Dancing Nathan Portrait #1 is done!

Great news! Dancing Nathan's first portrait is done.

Nathan, the effervescent Chinese Crested hairless dog from Bald is Beautiful Dog Rescue, made the rescue famous when his dance moves went viral.

Now DawgArt is helping them with a fundraiser. I'm making two paintings of Nathan, and we'll auction them to raise money for the rescue. See the details here.

I have another painting to finish and then you'll get a chance to bid on both! Pass the word along so we can get people excited about helping the sweet pooches with Bald is Beautiful.

Dancing Nathan Portrait Preview

DawgArt and Bald is Beautiful Dog Rescue are teaming up to bring you the happiest of fundraisers. See the details here.

I'm so excited to share the progress images for Nathan's portrait! Now, for those of you who aren't artists, I'm going to share a little secret. There's a point in every painting that I like to call the ugly middles. Here are the steps in creating a piece:

1. This blank canvas is so blank. I'm going to fill it with a great painting.
2. This painting isn't looking so great.
3. This painting is definitely not great.
4. What was I thinking?
5. Maybe it will be okay.
6. This painting is great.

So any progress images I share are going to be at some point in that process. All the steps add up to something great, but along the way, it's not quite so impressive. Enjoy the process and when it's done, you'll be able to bid on one-of-a-kind paintings of Dancing Nathan to help raise money for Bald is Beautiful Dog Rescue!

Call for Entries: DawgArt ABC Book

Omg, everyone, I'm so excited about my next project!  It's going to be an ABC ebook with all my favorite breeds in order.  I know there are lots of breeds that will be left out, but I already have my list, so instead of suggesting breeds, help me compile a library of reference photos I can use to make the paintings.

I will be choosing my favorite photos for reference, so make them good.  I am really inspired by interesting perspectives, goofy expressions, amazing details; get creative.

**Important: In order for me to use the photos you send, they will need to belong to you.  They will need to be photos of your dog, or photos that you took.  If they are photos of your dog that another photographer took, you will need to get permission from the photographer to use them for this project before you send them to me.  And remember, I'm choosing my favorites, so submission is no guarantee of inclusion.**

Send photos to dawgart.info@gmail.com with the subject line: ABC Book Submission.

Here are the breeds I need:

A - Afghan Hound, Australian Shepherd
B - Basset Hound, Beagle, Boston Terrier, Boxer
C - Chinese Crested
D - Dachshund, Dalmatian  (make these photos in profile, I'm going to have them looking at each other)
E - English Bulldog
F - French Bulldog
G - Greyhound
H - Husky
I - Irish Terrier, Irish Wolfhound
J - Jack Russell Terrier
K - Keeshond
L - Labrador
M - Mastiff, Mutt
N - Newfoundland
O - Otterhound
P - Pit Bull, Pug
Q - Queens Beagle
R - Rottweiler
S - Schnauzer, Shar pei
T - Tibetan Mastiff
U - Utonagan
V - Vizsla
W - Weimaraner, Welsh Corgi, Westie
X - Xolo
Z - Zuchon (That's a Shih-Tzu/Bichon Frise cross)

Some of the letters in the book will have multiple breeds on the page, some of them I haven't decided between the possibilities yet.  My choices might depend on what photos I get.

If you have these breeds, or photos of these breeds, and want to participate, get to work on awesome photos!  If your friends have these breeds, share share share.  I think I'm going to make a Kickstarter project out of this.  I'm so excited!

New Commission - Esso-Gomez

Here's the commission I was so excited to get: Esso-Gomez Louis Alejandro Galli.  Yes, that's his full name.  He lives with his doting mother Dana in North Carolina.  And let me tell you, Dana was overjoyed to get the preview photo of Esso-Gomez's painting.

Here's what she had to say:  "Oh my goodness!  You have got to be kidding me!  It is freaking gorgeous, Alicia!  You are amazing!  I have never been so excited about anything in my entire life!...  Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times over!  You have made my year!"

If you like his little face, you can get prints of Esso-Gomez here.

Ever wondered how I paint?  Well you can see it happen in fast-motion, right here!