Summer cards

I've  been busy creating summer cards and pug cards.  I am also trying to think about my blogging platform.  I need to integrate my blog and my web site more closely so I drive traffic to my web site so that my rating goes up in Google results...

 

Any way, check my web site this week (tomorrow, perhaps). Click on Art Work and then card designs, to see closeups of the new cards.  They will also be available as cards on Etsy. 

Cooper, looking up

My dog (whose painting is almost done) is a pitbull mix.  We have joined Seattle Walkabulls, where we have met lots of responsible and fun walkers, square-headed and human.  We have walked with Lillian, who is the trainer at Northwest Boxer Rescue. She asked me whether I wouold be willing to show at their fundraiser, but I was busy that day. But, she offered to display some of my work and postcards there anyway. 

Since I haven't painted any boxers, I asked for pictures that I could use. I got lots of great shots, but I decided to paint Cooper.  And, this was one of the easiest subjects to paint.  I think it was because Lililian gave me 200 dpi pnotos, which give me enough detail to work with.  Plus, Cooper is so expressive and photogenic. 

I used this painting in my new postcards that should arrive this week and in an ad by the Puget Sound Pet Business Owners. I will order cards based on this painting, too, and they will be available in my Etsy shop within the week. 

Crusher, revisited

You may remember the portrait I did around Christmas of Crusher, the mini poodle. Well, he was ordered by a lovely man whose wife is the house color authority :). (I can relate as I am as well.) Because all my commissions come with a "I'll work on it until you like it" philosophy, I received the portrait back to change the color of the background and to lengthen the ears.

 I received other reference photos and chose one where Crusher had more of a direct stare rather than looking up. (The looking up is what led me to paint the ears shorter.) I changed the background color to a green-brown-grayish background. 

I am now waiting for approval. I have no problems posting it again, with another background color if it helps them to love the painting. 

Speckled chicken

How funky is your chicken?  This chicken is pretty funky, done in  blues, oranges, whites and a little yellow.

My some of my originals are now hanging at Ideal Pet Stop in Seattle. Kirstin, the store manager, was saying how nice it would be if I could paint a chicken, since they carry chicken feed, bedding, etc.  I was fortunate to walk through Georgetown and see some interesting looking chickens.... 

And here she is, my first chicken! 

She is for sale. $125 on my shop on |https://www.etsy.com/listing/124466801/11-x-14-speckled-chicken|Etsy| (or I can invoice you directly through PayPal).

Black cat with yellow background

Somehow, over the years, I've become more realistic in my artwork (emphasis on more). Perhaps it is the nature of commissions.  After all, the buyer wants something that LOOKS like his beloved animal.

Howeverr, there are times when I don't want the black cat to look like the black cat in the photo.  The angles or the background somehow say exaggerate or distort this animal.  I end up with a painting for sale and start again on the commission, but that first paiting has something that speaks to me loudly.

I think I needed to have some fun when I started painting this cat.  I added bright circus colors and played with the tail.

Unlike most of my paintings by the time they make it to this blog, this painting is for sale. Email me for details or visit my Etsy site. 

Ear blanket

Yes, I could crop this picture to better reflect what you see if you buy the card, but I actually like the edges.

This little kitty uses his friend's ear as his security blanket.
 
For me, this painting is about security and friendship.  How nice to be such good friends that you know you'll be protected. That you can snuggle in to a warm place even in an open field. 

We all want that safe place. Some of us find numerous safe places in expected and unexpected locations.  And, some of us never find it.

A card based upon this painting is available at Ideal Pet Stop and at my Etsy store. 

Cat as a hat

Thanks to Dr. Seuss, you've heard of the cat in the hat, but you may never have heard or seen a cat AS a hat. 

 

This acrylic and marker painting shows that scenario -- an orange tabby lying across a golden dog's forehead.  The dog doesn't even look irritated!  You know who rules this household.

 

In all my cat-caring adventures, I have never had the privilege of sharing my abode with an orange kitty! Nor with sibling kitties. I digress though.  This blog is supposed to be about paintings and my meanderings about them. 

 

Indirectly, this painting is about love and how we accommadate those we live with.  In a perfect world, we accommodate each other.  

 

This design is available as a card from Ideal Pet Stop in Seattle and through my Etsy shop.   

 



Cats on stripes

Well, perhaps this should have had hearts in the background!  Thanks to the wonders of technology, I just may change it next year!

I am playing with the ideas of stripes (or polka dots) for my next postcard order... I am down to the last 50 or so and since I have committed to going down to Olympia for Pet Connections magazine 6th annual Easter egg hunt, I need to quit talking about postcards, design them, and order them. 

That said, I did use technology for this little card.  I drew a cat, used my light box to reverse it, painted it, scanned it, and then placed it on the stripes which I created in Photoshop.  This is the most digitally enhanced creation I have ever done!   Still, it could be easy to change the background. 

This card is available from Ideal Pet Stop in Seattle and through my Etsy shop. 

Dog hugs

 

Best friends need hugs, too!  Although I am unsure whether the shepherd agrees!

 

Were I to do this card again, I'd put a big heart between the two dogs!  Maybe next year for valentine's day!  Right now, this card can be used as an everyday card or as a Valentine's Day card. 

 

This card is available from Ideal Pet Stop in Seattle and through my Etsy shop.

 

 

Nose kisses, aka more interspecies love

This is another Valentine's card that is available online and at Ideal Pet Store in Seattle.  You can also email me if you are interested!  My contact information is available on the blog and on my web site at www.animalfriendsportraits.com.

 

I love golden retrievers. They are so happy!  And, my two black kitties are the most gregarious and dog loving of my bunch, so it was easy to picture a golden with a black kitty.

 

 This card is available from Ideal Pet Stop in Seattle and through my Etsy shop. 

 

 

Interspecies love

Are you ready for Valentine's day?  I was trying to have cards done  by January 15th but I made it last week!  These cards are available at Ideal Pet Stop and soon on Etsy. ( I really do need my own camera: my husband and I have been sharing.)

 

My inspiration are my own animals, although I do not have a white cat or a yellow dog.  Instead, my orange dog loves her black cat! 

 

I am using this as a wedding card to celebrate my friends' wedding.

 

This card is available from Ideal Pet Stop in Seattle and through my Etsy shop.

Crusher

This 10" x 10" painting was a surprise Christmas present from Crusher's dad to his mama.  Crusher is a poodle with a big personality! 

She was named by her papa. He wanted a manly name for his little girl dog to balance the estrogen that he had to live with, living in a house with two women and a female dog. 

This painting would be called mixed media because there are rhinestones on Crusher's tag!

The reference photo is looking down on Crusher. In person, her ears are much longer.  I have Crusher back this week to lengthen the ears, darken the eyes, and change the background color to fit in with the earthstone-painted  house that Crusher lives in.   

Snowy owl

Snowy Owl is one of the Holiday 2012 cards that I have designed.  It is designed to fit on both a 5 " square card and a 4.25 x 5.5 card. The original is acrylics on paper.

I thought that I had posted this, but when I went to find the post to use for "Illustration Friday" (The theme is "Snow"), I didn't see it. So, if this is a repeat, I apologize.

This got the most likes of all the cards when I uploaded the designs to facebook.  My most selective retail outlet ordered it.  And, my LMT ordered some to give to her clients.  How cool is that!


This design was not the one to get the first retail sale though.  That honor goes to "Skating with Dogs".

Barb's new cat

I am not entirely sure this is done. Perhaps the eye on the left is a bit too outlined.  I will paint today and try to remove the starkness from the eye.

I need to get this in the mail, though. Tomorrow, I hope.

Now, back to dog commissions!  Happy day!



Peewee

This is Peewee, my sister's cat. I don't often like how my sister names her cats (we had kegger and miller growing up) or how she treats her cats (declaws them but doesn't spay them). Somehow, though, this cat, from a fuzzy out-of-focus film camera caught my eye. 

I'll be sending this as a holiday present.  Being the literal minded, realistic art sort of person that my sister is, she may not even think this looks like Peewee. 

What's that saying?  You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your relatives.  

S T R E T C H

I am still participating in Illustration Friday. It's actually a fun break from doing the more formal ( if you can call my art formal) pet portraits.  I have two commissions for the holidays.  I could do one more if you know of anyone who wants a whimsical pet portrait....

This is a morning calisthenics class in high meadow.  Everyone is supposed to be following the bird, but the raccoon just needed to stretch! 

This is mixed media, approximately 8.5 x 8.5 inches on 140 lb paper. 

It is for sale, but I have to find a mat for it.

Izzy Bee

Rats make great pets. Really. They are intelligent, social, and very entertaining. 

 

This is a portrait of a very special rat, Izzy Bee.  She was entertaining and very cute and was an ambassador at Ideal Pet Stop for what rats can be.

 

I had planned to paint this for years, and it had been laid out on a 4 x 4 canvas in my studio. When I finally decided to paint the portrait, it came easily.  

Scarves

This is another of my winter cards. While others may think birds in snow covered trees represent winter to them, to me, it's sweaters on dogs.  But have you ever seen a scarf on a dog?

 

My dog, Penny. just got a new sweater that she loves . While I got it at Ideal Pet Stop, it's a Chilly Dog Sweater.  And they sell scarves too!  But I have never seen a scarf on a dog -- or a cat.

 

Here is my attempt to show scarves on cats and dogs.  I originally thought I'd dress the animals in Washington university scarves.  And the colors are nominally a homage.  I just needed to add more pattern that the scarves I saw on the football fans that I crowded next to while they were riding the light rail home. 

 

This design is available as a card both individually and as a set at my Etsy store. Soon it will be available as a 7 x 7 print, too.  I must get mats!

 

 



Skating with dogs

Once in a while, I am not sure how well I execute a certain idea. I first thought I'd do a card with couple's figure skaters, perhaps a dog lifting a cat in one of those complicated poses.  But, with the anthropomorphism of the skaters, I got stuck.  So I simplified the skating (and the costumes) and put three figures on the page in a simple triangle placement.

I was happy enough with the design to make it into cards, just like I did with the other holiday cards labeled on my blog.  I thought this design was the least successful, but it was the first card sold.

You just never know... 

Crazy Cat Santa

 Who knew Santa was a cat lover? With this many cats, he could even be considered Crazy Cat Santa.  Now, we know why his clothes are so furry! 

Living with Santa on North Pole, these cats are all a bit wary of new faces. They will all run if you get too close.

For this, and the last design I posted, my inspiration was "Santa Claws." I knew I had to paint Santa with cats.  I tried two different poses, both based upon my memories, and then imagining where cats would sit on Santa.  These cats like Santa's beard. And, one likes his head.

I do have a cat who sleeps on my head, but I don't have a cat who jumps on my head when I am awake.  But, then, I don't wear a hat too often.