July 22, Jojo!

We are LOVING the cool air in Minnesota the last couple of days! Hope you are enjoying the world where you are too~

Is it obvious that this pup's ears needed to be painted? I mean, really! Just look at these ears! Oh and those eyes too- and also, did you know my favorite dog ever was an 8 year old english cocker spaniel named Jojo? It's the best name...

And this is what Amalia says about her Jojo~

 "This is Jojo, she’s a 11 year old Ruff Start rescue from the res. She was a mama to a bunch of little pups and is now the eldest sister to a 1.5 year old baby and 2 other furry animals. We love her ears and would love to see them captured in your art!"

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold!

July 21, Aoife

 This fluffball is Aoife~ I wasn't sure about painting a dog without eyes showing better, and Cynthia sent me another photo with his eyes showing, but she was right that this was the better one. So I painted this one and put little peeps of those beautiful eyes in!

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold~

July 20, Gage

 Today is July 20, the day that sales tax is due in Minnesota, and since I wouldn't remember how to do that part of being an independent working artist once a year at tax time, I've chosen to do it quarterly so I at least kinda know what to do, so I got that done this weekend! Proud of myself...

And I've brought the pups north for a quick visit to see Duane at camp~ we all love it here!

AND I've painted Gage! Not sure this is the best photo- may have to retake it for the book~

Joyce wrote this little bit about Gage~

Here is Gage, wearing the look Erin recognizes as characteristic, wanting to make sure she is in sight. 

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold!

 

July 19, Percy, the Noble

 This is Percy, who lives in the UK and travels and plays with our dear friends Andrew and Kathy and he's been growing more lovely and elegant and noble! Such great fluff! Rather poetic as well...

6x6 acrylic on wood~

Spoken for~

July 18, Max!

 Here's another face I couldn't resist~

This is Max's story, by Kellie~

"The black and white dog is Max. He died on 11/10 last year at 13. He was the best dog in the world. My dad dubbed him “a teddy bear with a heartbeat”. 

He’s the dog we got 3 months after we got married as a trial run for kids. He was kind and gentle- he sat with me constantly through both my maternity leaves. 

He was a little anxious and hated storms. He loved barking at anything that moved outside. He loved walks, and in the last year we got him a stroller so he still enjoy the neighborhood smells. 

We loved him like a child- he taught us all about unconditional love and being content with what you have.  

He was an amazing family member and I’m thrilled that you’ll be memorializing him."

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold

July 17, Zeus and Lucas in Alabama!

Every year when I paint these series, I get into a rhythm of painting square dog heads, and sometimes I need to break that rhythm. Yes, with Luna I painted an entire little body because I loved that face and fluff, but I also want to paint BIGGER sometimes!  So when this photo was submitted by my friend Michelle for her relatives in Alabama, I was like THIS NEEDS TO BE BIG!!!

And I've been working on it since a start last night... I'm not sure it's done yet, but I need to let it sit and move on to other work so here is Zeus (little guy) and Lucas (big buy)!

I did make a little movie of part of painting it... I'll post that later~

the light and dark is what I was most excited about on this one...

20x16 acrylic on canvas

sold

July 16, LUNA

 SO, in Minnesota right now, it's pretty smokey from the Canadian and Boundary Waters wildfires... it is really creepy to have the air taste like smoke and to not want to spend time outside in a Minnesota summer... and the fact that my 17 year old is an expert in AQI is NOT a good thing... that he went off to work this morning with a ventilator mask does NOT make me feel like a good parent.

Dudes, really- climate change is happening, and we need to make sure we are voting for people who believe this and who CARE enough to work to fix it, if we hope to have any kind of future for our kids, which I do!  Okay, enough of a lecture for now.... It's just weighing so heavily these days-

Which is why I love these projects!

SO the dog of the day is Luna, and I wanted to paint this one because of that intense eye contact and all the wonderful fluff of ruff and fur... SO fun!

Here's what Gennae wrote about her friend-

"Luna is 4 year-old German shepherd/malinois rescue. She’s a true representation of the breeds….loyal, intelligent, and very energetic. She often accompanies her family to work where she’s learned to open doors and stir up some chaos."

12x6 acrylic on wood

$300

click here for purchase info!

July 15, Pepper!

 Today's dog is a black lab, a black dog, like my Bingo who was the first black dog I painted. I really feel like Bingo taught me how to paint black, on black... it is extremely fun, and quite satisfying, like completing a puzzle. I sketch out the portrait first, and then paint it in sections, not overlapping much and attempting to honor the brush strokes, making each stroke count.

And here is what Shestin said about Pepper!

"Meet Pepper! I volunteer with Can Do Canines and Pepper is a service dog in training. She is a goofy, fast learning, hard working lab!  Can Do Canines trains service dogs for mobility, hearing, seizure, autism assist, or facility dogs (like you might see at Children’s hospital)."

8x8 acrylic on wood

spoken for~

July 14, Valdez

 I thought this guy just looked so intriguing.... Laura sent me two photos and one was of Valdez sprawled on a chair, looking kinda sexy, and I thought about painting that one, but that would have to be a bigger canvas, honestly! For these projects, just the face works best for a one-day painting!

I'm gonna see if I can get Laura to send me something about Valdez, like where did he get his name?

8x8 acrylic on wood

$275

click here to purchase!

July 13, Bramble!

 This is Bramble, Charlotte's parent's corgi! She sent a few pics and I was debating between two and my son said THIS ONE! Which I agree with! That is such a wide open, beautiful corgi-smile!

I also hope you are staying cool today, if you are in Minnesota where we are expected to feel like 100 degrees everywhere... I didn't get a Lake Hiawatha video this morning because we had to drive Max out to Roseville for his AIC camp... it felt cool out there at 7:30am... I just hope all the kids manage to stay cool all day!  It's gonna be a toasty week~

This one is a 6x6 and is available!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$160

click here to purchase!

July 12, Harley!

 This is Harley!  I made another little video as I did some of the finishing touches... I'll post that separately on instgram~

And his owners came yesterday to the sweltering St Kate's Art Fair and brought me freshly made chocolate chip cookies with the chips all melty! That's the best part of this job, if you can call it that!

Judy wanted me to make sure I got Harley's streaks- I hope I managed!
Here's what Judy wrote about Harley~

"I went looking to adopt a dog after my dog Frank died unexpectedly.  Harley was being fostered outside Bel Plaine. He was with 4 other dogs at the time.I just loved the name of the rescue group---Redemption Road. He was just 10 months old but he acted much older. He's a hound mixed with shepherd mixed with maybe husky. He loves sniffing, meeting people and finally, other dogs."

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold!

July 11, Clover~

And this is Clover~

Sorry for the delay~ I was at St Kate's Art Fair all day and am at home in the air conditioning recuperating... it was pretty darn hot!  Thank you everyone who came out to explore art and hang in the shade under those beautiful trees!

I'm not sure this one is done yet, but I am just wiped out from the day so I'll adjust later~

Here's what Tanya wrote about Clover~

"Clover is a 1.5 year mini American shepherd, blue merle in color with those piercing blue eyes. She's a petite girl, around 17lbs, and has already learned lots from her older "sister" Skye like catching a frisbee and riding in a car. They play and tumble with each other, and Clover jumps over and under Skye before Skye knows what's happening. Clover has developed the nickname "pillow princess" as she will perch on top of a mound of couch pillows, and she loves to snuggle when it's time for bed, basically saying, "can we go to sleep now please?!" "

8x8 acrylic on wood

$275

click here to purchase!

July 10, Frank!

 And here is yet another face that just could NOT not be painted! As in I just had to! And also, it was sent to me by a high school friend on whom I had a huge crush back in the day~ so of course!

This is what Paul wrote about Frank!

"Here’s a little bit about Frank - he’s an Australian Shepard but for Dog purists, he is officially an American Shepard.  He will be 12 this fall.  He’s been the family dog for most of this kids life.  He is docile yet the greatest defender of a threat to anyone in the family.  And he is a great looking dog.  Everyone in the neighborhood knows Frank."

6x6 acrylic on wood

sold

July 9, Gracie~

 Isn't this the best face? My friend Rachel lives in Wisconsin way out there somewhere and has these wonderful little rescue Frenchies and axolotls and a compulsion to photograph insects and to run! She's the best!

And Rachel says of Gracie "she's a special rescue gal with a gummy bear body type and an insatiable need for food and affection!"

8x8 acrylic on wood

spoken for!

July 8, Goethe

 Oh my word, what an elegant creature this is... 

I've painted several dogs for Nick and his partner, and this is the second Giant Schnauzer- last year I painted Ingo who in his sprawling position as a delight to extend widely to the edges of the canvas. Goethe is a bit more reserved, and in a square format feels a little more contained. Here's what Nick said about Goethe~

"For a long time we have wanted to ask you to make a painting of the first of our Giant Schnauzers - Goethe - he sadly left us in the early 2000's. He was a formidable chap, very serious but loving and loyal. If you would like to add him to your 30-in-30 list we would love to buy the painting so we can include him with the paintings of Werner and Ingo that we love so much.

The futon was his favorite place -  I used the word serious to describe him, perhaps a more accurate word is sincere."

 I love using the word "sincere" to describe a dog such as Goethe...

10x10 acrylic on panel

sold

 And this stunner is Huck!  here's what Mary wrote about him~ great story~

Huck was a wild dog who had been to 4 homes before mine and had been kept in kennels for long periods of time because no one could handle him. I was asked by my daughter who worked with the rescue if I could give him some attention and training since I was retired and had time on my hands. I said I would foster… he never left. 

Once he arrived he got to work destroying everything I owned and my mantra became, “Huck has come into my life to show me what I don’t need anymore.” As a giant schnauzer/border collie mix, he was big enough to peruse the top of a book shelf and choose the most irreplaceable thing  it held. He would grab tubes of paint from my easel and run around the house squeezing paint out onto rare antique rugs and new furniture alike, resulting in a rainbow of colors in his white beard that I would carefully clean to avoid poisoning him. He went through 2 rounds of dog boot camp and even the trainers were perplexed about how to address his behavior.

I should mention that he was also incredibly sweet and funny and I was willing to work with him as long as it took for him to become a (semi) well behaved boy. Just as I was at my wits end in that pursuit, a trip to a friend’s cabin helped me stumble upon the answer, SWIMMING! He could swim for hours a day and found pure joy in the water. He swam back and forth in long laps across the lake. He swam next to boats and canoes, It had a calming effect  on him and he became a different dog. With this discovery,his

behavior,even between lake visits, miraculously changed. 

Huck became my constant companion and protector. He accompanied me on numerous cross country road trips for the 8 years he lived. He entertained my 102 year old father immensely and was a treasured visitor to all at his assisted living. 

Sadly,Huck was struck suddenly with an aggressive form of lymphatic cancer in the autumn or 2024 just after my father’s passing. By the time we discovered it he was suffering and struggling to breathe and we had to say goodbye far too soon. 

He remains in our hearts and is the subject of many true stories that all sound like tall tales  and despite his initial years of challenging antics, I fell in love and he became a cherished family member and a really good boy.

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold!

 

July 6, Heidi for Judy!

 It is still lovely and green in Minnesota- I hope you are finding cool spots wherever you are! It does get humid here, and you move slower and seek water, both to be in and to drink. I leave water out for the butterflies and birds and critters... and neighborhood dogs as they walk around. My pups always appreciate a bowl of clear fresh water as we walk the hood!

And this beauty is Heidi, who is Judy's Soul Dog, and who has a Magic Eye, as you can see! Perhaps Judy will tell us more about this amazing creature and I'll include it in the book!

I am always accepting commissions, so if you were hoping to be a part of this project, you can still send me your photos! If you know you want to buy it, I'll fit you in!

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold!

July 5, Waylon

 Here's one that I just couldn't resist painting... can you tell why? Those big freaking eyes, that whole expression, the little bit of a lip...

Goodness! Who wouldn't want to paint Waylon!

And it is said about him that "He’s a cute little sausage who keeps up with his doggy siblings."

6x6 acrylic on wood

$160

click here for purchase info!

July 4, Lulu

 And this is Lulu~

She just seemed kind of an All-American Dog to me...

I hope you are having a safe, kind, communal, friendly, amusing 4th of July! 

8x8 acrylic on wood

$275

click here to purchase!

July 3, Lily for Donna!

Whew!  Lots going on around here! And this is LILY!!! Who doesn't love a sweet faced fluffball? And Donna wrote our her little story~

"Lily is an adopted pup we were happy to find. We don’t know her back story.   She  nicknamed the trash panda. She needs petting….her happy tail never ever rests!"

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold!