July 31, the Guest Dog- Bandito!

Howdy~  here's another dog! Dang it is SO hard to decide!  I went with this because I haven't done many profiles!
No promises, but MAYBE I'll do another one tonight!  CRAZY AS I AM~...~
And below is what Bandito's owner has to add!

"He is an English shepherd who is just a little over a year old. He was born into a litter where he was the runt and wasnt expected to live because of how small he was at birth. His fighting spirit and the determination of his breeder got him though the rough patches and he turned into the biggest dog in the litter! I am so blessed to have him in my life. He pushes me everyday to find new and exciting things for us to do and experience. He deserves it and demands it!  That's my Bandito! We are a great team!"

July 30, Allie! the 30th DOG!

Though technically I think Allie is the 32nd or 33rd... and I will be doing another one tomorrow!  Thank you for your submissions!  I'll be going through and picking my favorite to paint!  Yay!  And I ain't telling you til TOMORROW!
Oh and I've made a video (finally!!!!) of me painting Allie here, which I will figure out how to post hopefully before the end of the day!

Here's what Lynda has to tell of Allie~  I love that these dogs are from so many different backgrounds!

"Allie will be 8 the end of December and is a retired show dog.  This picture was taken in a studio when I was having photos taken of her puppies.  She climbed into the chair I had been sitting in and the photographer snapped her picture.  She is quite photogenic and an all-around beautiful girl.  She shares my pillow at night and snores in my ear!  She is a real sweetheart and I am blessed to have her."

July 29, Louie!

And here is LOUIE!!!
I loved painting this sweet little guy!  I'll see if I can get a longer story...

Louie is our new family dog. He is a 9 month old Yorkie mix, about 6 pounds. 

We love your work!

July 28, Luna!

 "Luna is a 2 year old, 12 pound American Eskimo Dog who thinks she is either a human child or a cat or both. Her BFF is a 6 year old, 20 pound Maine Coon cat named Ziggy and they do everything together. Ziggy even bathes her and we say that's why she stays so white!  Many people think she is a white fox.   Luna is incredibly smart and extremely affectionate.  She lets out a soft cooing sound when she snuggles and has a large vocabulary.  We swear she knows what we are saying because she will respond appropriately with either a smile or will shake her head no.   I had another "Eskie" 30 years ago and felt I could never have a better dog.  So I waited 30 years for Luna and she is such an amazing friend....just like her predecessor.  I don't know why I waited so long.  My FB friends love seeing pictures of her.  You might say she has a FB following!"

Luna and Ziggy Spooning~

Darcy is a lucky owner to have such a joyous spirit around!

July 27, Lily!

Wow I think this is the latest I've posted yet!  It's been a busy day~  we had to go drop art off at the fair and then to a parade to collect candy for Max, and then have ribs and then all of us had to nap...  just one of those kind of days!

And here is Lily's story!  Always be careful about going to pet stores that have real puppies...!  Though I imagine there are a lot of kids who would prefer a puppy to a snail, given a choice...

When the boys were little we went off to Petco one day to get a snail for Jack's aquarium.  They were out of snails so we came home with a puppy instead.  Lily was truly Sam's dog and she saw him all the way through school, from kindergarten to 12th grade when we had to say goodbye to her.  This painting is for him so he'll always remember.

July 26, Boomer!

This is a great example of an Oldie but a Goodie...

And what Evan has to say~

Well...Boomer is on her last leg. Thirteen years old and still too loyal to let me shower alone. We got her soon after we were married and proved to be great training for having "real" kids. She is a great dog who let my kids ride her and pull her tail. When Emmett was too rough I would say, "Do what you got to do, Boom."  I trusted her...

July 25, K9! Happy Birthday Tom!

Ha!  A bit of a departure for me, painting a metal dog rather than a fluffy one, but darn this was fun!  I know, I know, I say that all the time.  I don't ALWAYS have fun.  Really.  Sometimes traffic gets me down, or those mosquitos at night, or the sun shines right in my eyes and I don't have a hat with me...
Anyway, this is a Birthday Present for my darling younger brother, who was the biggest Dr Who fan I ever knew~  we all loved Tom Baker, and my mom knit a scarf for my brother when he was in high school that was yards long.
So let's all say "AFFIRMATIVE" for Tom's birthday!

And I am including the original request for this painting, as I think it is quite amusing~

Hello Mrs Corrigan,

I would be interested in a commissioned painting of my dearly beloved companion.  I've abandoned versions of him at different points in the time-space continuum and I would like a picture to remember him by.  I would like the painting to be 3*pi x 3*pi inches (9.424777" x 9.424777").  Please don't paint him on Thursday.  I never could get the hand of Thursdays.

July 24, Moonie...

AND the story of MOONIE is below!
I still didn't get the part of how she got the name...

When our daughter Maura was in fourth grade, we learned a valuable lesson: Never let your child sleep over at a friend's house where there are newborn puppies!  We met 8-week-old Moonie and, after a family discussion, we took her home the next day! Moonie has been an important part of our family ever since. She's half Jack Russell and half Sheltie -- the vet told us the Sheltie part of her calms her down!  At 11 years old, she's gotten to be pretty calm, though we still see the puppy in her sometimes!

July 23, Burkley, or "Mr. Burkles"!

Burkely mysteriously appeared at a woman's home on the Mille Lacs Reservation one day and would not leave. Because he was a puppy and did not belong to any of the packs, the woman thought he was a spirit dog, sent down for a specific purpose. Turns out the purpose was to be my guide. He was a very unique dog in the fact that he was more human-like than dog - truly - ask anyone who knew him. And throughout his life many "spirit dog" things happened. Like - he healed a cracked tooth (the vet was astonished) and he survived getting hit by a car - cracked his skull but rebounded in 2 weeks! Sadly, though, he couldn't survive hemangiosarcoma (blood cancer) and had to be put down in Nov. His favorite things were our morning run on the Parkway and canoeing/camping in the BWCA.

Written by Melanie, who was the fortunate one who lived with Mr. Burkles...   It always pleases me how well dogs can be both elegant and goofy...

 I love when the eyes still speak through an image...

And I apologize for the not-the-best photo-  I'll take another later-  this was taken with Photo-Booth on my Mac because I forgot my camera!

And we are getting geared up for NEXT FRIDAY'S 30 Dogs Opening Party at the Riverview Cafe!  Yippee!
I am glazing and gluing and prepping the pups for their debut!  Be there!

July 22, Gus!

And this isn't MY Gus!  This is JENN'S Gus!
Such a great name for a dog, you know!

SO hard to resist a grin like that, ain't it?!!

Here's Jenn's story about her friend~

"14 years ago this week, I picked up a yellow lab puppy who was 2-1/2 months old. I had to drive about 70 miles to get him, and I brought my friend Jen, who held him in her lap on the way home. Earlier in the day as I was walking out of the bathroom at work I knew I would name him Gus instead of Oscar, and when I saw him that night, Gus fit perfectly. 

Once home, I was talking to my boyfriend on the phone while walking in my backyard, and remarked, "The puppy won't stop following me up and down the driveway."

 And the boyfriend replied, "Well, you're everything he has now."

 Years later his need to follow me from room to room would sometimes drive me crazy (the digging of his toenails into the hardwood floors made me cringe). I put him down at the end of this May, a few weeks after he turned 14, and the house is so much emptier without him - I wouldn't mind hearing his toenails on the floor once in a while."

Funny those things you remember, that drive you nuts at the time and then you miss the most...

Thank you Jenn~

July 21, Ryder #1~

Yes, this is the FIRST version of Ryder, for John~  I'll be painting a second version this afternoon!

Ryder is a lovely collie, and I've been charmed with John's selection of dogs-  I painted two last year as well!

July 20, Jax!

I haven't had the opportunity to paint that many yellow dogs, I realized as I painted Jax~  This was quite a fun little challenge, trying to keep him looking more yellow than orange and figuring out where to put the shadows and reflected light-  I LOVE his nose... and his fuzzy little puppy chin. 

I imagine he's much bigger now!

Jax.  He's not just your average lab. He's very sophisticated. He loves traveling (to 30 Johnston Hall, to visit his best friends!), he loves taking long walks on the beach (when I say beach I mean along the good ol' Mississippi River), and he is quite the ladies man, full of affection (he gives excessive, slobbery kisses whether you want them or not.) All in all he's a great pup, always on the look out for new friends!

Jax is a fun, energetic, 7 month old yellow lab. He is curious, loves snuggling, and enjoys chewing on empty paper towel rolls. His favorite treat is to lick ice cubes and he absolutely loves swimming or rather lounging in his puppy pool. He's 43 pounds of love and is becoming great friends with the family golden retriever. Together they make a naughty puppy team of digging and stealing the hearts of all who meet them! 

July 19, Trinket!

Dang, I think this is my fav so far-  though of course I've said that about all of them...  her gaze is so fun and knowing, and I love the texture of her face, the sheen-

And here is what her owner, Jessica, adds about her~

Wrapping up her racing career July 19, 2012, this sweet girl has seven wins and five second place finishes to her name and is now thoroughly enjoying the retired life! Trinket joined our family last October and has since discovered she loves peanut butter, belly rubs, chasing squirrels and being around people. She particularly delights in finding bits of crumbs underneath our seven-year-old’s chair after dinner. She adds so much joy to our life!

I gotta admit, I love when people rescue dogs, and appreciate their new joys!  Yay!

July 18, Spud!

Dang, those fluffy pups can be challenging!  I had a tough time getting Spud's fluff the correct shade... and it is so light colored, it was tricky to get it to read as a tone and not just white-  whew!

Spud's owner's mom sent me the photo and this note-

hey---this a new pup in jen's life---he appeared at the shelter and jen 
took him home---this was the day he came--his name is Spud---

And obviously I couldn't resist!

July 16, Skywalker!

Yes, her owners are big sci-fi fans...

Though I am inclined to think she has more of a Han Solo personality....

About Skywalker, written by Amy B~

     

Sky joined our pack this winter after her litter was rescued from a shelter in Kentucky by the good folks at Second Hand Hounds.  She’s a Jack Russell Mix (we think part Basenji) who brings a lot of puppy energy, humor and mischievousness into our home.  She is super smart, loving, and good around kids – which is good because we hope to add a human pup to our pack soon.  If you or anyone you know is considering placing a child for adoption, please consider letting Sky be their “big sister”! http://www.tri-amy.com/

July 16th, Becca!

We have a bit of a scheduling goof here, and Lily is put off til July 27th, with Becca here popping in to replace her!
Becca is a gorgeous Irish Wolfhound~  LOVE her eye~  those large, gentle giants~

July 15, Cocoa! Happy Birthday Penny!

Ah!
I may go back into the background a bit to lighten it up, but dang Cocoa was fun to paint!  She is an Italian Greyhound and today is her owner's birthday!  Those EYES!  That sweet little grin, that jauntily flipped ear with the slightest hint of pink~  SO much FUN!!!

Thank you!

Oh and I have to print something of an apologie to Lisa H, because I HAD Lewis slotted for July 27th and forgot because he was in my "Possibilities" folder!  I was just having so much fun yesterday that I HAD to paint another dog and I loved Lewis' picture!  Or is it Louis?  Anyway, I do that occasionally, so my hint to you is that if you did submit a dog, it may just be painted as a surprise!

Stay tuned!

July 14, Abby AND Lewis!!!!

It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them, and every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are. - Anonymous

 So this is Abby!  She has an active life with her lovely humans, being the epitome of dog~  I painted her sitting at the Hopkins Art Festival today!  Lots of lovely dogs and people!

And this is Lewis!  I got to paint him today, from my batch of Possibilities!  I loved this photo with the light coming in through his lovely fluff.... ahhhh!

July 13, Bud and Daisy!

Whew!
Sorry this is such a late post but I didn't have internet today, and spent the morning dealing with lots of soggy tent/velvet/cards/carpet/basement too~  man.  Bit of a pain, honestly, and all day I kept feeling a bit anxious over the sky and the breezy bits as my table flew over at one point and my whole panel wall flew over as well, and left me anxious and grateful to the other people who scampered immediately over and righted it all for me~
Thank you!
SO I was asked to paint Daisy, but I couldn't resist Bud, so we have a two-fer....

 Daisy was a stray collie mix from the streets of Philadelphia, PA, adopted as an adult from a rescue group in October 1996.  Sweet, smart, and versatile, Daisy is our go-with-the-flow girl!  She enjoys traveling, pillows, rabbit turds, zinnias, the beach, butternut squash and her soft squishy squeaky soccer ball.  She is my heart dog, my once-in-a-lifetime best friend. 

to Buy BUD now, click here!

Pit bull mix Bud, formerly abandoned, was adopted as an adult from the local SPCA in July 1999.  We met Bud at a shelter out reach event and adopted him a few days afterwards, even though we had no intention of adopting a third dog at the time.  Our sweet and serious senior is a real charmer--athletic yet gentle--he's my 50lb lapdog, my cuddle-bug on the sofa, my constant companion.  Bud is a great dog!  So glad we found

him <3 nbsp="" span="">

July 12, Stan the MAN!

Okay, I don't think I bothered my aunt and uncle enough to get them to send me a little note about Stan so I'll have to do this myself...

Stan is a sweetheart of a rescued dog, who is missing his lower jaw and so looks excited and thirsty all at the same time.  He is one of those unbelievably small but very much THERE dogs, and most members of my extended family have probably held him on their laps at a gathering.  He's also always great with kids, though of course too MANY energetic toddlers will make him search for sanctuary above and beyond their reach.

And I gotta admit, that twisty-tangly-curly-poofy fluff is really hard for me to feel like I got it right!

Oh and come see me this weekend at the Hopkins Art Festival!  It should be a great time!

July 11, Bug!

And HERE is the final Bug!  There's just something about a Pug face that is irresistible!

"Bug's full name is Hill Country's C'mon Let's Jitterbug - her mom is Hill Country's I Hope You Can Dance. :) But we call her Bug mainly because she can be more annoying than a picnic ant! She is as sweet as pie, and completely devoted to us. The best thing is that she makes me laugh every singly day."

July 10, Jane!

This is Jane, a fun-loving gal who looks like she's always enjoying life to the fullest!  An example for us all!

And here is Nora's story of Jane:

"Jane came to us from a rescue organization in July 2010. She was a four month old puppy who had been rescued, along with her four brothers, from a high-kill shelter in Missouri by Midwest Animal Rescue (MARS) in Minnesota.  The plan was, we would be her short-term foster family until she found her forever home. You can guess how that ended...... less than 24 hours after she came to our house, our daughter had given her a new name (she had originally been called Nikita) and she was considered a member of the family - even the cats accepted her right away!  Pet fostering = Fail.  And we wouldn't have it any other way!"

July 9th, Happy!

Which is just perfect!  It is also my mom's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
I always enjoy painting black dogs because there are so many colors in that shiny coat~  and sculpting with the paint to suggest the direction of hair growth and gleam is SO satisfying...
And this is just the happiest looking dog I think I've seen in a long time!  I love the joy that lights up a dog's eyes....

And Abbie, her owner says this about her: "She is a DOLL! I love her to pieces!!!!!"

July 8th~ HoneyBuns!

“Honey-Buns” (aka “The Bunzer”) was originally named “Bit-O-Honey” by the breeder.  We were approved to adopt her after she had been returned to the breeder after about three years.  She rarely barked but rather “talked” and taught us that a corgi is a big dog in a small package – at least a short-legged package!

Thank you Libby for finding my project from Oregon to Minnesota and contributing your delightful corgi!  I had so much fun getting the tones of her creamy golden fur~  and that sweet gaze~

We watched that PBS special last night, Dogs Decoded, by NOVA, and it was so full of amazing information about things you already knew, like that you can understand your dog and interpret other dogs' barks, and that your dog fully follows your conversation with him.   Most dog lovers would say, Yes, I knew that!

I also loved the fact that most of the people interviewed were British and had those lovely accents that I am missing so much this week....

One of the greatest things about hanging in pubs in England (or Ireland, or Scottland, or Wales) is that dogs are welcome everywhere!  In "Dogs Decoded" one of the dogs is a giant Irish Wolfhound and he is with his delighted owner in a rather posh pub somewhere...

LOVE it!

When will we have a dog-friendly pub in Mpls?  I suppose it's the food codes...

July 7, Jackson!

Oh I really liked painting this one.... there's that great contrast between the purple-blacks and those golden-creams of the muzzle and eyebrows...
SUCh fun!

"He is a miniature pincher. About 14 years old, but still has a lot of spunk for an old boy. He is a gentle loving dog, who gets along with cats.  He lives with a calico cat named Lil Mama. They are best buddies and give each other head butts.  Jackson also has a neighborhood cat who pops in to visit Jackson about once a month. He also gives Jackson a head butt, has a snack and is then on his way.  He is a faithful companion who has to groom me for a few minutes in the evening just so I remember I belong to him!"

Terri, Jackson's owner, also mentions that Jackson is blind~  This is why his eyes are glowing in that visionary way.  Sometimes it does seem that our animals are seeing so much more than we are capable of...

July 6th, Smokey and Mikka!

Here is my first double for this month~  I may need to go back into the background a little-  some of the baseboard doesn't feel quite right to me...  But I think I got the "Happy-Happy-Joy-Joy" in their faces!

From Liz, their lucky owner~
“Mikka and Smokey are two real characters who joined our family at different times through two local rescue groups.  They quickly became best buddies.  The can often be found together – in their quiet times, one using the other as a pillow; or in the favorite joint activity of staring intently at the urban wildlife which taunts them from the other side of the window.”

July 5th, Bandit!

Now here is another dog that could easily be added to my "AutobiDOGraphy" Series-  this is Bandit, my cousins' childhood dog, a Heinz 57 as my uncle would say, a lovely sturdy friendly child appreciative little low-slung mutt.  In the spring, my uncle would shave him and Bandit would leap and frolic in a very puppylike way even up into his older years.  Really, he was a great soul, happy and humble and always glad to see you.

My cousins sent me a lot of great photos-  I chose this one because I loved his expression of squinty-eyed open-mouthed delight!

July 4th Bonnie!

I wasn't sure this would work because I couldn't quite get the photo to show-  that's the crazy thing about the on-line world-  I am never really sure why some images come through and others don't, and I have a hard time trying to explain to someone else why!
ANYWAY, this is Bonnie~

And I didn't quite get a story about her, and now it is the 4th, and I imagine everyone is out and celebrating...
Wonderful morning, sitting at the table under the birch trees while Max quietly played with a toy train set...
Oh and my friend Amy thought I ought to post this as well~  seeing as I have a doggy following.....

Have a happy safe friendly fun fourth everyone!

July 3rd, Sammy Davis Jr!

Bet ya didn't think I'd be getting celebrities on here!  Wahoo!  But THIS is Sammy Davis Jr, who has been on TV!  See below for his story, and his video!
And I have to say I really enjoyed the reflected light on this noble head-  there is just something gorgeous about the restrained elegance of a greyhound!

Sammy Davis Jr. is a rescued racing greyhound who came to Virginia via James River Greyhounds in Richmond, VA. Sammy is what they call an "Oops!" puppy--he was never tattooed or registered to race. Sammy is a therapy dog and does dog dancing, also known as canine freestyle. He danced on-stage with a Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator; has been on TV on Good Morning America and on 20/20; and is a wonderful, much-loved companion to Joyce Miller~

Sammy appeared in "Your Three Words" on Good Morning America in December of 2011. Doing his drop the money in the bowl trick! You can see him on the following video--he is after the woman who is One Hundred One:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/words--15127890

Tuesday July 2nd! Augie~

What a sweet face this creature has-  man, I just gotta say how much I enjoy doing this-  it just ain't funny!  I mean, yes it is FUN, but wow, I should just stop talking because if you really knew how much I enjoy doing these you would think I should do them for free....

Augie has such lovely eyes, and the reflected light under his fluffy chin intrigued me!  And here is what Jenny says about this active little goober!
"Augie was a Jack Russell terrier that we adopted from St. Croix Valley Animal Shelter. He was there because he had driven a $50,000 horse into a fence. When we first saw him in the cage, he was trembling. I burst into tears and we adopted him immediately. He always thought he was a big dog and would challenge dogs who could have bit his head off with one bite. His favorite things, other than hunting rodents, were snuggling and napping, and picking rocks off the bottom of a pool or river."

July 1, Ziggy!

Yay!
Here is the first dog of July, sweet little Ziggy!  I've also included a photo of my workspace-  I am loving this weather!  The windows are open, it is breezy, cool and sunny, there are all kinds of interesting tree stumps upside down in people's yards from the storms that swept through a week or so ago while we were clueless in England...

Gayla, Ziggy's lucky owner, has this to say about him~
"Ziggy is a Portuguese water dog who loves to swim, play catch, retrieve tennis balls, pounce on his toys, and go for long walks in the park. He is great at running and leaping off the end of the dock into the water in order to swim for the ball and bring it back and start all over again. He has a lot of personality, most of it funny and friendly."

Stay tuned for more!  Whee~