Looking back at 2018!

Well it is the last day of 2018, it sure went by quickly. Looking back on the year I have definitely grown as an artist and learned a lot. I wanted to visually break down what I have done this year and since I started working on pet portraits. Here are the numbers:

1775 Total Paintings

1203 Dogs

502 Cats

20 Birds (16 Parrots/Budgies, 2 Pigeons, 1 Finch, 1 Hummingbird, 1 Chicken)

15 Guinea Pigs

12 Rabbits

4 Iguanas/Lizards

3 Pigs

3 Horses

2 Hamsters

2 Rats/Mice

2 Ferrets

1 Hedgehog

1 Turtle

1 Snake

1 Fish

1 Donkey

1 Chinchilla

This doesn’t include any of the commissions or other projects I did this year, such as all the dogs for the card deck. Cool and crazy to think about!

Have a Happy New Year!

Traveling and Painting

I forgot to post last week again! 2nd time this year, oops! I was packing and heading for my Grandma’s house for the holiday’s. It is always an interesting task as I travel with my painting supplies and 3 dogs. Lets just say my car is very very full. Anyway traveling with the idea of painting is both challenging and beneficial. It is really nice to be able to get work done, but having to move all my supplies is a pain.

Usually I don’t have all my typical items and I currently am not a fan of my travel easel (even though it packs up nicely). So I bring a box with all my paint, the canvases I need, the brushes I use, my palette, towels, and more. Then I have to set up my space with all those supplies and my set up to film all my painting sessions, which requires a computer, camera, and something to hold the camera.

One of the biggest challenges of painting on the go is the paint dries differently in different environments. For example at my grandma’s house it is really dry, which causes the paint to dry faster and get a tacky feel while painting. It is more of a challenge to paint quickly.

Anyway today is Christmas eve and I for the first time since starting to paint full time am taking a week off from painting. Meaning I will be painting by Friday :).

Happy Holidays!

Make.Sale Thoughts!

This past Friday and Saturday I participated in the Make.Sale put on by the local art space Make.Shift. This was my first experience with doing a fair of any sort and it was a new experience! This is a local and pretty small fair, I kind of knew what to expect having gone to the venue in the past, however I had never been to the make.sale before. It was the type of fair where it is a good idea to have some low priced items as most who wandered through were there for the monthly art walk.

Before the fair I was really worried about how much inventory I had. I kept fluctuating on if I had enough, and decided to bring less of the more expensive items. The best seller was The Dog Pack deck of cards, priced at $16.

Setting up a display was fun! I was not allotted a ton of space but I tried to use both floor and table space. I think having a slightly bigger table in the future would be beneficial, I did not have much room for flat items on the table. The other thing I would do is have more labels, such as “Take a business card!”, etc.

Overall I made back my fair fee, but in the future I would definitely want to market the Custom Portraits as they are what gets the most interest. Due to the closeness to Christmas I actually played this aspect down because I am already full up on commissions.

Dog Breed Pillows

I decided to use all the art that I made for The Dog Pack and make it available on pillows!

Each breed of dog has five different color options, be sure to choose which you would like from the drop-down. These items are fulfilled and shipped by a 3rd party. They feature my artwork and are nice quality!

“Want to add a splash of color to your home? This premium feel moisture-wicking pillow with a shape-retaining insert is just what you're looking for! It'll make any room luxurious and provide the perfect excuse for a quick power nap.

100% pre-shrunk polyester case
Moisture-wicking fabric with a linen feel
Hidden zipper
Machine-washable case
Shape-retaining 100% polyester insert included (handwash only) “

I am working on making the same artwork available on Totes and more!

ORDER HERE - ORDER SOON TO GET BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

The Dog Pack

On Small Business Saturday I announced my newest product, The Dog Pack!

I have wanted to do this project for at least 4 years, and I finally got around to getting it done. Originally I was going to work all digitally to complete it, but found that hand-painting the dogs was a better way to get the look I desired. Each dog was painted on paper in acrylic and then scanned into the computer to work into the design.

Breeds were chosen mostly based on popularity and assigned with what seemed to feel right! Sometimes this was based on size, or my personal interactions with that breed of dog.

The design was a tossup between doing something that looked “pop-art” style or vintage. In the end I felt that the vintage style just visually looked better so I went with that.

The Dog Pack includes:

Airedale, Australian Cattle Dog, Australian Shepherd, Basset Hound, Beagle, Bernese Mountain Dog, Bloodhound, Border Collie, Boston Terrier, Boxer, Brittany, Bull Terrier, Bulldog, Bullmastiff, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Chihuahua, Dachshund, Dalmatian, Doberman, English Cocker Spaniel, English Springer Spaniel, French Bulldog, German Shepherd, German Shorthaired Pointer, Golden Retriever, Goldendoodle, Great Dane, Italian Greyhound, Jack Russell Terrier, Labrador Retriever, Maltese, Newfoundland, Old English Sheepdog, Papilion, Pit Bull, Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Pomeranian, Poodle, Portuguese Water Dog, Pug, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweilier, Saint Bernard, Samoyed, Scottish Terrier, Shar Pei, Shetland Sheepdog, Shiba Inu, Standard Schnauzer, Vizsla, Weimariner, West Highland White Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier

Painting of The Corgis

I needed a piece to fill a local show, so I painted my own corgis! Here is a video of the painting process!

Painting of Smokie

Here is another painting I forgot to post back when I painted him! Another cutie! Smokie was a fun one because the background was included!

Painting of Ralphie

I forgot to post about this guy back when I painted him! It is always fun to paint older pets, so much white sprinkled in with the gold. Painting text was a new challenge in this one, I definitely don’t feel that it is my strong suit, but hey I tried and it’s on fabric so it is a bit more forgiving.

One thing I love to do is ask about the pet I am painting and learning about the quriks special to them. I love it when long descriptions like this are sent!

“Ralphie is a very social gold retriever who grew up on a lake.  When he was young he would roam the neighborhood looking for new friends.  If he found a party sometimes he wouldn't come home until the next day!  Although he does like other dogs, we like to joke he likes dog people more.  He also loves going to stone's throw brewing to get pets and beg for treats from the food trucks.  My parents bring him there every Friday.  They like to joke that he has to make it to his shift as a greeter. They even made him a bandana. He is very well known there.  Sometimes if we take him on a walk somewhere complete strangers will recognize him!  

Ralphie loves food.  I don't think he really cares what though.  He has even gotten in trouble for eating the neighbors cabbage out of her garden.  He loves everything from hotdogs to brussel sprouts.  His favorite toy is a stuffed California quail that  makes an authentic bird call.  He also likes to carry around shoes but never chews them.  We have  tried to get him other ones but  he hasn't liked them. One thing Ralphie does not do however is retrieve.”

That face!

September 6x6 Pet Portraits

Here are all of the 6x6 pet portraits from September. 

Thoughts on Pet Painting

So I have been painting pets for over a year now, each week I get a new batch of pets and commissions to work on. Cats, dogs, birds, turtles, you name it, I have probably painted it. You think this could get old, but no, I can honestly say that I still LOVE IT! Every week it is really exciting to get a new group of pets to paint!

Between working on commissions and other paintings, guess what, I still paint pets! Currently working on creating a collection of breeds of both cats and dogs. It is really rewarding to create and capture their personalities. I think it is because each one is different, each pet and breed has their own quirks that really add to the painting and the painting experience.

I can get tired, some days I find myself spacing out and really having to motivate myself to get up and paint. However, knowing I get a new bunch of paintings to do each week really works out for the best. It really keeps things interesting. Same whenever I get a new commission I get super excited when it is time for the photos!

Anyway, after a year, I still love painting pets! So send ‘em my way!