Here is my latest painting hot off this easel. This is a commissioned portrait ( thank you!) of a wonderful Chocolate Lab named Fortune. Fortune's painting has been a year in the making, not because it took that long to paint, but because Fortune has been very busy getting training and earning her Junior Hunter title. It took us quite awhile to catch up to her and get the photos we felt would truly capture her spirit. Fortune is a happy girl and always smiled broadly for the camera with her tongue sticking out which is not the pose we wanted. After many photo sessions with me, her owner and some good friends we were finally able to capture the serious intensity we were looking for. This is exactly the pose I like to see and try to use when I am painting the gun dog breeds. I feel this expresses the desire they have for the hunt, what they were bred for. Of course, I always try to paint whatever the client wants as it is their dog and they always know them the best. Perhaps I will paint Fortune again, but this time capture her fun loving side which is also a very big part of every Lab I've ever met.
Here is the finished painting of Boomer. I really enjoyed doing this piece as Boomer is such a great dog belonging to some wonderful people who have really encouraged me in my business in the past year. It's always such a privilege to be trusted with capturing the personality of someones special friend. (Thanks!)
Blessings and thanks for looking!
On my easel this week is a Bouvier des Flandres that I am doing for a commission. (Thank you!) His name is Boomer and he belongs to some wonderful people that are vendors at many of the dog shows I attend. When I first saw Boomer he was busy greeting customers at the booth across the way from me. His greeting usually surprised a great many people unless you knew he was there. He stayed hidden behind the table in their booth until someone would come up, then this very large, hairy head would come out from under the tablecloth to say hello. I knew that eventually I would have to paint him!
This piece is being done in colored pencil on Stonehenge paper.
I recently participated in the Canine Art Guilds Pot Luck show and this was one of my entries. While I didn't win any awards (this time!) it was a wonderful experience and I felt honored to have been shown with all the awesome artists that entered.
I did this piece on a colored paper, Canson pastel paper and used Prismacolor colored pencils. The texture of the paper is a little rougher than I usually use, but I like the effect. This piece is for sale, framed and matted for $250.00. Please send inquiries to kindredspirits@clearwire.net.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Catherine
Happiness is...... a wet dog on a warm summer day!!!This is my dog Maggie this morning on our walk by the river. This is pretty much her routine every morning no matter what the time of year...even January! Oh, to get this much joy out of just splashing in the water!
Being this is summer and getting hotter (close to 100 degrees today where I live) we should take extra care of our pets. I know we hear it all the time,but please don't leave your pets in cars this time of year. Just do a little experiment....go sit in your car, in the sun, in a parking lot somewhere about noonish and see how long you can stand it before you start overheating. It doesn't take very long at all, just a few minutes actually. So be extra aware and be kind to your pets. Leave them home in the air conditioning, sleeping peacefully on your couch!!
Most of my time this week has been spent doing prep work for some upcoming commissions I have and for an entry in the Michigan duck stamp contest. I have been gathering reference material, doing sketches, etc. and hope to start working on the actual paintings next week. I also hope to get a few paintings posted that will be for sale.
Since this is a holiday weekend we should stop to consider just what happiness is and count all of our blessings, especially that we live in a country with so much freedom! Happy 4th of July and please, God, bless this country!!
