One of a Kind Pics!

So one of the reasons I don't blog much these days is time. The time required to write a post to go with the photos. So you are missing lots of fun photos...I may start just photo journaling to get this thing going again...that's why the Facebook Fan Page is so easy to update, not much commentary required. In any case, here are a few photos form last week's fabulous One of a Kind Show & Sale..can't believe I forgot to photograph my fabulous neighbors, but it was one of the busiest shows I can remember!:

Jake & Mike Pet Portrait Duo

Wanted to share a recent Pet Portrait Print featuring Jake. a lab mix, and Mike, a Chesapeake Bay Retreiver - this one is now hanging in a nursery in Georgia!

Eastern Iowa Life....

....I was excited to get some press after the Marion Art Fair last weekend inEastern Iowa Life. It felt great to get my tent out and do my first outdoor show of the season, the weather ended up cooperating and we had a good turn out crowd wise. Also enjoyed getting out on the road, so easy to get caught up in urban life, the open road stretching out before me is always a welcome sight.

new collectors!

...."A Woman and Her Dog"...

I did some power painting prior to the show including lots of new mini art blocks:

do you like my new 'skelly's" ...inpsired by my most recent pet portrait commission of medi & tula! Just $32 each!

Iowa has the most beautiful rest stops of any state I've seen, they all seem to incorporate original art work into their design and on the grounds...this one 30+ miles west of Davenport.

"Day of the Dead" inspired narrative pet portrait...my favorite!

...just helped my fabulous new client, Claire, pull off a wonderful surprise for her partner, inconspicuously hung a narrative portrait of their dogs in my storefront window:

...her priceless response when she noticed it:

...i'm still smiling, this was such a fun project and the joy and surprise with which it was received, heart warming. ...and I love, love, loved creating the Mexican 'day of the dead' inspired details. It's my new favorite pet portrait! Do you like the subtle little angel/el angelito & devil/la diablita details? and the leaves and vine motif...with scalloped edges...this is going to carry through into some new paintings!

4 Legged visitors to the studio...lead to exciting news!

This little cutie is Jack, he came to the studio back in January with Susan who brought her dogTuesday's portrait in to be featured in the 190 North tv shoot which will air this Sunday!

I also got to meetBarkley whose portrait I did back in December, his owner Tom brought his piece in to be featured as well.

We did part of the shoot atTango's house in Bucktown: Unfortunately I don't have any other photos from the day of the shoot...but it was great fun! I'm nervous but very excited to see how it all turned out...tune in to 190 North at 10:35pm on Sunday on ABC Channel 7 in Chicago!

Author Stephanie Calmenson...her dog, Harry & my art, on Skype!

Meet Stephanie and Harry! She had the winning bid on the painting hanging behind her (Black Dog + Stripes) at the Barkin Arts Fundraiser in NYC in 2006. She contacted me shortly after and expressed an interest in having me illustrate one of her future books (which I would love to do!). Stay tuned on that....

In the mean time, more about Stephanie: she has written several nonfiction dogs books and does on-line chats with schools (all age groups) as well as rescue organizations and other animal advocate groups. It warms my heart to know that my dog painting hangs in the background during these chats! Stephanie also presents at teacher and librarian conferences where she uses her books to talk about the writing process. For more information about her online chats see the "For Grown-ups" page of her web site: www.stephaniecalmenson.com

Her adorable dog, Harry, (in the Skype photo) is also the star of her book, May I Pet Your Dog? How fun is that?!

A Narrative Portrait of Alice...

This is the long overdue Narrative Portrait that I'm working on of my dog, Alice....

The image below was my initial sketch. There are so many silly things about her, it was hard to narrow it down, but I think these translate well:

'Artist' talk at the Deer Path Gallery this Saturday...

 
If you live near Lake Forest, I hope you can come by The Deer Path Art League Gallery this Saturday, February 12th from 10:00-2:00. They have some wonderful gifts for your special Valentine!

I will be giving a brief talk at 10:30am about my art business, commission work, my passion for animals and art. I hope you can come join us and enjoy some complimentary Valentine treats!

Deer Path Art League & Gallery
♥ 400 E. Illinois Rd.  2nd Floor ♥ Lake Forest ♥ 847.234.3743