Posts Tagged ‘dog’
I made a funny.
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012A Pick-Me-Up.
Friday, November 18th, 2011
When I’m feeling blue and politics, religion and the economy getting me down I turn to a source of inspiration that has never failed me in my time of need.
Bulldog videos.
First is the famous Tyson. It’s amazing what this bulldog can do . While you watch remember that Tyson taught himself and he is so good at it he can turn corners! I just love the idea of a dog with a hobby.
Things can get even a bulldog down. Here is Floyd voicing his oppinion.
Happy reunions can brighten your day. This video features Winston meeting his daughter for the first time. It’s a bit long but worth watching!
Sometimes a gift can bring joy to your life. This video features Gus and his new pool.
Final, it can be a real hoot to see someone else more miserable than you. So here is Marshal,his new sweater and an attitude.
I feel better now. I hope you do too!
New Print! Labradors!
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
New prints! I’ve made a print of each flavor of Labrador.
You can find these prints at my Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/listing/83193479/labrador-print
Three things that freak out my dog.
Friday, May 13th, 2011
Let me start by saying that my dog is actually scared of more than three things. He is freaky about brooms, weather (rain, wind, thunder, lightning), bubble wrap, power tools, blenders, hair shears, any beeping coming from a computer, crowds, and the list goes on. But, there three phobias that I feel define my dog.
First, Cats in a Box.
My dog is not scared of cats or boxes, but he is scared of cats in boxes. If you open the box to expose the cat he will look past the cat and search the inside of the box for the “thing that was scary”. This fear can be transferred to cats in cupboards, behind doors or under blankets. But a cat in a box is the worst.
Second, Dead Rabbits
We found a dead rabbit while hiking one day. Most dogs might consider a dead rabbit a great toy. Other dogs might want to roll around on it (especially if it’s gooey). My dog’s reaction was his hackles going up and his eyes getting very large. He was visibly shaken. I tried to show him that it was okay by poking it with a stick. All this did was make him shake in terror and put his tail between his legs. To relieve his terror we continued our hike. As we walked he kept glancing over his shoulder just to make sure that the rabbit didn’t become reanimated, or something, and follow us.
Third, Camping.
I thought dogs liked camping.
From the moment we pitched the tent he was giving us a look that said, “Well, that was great. Can we go home now?” This look is accompanied by waiting eagerly by the car door. To be fair, when I first got him out of the car a squirrel crawled down a tree that was behind us and proceeded to yell at my dog and I. (A squirrel yell is something like a mighty screech). After I had taken my boy to do his poops and got back to camp, my daughter stated that as she was setting up camp a squirrel came down a tree and yelled at her. It was funny until my husband came over from getting wood and said that the weirdest thing happened. A squirrel came down a tree and yelled at him. I suspect it was the same squirrel in each case. We stayed on guard the rest of the day.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. No squirrel incidents. But the dog remained shaken.
As we returned from camping and turned up our street my dog perked up, stood up on his hind legs, stared out all the windows and screamed. I am NOT kidding. He actually screamed! He was home. He knows his street and his house. I think that he thought that camping was how we were going to spend the rest of our lives. I can’t seem to explain to him the concept of vacations.
Note: If you have any trouble viewing the drawings just click on them to get them at full size.
A Portrait of Two Dogs
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
The Partners in Crime
Once upon a time, I did quite a few dog portraits. I’ve created dog portraits in embroidery, watercolor, oil paints and now in giclee print. My customer wanted the portrait as a Christmas present for a friend. I wasn’t going to be able to meet the dogs so I had to work from photographs. This can be difficult because I like to play and interact with my subjects to get an idea of their personalities. Often, the owners will sit with me as I get acquainted with their furry family member(s) and tell me stories about their pets. My goal is not to make a portrait of a Pomeranian or Poodle or German Shepard but a portrait of a friend. More often than not, the portrait is a surprise for someone, or even harder, the pet has past away. So I always do my best to get as many photographs of the subject as I can. I still like to have the owner(s) talk to me about their dogs. I really need to understand their pet.
This client wanted the pups done in the cartoon style of my prints. In cartooned styled artwork you get to concentrate on the subjects character more than exact likeness. After a couple days of sketching I scanned in a drawing and colored it in. I emailed the image to the client and we began a back and forth dialogue to try to find tune the personalities of the pups. Colors had to be darkened, the dog on the left needed to look older and the dog on the right needed to look a bit more excited. After about 5 emails and making a series of slight changes I got it right. Even now, a couple weeks after finishing the piece, l ‘m very pleased with the portrait.
Wouldn't they make great plushies?
