Oct 19, A Completed Commission!

 Sometimes it takes a few goes before both I and my client are satisfied with a painting. I want to make sure they are getting what they are hoping to see, and there are parts of a photo that may not register with me as being important, like the shape of a patch of white fur on a forehead, or a specific collar color, and it helps when the patron lets me know what they are looking for.

This is a painting for returning patrons who wanted to memorialize their beloved pair of huskies. In the original, they aren't quite so close together so it took a few tries before I was able to get them just right- and the background wasn't all lovely warm happy colors, but I made them that way!

This is a good time to get on my list for painting your pet before the holidays!  I do also have a few Paint Your Pet Classes that will be in November- I'll post those this week!

Hope you are enjoying the fall weather and getting out and VOTING!

12x16 acrylic on panel

sold!

Oct 13, Morning Juice

 I had planned on painting an otter a day for OTTER-tober.... but that hasn't happened so far, because I'm a bit busier than expected, which is strange because I'm always busy so why didn't I expect that? Hmm... this getting older and wiser part ain't for sissys....

SO this is an orange I painted in my Paint Love class the other week, as a demo- it is a lovely thing to paint small objects daily. It keeps your eye sharp and your brush moving, and all that makes you a happier person, I swear!

6x6 acrylic on canvas panel

$65 plus tax = $70

click here to purchase!

9/30 more 10 minute pets!

 Yes, there were more!

And now is a good time to actually commission me to paint YOU pet if you'd like one for gift giving for the holidays!

This lovely wet weather we are experiencing in Minnesota feels so great right now, so cozy and inward-turning, it's a great time to be painting- my October session is full but I do have a November series of 6 Sundays, 2-4:30 that I'm setting up right now!

9x12 black gessoed paper with acrylic

donated!

9/28 10 Minute Pets!

This Saturday morning I sat in the drizzle with my lovely friend and amazing artist Lara Johnson and we drew and painted people's pets as they brought them up to us after their Blessing!  This is a tradition at our school during the Homecoming shenanigans and I really love it!

Here's one of the first ones I did- I was able to get 8 portraits done in about 40 minutes- they don't want us to go on too much longer than that for crowd control, I think... there were years in the past where I was stuck there for 40 minutes to an hour after the event was supposed to be done because people really wanted their pet painted!

9x12 on black gessoed paper

for donation to Golden Valley Humane society!

The Ugly Duckling Makes Waves

 I am just so enchanted by these babies and their fuzzy earnestness as they paddle through the green ripples and dark shallows... using such a variety of warm and cool neutral colors, placing the brush strokes in just the right place to suggest that little baby wing, that delicate webbed foot just under the surface...

I am having so much fun with these!  Come see them in person tomorrow and Sunday, 10-4 at my studio in the Ivy, 2637 27th Ave S, Mpls 55406!

12x36 acrylic on canvas

$865

click here for purchase info!

And an Ugly Duckling! "Back Paddle"

 This is a piece I've been working on this week from a photo my sister in Geneva sent of the swans in lake Geneva this spring...

Water and birds, what a great combo! And the colors, and lines... these are fun!  There's a few more coming out from Kel's photos, and you can come see them this weekend at our studio for LOLA!

Sat and Sun, 10-4 at the Ivy Building, 2637 27th Ave S!  Second floor, #210!

9x12 acrylic on canvas

$215 

click here for purchase info!

More pup Commissions!

 This one was such a fun one to paint!

Oh but I DO say that about a lot of them... okay, so THIS one is fun because the faces were not quite so close in the photo and I got to play with them a bit to move them closer, and I am really happy with how they turned out! Plus I got to abstract the background to a color that felt emphatic for the relationship of the two sweet creatures, who are no longer with us.  My patron wanted to be able to have that feeling that they were looking at her again, and I hope I've satisfied that!

Ooo and come see me at the studio this weekend! 2637 27th Ave S, second floor, call if you need directions!

XOXO

12x16 acrylic on panel

sold

Sep 9, Another close up!

 Have you ever read The Four Agreements? I've found myself thinking and remembering those 4 basic ways of looking at the world... because sometimes when it feels things are spinning off faster than you can understand them, you need some way of viewing the world, a lens to look through. And these have always helped me out, when I remember them...

Have no expectations, make no assumptions, be impeccable with your word, and always do your best.

So when I find myself spinning into catastrophic thinking, I can pull up the "Make No Assumptions" and try to live in the moment, and that helps me at least chill out enough to pay attention to NOW.

Painting helps too, of course!

Another pup from the three!

3inches by 3 inches an already sold~

 

Sept 8, another close up!

 It's a week in to school, I'm sometimes feeling like I know what I'm doing, and then something else comes at me and I am discombobulated again....

Dang- so I sit and paint sweet loving companion animals, and that makes me feel better.

Hope they make you feel better too~

4 inches by 4 inches about, and sold~

Sept 2, Close Ups of Work in Progress

 Whew, it was a fabulous weekend!! Thank you everyone who came by to say hi at Millstream! What a lovely day! And so many awesome people and dogs!!!

And then Monday night at Loons Coffee, another wonderful crew of people came by to pick up their dogs and have some snacks with me! I am so grateful for the connections we make through art and community, and by going out and talking to people! What a great start to my week!

I hope you're having a good week too!  This is a close up of Rosemary, the brown doxie!

tiny! Sold!

August 28, Three Cuties on a couch!

 Here is a commission I'm working on- because I want you to know that I am painting!  It's been a busy week, back to school workshops and the kids come on Monday but I still need to PAINT! This one is a bit tricky because of lighting and because the panel is small, 6x12, so gotta work tight which requires more control and care, and the client has given me great feedback so I should be getting this one off in the mail soon!

August 17, Gunny, another Commission!

So my lovely sister is in town and we went to see Josh Johnson at the Orpheum last night, and it was amazing! Sat up very close, and laughed- dang! Needed that so bad. We also had a 3rd Sunday Brunch yesterday, which was super awesome and well attended and especially populated with tall loud teenagers playing games in the living room and then in the backyard and then out in the front yard running around with cardboard armour and weapons... it was so great! One of those soul-filling things, you know... the sense that the kids are alright, at least right now...

And this is a little commission with some big eyes... 

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold

 

8/15, The One I'm Working On...

 Yes, I thought I'd post the one I'm working on right now- it's Rusty, the dog of my teenage-dom... when I got my own room, in the basement, the former play-room, and when I learned to drive, and when I'd want to go for walks I had someone to take along, though Rusty was better known for going on his own walks, leaping the backyard fence and taking off, possibly siring more little Rustys in the neighborhood, though he was also great about recognizing the sound of our huge tan van and he'd gamely come running and jump in when you spotted him...  I don't think he was ever fixed, but he was a wonderful dog. House trained immediately, probably because he had a good momma dog, he was in a "Free Dog" box in the back of a pick up truck on the way up to Virginia MN when all the "men" in our family went up to help our uncle, my mom's brother, on his new cabin/house because he and his wife had just had their first child. Of course, the young family refused to accept a new puppy because their hands were already full, so dad brought the pup back to our house where my mom adamantly claimed him and said he could replace the dog her dad had given away when she was a young girl.

Rusty was amazing. We all loved him so much!

There's something off with the shape of his head, and I need to fix his eyes- I love how his ears are all flipped up!  We were picking out and cutting down our Christmas tree and Rusty was free to run around the tree farm. We all loved that too!

29x16

August 14, Another Commission!

 Why is it so hard to paint every day when I am not doing a 30 IN 30 project?! Sheesh- I actually am working on a larger painting of my childhood/teenage dog, Rusy, that's taking me some time to configure... But I don't want to post that yet!

SO here is another kitty kat! This one is Sana~

6x6 acrylic on wood

sold

August 12, Another Commission!

 This little sweetheart is Buddha, just in case you were thinking that I only paint dogs... and I hafta say I am kinda itching to paint something OTHER than dogs right now, actually, so stay tuned for something like otters or maybe something else completely different... like a human...

We voted yesterday in Minnesota, hope you were happy with your results wherever you are! We are mostly happy-  I do miss Al Franken being in goverment though. I think we all could use some humor in there that doesn't feel like a toddler on a kitchen chair...

6x6 acrylic on wood

sold

August 6, Sulley!

 Here's another commission! Dang, are you seeing how hard it is to post every day when I don't have a 30 in 30 Project running?!?  I'll have to come up with something...  I did Otter-Tober once... maybe I need to roll that one out again!

Send me your otter photos!!

Hope you're enjoying the weather if you're in Minnesota!  It's been absolutely glorious the last few days... hopefully other parts of the planet are enjoying a reprieve as well....

Love to you!

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold

August 2, Curley!

 Dang!  I missed a day in there!  So sorry! I was hoping to continue with something every day, whether I'm reposting or putting up a commission or someting-

SO this is Curley! It was fun to abstract that background out a bit, and play with the greens to make some depth back there...

It's a bit sticky today in Minnesota, but we're not really complaining!  Max is at Adventures in Cardboard again this week and next, and it is a joy to see how excited he is to head off every morning. May all his future work positions incur as much excitement in his day! 

I'm hanging the dogs up today at Loons Coffee! Hopefully within the next couple hours, if you're in town and wanna swing by!  They will be up through August 31st with a Closing Celebration on MONDAY 8/31 from 5-7pm and you can come pick up your pups and your books and say hi! Of course, you can go by any time during open hours and take a look and have some good coffee!

6x6 acrylic on wood

sold~

July 31, Gizmo!

 This isn't an official dog on the list, but I thought I'd share Gizmo none-the-less because he was just such a joy to paint.

I also wanted to tell you that I spent yesterday evening at my studio with a lovely group to paint their pets, and it is just a joy to me to get to know the people who are drawn to my goofy painting classes. We had fun and everyone painted their dog! Oh and then afterwards my son Max and I went to Powderhorn Park for the Peace Lantern Ceremony presented by Pillsbury House and Theater! It was just joyous- to be in a park with tall cottonwood trees by a lake, singing and humming while watching youngsters stilt around in glowing animal heads was soothing to my troubled soul. Regular people are doing beautiful things. There is joy in this world.

10x10 acrylic on wood

sold

July 30, Old Cutie Kirby!

 Yup, I just liked this one so much, I had to paint him. It's just such a sweet face, and sometimes that's completely all I want in a painting is something that is cute to look at. 

I think our hearts like to rest on those kinds of things sometimes, to appreciate the sweetness of this world.

Thanks for following along as I painted all these dogs this month!

I'll be getting them all ready to hang, and they'll be displayed at Loons Coffee, 4648 E Lake Street for the month of August, with a closing celebration on Sunday afternoon, August 30th from 4 to 6!

We'll see who I paint tomorrow!

6x6 acrylic on canvas

$160

click here to purchase~

July 29, Don with Rythmn

 This is a painting that was requested by a friend and fellow artist, and I am happy with where it is going but not quite sure it is complete yet!

I'll do a little more work on Don's face- this is my friend Joe's brother, who passed recently, with his therapy dog Rythmn.

I do love paintings that show people and their pets together. We need each other, so much.

12x9 acrylic on wood

spoken for~

July 28, Lucy!

 Lucy is one of the lovely dogs that roam around at Camp Mishawaka, and she lives with the wonderfully buoyant and optimistic Angela and her amazingly flexible and friendly husband Mark. Lucy is slightly shy and doesn't mind sniffling our pugs or playing with their toys, but she doesn't quite join in their silly pug antics. She has a bit more dignity than that.

I've got just two more paintings this month for my 30 Dogs in 30 Days! Thanks for following along! And I do have some room in my Thursday evening Paint Your Pet class if you'd like to join me!  More info and sign up here!

6x6 acrylic on canvas

spoken for~