Puppy for Sale

January can be a pretty dark month; pretty sure you need a puppy to shake it up a bit!  This bad boy would love to come and live with you and he won’t even slobber or mess up your place!  Find him at https://www.etsy.com/listing/616755561/excitable-pup?ref=ss_listing

Color Cat Studios on Etsy

Note the way I painted in the background and melded it with my puppy’s fur?  Just another way to show you this boy is on the MOVE! :)

Here he is with me so you can understand the size.  Annnnd.... on my easel...

 A little closer...

Dog Painting

After painting so many wild animals I wanted to paint a domesticated one.  Well, this slobber dog at least has a chance of being domesticated, and the crazy background symbolizes his path of destruction.  Wouldn’t you love to own an excitable pup of your own that you don’t have to clean up after?  All my acrylics are protected and all you need do is wipe them off with a damp cloth.  That’s much easier than a dog!  Find details and more pics at www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

Here I am holding it so you can see what size it is: :)

Finished Puppy Commission

Here I’m showing some of my steps bringing my puppy painting to fruition.  This adorable pup is a commission I just finished - yay! Stella is a bundle of fun so I put polka dots in the background to symbolize her playfulness. Guaranteed to bring a smile of delight, this acrylic painting is only 12”x12” painted on cradled wood.  With the gold textures in the background, her mood changes with the changing light. 

First drawing upon my beautiful background:

Starting to paint in the ear now...

Both ears... :)

Watch out for that scary pic with the glowing white eyeball - zombie dog! Artists are like gardeners - going through the scary stuff, mud, seeds, weeds, zombie dogs, with their eyes on the goal, finished paintings and glorious gardens. :)

Getting there...  honestly, I love this zombie dog transition. 

Ahhh... much better.

Now we’re getting somewhere!

The photo did not show a gleam in her right eye; but neither I nor the customer liked her without it. So...

Ah! That’s much better, isn’t it? :). Now, for the finishing touches.  Fur here, texture there, little pinky nose, and voila!

I’m in love! And I don’t even have to take her outside to pee!

Watch out for that scary pic with the glowing white eyeball - zombie dog! Artists are like gardeners - going through the scary stuff, mud, seeds, weeds, zombie dogs, with their eyes on the goal, finished paintings and glorious gardens. :)

Preparing for Art Classes/Commission

I’m starting my art classes on the journey of collage and mixed media so I thought I’d better do one as an example. I’m also working on a commission and do practice runs like this and sketches before committing to canvas.  Cute little doggo!

Here’s my initial sketch:

This time I decided to do the background first. After that some of the shadows...

Time to add in some darks.  Rather alarming, isn’t it? :) I tell my students that if they spread the darks around it won’t be alarming.  Right now the focal point is on the darkest darks.  Need to move them around a bit.

Here we go - adding more textures and shadows into the work.

The following is the finished piece.  I like leaving my works on paper loose looking.  There were so many warms in the dog that I needed to change the background to cool.  Much better.  

Wolf Under Your Tree

Wouldn’t you like a wolf under your tree this Christmas? Well, maybe a wolf PAINTING. Here’s a section of my wolf which I named ‘The Better to See you With, My Dear.’ You can find full pictures on my website colorcatstudios101.etsy.com.  This painting is done in layers with much of the painting close to abstract and dripping with golds and blacks.  Striking, the glowing eyes follow you. This beautiful acrylic painting is 24”x30” and FILLS the room!

I painted him on a heavy gallery-wrapped canvas and he’s ready to hang.  Check him out at colorcatstudios101.etsy.com or email me at colorcatstudios@gmail.com.

Mutt Artt

I guess I always go for the mutts.  This was an in-class demo using five different mediums, i.e., mixed media.  Pardon me, but he’s a little ‘ruff’ around the edges as I didn’t spent a lot of time on him. Cutie pie. Just let me know if you want a quick sketch of your pet!

Finished Dog Painting being Shipped Out

Here’s my finished dog painting that’s going to go for a nice flight this week.  I love doing animal portraits and it was a delight turning this fine fellow, whose name is Weldon, into a shiesty looking character who would most certainly beat us all at poker. 12x12” on gallery-wrapped canvas. A very loving person hired me for this and is surprising her cousin on her birthday.  Nice gift!

Watch out for Poker Playing Dogs

I was hired to paint this doggo to be given as a surprise gift. He’s so shifty he reminds me of one of those cigar smoking, poker playing dogs.  Their photo had him stuffed into a spandex suit, haha!  The background, although it doesn’t photograph well, is gold.  I’m going to miss seeing this bad boy in our little corner of the world when he gets shipped off.  Yes, I do commissions. You can contact me here or at colorcatstudios@gmail.com.

Puppy Painting

I know that National Cat Day is coming up (October 29, of course) but can’t a dog get a break? I’m posting this little cutaway of my ‘Excitable Pup’ acrylic painting just to be fair.  For sale on my website, no drool included.

You can find a lot of pictures of him on my website, colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. I painted him with big, bold brushstrokes to capture the just out of control feeling that having a wild puppy gives. :). So cute.

An Artist Cyclist

Well, I generally keep my blog to talk about art, but you know... what IS art, anyway?  Living and keeping healthy is an art, after all.  A big part of my life that I don’t talk about is I ride.  I ride a lot.  About five days a week I ride between 8 and 12 miles a day.

The short version of THIS bike ride was: I got dirty, wet and poopy.  But there’s another story.

(This story should be read at the lightning speed of the Veggie Tales’ ‘I love my lips’ narrative.  If you don’t know that narrative, just think, REALLY FAST!)

I ventured out in the sunshine and the first nine miles were beautiful and unremarkable, which, when you’re riding on the streets is a GOOD thing.  But then I noticed a persimmon tree, actually three, and they were dropping their fruit, so I took my camelback off and removed my handy-dandy gallon ziplock, my collection bag, ready for just such a purpose, and began my persimmon pursuit.  Finding most branches too high, I began gleaning under the trees, which turned out to be a battle between me and every six legged creature known to man.  

Then a nice Swedish lady came along and we had a poodle/persimmon conversation and stood eating them together as I continued picking, during which time THE CLOUDS WERE MOVING IN AND IT WAS GETTING DARK. A spatter of rain released and turned into an instant downpour, during which time the nice Swedish lady ran off, pulling her little poodle, Stella, along, who really wanted to stay with me and continue her own dinner of the yummy fruit.  I closed my fruit bag and hopped onto my bike to find that my left cleat wouldn’t attach to the pedal and wove down the path trying to get my foot in and finally stopped, in the pouring rain, to find the problem.  Ahh! Persimmon seed snugged right down into my cleat.

Oh, by the way, did I tell you I finally bought lovely new leather biking gloves, breatheable and filled with gel so make them ergonomically correct and Oh, So Comfey?  So, armed with my nice, brand new gloves, which I love, I proceeded to pull out the pit only to find that it was covered in dog poop.  Stella! How could you.  Thus, my nice gloves, handlebar and left shoe were poo-ied.  As the deluge continued I decided I was grossed out and proceeded to the nearest pond to wash my hands, glove and left shoe, tramping through the mud to do so.  So, if you saw a woman, all muddied and poopy, washing up in the pond in the rain, never fear.  She is sane.  Pretty much.  Thus cleansed I proceeded home.  As I rode onto our street, the rain dissipated and the sun came back out.

Yep.  That’s my story.  And I’m sticking to it.  (rather... it stuck to ME.)

(My lovely shoes, getting a nice suntan after being thoroughly scrubbed.)

Puppy for Sale

Wouldn’t you love to adopt a new pet? This guy will ‘fun up’ your house and you won’t even have to clean up dog hair! Check him out at my site.   30”x24” and full of excitement. Here he is sitting on my easel.

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

Puppy (Painting) for Sale

I think YOU need a dog! This excitable pup needs a new home. I painted him with big loose strokes to give the feel of non-stop puppy movement, and he won’t even shed on your jeans. I use the best paints on highest quality gallery wrapped canvas, sealed with layers of UV protectant varnish. You can find him on my website 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com and will also find deep descriptions and many other pictures.

Well, I can’t say it’s hot off the press; I guess I’ll say it’s hot off the easel.

I always like to have someone in our family take a picture with me holding my painting. This way you can get a good feel for its size.

A little closeup of my slobber boy so you can closely see the strokes and how I layered the colors.

Finished Bloodhound Painting, Really!

This is a painting of a very old bloodhound I just finished. His name is Blue and I think he’s pretty stinking adorable. I’m not sure I’d want him slobbering on my carpet, but I would definitely want him hanging on my wall!  There are some very slight differences between my previous post and this one - can you find them?  The changes I made are minute... ;)

Do you have pets you’d like me to paint?  Let me know!

Bloodhound Painting

Just finished this picture of my friends’ old bloodhound, Blue.  I wanted to name him Slobber Dog, but I think we’ll stick with Blue. :). Hope they love their new pet! Yes, you can commission me for your animals.

Here I am holding it.  The clue is if I’m holding a painting in front of my face, it means I’ve been in studio and haven’t done hair or makeup.  Now you know my secret!

The following post will show the finished bloodhound; this is almost done but has minute details...

Puppy for Sale!

Puppy PAINTING for sale, that is! I just posted this fine furry fellow for sale on my website.  He is full of fun and ready for a new home.  Trust me, he will be easier than a real dog! 

Have I ever told you I paint on heavy, gallery-wrapped canvas with the highest quality fade-resistant paints? I also finish my paintings with a UV varnish. If they decide to get dusty on you, all you have to do is wipe a damp cloth over them. Also, this guy badly needs a name.  Any suggestions? I’m thinking about ‘Not Quite Rabid.’

Here are a few closeups.  Love the colors and textures in this painting so much!

Here I am holding it so you can get a perspective of size.  It’s 24x36”, and I’ve got it wired for immediate hanging.

I painted him in big, bold strokes to give the feeling of imminent movement, as you should feel with a dog like this! Oh, my goodness, I love him!

 

Check out this link for details.

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

My Cat Painting

For this watchful cat I used our baby for inspiration as well as the Cheshire Cat.  Couldn’t resist that little quiet smile.  This one’s done mostly in bronzes and golds, and I’ve got gold behind a thin veneer of green and yellow paint for the eyes.  This makes the eyes glow like a cat’s in certain light.  Find him for sale along with a lot of other animal paintings at 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

Collie Painting Finished

Yay!! I just finished a commission and they love it!  Here’s a little sneak peek at a small portion of the painting; it’s of three gorgeous collies.  It was such a pleasure to paint these beautiful animals - I fell in love with them as I worked.  And now, it’s varnishing time.  Looks like the weather’s going to be sunny and good for that this week. Happy! And yes, I do commissions.  Just ask.  My email is colorcatstudios@gmail.com.

Dog Sketch in Class

VERY quick in-class sketch with my students. One of them got a new dog, a German Shepherd/Bloodhound mix. Haha!  He looked like this... well, except that he wasn’t green.

Quite a funny fellow, his eyes didn’t match, and he was the soulful fellow.  I’m sure he will be getting lots of love.  Actually, I think he looks kind of cute green!

Art Studio Paint

I set aside a project and the paints I’m using for it to paint a commission. There’s a subtle hint here as to what my project is!