8/12 From Our Cabin Window

If this had been a normal summer (I'm sure we're all saying such phrases to ourselves if not aloud, then in our hearts) we would have spent the last week and a half at Camp Mishawaka, Duane and me as craft teachers, and Max as a camper, for the first time. We've never been here, and Max has never been to an away camp, and it seemed like such a fantastic opportunity so we jumped on the offer. And then Covid.

We were very sad, but I am sure that the campers and counselors who count on this experience every summer as a big part of their lives were devastated.

Luckily for us, we were able to pop up for a day or two to familiarize ourselves with the layout of camp and check out the crafts cabins (so FUN!) and even throw a pot or two in the ceramics area with Cheryl (thanks Cheryl!) and we went fishing and swimming and saw an OTTER that swam right past Max and me as we played with a frog (it probably was more interested in the frog) and Max caught his biggest fish to date from the dock.  It was a largemouth bass!

This is the view from our dining table. We are extremely grateful.

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

click here to purchase~

August 11, Shades of Blue

Wow, it was a fantastic weekend with our Pop-Up Art Show and people dropping by to see the 30 Dogs in person~ it was so fun, Duane and I are going to do it again on Saturday August 29th from 11 to 3!  Mark you calendars!  Duane has been making some wacky wood bird wall hangings for indoors or outdoors and they'll be up for sale too~

This is another Lake Superior view from the photos Duane took a couple weeks ago.  We are at another Lake right now, so there may be more and different water views~ stay tuned!

8x8 acrylic on wood

$145

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August 8th, That Fresh Water!

Okay, maybe its a dopey name, but I like it! And I'm still really thrilled with these photos Duane took two weeks ago up on the rocks of Artist Point in Grand Marais~ there's a couple more I'm working on today, after my POP-UP ART EXHIBITION!

Come by today between 10 and noon and we'll have the tent up with the 30 Dogs hanging in it for your viewing pleasure! 3841 26th Ave S, Mpls MN 55406!

And I'm also going to have a smaller set up with some of my recent paintings that haven't really been seen yet, just in case anyone coming by has a need of some art on their walls. We've been thinking about having another Pop-up Art Weekend soon, maybe at the end of August, because Duane's been making some new wooden wall indoor/outdoor sculptures of his crazy birds and I think people are going to need those too...

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

click HERE!

Dang I love those colors!

August 7th, Ollie!

Here is yet another amazing dog!  This one is a birthday present, commissioned by a dear friend for her daughter, and it was apparently a hit!

YAY!

And DO please come by tomorrow for our POP-UP Art Show!  30 Dogs in 30 Days!!!

Maybe I'll have some other small paintings out too, in case you need some small art...

12x12 acrylic on wood

sold

August 6th! 30 Dogs in 30 Days Virtual Party TONIGHT!

I have been arranging the dogs in our kitchen/dining room all morning and I think they are ready! Please join me tonight for my first ever Virtual Art Opening for 30 Dogs in 30 Days 2020!

I have a Zoom Meeting ready for you, just join me from 6:30-8pm and I'll be talking about my 30 in 30 projects and my painting processes, and then I'll go through each painting from 1 to 30 and I'll talk a little bit about each one.  There will be time at the end for questions and comments, and I REALLY don't mind if you pipe up and ask them as we're going too!

I MISS all my usual art fairs and exhibitions, and I MISS talking to you all!!

PLEASE join in!  Bring your own favorite beverage and snacks and I'll do my best to entertain you!

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85896146718

Meeting ID: 858 9614 6718

Passcode: 485053

sneak preview!!

August 5th, Croftville Roadside Creek, May

More water explorations... it's just so interesting to me right now. How do you show in paint what your eye sees?  And how does your eye make sense of the colors and images it perceives?  How much of what we see is what our brain is telling us?

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

click here to nab this one!

Wahoo!

August 4th, July on the Rocks

This is from another of Duane's photos from last week- have I mentioned how much we all love hanging out on Artist's Point in Grand Marais? Maybe once or twice... like here, and here, and here, and even here from ten years ago!  If you haven't ever been there, I suggest you go, and any time of year it is beautiful and surprising. In the winter, it is a bit more treacherous, with ice forming on the rocks making it much more slippery.  But if you have good balance and grippy boots, it is still worth exploring!

This one is a bit more of a nearly "normal" painting... not as expressionistic, I mean!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150 

click here to grab this one!

August 3, Breezy Day on the Rocks

Duane and Max went up to Grand Marais last week for a quick visit so that Max could see his friend Maddy at least once this summer. Usually we spend two weeks solid and then a couple other sprinkles of days up there each summer and Max and Maddy have done the Summer Solstice Pageant together for the past three years, so it was nice they were able to get up there. They slept in the back of the van. Such a guy thing. Not what I would've wanted to do, myself, but I was able to also have them deliver some fresh art to Yellow Bird Gallery in Grand Marais, since I'd just gotten a check from them so I knew some stuff had sold!  That's always nice...

So Duane took photos for me, and this is from one of them, looking from Artists' point towards the lighthouse.  I love the color of the water, and trying to determine that color!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

click here to nab this one!

August 2, Rocky

Of course, there are always a few extra dogs to paint! This one is from a fundraising auction at my school and I need to get it to it's owners now- those fluffy ones can be a bit tricky.  I continue to love that challenge of attempting to translate what I see in front of me into paint. It is that creative act that engages me in this life. I am so lucky!

I hope that you have some activity or creative endeavor that makes you excited to get up in the morning!

And now that I'm done with this year's 30 Dogs in 30 Days project, there is always that little bit of a let-down, that return to normalcy (whatever that is this year...), that ending, and so comes the "what's next?" part. What am I going to move on to now?

I think more Plein Art Painting for now...

July 30, Vanjie!

And here is another sweet faced pug!

This is my friend Jay's puppy, and I'm so happy to paint a pug for our last dog! Our pug Bunny is such a joyous clown, which is exactly what we need right now, and I'm sure Miss Vanjie is the same!

Jay says her name is Vanjie, named after a sensational drag queen named Miss Vanjie. 

Thank you for taking the time to read through all these stories and see all these loved dogs~ I hope this inspires you to see your beloved ones in a new way!

8x8 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

July 29, Lucy!

This dog belonged to my parents' neighbors across the street, Marybeth and Jeff. They've been keeping an eye on my mom who would hate it if I told you how old she is, but I will tell you that I appreciate the neighbors keeping an eye on her in her gardens and on her yard and her garage door...  it's just comforting to know that there are people closer to her that know what's going on!

SO this is for them! And Marybeth says that Lucy was happiest if she was touching them~

Sweet!

8x10 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

7-28 Leopold~

Yes, this is yet another face that I found absolutely irresistible~ I'm sure you can see why!

And here's Barbara's story about Leo!

Cute!  Little Leopold was born and raised in a puppy mill as a breeder. His estimated age when rescued 6 yrs old. After spending a short time being fostered by some wonderful friends he came to live with me in 2013. He is somewhere around age 14 now and is the King of our house hold! He is a very sweet boy and loves everyone.

8x8 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

July 27, Max the Wonder Dog!

And this is MAX!  A wonderful young shiny black lab! Isn't he great?  here's what Anita wrote about him!

Max is my Covid companion.  All of our lives have changed because of Covid, and Max’s life has changed, too.  Now 10 months old, Max started life going to puppy training, visiting family, meeting lots of people and dogs on walks, playing with dogs in the park.  He loved it all. Now, with social distancing, Max watches dogs and people from across the street on walks.  We are isolated at home, with few visitors, so Max has fewer opportunities to play with other people and dogs.  But Max is still my wonderful companion, still finding joy in everyday life, enjoying the garden and neighborhood in different ways, and providing an example of making the most of every day!  Max came into my life at the perfect time.

8x8 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

July 26th, Arwyn and Ricky

These two are another pair (dang!  I've painted more than 30 dogs already with all the double dogs this year!) that I really couldn't resist!  I mean just look at those faces~

And here is what Sandy wrote about them~

"Ricky is the Yorkshire terrier, and Arwyn is the mix- Chi-Poo-Pin. They are best pals and are very bonded.  I got Arwyn at the humane society when I went looking for a cat. I couldn't have dogs in my condo at the time so she lived her first year with my daughter. Arwyn is very sweet and loves giving people kisses.

Ricky is shy and is my right hand guy.  I think he would be lost without Arwyn. He is very sweet and loves to snuggle on my lap or anywhere near me and Arwyn."

I'd love to snuggle with these two!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$309

spoken for!

July 25, Taz!

Here's another lovely black dog, with a lovely story by Heidi!

We adopted 7 year old Taz in January 2020 from Doberman Rescue Minnesota. We were told he was a casualty of a tough divorce, and that he'd been left outside in a cage in the MN winters, where he almost starved to death. He was with his foster family for almost a year, and apparently he was passed over for adoption because he was too big. (He weighed a whopping 105 when we got him - foster love!) He has visible scars on his paws and legs, but he is incredibly sweet and affectionate, and great with little kids. Given his rough start, we were really grateful that he adjusted to his new home so quickly...and now we have an 85 pound lap dog!

8x8 acrylic on wood

Spoken for!

7-24 Vincent and Bristow!

Okay, this one took me a bit longer to do, again. Funny how I keep talking about wanting to just paint the head because I know I can get that done in a day, and then I spend the whole day working on a double full body portrait like this one! But sheesh!  Could you resist these two?

Here's what Jeremy has to say about this pair~

We intended to get a single dog but when we arrived at the breeders we couldn’t decide between them and had to have them both. They are 13 years old this year and have rarely been apart for their entire lives. Swimming and rolling in the sand are their favorite activities. 

11x14 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

July 23, Maggie!

Those eyes, again~ Usually for these projects I paint head portraits, but some photos just require to be painted!

I wasn't sure about that background, because Maggie is actually sitting on a zigzag patterned black and white rug, but I didn't want to get caught up in that.  First I painted the rug blue, but that was too close to her shiny spots, so I shifted it to magenta. I'm liking it!

And here's what Becky says about Maggie!

Maggie Mae has been the perfect addition to the Anderson household! She is a miniature Australian Shepherd, enjoys multiple walks a day, and excels in obedience training! No matter what the day brings Maggie has been our daily dose of Joy♥️

8x10 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

July 22 Tate and Hillary!

It isn't often that I see a photo of two dogs that works together really well. Often, one dog or the other will be looking off in another direction or will have shut eyes or something.

THIS is a great photo!

And here's what Beth says about these two!

I definitely want these sweeties captured by you. 
The one on the left is Tate. He is a rescue. I got him when he was about 9 months. He was super shy. Now he’s kind of a knuckle head but oh so love able.
Hillary is the Diva.  She’s the queen and she bosses Tate around.  And she loves him too. 
They are both almost 4 years old. 

9x12 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

 

July 21 Scout for Laurie!

And today's sweet pup is Scout~ such a cute face!  And here's his story from Laurie~

Scout is a rescue dog - a foster fail!  A mix of yorkie and jack russell,  he was found walking a country road in South Dakota with his traveling buddy Scamp.  Scamp found a home right away.  I took Scout  to foster.   We tried for months to find a good match for him.   He had many admirers and met a good number of people who thought he might be the one for them.    But there was always something.  He was too tiny.   He didn't like being handled.    He growled at a 5 year old boy who tried to grab him.   He was not playful enough with Carlton the Cairn.    After the 4th or 5th failed meet and greet, I took Scout back to the car and called Howard.  He knew why I was calling and just said "yes."   Scout and I sang all the way home.  Scout's been with us since 2010. 

8x8 acrylic on wood

Spoken For!

July 20, Maggie and Charlie!

So I ended up doing another two dogs today!  This is Maggie and Charlie who live together and love one another and are just so beautiful!

I have a dog to nominate for this coming month's Pupzapalooza! My sister’s dog Maggie is a little skittish, but devoted to her. She’s a cattle dog, and ain’t she a beaut? 
 And here is Charlie, the other cattle dog, who belongs to my sister Lisa. He looks very happy in these pics. He’s a big goof.

Maggie!  8x8 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

Charlie! 8x8 acrylic on wood

Spoken for!