And another dog! Butt.... "Pug Inaction"

 Hee!  Yes, I love dog butts- there's something about the symmetry of the hindquarters that appeals to my sense of balance, I think... sure, that's it. It can't be that I love the tails, the hocks, the ankles and pawpads. That I am entranced by the swinging of those doggy hips, the swaying of the tail, or the fact that most often that is my view as I take our three dogs on our daily morning trot.

Yup. Gotta love a dog butt!

And I think I posted this one before but it wasn't complete then. And now it is!

So DO send me your dog photos for the 30 Dogs in 30 Days Project!  Oh and you can also catch some of my pet portraits at the South Hyland Pet Hospital in Bloomington, if you happen to be in the area, as well as at Poppie's on Grand Ave in Saint Paul!  Now that people are vaccinated and out and about, I thought I'd mention some places you can see my paintings!

12x36

acrylic on canvas

$864

click here to nab this cute little tush!

June 28, Beagle and 30 Dogs in 30 Days AUGUST 2021!

 Hello everyone!

I'm so happy to let you know that I'll be doing my 12th Annual "30 Dogs in 30 Days" Daily Painting Project this AUGUST so I'm collecting photos now! There's more info on my page about it here~

And this is a beagle I painted for my niece, and I meant to give it to her when we went up to visit, but that hasn't happened for quite some time (COVID) and so I may just be mailing it to her.  I'm pretty happy with the expression in those eyes, and the grey background too. 

I'm so lucky~

16x20 acrylic on canvas

spoken for!

June 27th, One Wave Leads

 I got so excited about that sunset and just had to try a few more on the magenta ground. Having painted on black for so long, it's a fun excersize to figure out the darks,

And I'm realizing I'm more tired than I thought. So this is gonna be short. cuz we had a magical glorious wedding today, and not all that i'm writing is correcting itself!

But it breaks down too the fact that I love to paint.

8x8 acrylic on wood

$145

click here to buy!

June 24, Kayaking on the Slough

 This painting is from a photo I took a few weeks ago when we were visiting our great friends in Herbster, WI, and we went kayaking around the slough. I don't know how to pronounce that. Is it like cough? Or like slew? Or is it like slow?

Anyway, the light on the water through the clouds just absolutely blew my mind!  Being low in the water, basically sitting on the surface, is SO cool!!!  If you haven't had a chance to ever kayak through a marshy area, I highly recommend it!  I just had to paint this one~

SUCH dramatic lighting!!!

8x16 acrylic on wood

$256

click here to purchase~

June 21, Sunset on Cobblestone Beach

 I painted this one up in Grand Marais at our campsite on Friday afternoon, in the bright sunshine. I was trying to show the colors of the sky from sunset the night before, because it was one of those amazing skies. Duane was standing next to me and we were watching the sunset together while Max threw rocks, and the colors were incredible, and Duane said there was no point trying to take a photo of it- that I'd have to try painting it because that's the only way you could catch that color.

And so I'm giving it a try!

I'm catching up with more stuff tomorrow!

This one isn't quite done yet- but I'm loving it!

12x16 acrylic on wood

In Progress~

I'll let you know when its complete!

June 17th, June at Paradise Beach

I just painted this one! It was a beautiful afternoon, and now I am sunburnt, but I did more plain air paintings and I'm hoping to do more tomorrow. It is crazy how fast the paint starts to dry out, even on a sta-wet palette, and with me spraying quite often with my trusty squirt bottle.

I had three dogs tied to me while I sat on the beach. Duane went off looking for super stones, and Max practiced his already proficient rock-skipping skills.  And I painted. And watched out for spiders. And applied sunscreen....

All in all, it was a lovely way to spend the day.

8x16 acrylic on wood

$256

click here to purchase~

 

June 16th, Black Bear Strut

 I painted this the other day as a demo for a private lesson for a young student who wanted to learn to paint a black dog~ and I think it worked!  Black animals have so many more colors in them than it seems. They are so so fun to paint!

And I've been a bit busy too, setting up a website for our new gallery space in Rosemount, my home town,  and planning the opening party for July 9th to which you are invited of course! It's called Corrigan Eclectic and is in my dad's old shop, Corrigan Electric Co! I'm so excited!  You can check out the website and give me tips on what I need to fix-  there's a LOT!

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with this one!

8x8 acrylic on wood

$135

click here to nab this buster!

June 13, The Light Spills Over

Here's another one, of that great cool lake, big beautiful body of water.... wish I was up there right now!

The light is always different- I love that.

15x30 acrylic on canvas

$900

click here to own this view of the lake~

 

And another commission....

 I do have so many paintings that do not get posted here~ some sell before I remember to take a photo, some are painted as part of a series and a new series happens before I get them posted, and sometimes life just gets in the way and I don't get done what I'd intended. Ah well.

This is a sweet kitty painting from one friend to another, and I'm so pleased with these eyes too!

6x6 acrylic on wood

sold

June 9th, A Commission!

 I've painted this cat already, but it just didn't look right- as a matter of fact, I tried and tried to fix it, but nothing worked. Thank god my cousin (second cousin actually, but who's counting?) who had asked for it, was honest enough to tell me that it wasn't quite right. Now, I do know that a few people do actually read these posts (thank you! and I'm feeling well, thank you!) and I want to tell you that any artist who creates work for you would prefer to know that you like the work and will be hanging it on your wall and appreciating it for the rest of your life, or until you move and pack it into a box and forget about it for a while, but at any rate you do really LIKE it, or maybe possibly even LOVE it.  What I'm saying is do NOT lie to an artist and tell them their work is great if you really don't think it is. 

We can tell when you aren't telling the truth.  Just like a kid, when you say "oooo, that's a lovely little house" and then they say "it's a rhino." They know you were lying. 

And besides, it helps us to know that our gauge of good and bad is still working.  So. There'e this cat. Who has green eyes. and Really light fur. And I'm trying to paint him on black. Which is really difficult.

SO, I decide to paint him on raw wood instead after sealing it of course because I am not a newbie.

I like this version better. I may go back into those eyes yet, because they are amazing, but I'm not sure they are done yet.

This is one of the best parts of my job- getting to live with the art! And this one is a delight~

thank you Elizabeth!

8x10 acrylic on raw (sealed) wood

sold

June 8th, South Shore More

 Here's another plain air I painted a week ago, up in Herbster.... how can you not love that name?!  I suppose I should look into it a bit more and see what it actually means...  or whose name it is..

Anyway, it's another one I had fun with, and I'm happy to have painted it!  And I'll post those commissions I worked on in my hospital room over the weekend soon too~ really, it was somewhat of a big deal, I suppose, to have been in the ER and two nights in the hospital, and I'm going to see my Doc on Thursday to check my sodium levels again to make sure I'm okay, but I felt fine the next morning and was sure I'd be allowed to leave, and when they said I had to stay another night, oooooo... that was sad. But I already talked about all that. 

I think what I find the most valuable in this lesson is that when I felt like I was ME, I was fine, even if I had to stay another day. It was Saturday night when I didn't feel at all like me, that was hard. I don't like not feeling like me.

And painting is a part of that! 

So is laughing, and silliness- so here is a joke for you! This made me laugh out loud-

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Control Freak. Now you say "Control Freak Who?"

6x12 acrylic on wood

$145

click here

Wolf Winter Light

I've been wanting to paint this wolf since we took the photo last March I think it was? Maybe February, before lock-down started, and we went on a family jaunt to the MN Zoo, and went along the Minnesota Trail which is where I get most of my wildlife photos, and Duane takes the best ones. It's the light in this one, and that one foot, just slightly uplifted... It was such a joy to paint.

And I wanted to say thank you to everyone who came out into the heat yesterday to see us at Dock6 Pottery!  It was actually really fun to see people and to get set up together as a family, and we did well at the sale, despite the excruciating heat. One the down side, I am at Abbott Hospital for observation after experiencing some scary and strange symptoms yesterday after we took down the event and Duane and I figured it was Heat Exhaustion so he took me to the ER and they've been very kind and pumping me full of sodium and phosphates and I've been bored silly so Duane brought me my laptop and my paints and I've been working from my room here. Kinda a mini-vacation, I suppose...  Do just make sure you are taking care of yourself in the hot hot days. I've been amazed at how serious they say this could have been...  and I was drinking water all day yesterday!  I just didn't eat enough...  And I'm fine now!  I'll be home tomorrow!

20x20 acrylic on canvas

$800

click here to purchase~

Morning Clouds Over Superior

SO we are getting really excited and geared up for our Family Pop-Up-Art-Shop tomorrow at Dock6 Pottery!!!  I do hope you are able to swing by!  We'll be there from 10-3pm, Duane and Maxie and Me!

I'll have this painting along as well, though if you really love it you could buy it now and beat the rush!

I'm particularly in love with the purples and yellows in this one- that was an amazing morning, back in March! what an incredible lake~

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

click here to nab this one!

Minnehaha Creek with Blue

So, yes, there is a blue version as well.  I'm not sure anyone other than me would know what I see but this is it~

Minnehaha Creek, and there's these bits of blue---- do you see them?

Another plein air one!

8x10 acrylic on wood

$160

click here to buy

Minnehaha Creek With Pink

 I thought maybe you'd enjoy seeing another bit of Minnesota water... this is Minnehaha Creek, right where Nokomis Ave crosses it, and where I really enjoy sitting and painting the water. I'll have this one with me at Dock6 Pottery this weekend for their first Pop-Up Art-Shop!  4206 East 34th Street, right across from Turtle Bread~

We'll be there, all of us, me and Duane and Max, this Saturday June 5th from 10 to 3, selling our wares!  Come buy something and squirt us with water- it's gonna be a hot one!

Isn't water an amazing element?

Or you can buy this one now and I'll mail it to you!

8x10 acrylic on panel

$160 

click here to purchase!

June 1, South Shore View

 This is another plein air I painted in Herbster this weekend- dang! Itt was just such a treat!  And I'll be painting a few more of the kayak trip in the slough... which I do not know how to pronounce... I'm wondering if it is related to the work Loch at all... hmm

Anyway, I like this one.  I'm going to make it an auction, just for some more fun!  Hey!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$45 starting bid!

Wahoo!

Click HERE to join the fun!