1-5-11 a departure from dogs

When it's warmer outside, I like to fire up my jigsaw and cut up birch plywood to make layered, painted wood constructions. I've had a lot of fun with it - thinking it's my 'serious' art. I make organic shapes, soothing blues, greens, browns. Well, my daughter complains that I never use red, I never use bright colors, what about purple? So on a lark, I made a construction of a crazy mask with super bright colors that I never use. I haven't had that much fun creating a piece of work in years! Maybe she's on to something. Leave it to a kid to keep the fun in art :-)

Here it is:

 

So last night for my painting a day - I was pressed for time and decided to just have fun again. It's winter in NY, so cutting wood is out of the question outside. Also, like I said - I was seriously pressed for time. So I created a new mask 'portrait' this time as a mini mask construction out of bristol board and watercolor. Yup, it was lots of fun! So here is installment #5 of my painting a day:

 

This is a 'portrait' of my friend Ron. Looks like a fun guy, huh? LOL

A sleepy mastiff 1-4-11

This one is from a stock photo by Karen Shaw. Don't know the dog's name, but he's a handsome fellow.

Gibson 1-3-11

 
Gibson is a cute black pug. I went a little more painterly and took license with the colors. Actually the photo came out more neutral - but there is some bright blue throughout. All in all, I think I like it. :-)

Day 2 Little Miss Peanut

Well 2 days down, 363 to go! Really hard to settle down and start today, and it's only day 2! But once I started, it was awesome. I've been working on a watercolor of this dog, and have spent about 4 hours agonizing and still not liking it, and it's only half done. Well, in oil it came together in about 2 hours and I like is SO much better. That's it, I'm swearing off watercolors again. I just stink at it.

About this little dog. It is my mom's super-sized chihuahua. She didn't pay an extra 39 cents to super-size her either - she is a rescue pup. She was abandoned in her former owners house when they moved, left to starve. I wish I could write the laws to punish those people, but will have to trust it will come around and bite them in the end. Losers. Anyway, she is a super sweet girl. LOVES all food and that's it. She won't run, doesn't hardly bark, won't play. Really boring dog, but we all like her. 

Painting 365 Starting NOW

My sweet puppy Diesel <3

Well today is New Years Day. Like many suckers, I am compelled to make a resolution. I almost always make it to lose weight (yeah, original I know) and also resolve to make more art. This year should be no different. In an effort to motivate myself and to have a measurable goal, I'm committing to making a painting a day. I know it will be hard with a full time job and kids and responsibilities and general inherent laziness, but I talk about loving to paint. I want to have my actions show it. Not just a few days a month, but every day to do SOMETHING. They won't always be detailed, and they won't always be the same style and genre. Some days it will be work (ack!). But to keep it lighthearted and fun – I want to treat it like a sketch book in paint on canvas. My parents were kind enough to get me a whack of 4x4 stretched canvas. It's the perfect size to do a quick sketch on, and really cute when finished. Ok, I admit it – I love miniatures. I'm super excited to see these as I progress through the year. It will be fun to put them all together, see how the subjects, styles and palette changes. I hope you'll follow this journey and send feedback and ideas along the way. I'm open to suggestions. 365 is a lot of days to fill! Posted above is installment #1. I hope you like it!

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.