Step 1, Cat Portrait in Oils

I did my initial rough sketch of the cat last night on my cradle board. Sometimes I do the actual drawing with the paint but this time I did it with conte' crayon and pastels. I will isolate this layer and then block in the big shapes.

On Friday I will be at my studio for Open Studios. I plan on having some hands on activities for people browsing thru the gallery and studios. One activity I thought to do would be drawing and finger painting. :) I love doing my initial drawings by using my fingers! Even with the drawing above I worked the pastels around first with my fingers. Helps to just get the big shapes first.

I enjoy including people in the process of these commissioned portraits if they enjoy that kind of thing. For some people its hard to envision the finished product and for others they like watching it come together. I think, if nothing else than it brings people into the creative process and cultivates an appreciation for art in general. I guess that's my hope anyways! On my end I do it because it is good for me to break up the solitary activity of painting so thank you for following along!

For more information on my art or studio please visit http://www.suesteiner.com/

Colorful Cat Art

This is from yesterday's painting session and photo session. The pastel on top I am calling Phat Cat and it is 16 x 20. The closely cropped face is small-- 6 x 6 maybe? in oils. I almost like it better before I got very far along.... Both will be at my studio or available online at my web site or etsy shop.

I will move on to my cat commission now that I've played. :) I also am getting work ready for an exhibit in the fall named 'Animal Instinct'. I'll share with you more about taht as we get closer. I am looking forward to it because its just the kind of stuff I like to do! Thanks for following along.

Take care!

Sue Steiner

colorful equine and animal art

pet portraits

Cat Art- Daily Painting in Progress

The place to start any kind of portrait is to have a model in which to paint. Today I wanted to do a daily painting to warm up for a cat commission I will begin soon. So who better to have 'pose' as my cat model than Moses, our tabby. I will post a series of photos in which my son is helping to get the right 'pose'- no easy feat with a rag doll cat! Just so you know-- no cat was harmed in the process! In fact he was purring very loudly. Moses was hand raised and bottle fed as a very very young kitten after being rescued from our barn while we lived on our working farm. He is one of those cats you could hang by his feet and he would purr! We haven't done that... but my kids were quite young when Moses came into our lives so he has been dressed in doll clothes, carried around like a baby and pretty much cuddled and touseled every which way with him purring very loudly all along!

I will post my Moses painting later but for now you can see our photo session.

Take care!

Sue Steiner

dog, cat and horse portraits in oil

Sweet Peas

I guess I am still on a flower kick. These fast alla prima florals are a fun way to get my painting kick in between a family reunion, a holiday and First Friday. Someone brought a vase of pretty sweet peas to put on the table for the family reunion so tonight I painted them.

happy 4th of July!

Sue Steiner

Irises, finished!

This is a commission that a regular to my studio in Canton had asked me to do a couple months ago. This painting is based on Van Gogh's 'Irises' painting. That alone is kind of intimidating. I think too the idea of all those irises kind of kept me from moving forward on this after I got about half way thru. I ended up hitting the wire for a deadline so just plunged back into it. A funny thing happened as I did. I discovered that the faster I worked and the more I gobbed paint on the better those irsies were looking! Maybe that is my own delusion but hopefully I learned something this! :) I will be able to take this to my studio tonight for First Friday-- wet but it will be there!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great 4th of July!

Sue Steiner

faces, animals, pets, horses and flower artist!

Southwest Style Horse Art

I love the dusty, earthy colors in this painting. I am considering it 90% done. :) I need a couple days to look it over and decide what else it needs. I really like the coloring on the face although I need to work on the right eye. I am considering doing another painting in this color palette of a closer cropped face since I enjoyed the loose brushstrokes around the face and mane on this one.

Today I met with some of the other artists who have studios in the same gallery I am in. We are working out some promotional types of things we will do as a group. I think one of the things I will be offering during our Open Studio time is horse drawing lessons. I imagine horse crazy little girls but hey there are plenty of people who never grow out of the horse crazy stage. Why does it have to be considered a 'stage' anyways? If you are in Canton and are interested in hearing more drop me a line or stop by Second April Art Gallerie.

I do have to say out of vanity I considered not posting this piece because for some reason (maybe the size and shape of the original canvas??) when I put the image up on the computer it looks out of whack. I am sure that has to do with some kind of distortion from my monitor and the resizing of the image which I do not know how to correct. So with that little disclaimer I am posting this anyways.

For the most part I have not censored what I post. If you've followed me for any length of time then you've seen the whole range of me 'playing' and throwing paint around to what I think of as more serious work. I think by doing that it helps take away the fear of failing when it comes to painting. I decided when it became clear a few years ago that I was going to want to paint come hell or high water because it feels good to paint. I was not going to let myself get into the position that the end product would become more important than the process. I have heard of too many painters who stop painting because they get locked up from perfectionism or being too self critical. This is my way of countering that. I want to strive to improve and grow and refine my technique but never at the expense that painting is no longer enjoyable.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sue Steiner

animal and equine artist

pet portraits

The Blooming of Boomerang

Sketch for 'Chalk the Walk' artwork for July's First Friday.

Boomerang, Mascot for White Horse Studio

For background info on Boomerang and to read about her rescue go here:

I am not sure but suspect that with horse's memory the first thing that comes to them is a traumatic or bad experience and then after that they can remember the good.




I am working with my rescue mare, Boomerang and am watching her bloom as she gets back into good physical condition. At this point what detracts from her physical appearance is just a few tangles on her mane (my laziness!!) and her hooves that are now being trimmed regularly but were brittle and seedy. They have already grown quite a bit of good, strong hoof but the farrier says it may take a full year until they are completely grown in.




Mentally she is blooming as well as I see her interacting more confidently with the herd and approaching me with confidence too. When she first came back she cowered and trembled around the other horses and me. I owned this mare several years ago so I think she came around faster because she had a positive history to remember in her associations with me.



That got me to thinking of how horses process memories. As the saying goes 'horses don't forget'. I think that is certainly true. I have another horse who was a rescue who goes thru his own version of flashbacks every spring. The first ride on him is his absolute worst. Usually it is with most horses but this horse will revert to old behaviors until something kicks in and he remembers-- oh, yeah... its not like that here!

I like to think art can do this for people. It has that ability to transport us away from stress and tension. I think arts contribution to society is how it can transform -- whether it is just a room in your house, your desk at work or a life, a thought or a way of seeing the ordinary things in our world. Remind us of a different way.



This week is July's First Friday. The overall theme is 'Chalk the Walk' as the http://www.artsinstark.com/ people bring in sidewalk artists to use chalk to create artwork on the street. I am participating by making a white horse on a large chalkboard that will be on an easel in front of Second April Art Gallerie. Inside you will find a group of artists, myself included, are bringing in some fine art pastels to go along with the chalk theme. We are calling our event Sidewalk Sidelines.


Inside the gallery and studios you will also find a wide assortment of art-- from jewelry to abstract art to fiber art, to pottery to sculptures to painted furniture to pet portraits, to equine art to portraits and figurative paintings, colorful digital photography, graphic arts, wood carving and mural painting are just a few of the different things you can see under one roof. The fun thing is you can see the artists at work, view their studios, talk to them about their work, listen to music, eat food.... see live theatre.... I am sure I am missing something but you get the idea. It is fun and free and the artwork is original and fresh and inspiring. There is also something in all price ranges. So please come and enjoy! :)

I am in White Horse Studios on the Second Floor.

Take care!
Sue Steiner
equine and animal artist
commissioned pet portraits