Talking to Chamois

Chamois is such a pretty dog. She likes to admire herself in the window in the evening. when the reflections are good. She's also on alert for any falling leaves, wind blown branches, and less interesting, a squirrel or chipmunk. She is lots lighter around her eyes and muzzle....quite the distinguished old lady, except when there is a tennis ball or stick around.

Chamois Sleeps (and inspires)

Chamois's bed in right in the middle of the studio, so when I turn around I get to enjoy her repertoire of sleeping poses. This is a pretty standard sleeping position and often shows up in my paintings.

Oh, so sleepy.

The cradle pose.Inspiring creativity. Tully likes to sleep closer to the easel, so he can be underfoot where he is safest.

What? You need some help with cookies?

Paris

It has been a dream for me to go to Paris for years, I had my reasons, I thought, but it didn't become clear to me until I actually went. I even have an french psuedo name, given to me by my friend Marcy, named Genvieve. Well, we found out St. Genvieve is the patron saint of Paris. So I had to go!

And so we did! We actually ended up staying in St. Genvieve's old stomping grounds, where a church and abbey were built around her tomb. This was right up the hill from where we stayed at Residence Henri IV (5*s) ...past a few artful bakeries, vitners, frommageries, markets, and other wonderful shops.

Every artist should visit Paris at least once. Just to see a favorite painting in person is worth the trip (me looking at a Bonnard I've had on my bulletin board for years, can you see it in the photo?). It seems the entire city of Paris is a monument to creativity.

I know from experience that being a painter isn't just about the craft, that's an important part, but there is so much more. A creative life is every day all day. This is no burden, it is a supreme joy. Parisians have made enjoying life into a fine art form, to be savored, thoroughly delighted in, paid attention to. Every evening there was be a line at the bakery for the dinner baquettes, everyone would have a bag from the market, today's dinner, and the flower shop stayed open late, in case you needed some flowers that night. This experience has inspired me to a whole new level of appreciation and enjoyment in my life.

ACEO Format

I wrote in my previous blog that I am painting in miniature format, and selling these little paintings on ebay at a steal. The Art Cards and Editions format is 3.5 x 2.5 inches! Very tiny. The painting is created with premium quality acrylic paints on Strathmore 246lb paper made especially for acrylic paints and protected with a satin varnish. There is a clear border around the edges for ease of framing. I thought I would post a few paintings that are up this week.


"Healthy Obsession"
This is our dog Tully, both of our dogs love to camp on our canoe lake and love to fetch anything out of the water. Tully is wire haired pointer cross, and was terrified of the water when he accidentally tried to walk on water when he was a puppy, and to his surprise, went in at about step five. It took a year to get him to try it again, and now he's officially a water dog. After he cannot convince us to throw the stick or ball any longer, he will stare down into the water and pounce on anything that moves, lights, shadows, fish, algae. The lake is very clear, and cold, and he will stay out there for hours, until he is shivering and we have to order him to stay up by camp. This is as the sun is setting, just before we called him in. Please click here to bid on this miniature painting.

Pepper Caught a Mouse
This is my sister's cat, Pepper. She has three, and they often make their way into paintings. She is a cute cat, and always looks to me like she has a bit of the devil in her, but it's just her markings. She is a also a gifted mouser, and always looks so pleased with herself when she deposits her present. I put the mouse parts back together so you, the viewer, can tell what it is!

If you would like to bid on this miniature painting, click here. (Auctions last 7 days.)

Catch Up

It's been awhile since I've posted a blog...I'm more of a painter...than I am a writer. So pardon me, for the lapse. What have I been up to this winter?

The highlight of winter 2007-08 was the events that unfolded after I displayed my paintings at the Portland Rose City Classic Dog show....my life has not been the same since. Besides hanging around my "peeps", dog people : ) I also met a really talented and generous-hearted artist, named Connie Bowen. She also paints dogs, cats, horses, etc. She is a pet portrait artist, whom I would highly recommend. Although I do take in a healthy amount of custom "pet" paintings, I like to paint A LOT of different things, and often a dog or a cat is part of my subject matter. Anyway, I enjoyed meeting a fellow furry creature painter, and she introduced me to ebay. Gave me pointers, patiently answered a million questions, and just got me going. It is something I've thought about and wanted to try for a long time, but didn't make the time learn how.

So here I am, with my own ebay store. For now, I am painting miniatures ("ACEO's" stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals, they measure 3.5x2.5 inches) and small paintings (5x7, 9x12) and auctioning them. I've only had my ebay store for a month, and it is fun, and motivating, since things do sell, and keeps me even busier than ever. One thing I like about the minatures is that they are akin to the "painting a day" genre. I try to paint one per day, they take about an hour, and it is a great warm up in preparation for painting. Just gets my head in the creative zone, right from the start. Lately I've barely been finishing my coffee. Don't need it!

These are all samples of the little paintings I've sold so far on ebay. Come by and see what's new!

Stormy Weather Art

Winter is here in Oregon, and it has arrived with some very powerful storms. My thoughts and prayers to all the folks in western oregon and washington who have been affected by these events. These renditions of weather-related events are of the milder, enjoyable variety.

I created several 12x16 paintings for the annual Stormy Weather Art show at Dragonfire, my gallery in Cannon Beach. Six in all, three have sold ("First Frost" , "Weathering a Storm", and "Red Sky" pictured here, are still available, please contact www.dragonfirestudio.com).

I have found I enjoy working in this smaller format, I can explore ideas quickly, and if I want to pursue a larger canvas, I can do that, and have worked through many issues that don't come up in my sketchbook. I have gotten into the habit of working large and singularly, so this is a helpful problem for me as an artist to create a series. It stretches me creatively, making the paintings relate to one another, while being complete paintings on their own.
I have a few larger paintings at Dragonfire, it you get a chance and are in the Cannon Beach, Oregon neighborhood, be sure to stop by.

Dog and Cat Show-The Casting Call Unveiling

Last February we had an event at Tails West Gallery in Sun Valley. We called it the Casting Couch, think of it as a "Casting Call" for paintings. Over 80 people brought in photographs of their dog(s) or cat(s), deposited them on the dog bed (casting couch) for me to look at and select for a painting. Being the nutty dog and cat lover that I am, I couldn't decide between all of them, so I brought home to my studio the ones that called to me, and decided to do several pieces.

Two of my most favorites were "Bella" a Portuguese water spaniel, and "Bergen" and "Yurich", two Bernese mountain dogs. These two were my star paintings. Bella is a large acrylic on birch panel, and Bergen and Yurick are pastel. The rest (10 more! yup) are small acrylics on board. It was a great way to meet people and hear about their critters, and to paint several different breeds that haven't come my way until now.

People often ask me, "Do you get tired of talking about people's dogs?". And the answer is "no". I love the surprising connection that comes about between creatures and humans. After you get past all the cutesy stuff, dogs and cats have a way or worming themselves into your heart, before you even know it. It is hard to qualify what they "provide", it is not just love and loyalty...they help us to be more compassionate (even if only in retrospect), and more humane. My first dog, Pu, would have been a model Cesar Milan dog. I leash trained her from puppy hood, and we went for long walks two times a day for years. She was the smartest, most entertaining dog I've ever owned. But most of this I found out in retrospect. I also treated her like a dog. Yes, she was my family, but she didn't get much special treatment (no scraps from the table, no naps on the couch (although occasionally I would find that warm, hairy spot on the couch when I got home from a long day at work). I just kept up my end of the deal. Two good meals and two long walks per day, and walk on the woods on the weekends, or a day on the river, so she could dive for rocks. Might be time to finally do her painting for myself. Eight years later.

Anyway, how did mentioning other people's dogs get me to talking about mine?