Thursday, October 25, 2012

Man, the days are just SCREAMING past me here!
'Nother dog fer ya~

I think I may lighten up the sidewalk/background....   whadaya think?

Monday, October 22, 2012

SO, the big Art Emporium this weekend at the convention center was a bit of a wash... I imagine part of it was because of the beautiful weather, and part was because people were out of town for MEA.  Mom and I got to know a lot of other artists much better!  It was a tough one, because there were people there, but they did seem to be there more for info about gutters and siding than to buy some lovely art.  Not many artists did well.  I hope to get a few commissions from the event, so we'll see about that.  The nice thing about getting commissions is that I don't have to freak about selling art right at the event-  I can relax a little and talk to people about their dogs and cats (and goats and donkeys...) and not push selling right there...
Oh and I also end up with time to paint!  So here is a dog from last August's LOLA-  if he is yours or you know whose he is, let them know!

I was really happy with his smile!

Sunday October 14th, 2012

So I lucked out and was commissioned to paint two extremely happy rescued dogs...
Kirby is the Golden Lab and Gracie is the Huskie mix~  and what incredible SMILES!!!!!!

This is what Libby, their owner, says of Gracie~
Gracie came to me 6 years ago. She had been given up by her family and had bounced around to a few places, but no one wanted to keep her. My ex-husband just loved her and knew the original owner.  She was about to be brought to the pound, when he asked me to take her for just a week to see how she did with Kirby. She came in the house, jumped up on my bed and never left. She is sweet as can be, and I love her to pieces!

And I need to mention that my Painting Lessons are FULL~  sorry! There'll be more in the new year~  and if you are free this weekend, come see me and mum at the Convention Center (Mpls) for the Art Emporium part of the Home Life Expo!  I have plenty of free passes, or you can print your own too!  Or actually this link says you can get in free with something for the food shelf, so COME ON DOWN!!!
Oh and DO come to Barebones Halloween Show as well!  We're taking Max next Sunday night~  7pm Hidden Falls Park!  Duane's been working his BUTT off on this, making a gigantic Alligator skeleton (longer than our mini-van) and two huge skeletons....
E-mail me if you have questions about it!  It's GREAT!!!

Wednesday October 11- Trees....

It's just that time of year when I really notice trees- well, really I notice trees all year round because I'm weird that way.  There are times in the summer when I am pleasantly thinking of how delicious their shade can be, and I think of places where there aren't trees, or there used to be but they were cut down for firewood or cows, and how that changes the atmosphere and simple FEEL of a place.  Trees are pretty darn amazing...
I am having my Creative Design kids work on negative space trees, where they have drawn their trees out on black paper with pencil (shows up silver- I LOVE it!) and they are painting in the negative space of the sky.  It always gets confusing at first, and they struggle with the concept and want to just paint the tree in too, but when they are finished they really get it!
So here is one of mine, but I did put some purple-grey into the trunk for the bark.

And this Fall/Winter's Painting Lessons is full!  Sorry, it does fill up quickly!   There will be another in the early spring~

Sunday October 7th~

Wahoo!
Mom and Dad are doing the Great Circle Tour (which is a drive all around the Great Lakes of the midwest and Canada) and she sent us (my siblings and me) these great shots of the leaves up there.  My family is big into art, and we discovered the Group of Seven some years ago, probably through Grand Marais exposure...  here's the Wikipedia link too~ and I've always been fascinated by Tom Thompson's paintings where he leaves a little bit of the ground showing through the paint... 
SO I painted this tonight, from one of mom's photos, 

 And here is Tom Thomson's paintings...
This one is Lake in Autumn, 1916

 And this is Evening, Canoe Lake, 1915.

Can you see what I mean about the edges showing the background color?  They are so poetic and dreamy and quiet...  and painted plein air on untreated 8x10 pallet wood....
I want to do this!  Aren't they GREAT?

MOnday, OCTOBER 1!

Dang!  A whole new month already!  Wow~  well, here's Ollie so far, and I got a couple more houses to tackle.

Duane thinks his right eye needs to be darker- and maybe the left side of his nose-  anything else?  I'll ask his owner too...
I also will be teaching another painting class this November into December at the Shasta Building in a new studio space Duane and I will be sharing!  I'm really excited about the chance to have a REAL studio space and to be able to argue and bicker with Duane about who left what where and who gets to clean it up!  I'm kidding-  he usually cleans everything up and organizes it beautifully-  I am a very lucky person!
SO if you are interested in Painting Lessons, send me an e-mail right away to hold your place.  It will be Wednesday evenings, 6:30 to 9pm from November 14 to December 12, with December 19th as an alternate date for missed classes, for $150.
http://katcorrigan.com/katcorrigan.com/Welcome_files/Painting%20Lessons%20November%202012.pdf
This is the link to the PDF with more info!  Let me know if it isn't working....
Whew!
More houses tomorrow night~

Thursday, Sept 27, 2012

It has been a busy week!  This is my neighbors' house, and was meant to be a wedding present last Saturday, but I didn't have it finished in time...  so they just got it today!
And this is also Sophie, who I am happy to be painting in exchange for some lovely wind chimes by an artist that I met at LOLA this year-  I'll see if she has a website and post it on another blog~

And I do love trading for art, in case you were wondering how you'd pay for that couch sized portrait of Fido....

Saturday, Sept 22

What a lovely, blustery day in Minneapolis!  And what a day to be thankful for dogs and neighbors...  nothing like observing a bit of wrongdoing and then having a neighbor join you in your walk so you feel safer... dogs really are good theft deterrents....

Speaking of which, here is Hazel!

She's a redo for me-  here is the first version...  and there was a second which had more pinks on her cheeky side...  it all has SO much to do with the eyes!

Max and I are off to Savers for more cars for him-  he helped me clean the living room floor with handy-wipes after a painting frenzy.  Gotta love life with a 3 year old!

September 18, Tuesday Morning!

Sheesh! This is ridiculous!  If I go this long without posting again, would some of you PLEASE e-mail me at katjojo@hotmail.com and nag the HECK out of me?!?  Such a terrible manner~
I obviously have been a bit busy-  adjusting to a new schedule, attempting to run/walk every morning (ha! more walk than run),  researching street art for my students (which gets INCREDIBLY fascinating!  If you haven't heard of Banksy yet, you have to check out his work!
See?  I just went to his site again and got distracted!
ANYWAY, here are a couple commissions I finished this week, and I wanted to invite you to my mom, Rita Corrigan's art opening at Diamond's Coffee Shoppe this Friday from 6-8pm!  I'll be there with her, and she has some lovely new pastels from her trip to Croatia with my sisters this summer.  She and I will also be at the Mpls Convention Center October 20 and 21 for the Home and Heatlth Expo... I have free tickets I'll be happy to give you!  There will be a lovely lot of local artists with work ready to hang on you walls (or your house!)~
Oh and I am also planning on doing a different 30 days project in November-  30 Otters in 30 Days, is my thought...  what do you think?

Labor Day, September 3, 2012

What a start to the school year!   whew~  SO I spent the day today packing up and wrapping all the lovely dogs for shipping off to their new homes-  wow!  And I mean I spent ALL DAY.  Max tried helping, but really all a three year old wants to do is wrap tape around all the living room furniture and any living creatures that may be using it including his father.
So I thought I would include LOLA, who was the subject of the last post but not included, and TILLIE, who just has the greatest grin!

Thank you everyone who contributed and sent me images-  I am working on updating my website and will continue to post in here twice weekly (and PLEASE feel free to harass me when I don't!) and am always doing commissions (lucky me!) and will always make room for more!
I LOVE my life!

Sunday August 26! LOLA!

Yes, you can come find me today between 10 and 5 at the Riverview Cafe on 38th Street and 42nd Ave!  LOLA is all day today too, and here is the dog I started yesterday,

 and the wonderful gaggle of bridesmaids with the BRIDE and her painting of her dog, LOLA at LOLA!  This was so much fun!  A friend of the bride contacted me to commission the painting and thought it would be fun to surprise the bride with the gift at my studio so we concocted this plan of having the painting of Lola at LOLA!  Yay!  She was VERY surprised!  She walked into my tent, looking at the paintings and said, "Wow!  That one looks just like Lola!"  Which was my cue to jump in and say, "Actually, that IS Lola!"
She looked flabbergasted for a minute, as I am a complete stranger and what the heck am I talking about, and it was just GREAT!!!!

Gosh I love good surprises!
Yay!

Wednesday, August 22~

JeIMiny!!!!!  Dadgum it I've been in a deluge under a rock with my head barely above water and it'll be a marathon run on one foot for the next two weeks so thanks for understanding the limited posts because my head is so crammed full of things I've forgotten to do I can't tell which side I got up on!

Here is a goat I painted last night that will be with me at LOLA at the Riverview Cafe this weekend! Come see it AND calm me DOWN!!!!!

Friday, August 17

So, sorry for the silence of over a week!  We were in Portland and Seattle and now we are back, and I didn't get the chance to do as much painting as I thought but I DID get this one done, of a poodle in front of my dear friend's restaurant after breakfast last Saturday morning~  WAY too much coffee there!
I do love the colors-  it is just great to be able to bring small tubes of paint and my stay-wet pallette along, though the paint does have to travel in the checked baggage as a liquid~

Sunday, August 5th

I am up, organizing paintings and making labels for another pile of dogs who will be hanging at the Sherburne County Government Center from tomorrow til Septmber 16, so if you are up in Elk River and happen to have business at the Government Center (spontaneous wedding, registering a new car, something happy I hope!)  take a look around because you will see my dogs and my mom, Rita Corrigan's pastel landscape paintings from her recent trip to Croatia with my sisters, Beaner and Belle.  Really, someone else in my family has to start a blog too so we can cross-reference one another...

Jamison

Starlee

And I spent today sketching MILLIONS (okay it only seemed that way!) of dogs over on Grand Ave for Paws on Grand and here are a few of the images I managed to complete-  Tracie Thompson was my partner sketcher, sitting next to me, and we realized we had been following each other's blogs!  She was incredibly kind as well as talented and let me share her watercolors and brushes which made my paintings go a bit quicker!  It was great!  She also owns her own HORSE which of course has left me in awe...

Moe, the Boss Cat at Cedar Pet Clinic

AND I had an absolute GAS at Cedar Pet Clinic yesterday-  the owners, Peg and Dr Bailie were incredibly hospitable, serving bundt cake (delicious!!!) and lemonade and greeting guests as they came in.  It was really very sweet and I felt like a star!  It was only when I looked up their write up for the event in their newsletter that I realized I had agreed to do a painting demo for them!  Darn it~  I do try to remember everything, and somedays there's just too much going on~  not that I would have had time for a demo anyway, with all the chatting I go to do!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Wow! Thank you everyone who made it to the show last night! Of COURSE I was too busy to take photos during the event, so here are some shots of the dogs on the walls for you~
Today we are off to Lake Elmo to the Cedar Pet Clinic where we are hanging a Kat's Cats show, with a reception from 2 to 4pm~  this is a different venue for me, and we'll see what happens!  So I've included a couple cats...  don't be startled after all the dogs!

Fattoush

The Queen Has Her Way

Gypsy View

Really, one of the most satisfying things is meeting the people who love these animals.  I greatly enjoy painting all creatures and pets, and when I get to meet the owners and talk about the life of this being, it all swings into connection and place.  And there's that intimate understanding as well of what it means to have lost one of those souls...  It never fails to amaze me how easy it is to feel tears in your eyes when speaking of some long lost friend to another human who understands...

30 dogs in 30 days

30 dogs in 30 days
Hmmm... not sure what this does-  I'm wanting to save this little post about my project- I apologize if this pops into your email!  I've not tried to do this "bookmark" option before....
Thanks!
Kat

Thursday August 2, 2012

I took yesterday as a day off, sorta, because I had to hang a show at the Egg and I (2828 Lyndale Ave, Mpls) which includes a number of new and smaller dogs as well as a bunch of dogs from my "AutobiDOGraphy" Series, of which I am attempting to include a link to HERE, though sometimes it doesn't seem to be functioning... I am still readjusting to a new website after MobileMe died, and I am having a hard time finding the perfect fit.   If any of you out there have found a great, easy, photo-friendly website, would you give me a shout?  I feel like I've lost my arm or something...

 These are a couple of lovely older dogs that I've been trying to get done while working on our incredible 30 Dogs in 30 Days Project, so they could be affectionately know at the 30-extras...

I DO hope to see you tomorrow at Diamond's!  I just hung that show last night with the help of my dear friend Kris (thank you Kris!) and I LOVE seeing those dogs all hung up together!  See you tomorrow from 6 to 8pm!  1618 Central Ave NE!
Here's a pic Kris took of me with the dogs on the green wall...

Tuesday, July 31 Pepper! The last dog!

Wow~  this is Pepper!  She jumped on the 30 Dogs Bandwagon just this Sunday at the Red Hot Art Festival!  I did have a couple other just for fun dogs I really want to paint, so you can stay tuned and see who else gets painted as part of my addiction to the brush....
And Pepper REALLY is a pepper-colored dog!  It was tricky trying to figure out how to get the actual color of her fur to show up...

I think it worked...
I am hanging a show tomorrow at the Egg and I on Lyndale and 28th in Uptown, and will be hanging all the dogs tomorrow night at Diamond's if you want a preview before Friday!  Yay!  DO come see us all at 1618 Central Ave NE Friday from 6 to 8pm!  I will have adult beverages and crackers, and Diamond's does great sandwiches and caffinated drinks!  Oh and I'll have hopefully a few cards of each of these new dogs too, for $4 each!
Yay!
It's been a GREAT July!  Thank you so much for following and supporting me!  You make it all so much easier!

And here is what Pepper just sent to me!
Hi Kat,

I asked Billee and Butch to write something

about me, but they are too busy and said "You do it."

I am very excited about having my picture painted.

B&B have painted pictures of their departed dogs on the

walls and I was thinking that it would be nice to

have one of me while I'm still around.  I came to them at

one and a half years old. I'm half Schnauzer and

half poodle, they call my breed a "Schnoodle".

Butch says it is just a fancy name to get more money.

He says when he was growing up, I would have been called

a "mutt".  I was very shy and quiet.

Never barked.  It didn't take me long to learn that

if I barked, I could be in charge.  So I bark a lot

these days.  I'm 12 years old (almost 13)  and

I don't run like I use to and my back is a little sore....

sort of like Butch's.  We're all getting old over

here at the MusicBarn.  I like to do Yoga with Billee in 

the mornings. But the only pose that I really know is "down dog".

My favorite activity is "BEING INCLUDED".

Thanks again for painting my picture.  The photo is a picture

taken awhile back when I was looking a lot younger, but

don't tell anybody.  It's my favorite picture.

Always howling,

Pepper

Monday July 30, Sam!

This is Sammy Louise~
Another noble, beautiful, fuzzy face....

Sammy Louise died at 14 years young.
Here is a bit of her story:
I had just finished a MS 150 mile bike ride.  It was raining, I was vulnerable and emotional driving home from Oklahoma with a girlfriend. It had been a year since I had had a dog because my mother told me that my last one was the reason I was not married.  Don't you just love mothers. So I gave it a year.  My girlfriend and I stopped by the SPCA on our way home as we did quite often just to give the dogs a little love.  She was standing by this cage and wouldn't move. I finally got there and gasped. It was like a spark between Sammy and me. I found out she was female and that was about it. Let her out of the cage, put her in my lap as she curled up legs spread (showing full trust) and I fell in love.
I knew I was too emotional to get her right then so I went home to rest my legs, and watched tv for a couple of hours. The only programs on tv, I swear, were dog related. So I gave up, drove back to the SPCA and rescued her. She had heart worms, weighed about twenty pounds, had a bullet in her head and was seriously a scared mess.
Long story short, my full bred Llewellyn Setter was one of the wildest, most independent, bull headed, sweetest, sofa loving, love bugs I have ever had. Serious hunter...she used to stalk doodle bugs when a puppy all the way to bringing me possums in my house. The greatest form of flattery for a bird dog is for them to lay their kill at your feet so proudly. Although Possums "play possum" then wake up in my house. So needless to say she was a trip to live with for four years. I have chased her all over Texas. ...Literally.
I wouldn't have traded one moment of life with her... however I don't see another Llewellyn in my future. One was enough. Rest in Peace Sammy and run free.

I will always love you~

Wow~  that's a story-  I do want to know more about the bullet in her head though....  Amelie?  Will you comment?

And one more dog TOMORROW!  Oh, and I need to repost a few that I've worked on...

The show is being hung Wed night and the Opening Party is this Friday at Diamond's, from 6 to 8!

Sunday July 29th, Hazel!

This is the biggest one yet, at 12x14!  Which seems HUGE after a bunch of 8x8, but not so big next to a 30x40...  but FUN!  And I will be continuing work on it tomorrow, as it was a challenge to get this far at the Red Hot Art Fest today!  Though very VERY fun! 
Hazel even came to visit and see the piece in progress, and she is a MUCH BIGGER dog than you'd expect as well!  A wonderful terrier mix, she looks a lot like what I think a Danish Griffin would look like....

stay tuned for the finished piece!