A Very Odd Thanksgiving!

This past week - a week containing our American Thanksgiving holiday - has been a wild one and one very different from past Thanksgivings!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it seems to be the one most unaffected by blatant commercialism.  (I won't even comment on starting "Black Friday" on Thanksgiving Day this year!)  This year the kids (we have a son and a daughter) had other plans and I didn't have to cook a conventional Thanksgiving dinner.

This ended up being a good thing because the Saturday evening/night before Thanksgiving I kept violently up-chucking and ended up in the ER at our local hospital for several hours on Sunday morning.  It was some sort of bug and some IV fluids and anti-nausea meds got me back on track.  But, it took several days to get to the point where I could do much more than sleep and cooking a big dinner would have been nearly impossible!

So, we decided to get together this past Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day) for a "Build Your Own Pizza" party.  I made my "famous" homemade pizza dough & sauce, set out every topping that anyone even mentioned and let everyone make their own pizza.

The top photo is one of the pizzas and the bottom photo is of three of our four grandchildren - aren't they all beautiful?  Our oldest granddaughter is just as gorgeous and is married and now lives in Maine.  It would have been perfect if she'd been able to join us also.

We may have had a very unconventional holiday but it was a fun time and maybe something we'll do again in the future!

We're so very thankful for our wonderful family and I'm very thankful to those of you who visit my blog and have become my online family!

Shawnee Update - German Shepherd Dog Acrylic Portrait

This is the latest update on the portrait of Shawnee, the German Shepherd Dog.  I'm still blocking in color and it seems to be going slowly because I'm trying to build layers.  With pastel, you can immediately go over the top of previously put down color, but with acrylic, you must wait for it to dry.  It doesn't take long but is just different from the way I usually work.

Shawnee had a lovely buff colored undercoat that I really want to get down right as bits of it will show through the succeeding layers when I begin to build the silver and black colors of her top coat. 

Soon I'll begin to texturize her coat so that all the subtle colors will work together to make her fur seem touchable and real.

A long way to go still but it's getting there!

Shawnee Painting Update

Not much of an update on the painting of Shawnee but it's been a pretty busy last few days.  As usual, I see several things to be corrected already and I'm just blocking in color at the moment.  One of the wonderful pluses for acrylic paint though is the ease in correcting mistakes!

The most exciting thing that happened lately was a trip to Raleigh (NC) for the "Art of the Carolinas" trade show that Jerry's Artarama puts on every year.  We got there shortly after it opened on Friday figuring that it wouldn't be too crowded on a Friday morning - Wrong!  I picked up a few items I needed  then stood in a check-out line that didn't seem to move.  I was told by the artists in front of and behind me that it was the worst time to visit the show!  I guess everyone tries to get there early to buy supplies for the different workshops along with trying to get frames and canvases before they get picked over!  Since I wasn't in the market for either of those items and wasn't taking a workshop, I wish I'd waited to attend the show! 

As it was, I bought a few things at the show for some good prices but still ended up with a small bag of stuff and about $60 poorer!  Not only that, but we ended up going just down the street to the actual Jerry's store (which blessedly was nearly empty of customers) for some acid free foam board.  I also saw some Rub'nBuff which I had heard was great to transform frames and picked up a tube of that.  I'd looked for it in Hobby Lobby and our local big box building supply store but hadn't found it. 

Since it's so rare for me to get to go to a large art supply store, I really wanted to look around more.  But being at the show with all that crowd was really wearing.  It was shoulder to shoulder in the huge room that contained much of the show and trying to see what was available was nearly impossible.  At the store itself, many of the shelves were empty or depleted because the stock had been taken to the show. 

Oh, well, I got pretty much what I went for plus a little extra so it was certainly successful in that regard!

It's back to work on the portrait of Shawnee today and I think I may get the colors all blocked in and a good start on the detailing if all goes well.

I'm also starting a portrait of two beautiful Golden Retrievers and have the sketch pretty much worked out for that.  It will be on a full sheet of PastelMat which is the largest size pastel portrait I've done.  I'm looking forward to starting it but feel I need to wait until Shawnee is finished so pastel dust won't contaminate the acrylic portrait. 

As always, I'll keep you posted!

New Pet Portrait - Shawnee

I met with a client about a week or so ago to meet her elderly and ill dog so she could have a portrait done.  She wanted the portrait of a younger Shawnee and we gathered up photos to use as painting references.  I started the portrait after receiving an art order on Saturday with some needed supplies and found out this morning that Shawnee had passed away yesterday. 

This is another of those times when I almost wish I had a different occupation.  I know the owner is hurting badly at this time and viewing any progress on the portrait will just hurt that much more. 

I want my pet portraits to evoke good memories yet it's possible that the owner will look at the painting and remember only that Shawnee left this earth during the time the portrait was being painted.  Shawnee's mom and I had talked of a portrait many times and I wish she had commissioned it when she first thought of it.  I would encourage any pet owner to get a portrait done when your fur child is strong and healthy if you want one.  Don't put it off.

I met Shawnee when she was ill and in some pain but her photos show her to have been a gorgeous black, silver and buff German Shepherd - very regal and almost wolf-like in her coloring.  I'm painting her in acrylic and so want to do the best job possible with this painting.  Of course, I always want to do that but I feel even more obligated to present Shawnee at her best in this portrait for the sake of her grieving "mama".

Run free at the Rainbow Bridge, Shawnee and be assured that your memory will live on in the hearts of those who loved you.

Old Acrylic Painting

I was going back through some of my older paintings earlier and found an acrylic painting of this little puppy.  I don't remember when it was done although I know it was for practice with acrylic paints.  As I look at it here, the yellow background looks almost neon but it's not that bright in real life!

This painting was done on a sheet of canvas - one of those that comes in a pad and can be used for just about any medium.  I think the next painting will be on a gessoed hardboard panel or on a stretched canvas.  It will probably be the hardboard panel as I've never cared much for the "give" of even a tightly stretched canvas.

Anyway, I have done a few paintings in acrylic and would like to do more of them.  The temperature here today has plummeted with rain and wind to make it feel even colder so staying in to do more practicing sounds really good to me!

Double Exposure Photography and Art Exhibit

This past Friday evening was our local Third Friday Art Walk which featured the Camera Club's Double Exposure Exhibit.

The Chatham County (NC) Camera Club posted some of their member's photographs and local artists were asked to paint, sculpt or otherwise interpret the photos in their medium of choice.  Then last Friday the art was exhibited alongside the original photograph.  It was fun to be a part of this exhibit but even more fun to see the exhibit!

The best part was that my sister and brother in law were here from Colorado and attended the exhibit with my husband and I.  We had a good weekend just visiting and since my sister is a professional photographer, I think she enjoyed the exhibit.  We also drove around just looking for interesting photo ops.

All in all, we had a great weekend.

The Artist's List

I realize that it's been a while since I've updated my blog and I do apologize.  Life gets so crazy sometimes and real life has to take precedence over cyber life.  One of those real life concerns is my little Maltese who's been a bit under the weather recently.

Plus, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately.  I seem to do that in the fall of the year since it's my least favorite season.  I get very introspective and start to hunker down for the winter I know will be coming soon.

One thing I've been thinking about is my art and where I want to go with it.  I received the following in my email a few days ago and have been thinking about what it says:

I give you my list of 10 Things Artists Should Be Thankful For. Print this out, fold it up and put in your wallet. Send it to your artist friends. Read it whenever you feel all your work is for nothing and you are thinking maybe you should just stop making art and grow up. Post it in your studio when you are wondering what the heck you are going to do with all this work? But, most of all…believe it. Remember, it is impossible to feel thankful and be depressed at the same time.

1. I am thankful that I am not one of the majority of people in this world that wakes up every morning, goes to a job they hate, just to come home and do it all over again.

2. I am thankful that when I am away from my studio, my ideas come with me, they keep me company everywhere I go.

3. I am thankful for this passion that gives me so much joy (and angst) but mostly joy.

4. I am thankful that when I have left this earth, I will leave something meaningful behind.

5. I am thankful that I have a mind that can not sleep, I will never be bored.

6. I am thankful that there is a part of my life that nobody can control, except me.

7. I am thankful that no one in the world can ever take this gift from me.

8. I am thankful that I am brave, it takes courage to pursue my gift.

9. I am thankful that I am never satisfied, it forces me to move forward and grow.

10. I am thankful I discovered this list! Pass it on.

Do you see the sentence I've highlighted in red?  Why is it out of all the positive points in this, does this particular sentence jump out at me?  I do look around my studio and wonder what to do with all my art.  I also look at point #4 and remember a recent trip to the Goodwill store that I took with my daughter.  As she looked at normally expensive name brand purses, I looked at the bin with all the frames and artwork.  I was aghast at seeing really lovely original artwork being sold for a dollar or so.

Is this the "meaningful legacy" we're leaving behind?

I hope you all are cheered and encouraged with the above - I am and then again, I'm not.