Gina Lento: Fine Art and Illustration

International Chihuahua Appreciation Day

I had already done my “day” sketch earlier of National Chicken Dance Day. (I sketched a chicken, dancing.

I have been going about my day working on some catching up, sketching and drawing away. …listening to Zoom recordings either on repeat or ones that I missed. Hoping to get to the juicy podcasts I was listening to….

As I am listening to the Zoom recording I was playing, an email pinged and I glanced up….wait, what’s this? An email from AKC.org to alert me that it is International Chihuahua Appreciation Day? How did I miss THAT?! Damn I could have sketched Mack and Lucy this morning in my dailies!

I have tons to post about Lucy and Mack so I am prepared for this. As I mentioned a few months back, we have a new addition to the family. Lucy came into our lives a year ago, actually this week. She was a Mother’s Day gift from my husband. Which the joke is sort of on him, or maybe me, because Lucy thinks my husband walks on water and I am only good for a bed warmer.

Last month I was making a lot of dog art for an event, and I was revisiting my tiny dog series, blowing some of those up or making all new new ones. I did one portrait of Lucy and a new one of Mack. Mack is Mr GQ. If I need a reference photo, I just take it. He’ll pose all day. This portrait is from a recent photo. You can see his eyes are getting a little bit cloudy but he’s still chugging along at 13. He’s a dashing long haired chihuahua.

"Mack" 13 yr old long haired red Fawn chihuahua, sporting and red collar Blue background with dotted border. — Mack, our long haired Chihuahua

Lucy on the other hand, John and I needed ID photos for AKC of her and I think all four of us were exhausted after that session. Mack was exhausted just watching the show. And this is WITH the STAR Puppy training. At least I had few I could use for portraits after all of that struggling.

"Lucy" Tricolor Chihuahua portrait, black, tan, white with purple background and circles in pink ringed with ivory. — Lucy, the 1 year old

Chihuahuas are probably one of the most MISunderstood breeds. They are very intelligent. Their Napoleon demeanor has a lot to do with self preservation in a world where something minor to a human or child could be fatal to a chihuahua. Even when you have chihuahuas, you need to proceed with caution with other chihuahuas until they learn you aren’t going to hurt them or their owner. They are fierce little watch dogs but they really are amazing little companions.

Both of these portraits are done on cradled wood boards with acrylic gouache, colored pencils, ink and whatever else I grabbed that was handy.

ENJOY and Happy International Chihuahua Appreciation Day

It takes two

Heart shaped art of two coyotes singing a love song as indicated by the hearts flying from the direction of their open mouths in a singing pose. They are side by side, facing each other. Full moon with a mauve toned sky and there is a heart on the full moon

Here, our two lonely coyotes meet and sing a duet.

I really like how this heart turned out. When I started it, I almost thought I was going to need to gesso over it and start over. The coyotes and ground turned out fine, but the background was a hot mess.

I layered the background over and over until the dusky looking one slowly appeared. At this point, I am not sure I remember how I did it because I kept going over it with muting down the original background and blending it with buff colors until it looked like a sky. It is a mixture of buff tones (buff titanium, pale peach, flesh tones) and the original palette mix that I kept toning down….down…and down.

I kept blending until I achieved the sky and mood I was looking for and when this final layer dried, I was so happy with it. Sometimes the hot messes morph into happy accidents, and into something that looks more like “I meant to do that.” I like the atmospheric quality that this heart has, almost like it shimmers and that was the look I wanted for this.

Sometimes, as an artist, you have to keep pushing through a problem until it is resolved. If you give up too soon, you may have only been only a step away from resolving your dilemma instead of giving up and failing. Even failures have value if you use them to learn what to do better the next time, but the key is to keep going to learn how to achieve your goal.

I know people who rip out their “ugly” pages and hot messes in their sketchbooks. I never understood that. Ugly pages have hidden gems in them and you don’t see the value until you flip through your sketchbook months or years later. Every time I create, I learn something new. That is the value of pushing through to the end.

That’s one of the main lessons I have learned over the years. Even when the art is in its ugly phase, keep going for the swan.

Solo Song

A forgotten song

Of Longing and love thought lost

Springs forth from the heart

Gina Lento

Coyote howling at the moon at what looks to be a lonely hearts song. The sky is dark blue, there are stars and pink hearts coming from the coyote as she sings for her true love.

Coyote song can evoke many emotions. One of them can be fear. There is nothing more surreal than the first time you hear the yips and howls, especially when you hear them just outside your window. A cold primal fear grips your heart upon being awakened by coyotes.

I’ll never forgot the first time I heard coyotes, and we were in a neighborhood full of houses. Not far from the Savannah State Park, but it was surprising. Your instincts kick in without your being aware that your body knows what to do even though you haven’t been in that situation before.

It was tough to fall asleep after that.

The primal part of you is on high alert, but the logical, curious side of you wants to peek out the window to see if you can see the coyotes outside. As much as I wanted to see them, I didn’t venture out of the house until morning. A six foot fence wasn’t making me feel safe that night.

Once that first experience was done, we’ve heard their songs being sung in other places, like Lake Placid, Florida. Late Placid, FL, is right in the middle of orange groves and cattle ranches. It’s sort of like an island in the sea of Florida’s version of a prairie. There a plenty of coyotes there, you can hear them in the distance at night.

When you hear a coyote song and you expect to hear it, the song has a different context. It was that context that inspired me to write the haiku above. The loneliness of a single coyote, or coyotes calling to their mates or pack. Maybe a love song in the night; a young male seeking young female to start their own pack.

Then, the song tugs at the heart strings.

Whimsical Valentine portrait

I haven’t posted this yet because it was hanging up for Valentines’ Day. This is our little family as it is today, with Hubby. Mack, Lucy and myself. We look a little different than we did last year, and the year before.

Wooden heart painted pink with an illustrated whimsical portrait of a man, women and their two Chihuahuas, long and shorted haired.

Last year, we had just lost Chloe so we were still in mourning for Valentines’ Day. A heart for last year would only have consisted of my hubby, Mack and myself. I don’t think we really were up to much of anything last year. Mack was moping around the house and John and I were trying to adjust to life without Chloe. Even now, with Lucy in the family, we still miss Chloe and her spunky bossy little self.

Lucy has a dog car seat that we put her in for her safety as well as it is her “safe” place in the car and whenever we leave the house. If we take her out of the car for walks or dog training, she can’t wait to get back in her seat and will leap toward it when she is being placed back in the car.

Looking at Lucy in the car for an outing today, I mentioned to John how Chloe would have loved that thing. It’s perfect for looking out windows or to basically veg out. Chloe would sit in the back seat with her legs braced against John’s driving. It was so funny. Lucy just hangs in her seat with her front legs braced against the front of the basket and her back leaning on that back of the basket. Her expressions are hilarious. She thinks she’s such a badass in that seat.

So now the heart includes Lucy instead of Chloe. Chloe will always be imbedded our hearts and we’ll always have the memories of her. She’s always with is and now, Lucy is with us, too.

Garden Lion

I mentioned the other day that I originally wanted to do the Fluffy lion with the sagriffito technique and I forgot to do it and just started to paint the lion. This time, I did remember and I painstakingly etched into the wood the outline of the lion. It didn’t quite come out as I expected, but I do like how the background became more textured. That was a pleasant surprise.

It’s funny how each lion has its own personality. This little guy is hanging out in an arid environment and he is sporting a heart shaped mane, which was entirely by chance. I only used four colors for this heart. The background color which was glazed over, and two colors for the the lion, and the green for the plants. The limited color palette was unintentional at first but as the piece was progressing, I realized that two colors were all I needed to bring this little guy to life. Any more would be overkill. I didn’t even have to squeeze out any white because the pale peach was light enough.

I watered down the Burnt Sienna to give the lion some solid ground. It looked empty until I added the green. I added the flowers using the lion colors from the body and mane. Once the paint dried, I added some shading with colored pencil. My signature is hidden because I didn’t want it to overpower such a small piece of art. I like that the glaze gives some texture and atmosphere. I preserved the piece with matte medium, which is supposed to be matte, but as you can see, it has a little sheen to it from the light.

Overall, he’s a happy guy. I like that I have a character that I can place with in other art. It’s amazing how much inspiration can come from something random, like a blob, ink blot, maybe a cloud in the sky, or shapes in knots of wood.

Inspiration can be anywhere.

Heart shaped art of a lion done with burnt umber and a pale peach. The whole heart was down with only 4 colors, the background, which was glazed over...the 2 colors for the lion and the green for the plants. Values were added with color pencil. — Garden Lion

Fluffy the Lion

Tiny painting rendered on a small wooden heart. Subject is a lion with a pink/orange mane and buff colored body. Background is a subdued orange, — Fluffy the Lion

Pen and ink drawing of a lion influenced by a blob of red paint. — Blobby

Today is National Single Task Day.

I did a small cartoon box of Mack sleeping on the Ottoman. That is Mack’s single task preference. I did have both of them in the studio with me, but Mack wandered off and Lucy is currently pestering John to throw her ball for her. I didn’t post it but I may turn that into a small painting idea.

Today’s tiny painting is Fluffy the Lion. The idea for Fluffy came from a blob I did earlier in the morning. He had a lot of potential so I sketched him out and Fluffy was born. I was originally going to try the sagrifitto technique to create the line of his body into the wood, but I completely forgot after I transferred him to the heart and went right into painting him.

The blob version, pictured here, looked more like a lion that stuck his paw in a socket, and I liked that look. Even his tail was wiry, as you can see in the blob photo. He needed some refinement to become Fluffy but I may do the original blob version, too.

Blobs are a daily practice of mine and many of my characters have come from these blobs. Most of the time I see cats and dogs in the blobs. I guess we see what we want to see. When I get stuck, I show the blob to my husband, who comes up with something that I would not have thought of, which is nice to have someone to add their point of view.

I started with scraped paint and I usually do a whole month all at once so that there is always a blob ready for me to draw in the morning. I start with turning the page around until I find something in the blob. This is why the lion looks awkward on the page. I usually keep to the general shape of the blob, but on occasion, I have incorporate shapes into something larger. As you can see here, I added the paws outside of the painted area. For there I and done my morning pages and move on or I take the blob further, like I did here.

Too-ra loo-ra Loo-ral

Wooden heart painted pink and distressed with a buff color. A singing coyote is portrayed with a full moon, that has a pink heart painted on it. The coyote is singing pin musical notes that use hearts instead of circles.

Today is National Sticky Bun Day.

However, I haven’t done anything with Sticky Buns other than a sketch in my daily ‘toon box where I have Lucy and Mack looking longingly at a sticky bun on the table.

(No, we haven’t had any sticky buns today. But the day is still young.)

What I did paint today is one of my little characters that I call my “coyote Ugly.” I have been doing these little coyote guys since my government days. I was on a conference call many years ago, and I sketched a little coyote on a post it note and called him Coyote Ugly, I guess that movie was stuck in my head at the time. I pasted him on my cubicle wall and there he sat. He moved with me went to left the government to go into the private sector, and eventually came to be stuck to the desktop of my first studio. I have no idea what sketchbook he’s in right now but I do remember putting him in a sketchbook for safe keeping.

(I only have over 100 something sketchbooks, so he shouldn’t be that hard to find.)

Today’s Coyote Ugly is this little fellow who is singing to a love moon. For some reason the “Irish Lullaby” popped into my head so I call this heart “Too-ra loo-ra loo-ral” because coyotes sing many songs and this is a coyote singing a lullaby to his love. I used hearts as musical notes for this reason, to indicate that his song is one of love. His love could be a female coyote for whom he wants to give his heart, or the Mother Earth, who could use a lot of love right now. I like this idea with the coyote and his song. I may continue this trend for a while and make more coyotes. I do have a haiku I wrote for Coyote Ugly and I may do a heart for that, too.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Love Your pet day

Today is “Love Your Pet Day.”

In my very humble opinion, an animal companion is in our lives to be loved and love us in return. They are with us for such a short time. They deserve to be doted on and spoiled as much as possible and every moment should be cherished, for we don’t know how long we’ll have the pleasure and joy of their company. Unfortunately, life gets in the way, with children and activities. We kiss or pat our animals and run out the door taking them for granted they’ll be there when we come home.

As I have gotten older and became an empty nester, it was easier to give pets much more attention. I have also learned to not take the pet relationship for granted, to make sure I spoil the furred children as much as possible. For as I pointed out above, last year we found out that our time ran out with Chloe. At least we could say she got the love and attention she deserved her whole life.

I have been privileged to have lived with both cats and dogs, although we currently have 2 dogs (again) at the moment. I would like a kitty, but one young animal in the house is enough for now. Lucy is a four legged tornado who thinks she could be a cat, but she is very happy to be a busy, opinionated, bossy Chihuahua puppy of 11 months.

Poor Mack, our elderly gentleman Chihuahua, is suffering through the escapades of the wildling, I swear he smirks when Lucy is scooped up and taken to her weekly dog training class. Serves her right, he thinks.

I chose Mack to be the model for this little vignette. Mack is an agreeable long haired Chihuahua who views all humans as food dispensers. Especially the smaller humans, whom he didn’t like at first, until the food started falling. Now he loves children, the more the merrier because Mack is such a cute furry teddy bear who loves to be fed and children love him. So he’ll turn on the charm and cuddliness and con children out of whatever they are eating, Who could resist the charms of such a dapper gentleman?

So I end this post, in memory of our Chloe. Pick up your fur children and give them a hug and thank them for another day spent with them.

Happy Love a Pet Day.

Small Paintings and Oopsie

I have some small wooden hearts that I picked up at one of my visits to Hobby Lobby. I wanted to do a bunch of these for Valentine’s Day and so far I have completed four of them. One was a gift for my hubby. The reference from this one is from the Museum App, formerly known as the Sktchy App. I have mentioned Sktchy App before because I used to do daily sketches of people. The Museum App is wonderful for drawing inspiration although I have seen writers use it as well.

The photo reference for this little painting was posted by Lora Serra and I loved it because it is a vintage photo and they are so much fun to sketch and paint. The young man and the dog really appealed to me because it was so old fashioned but also real at the same time. I really enjoyed doing this one.

Small heart shaped painting of a young man and his dog. Reference Photo from Museum App. Art completed using Acrylic Gouache and colored pencil.

It’s been a while since I posted because I have been recovering from a multiple fracture injury that happened during a bike ride on October 19th. I remember the date well because I was right in the middle of Inktober and Drawlloween and I hadn’t done my sketches yet for that day. Yeah, I still have them on my “to do” list. I’ll get to them eventually.

We had popped out for some exercise and we were almost finished our ride when I miscalculated a turn and collided with my husband. Of course I was the one that lost control of my bike and went down. I was grabbing the handle bars all the way down but at the last second put my arm down and that was all it took to fracture my elbow and wrist…to be very specific , it was my DOMINANT arm, the one I write with, draw with, make meals with, EAT the meals with…and so on. I was totally incapacitated for TWO months! UGH.

I was very fortunate that I did not scrape myself all over the street. I had some bruising on my leg from the bike seat and ribcage from the handlebars because I somehow got twisted in the bike when I hit the ground, but I am so glad I didn’t have blacktop burn. I did fracture/sprain my wrist and had a fracture in my elbow….So….Eight weeks later, just days before Christmas, I finally got the cast off. I have been playing catch up ever since, while dealing with muscle pain from using my right arm again.

I did get some drawing done during that time…I’ll write more about that in another post. I did a lot of lefty drawings……

Happy Halloween

Well, what started out as an amazing month of drawing, ended abruptly when I had a bike crash two weeks ago. One mistake and I hit the ground. Hubby said it was like watching slow motion. I desperately tried to correct my trajectory with the ground and almost came away unscathed until I instinctively put my arm down. I really need to take tumbling classes or something. Hey, at least I was wearing helmet. I might want to consider kevlar for the rest of me.

I am sporting a festive Halloween purple cast. My thumb and entire right arm are encased in a solid prison. Since I am right handed, I am pretty much at a stand still. I am typing this left handed and using many colorful metaphors because I have to keep making corrections.

This could be a good time to use Siri but she doesn’t appear to be an option on WordPress.

So, I have to sit and do nothing or try to draw with my left hand. I opted for plan B – Lefty draw.

So here is the best that I can do to close out Inktober and Drawlloween.

Bye October 2023.