Having condensed things down to just one studio now, yet still technically living out of two houses is not easy in our family. With my husband not quite retired he spends most work days at our one home, while I am busy guarding the castle in the other, making many trips back and forth at this point. Having the two locations calls for much organization and thank goodness we now have a branch manager;
meet Panda our personal Branch manager
who's middle name aptly is Monium....get it?
She is also known as our Chief Board Member (CBM). If it's made of the same material as a stick - it's fair game.....
as CBM, she has been known to stick it to anyone who doesn't comply by the rules around here ie: throwing said stick .....non-stop..... at her every whim......(usually 24/7).
As artists, (and if you are reading this I am presuming you are one), I am pretty certain there few of us who haven't at least attempted painting our lovable companions. Digging through a closet recently I unearthed this one of Austin my sidekick two dogs back. It was done many years ago and in spite of it's amateur rendering in mixed media, I was taken aback by how it could still stir emotions in me when I came across it. Painted right after he had moved on to the big dog park in the sky, it was very cathartic, helping me to deal with my grief. I share it here for the benefit of any newbie painters who may be wondering when and/or if they will ever grow creatively; and I think this is a good example to show how much my work has grown if you compare it to my more recent works (and is still growing daily - much to learn yet). Time, the ultimate teacher.
Needing a subject for our annual Christmas card a few years later, our family dog Skeeter volunteered to play host to a ridiculous wreath idea I had. Patiently holding still (as still as any boxer can be expected to) whilst donning a prickly wreath, I captured the perfect photo in short order and proceeded to finish it in transparent watercolor well ahead of the looming deadline. She, gone now too, managed also with this painting surprisingly to conjure up a wealth of emotions and memories......
and later here she willingly modeled again, this time for one in acrylic:
Back to the current canine.........
"Who me?"....... Panda insists she is better than I, at capturing those bird shots. Critiquing me in between her searching (far and wide) for that perfect stick. Rearranging the forest floor on an hourly basis, (this job demands that she keep a tight schedule).
Peppy LeMew acts as supervisor and chief bird deflector on photo shoots. Always curious about the operations around here, often he will try (unsuccessfully) to photog an unsuspecting chickadee. He can't figure out how Panda is so good at it without opposable thumbs!
An unusually warm spring day offered up a rare relaxed moment for this girl and I just happened to have the camera with me. Fully intending to do this one in acrylic, a last minute change of heart had me opting for watercolor. I am glad I did it this way, as there was a dreamy almost ethereal quality about the way she was just so relaxed that day, and I think the softness you get with watercolors is unequaled in any other medium.
Rendering her fur was a mixture of wet in wet technique with layers of dry-brushing. The floral area was done the same way and the background wet in wet. Since I painted this before I started blogging, I don't have step by step pictures to show you but, my intentions with future posts are to share with you some of these steps through pictures .....so I hope you will stay tuned.
"I should have my own blog.....I'd call it Dog with a Blog on a Log who can chase a Hog in the Fog.....I'd let everybody know what the real scoop was, that's for sure. No buried bones in my closet! Are you ready to throw that stick now...huh?"
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