morning of painting we packed up and started back up the mountain to the car. I had to stop off at the rest area to powder my nose, and when I came out Serena was coming back to check on me. Also to show me a photo of a snake that was on the path when she came back up to the car. We later found out it was not poisonous, but hey a snake is a snake. The all make my skin crawl and I do not want to be around them.

We stopped at a cute little Mexican Restaurant and ate on their patio. There was a nice little art gallery next door so we took a peak inside before heading back down the mountain to Redlands. It was a great day of painting with wonderful painting buddies, a beautiful site, one I hope to be able to go back to in the near future.

If you are interested in notes or prints from this painting please let me know. Until Next Time, ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon

"Reflections of Me and My Dog" UPDATED

(update-not quite finished yet, but getting closer)

"Reflections of Me and My Dog" is a new painting I have been working on. Today I put in a lot of the finishing touches, will allow it to dry and see what needs to be done. I am pretty pleased with it so far. I am still updating this painting. I think once it dries I will put a turquoise glaze over the back of the car and that should do it. Stay tuned to see how it finishes up.

The painting is from a photo taken by Stephen Fisher the owner of the t-bird. This tbird was originally owned by Gini Withington. Stephen bought it from Gini's daughter Sandy Frei and completely refurbished it himself. It is pristine. He has even won some Best In Shows.

I have painted this car before. "Come out and Play" which is on my website. www.terrydchacon The model is Bruce Clark and their Afghan "Andy". They bred and showed this afghan to his championship. In the first painting I used the whole car.

I had a vision of how I would like to do a close up of Bruce and the Affie in the car, I loved the reflections on the back of the car from the Afghan Hound and Bruce.

The painting is 15 x 30 oil on canvas. Prints and notes will be available soon. Looking forward to hearing your comments. Please share with your friends and family who might enjoy the art. Until next time. ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon

Flabob Airport

This past weekend the PAAR group got together at Flabob Airport for a Paint & Sale. It is always a pleasure to go to Flabob. Many of the pilots stop by to talk about their planes, the history of the airport and reminisce about the old times. This past weekend was no different.

Flabob Airport, named after Flavio Madariaga and Bob Bogen. Founded in 1925 as Riverside's municipal airport, Flabob is a paradise for homebuilders, antiquers, and everyone devoted to sport and family aviation. We're a village of aviation nuts -- "Flabobians" -- stuck in a 40s and 50s time warp. Flabob is year-round home to more "education through aviation" than anywhere else. Ask anyone who has Riverside roots about Flabob and they have a whole list of stories. I brought this up at my life drawing class on Monday and low and behold Alan who sits next to me at life drawing used to have a plane at Flabob. He had so many stories of his own of Flavio and his many years at Flabob. Read the info on their website, it is so interesting. Flabob Airport

"DC 3 at Flabob" 5 x 7 on canvas board $180.00.

The DC 3 (I think I am stating this correctly, if not please notify me and I will make the changes) that sets down by some of the smaller plane hangers is always a topic of conversation. On Sat. a 94 year old gentleman was picked up at his special care facility, brought to the airport for a ride in this plane to celebrate his birthday. It is believed that this gentleman actually helped build this plane in 1947 at Douglas Aviation when it was in Burbank, Ca. I was there to watch the plane leave and land. I don't think I would want to go anywhere in this plane by the sounds of it, but I know these long time pilots enjoy it immensely.

"Let's Eat at Flabob Cafe" 6 x 8 on canvas board $200.00

The Flabob Cafe is an historical cafe that pilots come in from around the globe to have breakfast or lunch. This is the backside of the building that faces the airport. I was really taken by the windows that have been treated so you cannot see in, but you can see out. Probably to keep the glare of the sun out. But the reflections are really beautiful. The dog is a resident border collie. I think her name is Misty, but not certain. She lies around either by the back door or under the trees on the right side of the building and is very friendly.
"Time For Lunch" 5 x 7 on canvas board $180.00.

On Wed. the week before the event, my friend Pat and I went out for a day of painting at Flabob. This cute little purple and turquoise plane flew in from Pasadena. The pilot Tim said he would just be there for a little lunch, so I quickly started painting. He then came back to see how I had done and I wasn't finished so he said he would go talk to a buddy. He came back in about 10 minutes and asked for my name and phone number as he really needed to leave. He was interested in the painting and wanted to see it after completion. I did some of this painting from memory and as much as I could as he flew off into the distance. I am still waiting for the call on this little plane painting.

"Covered for Protection" 5 x 7 on canvas board $180.00.

This cute little plane looked as if it had been covered and waiting for bed. The bright blue cover over the windows looked really bright and cheery up against the distant trees. We had cloud cover when we arrived and the sun was starting to come out as I painted this little jewel.


"Aviation Flabob Airport" 9 x 12 on canvas board $500.00.

This is the painting I completed at the PAAR paint out in Feb. The 3 planes make for a nice composition up against the very famous Mt. Rubidoux.

It was a very nice weekend, spent with fellow artists and talking with a lot of the patrons and pilots that frequent the Flabob Cafe and the airport. PAAR artists will be displaying plein air paintings done on location at Flabob in the Cafe starting July 1, 2009. The artist will also be available for commission work. Any questions, please contact me at shacone@aol.com We are thankful for this opportunity and are hoping to have a long relationship with Flabob Airport.

Until next time: ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon

shhhh It's a surprise! Happy Birthday Matthew Chacon

This is a painting that I just finished. It is for my son Matthew's upcoming 23rd birthday, June 17, 2009. I don't think he reads my blog, so I think I am pretty safe in sharing it with the world. Matthew if you do read my blog "Happy Birthday Son, I love you!" He is a certified coach for The First Tee Foundation in Monterey, California. He also is an apprentice in the PGA program and pursuing his Golf Pro status. The First Tee Home Page (You can read more about the First Tee here, it is a fabulous program and I am so proud of my son for his participation)

Matthew's all time favorite golfer was Bobby Jones. Several paintings done over the years of Bobby Jones show different courses from around the world in the back ground. When we were at Pebble Beach this past Labor Day weekend for the Walmart First Tee Open, I had taken several photos of the course and the beautiful scenery. I am proud to say that Matthew was one of the Co-Chairs of the event in charge of the scorekeepers and the First Tee kids. We had a great time at the event along with my brother and sister n law who came along to help out. How good is that to spend 4 days in Monterey on Pebble Beach. My brother liked it so much he can't wait to go back this year.

When Matthew was home at Christmas I took several photos of him swinging his golf club. I had a vision of this painting I wanted to do for him. I have done 2 other golf paintings of him, so it was time for an update. The paintings will be very special to him, even more later in life, as all have great significance to a special time in his life.

I first drew out the Pebble Beach golf course scene from the 18th hole looking toward Carmel onto the canvas and added Matthew in the forefront. I chose this particular photo of him as a reference to the painting because of the beautiful light on the side of Matthew's face, particularly the way the golf club line shows up on his lower jaw. I also love his eyes as if he is looking into the distance watching his ball and they way the light hit his bottom lip. I am always particularly interested in sharp contrasts as you can see from the types of paintings I paint. Now to make the Pebble Beach course look like it was truly the background of the scene.

I started with a wash of some very vibrant colors, warm colors for the parts in sun and cool colors for the part in shade. This gives me a good start to any painting whether it is studio or plein air, if I can get it right from the beginning the painting just flows. When I started applying paint yesterday, because the canvas is a lot bigger than I normally work, it felt like it was taking forever to get enough paint on the canvas. I decided to give it a try with my palate knife. It was working so well that I did the whole painting in palate knife. Having the underground colors done well, made it easier for me to complete the painting. I have never done a painting this large all with palate knife and I have never done the human figure with a palate knife. So I overcame two obstacles with this painting.

I cannot wait for Matthew to see the painting. I hope you have enjoyed seeing it. Until next time, ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon

Rusty James writes: You have an amazing talent!!! I did not know anyone in our familywas that gifted! Love you Rusty

Eddie Chacon writes: Terry,Very Nice!!!!!!!!! You should be proud of yourself and your son.Well stated and a great painting.LoveEddie

Canyon Lakes Art Association Demonstration

When asked to do a demonstration for the Canyon Lakes Art Association in Canyon Lakes, Ca., I thought they might want a dog portrait demo. No, they wanted a Plein Air demo. My friend and fellow artist Louise Smith drove down with me. I had never been to this beautiful little community tucked back off the 215 freeway, but I can certainly can see why so many people would want to live there. Beautiful paintings are everywhere. To do plein air inside is always tricky, let alone at night. But I said I would give it a try. I decided I would bring along a painting that I had completed on location and a photo and and give them my approach. Hopefully at least they would get some pointers on Plein Air. Painting inside under lights was indeed different for me but I did manage to come up with a nice painting.
First I talked with them about Plein Air. Telling them what I look for when I arrive on location. How I set up my easel, about time, temperature, sounds and how all of these really takeover your creations. You can have 5 artist painting the exact subject and you will get 5 totally different paintings, none are wrong, they are just different. You can go back and paint the same subject and each time your painting will be different. This is what I love about Plein Air. When I asked if anyone in the group (about 40) had ever painted in Plein Air I got one show of hand. So I knew my approach would probably be very different for them, but I also wanted to point out why I love painting in Plein Air oppose to studio paintings from photographs.

I love this photo. Boy was I into what I was talking about and Louise caught me really stressing my point!!! LOL. I continued with the beginning of the painting separating the painting canvas into large masses. I painted them each a different color. The shadow areas are painted with cool colors, the light/sunny areas are painted with warm colors. It is just big shapes. I had to laugh after the demo was over as many of the people in attendance said when I started they thought "Oh my, I have never seen anyone start a painting like that". Louise said there was quite a bit of talk in the audience. Always good to take along an observer to listen to what people are saying. She said two ladies sitting near her starting talking with each other and really didn't even watch the demo for quite sometime. One of them looked up as I was more into the painting and said "WOW, look at what she has done". One of the ladies came up and also told me of the same story and how they had never seen this and really enjoyed my approach.


I continued working on the scene. I was trying to get the right side of the painting completed so they could see how those large masses would be refined down to resemble the photo. I only had 1 1/2 hours to complete the painting and that was with talking about each step in between.

They had their break about this time and I had finished the right side and front. Joan (their program director) said I could keep painting or take a break. I opted to continue painting as I figured I just needed the left side and the painting would be just about finished, minus some last minute details to make certain areas pop.

I brought in a painting that I used as reference and donated it for their raffle. This very nice lady who was not a member of the group, won the raffle. Boy was she excited. She had brought her very nice father to the demo and they were both so gracious and complimentary.

I finished the painting, just needed the flowers in the foreground which I added the next morning.

It was a really great evening. They seem to really enjoy the process and a lot of them said they would really like to try Plein Air and was very thankful for me coming down. They would like to have a workshop in the future and asked if I would come down and give a workshop. I told them yes. What a nice group of enthusiastic people. I am looking forward to spending more time with this group. Thank you for having me. Until next time, ENJOY THE ART. Terry d. Chacon

New Works "Art In The Park"

Redland's Art Association is hosting "Art In the Park" this Sat. and Sunday May 9 and 10, 2009. The event will start at 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. both days. This will be my 3rd year participating in the event. This year my focus will be on Pets. Please stop by to see some of my newest works, which will also be available on note cards.


"Mija" Afghan Hound puppy 8 x 8 wrap around canvas $300.00


"Looking Behind" Schnauzer 8 x 8 wrap around canvas $300.00



"Trust Me" Pug 8 x 8 wrap around canvas $300.00



"Waiting for Cookies" Chihuahua 8 x 8 wrap around canvas $300.00



"The World Upside Down" 8 x 8 on wrap around canvas $300.00

Please let me know if you are interested in any of these paintings or if you would like to commission me to paint your own pet. Contact me at shacone@aol.com
Hope to see you there. Until next time ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon
http://www.terrydchacon.com/

Ontario History and Art Museum

Ontario History and Art Museum is having there exhibit for California artist. (April 24 through June 14, 2009) The Ontario Open Art Exhibition is presented by the Museum of History and Art, Ontario, Associates every other year. This juried exhibition provides an open venue for artists of the region. It also provides museum visitors with a broad perspective of current regional art. If you have not seen the exhibit, I would highly recommend going. This year I submitted "Harmony"
and "Home Alone"
which were both accepted into the show.

On Friday April 24, my friends Chuck Alarcon and Victor Barajas of Barala Afghan Hounds and Missouri Fox Trotter fame picked me up to accompany me to the opening of the exhibit. There we met Nancy Edgington (Journey Afghans) and her friend Stephanie who breeds Chihuahua's. My husband Eddie joined us later towards the end of the reception to see the exhibit and go to dinner with us.

After viewing all the works and partaking in their wonderful hospitality we all went out for a celebration dinner. I was especially taken with the beauty of the drinks as they rolled onto the table.

Other artists in the exhibit and friends of mine also joined us at the restaurant, Luz Perez accompanied by her husband Bill, Ada Passaro accompanied by her long time companion Ron, Albert Vareli and Susan De'Armond who was there to enjoy in the festivities of the night. Thanks Susan for coming along.

It was a great evening spent viewing art, talking with great friends about old times and truly we laughed the night away.

Here are few more closeups of Harmony. "Harmony" is a lost wax bronze, limited edition of 15. She measures 16 inches high. The base is 16 x 20 marble. Inquiries please direct to either me at shacone@aol.com or Heritage Bronze http://www.heritagebronze.com/ who also represents my bronze work.


Until next time, ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon