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. 

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.

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".

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. 

Santa and three cats!

I am cheating.  I have tried for the past three weeks to participate in a creative work called "Illustration Friday" where a theme is selected and the participating artists create their interpretations of the theme.

 

The theme for Illustration Friday is "Whiskers" and this painting has plenty.  This is one of the designs I finished to create cards out of for the holiday season so it is not made expressly for Illustration Friday. But close counts. 

 

What's with the nose?  I love interesting noses, whether they are on cats, dogs, next door neighbors, or Santas.  Now that I look at this, I see that Santa's nose looks a bit like my husband's. But, don't tell him I said that!

 

One of my friends called this my rocking Santa, but I don't think he's rocking.  I think he's thinking!

Antarctic fashion

In our multicultural society, Christmas cards become holiday cards, which become winter cards.  What are our images of winter? Do we have common themes?  What animals are associated with winter? Polar bears, seals, and penguins!  My penguins wear scarves and earmuffs and mittens! 

 

 



Frenchie in sweater

I saw a friend's picture of her french bulldog in a monkey sweater while I was creating holiday card designs. The original photo was full of shadow, emotive. I originally was just sketching, playing with ideas, and when the personality emerged so fully, I decided to paint with autumnal colors. 

This painting is the only one I did this year in yellows and oranges. 

 

My lovely  dog got a new red sweater, so any red sweater I'd paint would have to have my dog as a model! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat in Tree

Hello. Sorry for the absence.  I bought a new printer that didn't have scanning capabilities and failed to recognize it before I gave the printer away.  I finally bought a freestanding scanner and now I've got lots to add to my blog.

 

I've spent the last few days creating holiday designs to make into cards for sale at Ideal Pet Stop and the new Munsey and Bayle in Seattle.  I also hope to create an Etsy store this week (Tips, anyone) where I could sell to more than just Seattle. 

 

This is just one of the card designs.  I also used it as part of a weekly challenge I have with an artist/illustrator friend of mine. We've committed to have illustrations done every week to show one another. 

 

I am posting this design first, not because I think it is the best, but because I also plan on showing it  as part of Illustration Friday, where a new topic is chosen each week and participants show illustrations related to that theme.  This week's theme is tree.  I think this covers it!

Horse at Red Barn

One of the women I met through a VERY active email alias at Microsoft asked me to donate to a fun fundraiser called HeART of the Horse, which benefits Save a Forgotten Equine (SAFE) Horse Rescue.

I don't have the opportunity to paint many horses. As a Montana grrl, you would think I grew up around horses. but I really didn't have much opportunity to be around them except for summer visits to my aunt's farm. I loved horses, but there were also cats at the farm, and cats I could take home.

But, I loved horses and their power and their agreement to work with us. So, when I got the chance to donate to this organization, I definitely wanted to donate. This is a painting based on a picture taken from the woman who told me about the fundraiser. Very generous.

Now, I'm waiting to get my 6x6 canvas so that I can start on my piece of the Select Sixty-Four part of the Heart fundraiser.

Spring!

It's spring although right now it's snowing in Seattle.

Crows and robins have been greeting me in the morning when I take the dog out. One robin is so fat that she looks like she can't fly.

I thought I'd paint a rabit, an ancient sign of spring.