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!
Actions speak louder than words~ so paint!
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!
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!"
This is Cleopatra! Doesn't she just really do the name justice?
And here's what Don wrote about her~
This is Cleopatra, our beautiful girl. When we were stuck at home during COVID lockdown we thought it was the perfect time to adopt a puppy. She's six years old now, very sweet and affectionate, but only has one thing on her mind... B-A-L-L!
Okay, this is the first dog of the 30 Dogs in 30 Days and I don't know his or her name! Lucy had shown me the photo and sent it to me, asking me to paint it, and I believe it is a relative's pup, and so possibly her nephew/niece pup... and since Lucy owns Diamond's Coffee Shoppe where I've been curating shows and hanging my 30 in 30 Projects for over 15 years (holy cow!) AND since Lucy is CLOSING DIAMONDS this weekend, I needed to make the first dog hers. I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have without having her as a consistent and gentle space in which I could experiement and play with my work.
Here's to Lucy! And GIT OVER TO DIAMONDS! I'm going today!
Oy, AND the OFFICIAL LIST of the 30 in 30 for this July! With the understanding that I am human and it will be switching around as the month goes...
July 2026
1- Big Ears for Lucy 8x10
2- Cleopatra for Don 6x6
3- Lily for Donna 8x8
4- Whiskey for Dawn 8x8
5- Waylon for Kelly E 6x6
6- Heidi for Judy S 8x8
7- Huck for Mary 8x8
8- Goethe for Nick 10x10
9- Orion for Julie M
10- Frank for Paul D 6x6
11- Clover for Tanya B 8x8
12- Harley for Judy Fi 8x8
13- Bramble for Charlotte 8x8
14- Valdez for Laura A
15- Pepper for Shestin L 8x8
16- Shepard for Gennae 12x6
17- Old Cutie Kirby for Lisa A
18- Black and White pup for Kellie H
19- Percy for Andrew K
20- Rocky for jereed
21- Lucy at Camp for Angela
22- Jojo for Amalia 8x8
23- Baby for Susan H 6x6
24- Cosmo and Comet for Betsy N 9x12
25- Tiley for Paula R 6x6
26- Harlow for Katie F 6x6
27- Catherine Palmer/Kim whiteford- Louise Ann, aka wheezy 6x6
28- Cheena Marie for Kendyl B 6x6
29- Don and Rythmn for Joe L 9x12
30- Mochi for Max 12x12
This is a commission, a 12x12 on board of a fluffy pup, whose fur somewhat overtakes his sweet face, and his owner was concerned that he looked unhappy in the first rendition so I went back in to see if I could make him happier, and I hope I managed!
I am actively compiling my list at the moment and will be posting it tomorrow!! I DO still have some spaces open for my 30 Dogs, and if you want your painted for SURE, I'm happy to fit you in!
You can follow along on my blog posts at my instagram account, I think... here's that link!
And here's the 30 Dogs info page! Still looking for a venue to hang the dogs for the month of August, if you can think of anything!
Whew! Here's another commission I've been working on for a while- I love horses! They are anatomically quite different from cats and dogs, though... a little closer to the deer I love and haven't painted in a while either! These are for my sweet friend Andy, for his daughter who loves her horses dearly.
I wasn't sure about the background, painting it in blues first, but I'm really happy with the somewhat abstracted trees back there!
At camp we are living in the woods. It's a maple forest mostly, with tall, gangly trunks rising up above more smaller tall gangly trunks and a wonderful airy green atmosphere. Every day is a gift, walking through that space.
Yep! I'm up north a bit, painting and working with kids! Got some pups around here to paint so that helps too, and there's always the beauty of the lake to pull me in. This painting is from a cloudy sunset- and all that color is true! The sunsets are amazing up here!
It is pretty chilly up here too, which I absolutely love, except for those few minutes between taking clothes off and getting into the bed, and that other time of getting OUT of the bed and into clothes in the morning!
And just as a little reminder, SEND ME YOUR DOGS! I'm still looking for a number of dog photos for my July 30 Dogs in 30 Days project!
Wahoo!
Yes, another commission! I seem to love fluffy fur... it's really fun to paint. With the black ground I paint on, it's painting in the highlights for the most part! Not a lot more to worry about!
Love it!
Oh and if you want to learn how to paint from me, I'll be offering some classes in July, just one day 2.5-3 hour classes on how to paint your pet!
I''m collecting photos for this July's 30 Dogs in 30 Days project and I'd love to paint YOUR dog too!
This was a commission for a friend to give to a friend, and I'm told was very well received- I can't quite explain how much it means to me to feel that a painting of mine can help breach a gap and heal a little love~
It's pretty cool...
Hey y'all! I'm just about done with school for the year, and getting ready to start lining up DOGS for 30 Dogs in 30 Days! If you have some dog pics you want to send me, now is the time!
This was a commission I finished up a little bit ago- I am so lucky that I truly enjoy painting commissions! And this one was SO fun- something about that gaze, those ears, that lip....
I'm so lucky~
Yes, I love to paint, and I love to paint animals, so I am really lucky that the combination of both of those results in plenty of commissions!
It means I get to paint what I love, AND I know the artwork already has a home!
This is Bella and Jack, an incredibly sweet pair of doxies~
Friday night was the annal Art 4 Shelter fundraiser for Simpson Housing Services, and I was live painting there along with my fellow artists Barrett and Jennie who were also the artists who were with me in 2018! It was super fun, I was able to get two paintings done and both were bid on and claimed!
The first painting was from a photo I found on insta- I need to write to the person and let them know I painted it! The dog is just so sweet and silly and I loved all the fluff!
And the second is an otter~
And there were SOOOO many people! I really hope we did well! Steve is retiring, the guy who has led so much of the work to get the new shelter built over by MIA, and it is beautiful. It's just so hard in the world right now to know what to do next, what can help, and things like this make me feel like I am actually doing something to help, even in just a small way.
Yes, another spanish goat.... my brother just got the greatest photos of these! He and my sister in law are great hikers and on this day they went on a 14 mile hike through the Spanish hills where they were staying and saw all these goats... I loved this one's step and that lifted foreleg!
Man, i meant to be posting WAY more than I have been! Sheesh-
This is a goat from a photo my brother sent to me while wandering in Spain back in March- I was fascinated by the shapes of her (or him... don't know why but she strikes me as more feminine... how do you sex a goat anyway?) and the spaces around her, and by those crazy clingy sticky hoovies! Look at how she's standing sideways! Oh and the eyes too! SO cool!
I'll either have her with me at the Sculpture Park Art Fair at the Walker May 9 and 10 or I'll be hanging her at Diamond's for May-june!
I'm getting the 30 Cats over to Diamonds this afternoon to hang them for the month, so if you're in town, feel free to come on by!
This goat is from a photo my brother Tom sent a week or so ago when he and his wife were rambling around Spain. They are true adventurers... finding out of the way places and hiking for 14 miles up and down stony areas, taking amazing photos so I don't have to. And that's where these goats were!
I loved this one, those toey-hoofies clinging so well to the rock~
And the big sky above~
Here's an Easter Otter for you! This is a lovely large one I painted in Grand Marais at the end of March, during my residency with Michelle Miles at the Art Colony. I am still obsessed both with otters and with water reflections and how to paint something nebulous and ever changing...
The nose and head of this otter look a lot like a capybara to me, something with the shape of her nose. I also love that paw just lifting from the water, and the creamy colors of the rocks behind her, and something about that calm look in her eye...
Oh and the whiskers!
Gotta love those whiskers~
I'm a little preoccupied at the moment, playing a bit in Florida with Duane and Max, and my uncles' generosity... but this is a little pup from my Grand Marais Adventures! I'd taken this photo a long time ago at LOLA in our neighborhood, and just love that little face, and the earnestness those eyes are looking at you with....
I had a request for just One more critter for the month, and because Beth has been a fantastic patron and because she sent SUCH a cute photo of her Oliver, here he is!
I LOVE those little toesies!!!!