sleeping dog art

2012-01-31T07:59:00.000-08:00

I must be looking forward to something besides all the rain and cloudy skies we've been having. Nothing worse than a warm winter with no snow. But! How about a beach and some sunshine? This is Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. Voted as the most beautiful place in the US. Very lovely. My husband and I visited last summer and can't wait to go back! You can see Pyramid Point in the distance. This painting is 10 x 20" and sells for $200. Please click on it to get a better view. :)

2012-01-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

This was a special portrait commissioned by an old friend of ours. This is his father-in-law who passed away recently. He had this portrait done for his wife for Christmas. Her dad raised her and he holds a very special place in her heart. I was so honored to be part of this wonderful Christmas surprise.

2011-12-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

I can finally post some new portrait commissions done for Christmas! My first post is "Max", who will be my new "sleeping dog" for awhile. There's nothing like a golden retriever on a purple couch! This portrait was for my friend Julie, who also owns Angelwood Gallery in Grand Rapids. Very nice art gallery, filled with her beautiful pottery!

2011-12-14T15:30:00.000-08:00

I am having a blast doing commissions for Christmas! Problem? I can't post them til the people see them! But, some have seen their finished portraits, so.... Here's Dixie! She was delivered to her home today and was very well-received! Her Mom and Dad are originally from the south and are serious Tennessee Titans fans, hence the name Dixie and the dog tag "T". This is one cute beagle! :)

2011-11-19T18:56:00.001-08:00

My hubby and I spent the morning in Grand Rapids doing a little Christmas shopping. We found an awesome used books store! Angelwood Gallery was fabulous! I bought a piece of Julie's pottery for my Thanksgiving table. Everything in the gallery is wonderful. No junk! I took in three more 6x6" pastel pieces. "Pear 1", "Pear2" and "Pear 3". What do you think? :)

2011-11-18T05:32:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This painting, "Santa Angel", will be available at Angelwood Gallery starting tomorrow, when Grand Rapids begins their Christmas shopping season! This is an original pastel painting and is 17" x 19", framed in black satin. Hope you make it to the gallery over the holidays!

2011-11-14T09:33:00.001-08:00

My artwork is now being represented by Angelwood Gallery in Grand Rapids, OH! This is an awesome art gallery with a wide array of art mediums. The owner is Julie Buetler, who does beautiful pottery! The Christmas Open House for all the downtown merchants will be this Sat. 10 am - 8 pm, and Sun. 11 am - 5 pm, Nov. 19 and 20. Restaurants, gift shops, Christmas music, entertainment, ice sculpting and horse-drawn wagon rides! Check out Angelwood's web site at: angelwoodgallery.com

2011-11-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

I won't be posting much in the near future due to Christmas commissions. They are Christmas presents and I don't want to ruin anyone's surprise! But here's another fun 6 x 6. This is "Sweet Pepper" and is available at Angelwood Gallery. I guess I have a bit of a thing for peppers. :)

2011-09-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Finished a portrait yesterday. This is a little different with the deep background colors. This is "Katie's Hat". :)

2011-09-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful week at Sleeping Bear Dunes with my hubby and our new camper! We had no idea how beautiful the dunes are! Everywhere we went we saw God's art! And everytime we ate out, the food was great! A refreshing time!

2011-09-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

Now Sold! Here's another little gem I will have available at Harrison Rally Days on Sept 17th. This is "Melting Pot", 6 x 6". These small paintings will have a very affordable price on them, $60. Come and see them in person. There's nothing like having original, hand-made art on the walls of your home!

2011-09-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

A new painting for Harrison Rally Days - "Eggs in a Cup", 6 x 6" pastel on sanded paper

2011-08-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

SOLD! This is the painting I sold at the Levis art fair. The colors are very rich and the subject matter - peppers - is very popular! I will be working on more still life and hopefully a homescape for Harrison Rally Days, coming up on Sept. 17th in downtown Perrysburg!

2011-08-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

Levis Commons was awesome! Passed out a few hundred cards. Talked to lots of people. Saw alot of old friends. People especially liked the Walk-away wedding portrait I had on display. They also liked the people and pet portraits - especially the dogs. Okay cat people - where are you? Looking forward to doing new commissions!

2011-08-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

7th Annual Levis Commons Art Fair this Saturday (10-8) and Sunday (11-5). Over 125 artists! Exceptional art fair! Hope to see you there!

2011-08-14T15:44:00.001-07:00

Spending the week tweaking and reframing for Levis on Saturday and Sunday! So far we are to have nice weather! Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones!

2011-08-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

Went to the county fair today. Got some great photos of cows, pigs and rabbits! Going to try and complete at least one for the Levis art fair. Met the owner of these black cows. A nice young guy who seemed to be enjoying himself. I wish I had asked him what kind of cows these are and if they have names? I gave him a business card so maybe he will post on my blog and let me know. :)

2011-07-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

I got a new camera. This one takes a little better pictures of my paintings. Here's "Smudge". Every time I look at this painting, it makes me laugh!

2011-07-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

"Ducks in a Row"

2011-07-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

My sweet niece had a birthday this past week. My sweet nephew, her husband, decided to surprise her with a portrait of their goldendoodle, Rupert. Rupert has such a comical face, you can't help but smile when you look at this portrait!

2011-06-29T05:51:00.000-07:00

My neighbor has a cousin whose wife is involved in golden retriever rescue. He often stays with them when visiting Florida and so wanted to do something nice for them. He decided to have me paint the golden retrievers they currently own, one of which is a rescue. Meet J.R. (on the left) and Jackson! Jackson is the rescue! Beautiful dogs!

2011-05-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

And so, 6 paintings installed at SamB's in Bowling Green. Reception Friday, June 3rd, 9 - 11pm. My work will be there through the end of August. There are 24 artists displaying their work, including me. A very cool venue - 2 and 3D art.

2011-05-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

The show at Terhune Gallery is a very nice show. The gallery is located in the Performing Arts building at Owens Community College. I won the Degas Award for "Black and White Calf". The show runs through June 9th, M-Th, 10 -5. Come out and see the artwork in person!

2011-05-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

For my art friends that enjoy going to shows, the 2011 ArtAFair starts tomorrow at Owens CC Terhune Gallery. The Terhune Gallery is located in the Performing Arts Bldg. It runs through June 9th, Mon-Thur, 10 - 5. Tomorrow night is the opening reception from 6 to 8 pm. There will be over 150 works of art and literature. A good time will be had by all. :)

2011-03-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

Starting this Saturday, April 2nd, Artomatic begins in Toledo and lasts the first 3 Saturdays in April, ending on the 16th. The hours are from 11am to 11pm. Over 300 artists are participating. I will have 2 pieces in the Prizm exhibit on the second floor, above Jed's. Also, I will be demonstrating pastel painting from 11am to 2pm this Saturday on the first floor in the purple room. This is a biannual art show put on by the Greater Arts Commission of Toledo. There will also be music and live readings. There are places to catch lunch close by. Hope to see some of my art friends!
407 Washington St. across from 5/3 Field.

2011-03-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

Have to share a recent portrait of "Kaiser", a 15 year-old German short-hair pointer. He went to doggy heaven last month and is dearly missed by his mom and dad. This portrait was shipped across the country. Sweet face!

2011-03-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

I am presently involved in helping with a large art show called Art-O-Matic, which will take place the first 3 Saturdays in April, from 11 am. to 11 pm. It is being held at 407 Washington St. in Toledo. This location is across the street from Fifth-Third Field. It is a bi-annual art show and includes visual, literary and "live" art. There is a huge range of artists, art clubs and art forms involved. If you are interested in seeing what's going on in the Northwest Ohio art scene, plan on coming down! I will be doing a pastel demonstration on the first Saturday of the show, which is April 2nd, from 11 to 2 pm. Be sure and say "hi" if you see me at the education tables. I will also be showing some of my paintings along with other members of the Prizm art club from Perrysburg at the Prizm booth. Hope to see a bunch of my art friends!

2011-03-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

We have had a very anxious week watching the events in Japan. My son is fine, he is on the opposite side of the country from the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear catastrophe. We have been praying that the situation would be resolved and for all those people affected by this horrible tragedy. The photos and videos coming out of Japan are just heartbreaking. One American family cannot locate their daughter who is also teaching over there. She is also part of the JET program as is my son, and I can't imagine what they are going through in not knowing if she is safe.
God be with them and have His hand on Japan and the people.

Taylor's body was found. Say a prayer for her mom and dad. So tragic, for so many.

2011-02-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

I am currently applying to some art festivals coming this summer and fall. There are also a couple art shows this spring. I will be posting all shows and exhibits and art festivals that I am involved in. What fun!

2011-01-13T07:14:00.001-08:00

I have finally finished the wall mural at my church that I started last April. It was a lot of fun and because it is in the children's church room, the kids enjoyed seeing new things added each week. The pics are not the greatest because of the glare from the flourescent ceiling lights, but you can get a fairly good idea of what it looks like. If you would like to see this mural in person, contact me and I will meet you at my church and show it to you. Plans are in the works for a few more animals walking down the hallway to this room. Enjoy!

2011-01-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

Another furry friend! This is Marley. He's a min-pin.

2011-01-03T10:48:00.000-08:00

This sweet little bulldog puppy's name is Christa. She was commissioned by a woman who was giving it as a Christmas gift to her daughter. This one was expecially fun to do because it had so much color in it!

2010-12-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Christmas! Missed my son in Japan, but today's technology is so great that it was almost like he was here! My new great-nephew and great-niece added an extra spark of fun to the season, and made the holidays that much more special. I was priveleged to do some portraits that I can post now. They were Christmas gifts and I wasn't sure who might see them on my blog so I waited to post them. This first portrait is of two sweet girls who's mom surprised their dad on Christmas morning. We had a lot of fun while I visited to take photos of them for this portrait. The funky hats were a special joke between them and their dad and the partial smiles were also part of the fun relationship their family shares. No straight faces with this bunch! I used photo references to do this portrait and although one of the girls wears glasses normally, they both have such beautiful eyes, I asked permission to leave the glasses off. The resulting portrait speaks of two young ladies on the brink of leaving home and discovering their own lives and loves. A moment in time never to be repeated. They were hoping to touch thier dad's heart on Christmas morning and I'm sure they did.

2010-11-29T19:17:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything for awhile because everything I'm doing are surprise Christmas gifts and I never know who might see the post. However, one young lady named Michelle had her parents dogs done for Christmas and decided to give the portrait to them early. Soooo..., I can post Moucho and Piggy! They are boxers and have the most soulful eyes! Piggy's eyes were the prettiest blue. I have never done a dog's portrait with blue eyes before. Enjoy!

2010-11-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

No new posts, been sick. Hope to be posting again soon. Happy Thanksgiving! :)

2010-11-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

Had a nice 30th anniversary today! Went to the zoo, bought a Christmas tree and had salmon for dinner! A super nice day!

2010-11-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

I sold one of my favorite paintings this last week. "Spotted Calf" was definitely a favorite of many people who saw it at Levis, and a guy called and wanted it for his wife for her birthday, because she loved it too. I may do another one with some slight variations, because I miss this baby cow!

2010-10-29T09:40:00.001-07:00

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2010-10-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Finally got Allie's portrait framed and delivered. This is one of my favorite portraits I have done so far because Allie is a special dog. She is not only a beloved pet but also a service dog to a beautiful lady who happens to be in a wheelchair. Allie has lots of jobs to do around the house each day to help her mistress out. She picks things up off the floor when asked and actually opens the back door and lets herself outside. Her 'mom' keeps a beautiful home filled with all kinds of artsy things, alot of which she has made herself. This morning when I walked in, the house was all decorated for Halloween, including a miniature haunted house, complete with ghosts, pumpkins, lights, and a fireplace! Well, this haunted house was not only handmade by Allie's very creative 'mom', but she also won a blue ribbon for it in a haunted house competition! It was very cool! And she was very happy with Allie's portrait, so that made me happy too. What a great day!

2010-10-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

Tasha and Charlie. Tasha, on the left, no longer with her family. Charlie, on the right, greeted me when I pulled in the driveway today! We were already old friends! A surprise portrait for the dad in this family, who has a birthday today. What fun!

2010-10-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

During a pastel workshop this summer, I heard this poem by Rudyard Kipling. I had been looking for it online so that I could copy it, since it is an artist's poem and truly reverberates with all who create art. It is called:

"When Earth's Last Picture is Painted"

When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it -- lie down for an aeon or two,
Til The Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew.
And those that were good shall be happy; they shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair.
They shall find real saints to draw from -- Magdalene, Peter, and Paul;
They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all!

And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!

2010-10-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Just had to share this little (10x10) portrait with you. Another shihtsu. This is Lucy. Her mom wanted to make sure I put her crooked teeth in. :)

2010-10-16T04:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great get-away in the Smokies this week. Took lots of pictures and am so anxious to do some paintings from them. I'm thinking pastel and oils. The fall colors in the mountains were spectacular! But first I need to finish "Allie" and get started on another commission. I will post Allie's portrait when I'm finished. But not before her "mom" sees the finished product. :)

2010-10-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

So this is fun - I ran into my old neighbor on facebook (!) and she wanted to come and see my paintings. She ended up buying "Ducks in a Row" for her mother's 83rd birthday! She said her father had bought her mom an original oil painting years ago, and her mom still treasured that painting. My neighbor was hoping to surprise her mom with something again that she would treasure. The "Ducks in a Row" painting was done from photo references taken at Oak Openings Park. I was super happy to be part of a special birthday present for a special mom. Here is "Ducks in a Row".

2010-10-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

So I spent most of the day working on a mural in the children's room at my church. It is a full wall mural of Noah's Ark. I was hoping to finish in six months, but I passed that mark last month. It has been very fun to work on, but I will be glad to get finished. Today was camel day and I finished up the zebras. When it is done, I will post a photo.
Also, the curator at the Ford Gallery kept all six paintings. They will be on display in time for the Gallery Loop next Friday, the 15th. The Ford Gallery is in the Spaghetti Warehouse, in case you don't know.

2010-10-06T02:03:00.000-07:00

As the wedding season continues to hit full stride in October, consider a 'walk-away' wedding portrait as a wedding gift or Christmas gift for the newlyweds. I work from their own wedding photos and the pastel portrait is a unique addition to photographs. Also, the portrait becomes an heirloom for generations to come. I have done 'walk-aways' for all my married nieces and nephews and they are quite happy with them. I also do paintings from engagement photos. Just an idea!

2010-09-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

So I have 6 paintings ready for the Ford Gallery. I will take them over in the morning. Meanwhile I finished Dewey's portrait. Who is Dewey? Well, he is a little old man and also a shihtsu. His mom commissioned his portrait. He is very sweet and cute, but he can no longer use his back legs and he has to be carried most places. But check out this face! Doesn't it make you want a shihtsu? :)

2010-09-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

I participated in the Levis Commons Art Fair in August and have been getting lots of good feedback from that. Some things have been a surprise, such as an invite to exhibit at the Ford Gallery downtown at the Spaghetti Warehouse. I will be taking 6 paintings down on Friday to let the curator pick what she thinks would work at their gallery. That all began with a conversation in my booth at Levis with Cynthia Ford, who was the judge for the fair. She loved the barn paintings (and the cows!) and gave my card to her curator. So.... we will see how this goes. I am posting a photo of one of my cow paintings. This one is titled "A Little Bull", because if you look close you can see that he is indeed a little bull. :)

2010-07-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

I am in the midst of setting up my blog. I am also in the midst of sending my son to Japan and my daughter to college. So.... this may take a while. But I am planning on keeping my blog current on shows and art festivals that I will be participating in. Also, I will post photos of paintings that are currently available at Silver Linings Art Gallery in Waterville, OH. Please comment, as I am new at this and trying to find my way around. Thanks :)