Winken

Winken was painted as a Christmas present for a woman who lives here in the Rainier Valley. Winken is not her cat, but her mother's deceased cat.

We were unable to get a picture of Winken with his eyes open, so we punted. Jen agreed that these look pretty close.

The background is the color of Winken's favorite chair.

I especially love his jowls.

Valentine cards

These are two cards that I recently delivered to Ideal Pet Shop for Valentine's day--a little break from pet portraits. My next portrait is a lovely black cat. I am looking forward to it.

I'll post the most recent pet portraits next,

Bearded Dragon I

A friend of mine wanted a bearded dragon with wings for another friend's birthday. I spent some time sketching pictures of bearded dragons.

What I gave my friend were two pen and ink sketches, one of a face, and one with wings and showing a bit more body. I didn't feel done with it, so I sketched another on heavier paper, painted a little color on it, and realized it was fun even without the pen on top of it. (I'll add the picture with the pen and ink on top.)

Yellow Lily

My friend Mimi Torchia Boothby and I have talked about doing a few events together.

Last year, we did the Renton Art Walk. This year, we signed up again (me just last weekend) but talked about getting up early and standing in line to be a vendor at the Fremont Sunday market.

In preparation for these two nonanimal specific events, I've been experimenting with some non animal little tiny paintings. Not that I ever want to move away from animals, but now and then I get the urge to paint some flowers, or a canoe or something, and these little canvases are a fun way to experiment.

This is actually a 1 x1 inch painting. I did another that I will post soon of a 2 x 2 " paintings.

Gidget

Gidget is a sign of balance in my life.

When I last posted, I had just finished 3 commissions. They were all rejected. I thought something was wrong, that perhaps I lost the grace that I feel while painting.

And I realized I had slipped from my purpose. I was spending too much time being angry rather than a conduit of creativity, so I quit the community board I was on.

The decision was a little harder than that; I did feel I had made a commitment and I struggled over it. But, what really got me was the lack of time I felt and the feeling that I should be doing something more productive.

As a reward for getting more time, I bought a bike, which I have taken out on a few fair weather spins. But, what's more important is that I am painting again, and liking it. The bonus is that ,folks who have asked for commissions are liking the paintings.

I feel on the right path again.

I was really happy about this painting, until I scanned it and saw an error with the eyes. I must get back and fix it, but I've been busy.

I've been involved in this community organization and then I realized I wasn't having any fun. I woke up stressed, went to bed stressed, was stressed at meetings, etc. I wasn't happy. I quit.

I celebrated on the day I quit, I went for a walk around Seward Park tonight, followed by a lovely dinner at St. Dames. But tomorrow. I begin painting in the evenings again. And the first thing I'll do is fix the eyes.

I've also deliberated over going to a few dog events in the past couple of days. We'll see.

Henry

I am so used to painting full face portraits that I forget about the joys of painting bodies, profiles, and paws. I like to see sparkling eyes looking at me.

But perhaps I needed a challenge. Or perhaps the gods were smiling. The first sketch I did of this little retriever, on canvas, was perfect! I knew that it would be just as easy to paint.

I still have a little eye work to do, but I am very happy with this little 5x5 painting.

Even the fangs.