September 29, Finley LEAPS!

I really like this one!  It is essentially the last of my Track29 paintings-  I'm finishing them all up and getting them ready to get over to the gallery next week~

It's been a bit rough around here, and I'm sorry for my absence yesterday.  We had to put our Gus down.  He's been slowly failing for a couple weeks, and yesterday morning he had a hard time just standing up.  So we took him in last evening, around 6, and it was really hard, as these things can be.  Max came along, we all cried into his fur, and we had a bit of a difficult night.

Life is too short~

But then, there's the joy of living!

18x36 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, $1550

September 27, Prince Charles

I haven't yet had the honor of meeting His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, but I am delighted to be allowed to paint HRH's likeness!  There was just no way this one could be painted in a 10x10 inch square.  THIS face calls for stature, dignity, largesse~  I'm pretty happy with it!

18x36 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas~

September 26, Juno

And this is another lovely dog!  Juno is a gorgeous brindled hound, with a great attitude! I may need to go in to define those ears a little better...

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275

September 25th~ The Blessing of the Animals~

SO last Saturday was a very busy one-  and I didn't have a chance to post anything about it until now!  My fellow art teacher, Carol,  and I, along with a lovely and talented crew of our former art students, gathered under a tent to do 10 minute sketches of the pets and loved stuffed animals that Breck's community brought to be blessed.  We are so lucky to have this incredible community of chaplins and loved animals and the people who love them~
And these are a few of the portraits I painted that day!  I had mostly dogs, with a couple guinea pigs and a sweet stuffed bunny~

September 24, Brutus!

Look at this guy!  Doncha just wanna CUDDLE with him?!?!

And here's what Lisa says about him~

I was the smallest pup of the litter amongst 8 (!) but earmarked as having a kind, calm temperament.  I was born in mid-winter, November 29, 2013 in the middle of Wisconsin, and gladly scooped up by a family from Madison, Wisconsin.  They named me Brutus.  I enjoy going on long walks around Lake Calhoun and having my teeth brushed.  I have swallowed a wooden chicken skewer and lived to bark about it.  Looking forward to lying down in Minnesota snow!

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275 click here to purchase!

though you can't have him until after November when the show comes down!

September 23, Tulip and Gitta!

They are actually Bergitta (Gitta) and Tulip (Tuli), and I met them with their owner Sarah, in the lobby of Track29, where we had a bit of a time getting them to settle down!  I believe Gitta is the older calmer dog, and Tuli was more recently adopted and a bit more of a hyper little girl!  I loved painting them in this red chair, because their different personalities are quite extreme and so was the
chair!

And here's what Sarah has to say about the two of them!

Gitta and Tuli are two peas in a pod-- full grown and weighing in at a combined 7.4 pounds! Gitta comes from the land of Iowa and Tuli was rescued from a Cities shelter. Both pups love chasing squirrels around the streets of Uptown and ducks while camping Up North. Gitta is a mama's girl, while Tuli loves to spread her love via puppy kisses to all the folks that cross her path.

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275 click here to purchase!

September 22, Nani for Hilary and Scott!

Nani is a super sweet and very active dog whom I had the pleasure of also meeting in the lobby of Track29!  Her owners, Hilary and Scott, were also super sweet and very active!  Great combination!
Here's what they say about their sweet dog~

“Nani is a foster rescue from Kentucky through Safe Hands Animal Rescue! She loves hiking, swimming, and she is easily identifiable by her spotted feet and her constantly wagging white periscope tail. Adopting her was one of our best decisions and we encourage anyone interested in getting a dog to adopt a rescue.”

And I loved painting the light across her face, those wonderful crazy highlights and shifts of color~  and that concrete floor at Track29 just lends itself to amazing grey tones!

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275 click here for purchase info!  Though you'll have to wait till after the show at Track29 comes down to get your paining!

September 21, Pappy for Jasmine!

And this is Pappy!  She is a mini-golden doodle, and Jasmine also wrote this about "my puppy Pappy. She just turned 1 this past July. She is the sweetest pup, loves people and dogs!"

I want to know how she acquired the name Pappy!  Guess I'll have to get back to you with that!

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275, SOLD!

September 20, Grom for Denis!

This sweet pup was supposed to be posted a few days ago, but I got him done now, so here he is!  I asked Denis about his name when I met them in the lobby of Track29, and he said Grom meant "Thunder" and I found this definition too: "Polish and Slovenian: nickname for a noisy or obstreperous person, from grom ‘thunder’, ‘crashing’, ‘loud noise’. This name is also found in German-speaking countries."
I LOVE big names for little dogs!  My sister Kelli had a Maltese named "Truffles", whom my younger brother wanted to name "Thor".  I still thought of him as "Thor" at times.  Currently, we have a cranky Yorkie around the house who goes by "Guapo"-  kinda big name too~

I had a good time painting Grom's eyes and nose, though I did have to readjust the placement of his eyes a couple times...  tricky placement with all that fluff!

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275 click here to purchase!

September 19, Sophie!

Now, this is a face that a mother must love!  That underbite, those eyes, those ears!  Who wouldn't want to cuddle up with this little monster every morning!

Here is what Jackie says about Sophie!

Sophie was born on May 14th 2010 in Bemidji, MN. She is a bulldog mix and likes to go by Sophilicious. Her hobbies are chasing squirrels, balls, and playing with anything that squeaks. To sleep she enjoys snuggling with her unicorn pillow pet named Pinky. 

Sophie is a French and English Bulldog-Boxer Mix-  can you tell? 

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275, click here to purchase!

September 18, Indi!

And here is Indi!  Another one that I took at the Track29 lobby, and hence the lovely, varigated cool and warm tone concrete background... I'm liking those color combos!

Here is Indi's story from Cassie!

Indi came to live with me via Safe Hands rescue and I couldn't be happier! After many months of sending all of my friends and family the photos of dogs I "loved" and always finding a reason they weren't right for me, I came to find Indi and her bio and went for a meet and greet. The rest is clearly history. She is the perfect mix of just about everything: curiosity, desire to please and spunkiness. She is rarely seen without a toy in her mouth and I do believe her main mission is to bring smiles to the people of Uptown with just how goofy she looks.

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275 click here for purchase info!

September 17, Jett!

This is JETT!  What a freaking CUTIE!!! And BOY was he hard to get a photo of... plenty of action around this little guy!
 Here's what his dads have to say about him!

From Michael: He certainly is a Jett. He jets from here to there. Lots of energy and always very curious. He has the soul of a BIG dog. His best friend at daycare right now is a Great Dane. The JRT is my soul dog - our personalities are quite similar. Intuitive, energetic and moody.

From Joel: We got Jett after our previous JRT (Jake) passed away. We had just started looking when we stumbled upon a woman holding Jett at Open Streets Lyndale. It was love at first sight - he wouldn't stop licking us (and hasn't since!), so we knew we found our match.

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275  SOLD!

September 16, Riley!

I didn't post yesterday at all-  I'm working on Grom still- I DID start him yesterday, but we've had some personal medical issues (everything's fine!  don't worry!) and I found my time disappearing on me-  SO I am moving Grom to September 20th to give me a bit of a breather~
And here is Riley!  This is one of those faces you just can't not love!
I have to also admit it was tricky getting those eyes to work so they don't look crosseyed~

 

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275 click HERE to purchase!  But you'll have to wait till November for delivery, as it will be hanging at Track29!

September 14, Ruby! for Brian and Tim~

I was so happy with this one!  I love Ruby's emphatic ears, and that slightly abstract background~  yay!
And here is what Brian and Tim have to say about their sweetie~

Ruby was up for adoption through Safe Hands. She was found on the side of a road in Kentucky with a filthy, ratty sweater on and her nails painted bright red.  No collar, no ID.

The foster parents denied our application because they wanted her to be placed in a home with at least one other dog.  We had to fight for her and we couldn't be happier that we were finally allowed to adopt her.  9 years later she is terrorizing most of the other dogs at Track 29 (sorry!).

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275 click here for purchase!

September 13, Toby Chillin'!

And this is Toby! I'll let him speak for himself!

"Hey there, I see you’re looking at my portrait.  So here’s a little bit more about me…

My ancestry runs deep, south of the border in Mexico​ (Olé!!)  …and across the pond in jolly old England​ ('​ello gov'na!!)  As you can probably guess, I am half Chihuahua and half English Toy Terrier.  

But as for me, I’m Minnesotan through and through.  I was born here in May of 2012.  I don’t really remember my formative months very well…but then, in September of 2012, when I was 5 months old, I was adopted by my new dads, Colin and David.  Things have been awesome ever since!

I love my life here at Track 29!  When my dad, Colin, isn’t cooking gourmet meals and letting me have a nibble, I love chasing balls and going for walks along my favorite route around Lake of the Isles. 

This may be my first exhibition as a model, but look out world, here I come! 

Wags and sloppy kisses…"

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275

September 12, Finley!

And here is FINLEY!!!! I painted another shot of Finley leaping, that I'm not quite finished with yet, and as I post this one I am realizing I forgot to write "FINLEY" on his dog tag~  these things happen-
I usually end up touching up most of these pieces before the final show anyway~

Finley has a following-  I'll see if I can share his instagram with you!

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel

September 11, Shadow~

Shadow appears to be a rather stoic dog, with that downcast yet straightforward gaze~  his submitted photo was rather dark, adding to the effect of mystery and strength, and it was tricky figuring out how to get those lovely eyes to read true in the lighting~
He just looks like he's about to say something... like "Fluff up my pillow" or "you were supposed to be home by 8"~

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275 click here to purchase~

though you won't be able to have the painting until after the exhibition!

September 10, Athena!

We have a lovely young neighbor named Athena, who has never shared this look as long as I've known her.  THIS Athena is a young boxer, whose many photos shared with me made it incredibly difficult to pick just one to paint...
And this is the one I've chosen, because I LOVE that expression in her eyes!
I've seen it before~
And I bet YOU have too!

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275 click here to purchase~

September 9, Nora!

This is one of those incredibly loving, fluffy, excited, happy dogs that you just know would be unbelievably soft and cuddly, and you immediately want one of your own!
I meant these paintings to be PORTRAITS, of just the animal's heads, but I keep finding these postures irresistible and I MUST paint them!

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275 click here to purchase~

September 8, Ava!

Ava is an extremely active dog.  I met her too, at Track29 on one of my photo days, but it was so hard to get a good photo of her!  I think I have several of her from behind as she sniffed out my bag and checked out the space, but I really didn't have a head shot to work from, so her owner Eric sent me a selection of her to choose from.  These photos were all outside and I'm thinking Eric had to run her really hard to get her to actually sit still enough to photograph!

Sometimes I know I feel like that too~

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275 click here for purchase info!

September 7, Bella and Jackson

I accidentally painted the wrong pair of dogs today, and so I had to put in some extra time tonight to get Bella and Jackson done in time!  And what a lovely pair of critters these are~  and here is what Jen and Ericka have to say about them~

Jackson and Bella are the best of buds.  Jackson is going on 8 years old, a Chihuahua-Jack Russell mix. Bella is a one-year-old long hair Chihuahua. Ever since Bella became part of our family six months ago, she has always looked up to Jackson with her big brown eyes. They are truly a May-December romance!

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275 click here for purchase info~

September 6, Waiting In Anticipation

Here's another one of my dogs from my lovely show at Artistry right now!  I didn't have a dog from Track29 to paint for today so I have a bit of a catch up with a little roll of commissions I've been working on-  more about those later!
This is our old Gus, in his favorite (rather stained and getting smelly) red armchair.  Despite his goofy nature, he looks elegant and poised at times, right before he wiggles down and covers you with licks and kisses.

24x30 acrylic on canvas, $1440 click HERE to purchase!  

Free shipping on this one~

September 5, Lenin!

And this is Lenin, an incredibly sweet dog whose photo I was able to take at Track29 last month.  I love that smile!

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275 click here for purchase!

September 4, Willy!

THIS is WILLY!!!!
Isn't he CUTE?!
And here's what Ellen says about him~

My Willy is my special little buddy. I adopted him in 2011, when he was 7 years old. He had been deemed “unadaptable” by the Humane Society in Ohio because he was so timid. When I first rescued him, he would sit in his bed across the room and eye me warily. Slowly, through belly rubs and treats, he came to love his mama :)

Willy is the quirkiest guy. He does not do ANYTHING he doesn’t want to do. If you try to get him to move—tough luck—he will plant himself in place! This goes for getting in the car, getting a bath, and so many other things…

Willy is a classic beagle. He lives by his nose and will eat ANYTHING. Despite his destruction of a laundry list of my things over the years (2 pairs of shoes, a book, a leather purse, countless rolls of paper towels, a million pieces of paper)…he’s the best part of my day. 

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275  click here to purchase!

September 3, Mork!

This is one of those wonderfully fluffy under-biters!  LOVE that face!  And here's what Mork's owners have to say!

Mork is a goofy mystery mix that we adopted from a local shelter about a year ago - he had recently been transferred from a shelter in Alabama, so he had been on quite a journey! We couldn't resist his scraggly beard and ridiculous underbite. He came with the name Mork, but it was quite fitting so we decided to keep it. Mork is shy at first but quickly warms up and shows his quirky, happy personality. He loves belly scratches, prancing around the dog park, growling at squirrels, licking our faces at 6 a.m., and removing all the stuffing from his new toys within days. He may or may not have descended from an Ewok.

10x10 acrylic on cradled panel, $275

Contact me for purchase info!

September 2, Sebastian! fo Jenna~

This sweet little pup is Sebastian, and I took his photo on the brushed and polished concrete floor in the Track29 Lobby a couple weeks ago-  he was very shy, one of those smaller dogs who doesn't like making eye contact, and he has SUCH an awesome fluff of a tail!  I didn't want to do a standard head-shot portrait of him because that tail seems to me to be such a part of his personality! So I opted for this shot, which catches just a poof of his tail~  and the light coming through those glowing ears was delightful as well!
I hope you enjoy!

And here is what Jenna has to say!

A little bit about Sebastian: 

He's a very shy loving dog. He is more cat like then dog like. He doesn't like any toys other than cat toys. He doesn't like long walks; more of a people watching dog while he sunbathes. He also likes to pretend he's tough when he sees bigger dogs, but really he's just shy. 

10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275 

contact Kat for purchase info!

September 1, Mochi! Track29! and OFFICIAL LIST!

And with the start of September, I am starting my "Paws & Portraits" at Track29 Project~  I've included the OFFICIAL LIST at the end of this e-mail, which is subject to change as my artistic whims proceed through this project~
 And this is Mochi!
For some reason, Mochi's name just calls for an exclamation mark!
Mochi lives at Track29 and here is a little story from her owner, Wonhee!

"I had 2 jindo dogs that look just like Shiba Inu but bigger in size. When I first saw Mochi, I thought they came back alive. She was owned by a Shiba Inu breeder in Black Earth, WI and the owner wanted to keep the baby Shiba Inu for future breeding purposes. I drove back and forth for 4 hrs for the total of 3 times and finally was able to adopt the puppy. I named the little 8 week old Shiba Inu Mochi. Mochi is a Japanese word meaning “rice cake”. I wanted to find a name that is Japanese origin and easy to call.  Mochi is now 2yr and 2mo old. She is a sweet little dog but she behaves more like a cat, in many ways."

 10x10 acrylic on cradled wood, $275 contact me for purchase info!

the OFFICIAL LIST for TRACK29: Paws and Portraits

9-1- Mochi for W.L.

9-2- Sebastian for Jenna

9-3- Mork for Michaela

9-4- Willy for Ellen

9-5- Lenin for Jocelin

9-6- 

9-7- Bella and Jackson for Jennifer

9-8- Ava for Eric

9-9- Nora for Brittney

9-10- Athena for Jordon

9-11- Shadow for Jeff

9-12- Finley for Matt

9-13- Toby for Colin

9-14- Ruby for Brian

9-15- Grom for Denis

9-16- Riley for Emily

9-17-Jett for Joel

9-18- Indi for Cass

9-19- Sophie for Jennifer

9-20-

9-21- Pappy for Jasmine

9-22- Nani for Hilary and Scott

9-23- Tulip & Gitta for Sarah

9-24-

9-25- Emma for Jan & Dave

9-26-

9-27- Prince Charles for Ross

9-28-