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!

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.

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. :-)