So Lucky...

I vowed not to design any pet sympathy cards until Izzy left me...4 months after her death I started sketching designs, it was a heavy hearted exercise. I had to put them away for awhile but last week, one of my clients  sadly and very unexpectedly, lost their dog so I decided I should finish one...this is it. My grief does not arise without an equal amount of gratitude for having had her in my life.

Tango....A day in the life of a Vizsla

This was another Holiday Pet Portrait Gift...this one a 24x36 Painting of a local Chicagoland Vizsla, "Tango". I met Cris and his wife back in August at the Bucktown Arts Fest, he contacted me in November wanting to surprise his wife with this wonderful gift. He was the perfect client - supplying me with many wonderful photos and a list of Tango's favorite places, activities, toys and treats, including baguettes after picking one up on a walk near the Red Hen Bakery. This was a fun project from beginning to end!

Tango with his painting!

This was the final sketch before I did the painting....and black and white below:

Homeless Pets Inspire Art by Chicago 7th Graders...

Back in October I volunteered to do an art project with Friends of Audubon School to help raise money for educational programs. This school has no budget for art so it was a treat for the kids and I also got a chance to share awareness about all the homeless pets out there. These nineteen 7th Graders certainly rose to the occasion. Using Petfinder.com to search for homeless dogs in the Audubon zip code, I found over 5,300 within a 100 mile radius. I printed out photos/descriptions/adoption information for 19 dogs and gave one to each student to use as their subject. They each painted their dog’s portrait on a 6x6 inch piece of cardboard and attaching tags with their particular dog’s name onto the painting. I mounted the paintings on wood panels and they have been on display at Starbucks since early November. They will be auctioned off to raise money for the school next Wednesday, December 8th. You are welcome to view them and even bid on line at the links below. Thanks to Amanda Shell to helping out on painting day!

Bid on 'Nine Lives':

  

Bid on 'Adopt A Friend For Life!'

The administrators liked the kids' work so much they used it for the promotional materials for the Auction Fundraiser. Follow the links to see all the other wonderful art available for bidding by kids who worked with other artist volunteers.

New...Double Pet Portrait Composition!

It's time to order your Holiday Pet Portrait! And just in time...you've been asking for it, and now I have it, the Double Pet Portrait Composition....A 12"x16"x1.5" deep Ready To Hang Custom Laminated Pet Portrait Print. Price = $400. Order by November 24th to ensure Holiday Delivery! Click here for pricing for Single Pet Face Portraits and Narrative Portraits.

Happy Tail Syndrome...

A very belated update on Gracie...made even later by a freak and unfortunate step on Friday which resulted in a sprained ankle for me! More about that in the next post. So back to Gracie girl...we took her to our vet for the first time so he could take out her stitches (from spaying) and give her a good check up. What he found was the end of her tail in very bad shape (it was hidden by her very dark fur) basically raw to the bone. "Happy Tail Syndrome" is a somewhat common occurrence for shelter dogs - every time someone comes into the kennel area they get so excited that they wag their tales so hard that they break on the back walls of the kennels which are usually cement. I know, ouch. Almost impossible to heal in a shelter environment and even challenging in a regular home, as we can attest to!
Dr. Rovner bandaged and wrapped up the tail (like a flower complete with pink end and green stem) and suited her up with a cone collar to keep her from going after it. This means she no longer fits comfortably in our kennel so I took her to the studio that afternoon where she proved herself a natural snoozing away in the front window among the adoring public. While fun for her, this scenario proved to be very unproductive for me so Plan B ensued: sequestering her to the bathroom when we couldn't be home with her.Did I mention she had the bandage off within the first 12 hours?! (we wanted to give her a break from the cone). Over the next several days Rich played doggie MD and re-wrapped it with a pipe insulator to soften the blows. It was not a pretty sight and soon she found a way to get to it even with the cone on!

So I rigged it up with duct tape to add some inches around the perimeter, she looked so silly - but it held up until we got her back to the vet for 30" cone and a new bandage - this one reminiscent of a sock monkey!
 At this point we have made it through 2 of the 3 weeks they predicted for recovery. It's been a little exhausting to say the least and training is going very slow but she and Alice are warming up to each other. I do have to add that she is one of the most affectionate, snugly dogs that I have met, even while sporting the plastic satellite dish couture!

Save the Date! October 22: Dog & Art Lovers Night

  If you're in the Chicago area on the 22nd we hope you can help us collect **supplies for the Friends of Chicago Animal Care & Control Foster Program while enjoying Anne's canine inspired ART, WINE, CHOCOLATE (from local chocolatier, Parks Chocolates) and SAVORY TREATS! Don't forget to bring your dog and your friends to meet our special adoptable guest from CACC!

Bring in an *item/supply for Friends’ Pet Foster Program and you will receive a 20% savings certificate off any art or gift purchase!
**Items needed: Leashes, Snap-on Collars (any size), Dog Beds, Treats for Dogs & Cats (New), KMR Kitten Formula.

Please come out and support this group and all these deserving pets...we just adopted our Gracie from Chicago Animal Care & Control and I can tell you there are countless other dogs and cats there waiting for homes. See them here on Petfinder!!

Anne's Art in another Feature Film...!

"Dog Days"

"Betty & Barney"

I just signed a final film credit release for my prints "Dog Days" and "Betty & Barney" to be used on the set of Doggie Boogie, a feature film coming out sometime next winter. These prints will be hanging in the set apartment of character, Peter Wolfe, owner of
Doggie Boogie, a dog dancing school...hopefully we'll see them - that's not always the case.

My previous brushes with the silver screen:

The Break-Up - You never saw my art in this Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston movie because they cut the
original ending...didn't see it in the dvd alternate ending either. (My entire art fair booth was in it, plus my friend Eva May and I were hired as extras...it was a very fun 2 days of shooting along with some other art fair pals and their work on the set at Buckingham Fountain in August of 2005.)

The Number 23 - My postcards and book mark were easy to spot in this Jim Carrey flick plus I got a little press and sold the painting that was on the postcard....

 

Willie's Wilderness Adventures...

 Finished up several commission Pet Portraits, recently...this one was near and dear to my heart. My brother commissioned this narrative scene painting for his wife's birthday last year...and they have been very patient! Willie was an awesome dog and is missed very much...this painting celebrates his life and love of the outdoors, asparagus, tennis balls and his favorite pass time, catching bees!