DawgArt Calendar!

Wondering what calendar to get for 2016?

Great news!

My Dog Spot in Pasadena, California is sponsoring the first DawgArt calendar. It will feature 12 colorful, all-new, DawgArt, pet-portrait paintings! A portion of the proceeds will, of course, go to charity: Yorkie Rescue of America and Southern California Cat Adoption Tails.

The calendars are in preorder. Click here (and scroll down) to order yours today!

In the meantime, if you'd like your own painting (Christmas is coming!), click here for all the info.

Fawn the Cow Art Auction Fundraiser for Woodstock Farm Sanctuary

Bidding has started:

Bid Now!

Meet Fawn, the sweetie cow from Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, an animal rescue located in Woodstock, New York.

Fawn captured the heart of people everywhere with her beautiful spirit and inspirational story. You can read it here. Or watch this video.

I created an original painting of Fawn, and DawgArt is having an art auction to help raise money for the direct care of the rescued animals at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. Here's the painting:

It's 16x20 inches, acrylic on canvas. It will arrive wired and ready to hang. 

If you don't have a budget for original art, you can buy a print. Proceeds from the sales of prints will go to Woodstock as well. Here's the link to the DawgArt Etsy shop.

80% of the proceeds will be donated to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.

What are you waiting for? Run over to eBay and bid now!

And please share to spread the word!

Dancing Nathan Portrait #2 is done!

Check it out! The Dancing Nathan's second pet portrait is done:

Dancing Nathan, the silly Chinese Crested hairless dog, whose dance moves have appeared on The Ellen Show, helped bring attention to his organization, Bald Is Beautiful Dog Rescue.

Now DawgArt and Bald Is Beautiful are teaming up to raise money for rescued animals! Details here.

Want to join in the fun? Tune in tomorrow to see where the paintings will be listed for auction and how you can help.

Can't wait!

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!

Dancing Nathan and DawgArt Fundraiser

You guys know Dancing Nathan, the Chinese Crested pop sensation? His dance moves went viral, gaining much-needed publicity for Bald Is Beautiful, a hairless and small breed dog rescue operating out of South Carolina. If you haven't seen Nathan's awesome dance moves, check him out here.

Nathan's joyful and goofy personality won over the Internets. His video even appeared on The Ellen Show!

In cooperation with Bald Is Beautiful and Nathan's mom, I am going to be painting a portrait (maybe two) this sweetie-pie dancing diva. The piece will then be auctioned to raise money for Bald Is Beautiful!

Stay tuned to see progress of the piece and have fun dancing!

And the winner is...

Last week, DawgArt donated an 11x14 inch custom painting to 2nd Chance Dachshund Rescue for a fundraiser to recoup the expenses from Jerry's surgery. With the help of generous rescue angels, 2nd Chance Doxie was able to raise $700 in three days! They held the raffle drawing for the custom painting on Saturday and the winner is...

Rueal Morrison!

Congratulations, Rueal. Go ahead and email me and we'll get your custom order all set up.

Thank you for supporting 2nd Chance Doxie and rescued animals in need!

Win a Custom Painting - Help a Dachshund!

See this little guy?

His name is Jerry. A 2nd Chance Dachshund Rescue furbie, Jerry recently underwent an expensive surgery to remove a life-threatening blockage. 2nd Chance Dachshund Rescue is a small, volunteer-run organization (like most rescues), and most of the expenses of the rescue are paid for by the rescue angel who started it (like most rescues). 2nd Chance Doxie is hoping to raise money to cover the costs of Jerry's procedure. 

To help them continue their rescue efforts, DawgArt is donating an 11x14 inch custom portrait for raffle fundraiser. (This will be a painting of YOUR pet!) Imagine your pet (or some lucky recipient's pet) captured on canvas in the brilliant colors of DawgArt. Here's a photo to help you imagine it:

Painting shown is 18"x24". Raffle painting is 11"x14".

$5.00 will buy five tickets.

$25.00 will buy 30 tickets.

$100.00 will buy 125 tickets.

To purchase tickets, just visit the 2nd Chance Doxie website and click their "Donate" button. You can enter your desired amount and the purpose for the donation (DawgArt raffle).

2nd Chance Doxie will hold the raffle drawing once they reach their goal of $700.

Here is a chance to win a custom DawgArt portrait for a fraction of the normal cost!

Look at this face:

This little guy and others like him need your help. Together, we can make a difference!

RIP Marius

Marius, the young, healthy giraffe publicly dissected in the Copenhagen Zoo, touched the hearts of many when he was killed. His death, attributed to his lack of genetic desirability, and despite offers of rescue from other sanctuaries, was seen as an outrage by many in the animal advocate community. This image is a tribute to Marius, who proved that one creature, even a silent one, can unite thousands in a common purpose.

Read more about Marius here.

WHRR Barn Opening

I'm so glad to be in The Valley of the Sun for winter. While the summers are hellish, the winters are lovely and the weather is perfect.

I was invited to paint at Wildhorse Ranch Rescue's barn grand opening and it was a delight to be around so many animal lovers, rescue workers, volunteers, and equine animals. There were some cats too, I think, and dogs. But I was mostly looking at horses and burros. Here are a few photos of my time there.

 Photos by Bud Anderson

Along with the finished paintings:

Yeehaw!

Wildhorse Ranch Rescue and DawgArt

Over the years, I have been privileged to forge friendships with people in the rescue business. One of my favorite people is Kim Meagher, with Wildhorse Ranch Rescue.

Kim is one of the most passionate and kind people I know. She has been rescuing horses for almost 20 years.

Last night, I was privileged to participate in one of WHRR's events, a charity concert at the historic Orpheum Theater in Phoenix with Spencer Day as the headlining performer.

I gotta tell you, Spencer Day is brilliant. Two of his songs (he writes his own material) made me cry. I met him after the concert and we talked about music and art and mental illness and I can't tell you how much his music meant to me.

You can hear one of my favorite two songs here.

So how many of you have been to the Orpheum? I've never been there, and it was pretty amazing inside. Here are some photos of the interior. I had to use flash, so the atmosphere of the photos doesn't approach what I was experiencing, but you can get an idea at least of the detailing.

I brought two donated paintings featuring WHRR horses Finn, Dunny, and Einstein, and a blank canvas to work on. You can see the set up here. I started painting before the show started and basically finished the piece by intermission. It went really fast.

Here's the finished painting:

Would you like a print of this painting? Visit Etsy.

Would you like to purchase this painting? Click here.

Landfill Dogs

Photo by Shannon Johnstone, from her series Landfill Dogs

I recently discovered the photography of Shannon Johnstone. If you're not familiar with her work, she has focused a lot of her time recently on the shelter population and euthanasia epidemic.  One series of photos documenting what happens inside of animal control shelters is quite disturbing.  Important I think, but disturbing.  As you know, I like to focus on the positive, so while I find that series eye-opening, I don't recommend it for sensitive viewers.  Here are links to Discarded Property and Shelter Life.

What I DO recommend for all viewers is her series, Landfill Dogs.  I encourage you to visit the gallery. The images are lovely, joyful, and poignant. Johnstone really captures the beauty and potential of each dog with her stunning photography.  Here is her artist's statement for Landfill Dogs:

"These are not just cute pictures of dogs. These are dogs who have been homeless for at least two weeks, and now face euthanasia if they do not find a home. Each week for 18 months (late 2012–early 2014) I bring one dog from the county animal shelter and photograph him/her at the local landfill.

The landfill site is used for two reasons. First, this is where the dogs will end up if they do not find a home. Their bodies will be buried deep in the landfill among our trash. These photographs offer the last opportunity for the dogs to find homes.

The second reason for the landfill location is because the county animal shelter falls under the same management as the landfill. This government structure reflects a societal value; homeless cats and dogs are just another waste stream. However, this landscape offers a metaphor of hope. It is a place of trash that has been transformed into a place of beauty. I hope the viewer also sees the beauty in these homeless, unloved creatures.

As part of this photographic process, each dog receive a car ride, a walk, treats, and about 2 hours of much needed individual attention. My goal is to offer an individual face to the souls that are lost because of animal overpopulation, and give these animals one last chance. This project will continue for one year, so that we can see the landscape change, but the constant stream of dogs remains the same."

You can follow the Landfill Dogs series on Facebook.

Our dog Toby was rescued from an animal shelter in Fruit Heights, Utah.  Luckily, it was not a high kill shelter, and he was allowed to be there for several weeks before he found us.  Toby could have been a Landfill Dog.  Instead, he was given a chance to fulfill his potential as a companion.  Tyler often says, "Toby was the best decision we made together. After getting married of course."  

Gandhi said,

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated."

Shannon Johnstone is doing her part to forward our moral progress.  Her work has helped find homes for many worthy animals. Each of us should stop for a moment and ponder on what we can do as well.

Things I've Learned From My Dog

A couple summers ago, my husband Tyler decided it was time to get a dog.  Toby is a great dog and a wonderful companion.  I had never had a pet dog in the house, so I didn't really know what to expect.  Now two years later, here are a few things I have learned from Toby:

Live in the present

Toby came to us from the shelter.  He had traumatic experiences, but he didn't live in the past.  He didn't say, "People are no good; I think I'll give up on them."  He said, "That was hard, but I am open to the idea that there are good people in this world and I can move on."

Never give up

When Toby first joined our family, Kiko (our cat rescue) was incensed.  She was seriously mad.  At everyone.  For a long time.  But Toby wanted her as a fried.  He was determined.  He had decided they would be friends, so he started working at it.  

You could almost see him telling her, "How's it going? I'm Toby.  Nice to meet you.  Nah, I'm cool.  It's all good.  I'll just sit here quietly and let you make the next move."  He just got a little closer every day, always respectfully tenacious.  Little by little, he chipped away at his goal.

The other day, I saw Kiko lick Toby's forehead.  Yes, it took two years (that's a lot of dog time) and a lot of patience, but Toby made his goal a reality.

Smile

Toby has a great smile.  I mean look at this.  And he smiles a lot.  Even after something disappointing happens.  He just shakes it off and starts smiling.  Smiles are infectious, and they can make you feel better.

Be eternally hopeful

I start cooking and here is Toby.  It doesn't matter how long the cooking takes, or what's cooking, he will sit like this.  Waiting.  For the possibility of a morsel.  For the suggestion of an idea of a possibility. 

Whether or not he got any last time I cooked, he will sit here waiting.  For any amount of time.  I can be there an hour later, and he will still be there.

Always hoping.  Sure in the belief that good things will eventually come.

Be adventurous

Toby is always ready for an adventure.  He is always ready to explore.  He doesn't care that it's unfamiliar or strange.  He is confident that something awesome is out there waiting, if he'll only take the initiative to find it.

Take a break

It's okay to check out sometimes.  Toby knows what he needs.  Sometimes the world is just too much and he needs a break from everything.  I mean everything.  So he sticks his head under the couch/bed/chair and ignores everything.  Sometimes you need to ignore everything and take a breath.  Toby knows he suffers from hyper-vigilance, so he hides his face and doesn't distract himself from his much needed rest.

Be supremely patient

For some reason, we find it highly amusing to put things on Toby's head.  And he is always patient with us.  Here is his patient face:

He never starts yelling or telling us we're jerks.  He just sighs and waits for us to finish.  Because he loves us.  He puts up with these brief annoyances because he knows the pay off will be worth it.  More snuggle time with his favorite people.

Put your head out the window

Smell everything.  See everything.  Taste everything.  Life is short.  Don't waste your time.

Family is most important

 More important than work, more important than money, more important than belongings.  Kinda goes without saying, huh?

Happy Fourth of July! and also: Remember When I Used to Blog?

It was never a really consistent thing, but it used to happen sometimes.  Here's what's been going on:

Planning and organizing my final show (Lost and Found) in Utah for 1.5 years.
Moved in October.
The holidays.
Last semester of college in a very competitive art program.
(UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY'S ILLUSTRATION DEPARTMENT IS AMAZING.  I love Will Terry, Richard Hull, Perry Stewart, and last but certainly not least, Don Seegmiller.  Seriously.)
Hanging and doing the Puppy Love show in February.
Painting like mad to finish Lost and Found.
Hanging and doing the Sora show in March.
Painting like mad.
Hanging and doing the Lost And Found show in April.
Finals.
Graduation.
Commissions.
Guess what? We're moving again, this time out of state.
Moving in April.
Looking for accommodations/work/galleries in Tempe, AZ.
Going back to Utah to get the rest of our stuff in June.
My purse was stolen during the OUT OF STATE move.
Behind on everything because of the purse and everything I had in it, including of course, money.
Commissions.

And now we are up to speed.  I will start posting here again.  I do like blogging.  It satisfies, if only a little, my need to WRITE.  Here is a painting I did about a billion years ago.  Actually, it was eleven years ago, but that's about a billion, right?  See how awful it is?  Art school was good to me.  Actually I'll post another painting I did this year, so you can see them side by side.

So you see what eleven years of painting and five years of art school (three of them intense illustration study) can do for your art?  I've made hundreds of DawgArt paintings.  And some of them sucked.  I mean, really awful.  Lots of them were mediocre.  I was learning as I went.  But now, I can look at some pieces I've done in the last couple of years and I can say, "Okay, these are good."  

They make people smile, laugh, engage with the artwork and with each other.  The paintings make people think and share and learn something, about themselves, about animals, about how they relate to animals. I mean look at these photos of the Lost And Found show:

These photos make me feel good, because they show me how people interact with the artwork and then with each other because of the feelings engendered by the paintings.

I don't know how this went from "I've been busy" to "I'm pretty awesome," but I guess it can't hurt.  With all the frustrations and stress over the past six months, it's nice to find some positivity inside me still.  Especially when I can't sleep at 3:43 am.

The Lost And Found show raised thousands of dollars so far for rescue, and the unsold paintings will yet raise more.  I feel good about that.

I'm still looking for gallery representation here in AZ, for venues to have shows, for a solid situation for me and my family, for the good karma I've hopefully been building to come back around and make my fortune, so I can send my kids to college.  But I won't give up.  I can't.  Not when there's millions of animals euthanized every year.  Not when there's a gallery SOMEWHERE out there in MetroPhoenix that will want DawgArt.  Not when my eight-year old just lost both his front teeth, and thanks to his dad's genes will have a trainwreck in his mouth soon that will need braces.  Not when there are still people out there who don't know about DawgArt!

Valen's painting process

Just a few photos to show part of the painting process.  I'll be uploading a video too, so stay tuned.

Started with Valen's photo.  He loves to ride in the car.  What a cutie!

Sketched out the painting on canvas.  Decided to mostly focus on the head here, since he's got such a great smile.

Started the the piece in acrylic paint.  As you have seen from my process videos, I always put in the darkest values first, and work directly on the white canvas, no painting palette, building up to the lightest values.

A little more developed.  Don Seegmiller showed me a 60s pop art book that offered some inspiration on palette and design.  So I think I know where I'm going with this.

Time to add some pop art inspired embellishment.  I put down tape to create some nice straight edges to contrast with the more organic shapes.

Voila.  A piece that really pops.

 To find out more about the rescue that saved Valen's life, visit Sniffing Snouts Pitbull Rescue.