A well-loved Havanese

This is Fluffy - a well loved little havanese pup. She is the companion of a lucky little twelve year old girl. They do everything together. I think that's a great thing in childhood to have a pet to adore. This little girl's grandmother thinks so too and commissioned this as a Christmas present.

I had many pets in childhood. My brother and I had our own little zoo growing up. I took it as my personal mission to drag every sad creature I found home to be rescued. My parents didn't always appreciate it -- but they loved the creatures too. I loved them all, but the special one for me was my cat Calico. She was of course a calico (give me a break, I was 7 when I named her!). That kitty would run full speed from anywhere in the house if I called her. She was on me as soon as I sat down. She was my best friend. My own house now has a gaggle of creatures too, for my kids to grow up appreciating all forms of life and the love they show us.

I still believe in rescuing animals and have learned I can't adopt them all, so 10% of every sale goes back to the rescue group of the buyers choice. Fluffy's grandma picked Mixed Breeds in Need. So we get to make a little girl happy, and help more pets find homes. Yay :-) Happy Holidays Everyone!

Buddy and Lovey

I just completed my first two pet portraits that were commissioned by someone who does not know me — pretty cool. The pet business is fairly new to me, and has been really well received so far. I'm starting to believe in that field of dreams theory, if you build it they will come... Word of mouth has been great, and I appreciate all of my friends talking it up. I'm happy to say, with this commission 10% has gone to a great rescue group here on long island, mixed breeds in need. They work with the local shelters to help train, socialize and facilitate adoptions for animals in need. These two dogs were rescued through their program and are now loved so much that they have their very own portraits. They are two of the lucky ones.

The process of a pet portrait

I thought it might be interesting to talk about how a portrait is made. I've learned a few ways to do it – the most fun way for me is from life, no drawing first – go straight to paint. This is also a dangerous way – you're gambling that the drawing will be right, first shot out. Sometimes I'm in the zone and this works, but usually half way through I realize there is something slightly wonky with it. At that point you have to adjust the paint, which with oils can get muddy, or live with the error. Now that I'm painting pictures for other people, accuracy is more important. The traditional method for a portrait is to make a drawing first, then transfer to canvas, do an underpainting, then the finished paint. I learned this method, but find it a little tedious. (I'm super impatient!) So, I kind of cheat between the two methods... I make a drawing first to get most of my mistakes out of the way. I'm also using photos for the first time since high school (the purest in me calls it cheating!!). Second, I transfer the drawing to canvas so when I'm painting I only have to worry about tone and color. The next step is to block in the main areas of light and shade and then start to add the details. One of my favorite instructors in college used to always say 'work from the general to the specific' over and over and it's been good advice.

 

 

This cute pup is Harleigh. She belongs to a friend of mine. I understand she's a bit of a neurotic pup that recently went through some training to help socialize her. She's learning that strangers are not the enemy, and to not be overly fearful of them. I hope to meet her soon, and will try and make friends...It won't hurt to stuff my pockets with treats to bribe her though ;-)

I need a super suit

Thank goodness for the ability to multi-task! Any other exhausted individuals out there? There is so much to do, and so few hours to do it. I work a full time job, have two kids to get off to school, successfully neglect my household duties (yup!), homework, dinner, shopping, laundry, errands, and try to keep a second career painting. Perhaps if I had a secret super suit to wear under my clothes I might have more energy? I think it would be black and would instantly take 20 pounds off of my silhouette. Haha. I'm thankful really, to be interested in doing so many things. Even though I'd rather paint full time, I do like my job too. Probably the variety and the challenges presented to fit everything in keeps it interesting too. If I'm going to have a super suit, I think I need super powers too. hmmmm.... that I'll have to ponder....

Getting started

Oooof. Getting started is the HARDEST part. I took Monday off from work, started and finished a painting. Boy that felt GREAT. So Tuesday night I said...I really oughta start something....then I went to bed. Wednesday night I said to myself, gee, painting was SO much fun the other day, I really should start a new project...(not like I don't have 497 lined up and waiting to go...)...yeah, you guessed it. I went to bed. Thursday, same lame deal.... Finally last night I started a drawing. I lost track of time and had so much fun. Why is it so hard to start?? I don't know. I woke up bright and early and did a second drawing and now I'm 1/3 of the way through a painting. It's actually hard to stop once I get going but soooo difficult to begin. Perhaps it's that bright white page before me silently trash talking me. It says 'I bet you can't draw anymore'. I always worry, perhaps I can't do it. And then I do. Yeah, it's a bunch of mind games I play on myself. Anyone else have this problem??

I thought I'd share the sketches I made. They're preliminary drawings for the next two dogs I have to paint. These two are associated with a great rescue group called mixed breeds in need. 10 percent of the commission has been donated to that group. That's the plan with all of these pet portraits. 10 percent back to rescue groups to help some other nice dog or cat find a home full of love. Every little bit helps, right? I think so.

Lame excuses and pet portraits

OK, I'm back from a long absence. Life sure gets in the way. Two posts in one week, and then four months off. Lame, I know. I'd love to make this one of those painting a day sites. I love those, but sadly, I just don't have the time. I have been painting though. Here's some of what I've been up to...my latest big idea is to paint peoples cats and dogs. It combines two things I love a lot – painting and fuzzy creatures. I've thought about doing it for a while and never followed through on it. That's been the story of my life. I get really interested in different kinds of art, do it for a little while and then move on to the next fancy thing. It worked for DaVinci, but it's not working for me. I did murals, t-shirts, pursued childrens illustration, figurative art, abstract art...I've been one of those masters of none. That may be the case here, that remains to be seen – but I'm really excited about the possibilities. It's gotten the best reaction of anything I've done so far. I think it touches a universal chord. Being an animal lover brings out the best in people. No matter if you're young or old, rich or poor, when you talk to an animal lover about their pet – we all have the same reaction. We talk about our beloved creatures as the family members they are. I love being able to create a timeless piece of art to honor these loyal, funny, sweet, mischievous, stinky, lovable friends. I'll still be doing my abstract constructions, and will get distracted by who knows what. I'm a restless Gemini that craves change, what can I say, but I think I've found something I can stick with!

This is one I painted today on a lovely day off from work. This is Brutus. An adorable American Bulldog who goes about 90 pounds and has a debilitating fear of mops and mop buckets. Yeah, go figure. But a deep hatred for bears that make the sound of a mothers womb. Apparently, they need to be eliminated. Funny creatures. :-)

The Value of a Community

Today I want to talk about being a part of a community. Not just any community, but an art community. I had that in college when I was surrounded by other creatives completely immersed in their work. We were strongly encouraged to articulate our ideas and have healthy debates about them. Afterwards, I slowly lost touch with that as I went off to conquer the world and my classmates did the same. Years later, I've rediscovered the importance in surrounding yourself with other creative people. Musicians do this naturally. They need others to play with (usually). Artists can be pretty solitary creatures and can get used to being alone with their ideas. That's fine for working things out, but the exchange of ideas with others often leads to new things. It can lead you where you may never have gone. I'm lucky to have found a group of very cool women to do this with at a local gallery to me, called ART (that matters).


Twice a month there is group of us that meet and share work there. We share our new work, our ideas and we give each other feedback and support. It is a community that has provided nourishment to my creative spirit. I've been working these last twenty years as a creative professional and rarely meet other artists. Sure, I've worked with other designers, painters, photographers and writers. Most of which have lost the burning desire to create that inspired them to pursue a creative career in the first place. If I had a dollar for every person who said 'I used to draw a lot, but just don't have the time...' I could buy nice kolinsky sable...What they're really saying is I've lost the desire. Life got more interesting. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't relate. Going to my women's group I now spend time with artists that MAKE the time because they NEED to create. Just like I do. It's really not an option not to. For many years I didn't have that support and was creating in a vacuum. I see now what I was missing – that being part of an art community is inspiring and reinforces that what I'm doing is important. Now I'm not the lone wacky arty-farty. I'm just one of a bunch of wacky arty-farties. Much more comforting! So tell me, what do you do to stay inspired and what nourishes your creative spirit?

Who, what, where, when, why is art important?

Well I decided to start this blog to talk about art. It's been the one consistent thing I've stayed interested in since early childhood. Starting with drawing contests with my older brother – which he always won (though my mother would never admit it!), to getting attention in school for being good at art, to studying painting in college and as my constant companion in adulthood – art has been my best friend. I'd like to use this space to feature all things art: my art, my friends' art, interesting galleries, new materials, new ideas. Most of all, I'd like to exchange ideas. So feel free to comment and agree or disagree. It's all good. Want me to feature your work? Send me a picture or two and something about it and maybe I'll post it. I don't want to talk about me all the time...

I'm curious what makes people create. I don't always know where it comes from, even when it's mine. It's a curious thing the drive and the desire to make something where nothing used to be. That's the part that has remained absolutely magic. So let's share a little magic :-)

I'm posting a piece of my recent work to get it started here. This is a wood construction with oil paint. It's the first success of many failed experiments where I have tried to make free-form shapes in different layers.

I am very interested in organic shapes that are reminiscent of things you recognize but can't quite place. There are so many shapes and rhythms that repeat in nature on a large scale down to microbiology. Are they planetary orbits, tree rings, or cells? My hope is that the end result feels familiar and relatable without a specific narrative. I'm hoping to have a more universal story that can mean something different to each viewer. Or, maybe it just looks cool and I get to use power tools to make it. What do you think?