Posted in Art Class, Dogs, tagged Art Class, Blue Ridge Arts Council, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel on June 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Kids Paint Bella
Bella’s reference photo
Pat and Jean Painting
We had a great week with in our art classes.
The young artists painted their version of Bella, a sweet little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that belongs to my friend Joanne.
Pat completed her Cardinal on the Fence Post.
Jean made a lot of progress on her beach scene. And Shelly continued her painting.
We all have so much fun painting and laughing in our classes.
Shelly at work.
Good job everyone!
Posted in Dogs, Serendipity, tagged Dog Park quilt, Jackie Bourque, Quilting on June 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Jed Chasing the Train Along the Park Fence
Water Dogs with Stick
Dachshund
See Saw
Park Bench
Tug-of-War
Here are more pictures of the beautiful dog quilt that Jackie Bourque just made for me. I LOVE IT!!!!
There are so many cute expressions and details that I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite but of course, if I had to do it, I would choose the view of my Jed chasing the train along the fence at the park. That is his favorite thing to do and how wonderful that Jackie added this to the quilt pattern.
Notice the Corgi standing on the back-end of the Bloodhound to see the other dogs on the bench better. LOL!
And look at the expressions on the faces of the dogs on the See-Saw block with the big puppy weighting down the 3 little ones!
And the rope toy that the Tug-of-War pups playing with in that block.
Again, I hope to have this quilt on display soon for you to see up close. It really is an amazing work of art. And just to let you know, Jackie takes special orders. If you would love to own a quilt like this or even a wall hanging of one of the blocks from the quilt Jackie can make it! Let’s put her to work. 🙂
Posted in Dogs, Pet Portaits, Serendipity, tagged Dog Park, Dog Park quilt, fabric art, Jackie Bourque on June 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Jackie Bourque with “The Dog Park” quilt
“Frisbee Dog” block
“Treeing the Squirrel” block
“Merry-Go-Round” Block
close-up of Dizzy Pug on Merry-Go-Round
“Great Dane” Block
During the Christmas holidays my friend Jackie Bourque, an amazing fabric artist, emailed me about a dog park quilt pattern she had seen and thought she would like to make. Would I be interested. WOULD I BE INTERESTED???? Are you kidding?
Seeing the pattern, a McKenna Ryan creation, I couldn’t believe Jackie would want to do something so intense. And to say it turned out amazing would be an understatement.
We piled together the fabrics we both had along with some we ordered and a few embellishments and Jackie went to work. She showed me the first block when she finished it. After that she asked if I wanted to see each as she finished them or wait for the finished quilt. I am glad now I waited for the finished product because it is JUST EXTRAORDINARY!
I am going to share some photos with you here. And tomorrow I will share the rest. It is just too much to take in so I will break it into two posts. (And I am sure I will share even more over the months to come because I can not believe how lucky I am to have this wonderful work of art.)
Please click on the photos so you can see larger versions of them. You will see that every dog has about 20-30 pieces in them. The eyes, the nose, the shadowing….all different little pieces of fabric!
Beautiful! Amazing! Ingenious! Splendid! Fascinating! Charming! I don’t have enough words to describe this quilt. I hope to have it on display somewhere soon so that you may come and see the amazing quilting skills of Jackie Bourque. She is a brilliant fabric artist and a wonderful friend. Thanks Jackie for such a beautiful piece of art. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!!
Posted in Dogs, tagged Dogs, Lincoln, Rescue dogs on February 12, 2014| 2 Comments »
Today is Lincoln’s Birthday! Yes, that Lincoln and my Lincoln. Since my Lincoln is adopted and we are not sure of his exact birthday we thought this would be the best date for him. (We adopted him in the fall and the vet guessed that he was less than a year old so we figured his birthday was sometime right after the first of the year.)
He has been a mess ever since we adopted him but he is our mess and we love him anyway.
So HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINCOLN…you little stinker!
A couple of years ago my young artists painted Lincoln’s portrait. It is one of my favorites. See it here.
Posted in Dogs, Travel, tagged Bonham's, dog art on January 30, 2014| 2 Comments »
French Bulldog in Collar
Persis Kirmse
(British, 1884-1955)
Every year in New York City while the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is going on there in February there is an art sale at Bonham’s Auction House that features wonderful dog art. For several years while I was up in NYC for the dog show I went to the auction. It was fabulous to see so much excellent dog art in one location.
You can view the current offerings on their website by clicking here. If you love dog art you must take a look. There is everything from scarf pins painted with dog images to sculptures to huge paintings. It’s worth a look.
Posted in Dogs, Pet Portaits, tagged Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, dog, pet portrait on January 26, 2014| 1 Comment »
I met Oliver yesterday. He seemed to like his portrait. Sweet boy. His mama better check my suitcase when I leave because I may have to take him home with me!
Posted in Dogs, Serendipity, tagged dog, Pee Mail on January 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Over the past several years I have posted about finding art in unusual places. Look around. You see it everywhere…businesses, restaurants, homes, shops, museums, billboards, etc. But this week in my neighborhood we saw some special art. Almost everyday while walking my dogs, especially when we go to the dog park, I post on Facebook a photo of them “checking the Pee mail”. One of my neighbors granddaughter made an art sign that they posted by the fire hydrant in their front yard. It says, ” Public Restroom – All Dogs Welcome – Pee Mail Stop – Woof Woof”.
This is the best kind of art. You gotta love it!!!
Posted in Dogs, Paint Parties, Pet Portaits, tagged acrylic, Blue Ridge Arts Council, cat, Dogs, impressionism, Paint Party, Paint Your Pet, pet portrait, Rescue dogs on January 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »
January 2014 Paint Your Pet Portrait Party
Yesterday afternoon we had another “Paint Your Pet’s Portrait” Party at the Blue Ridge Arts Council and the painters made wonderful renditions of their pets! Just take a look. And a couple of these folks have never painted before. Can you believe it???!!!
Sophie
Ashton
After class I got to play with a couple of the “subjects” and they posed with their portraits. Could they be any cuter? This is Ashton and Sophie.
When are you going to join us? The next “Paint Your Pet’s Portrait” Party is scheduled for February 15th at 3 p.m. Be sure to contact me and sign up early and the class fills fast. See you then.
Posted in Dogs, Pet Portaits, tagged acrylic, Blue Tick Heeler, Cattle Dog, daily painter, daily painting, Dogs, impressionism, pet portrait, Virginia Artist on December 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Maggie’s Painting
Maggie’s reference photo
Maggie, the Blue Tick Heeler, is another commission I did for Christmas.
Maggie is an acrylic on 12″x12″ canvas. I was just told yesterday that she was a big hit with her recipient. I like hearing that.
Posted in Dogs, Pet Portaits, tagged acrylic, daily painter, Dogs, impressionism, pet portrait, Virginia Artist on December 24, 2013| 1 Comment »
Rex Painting
Rex Reference Photo
Rex, a beautiful border collie, is a commission that I did as a Christmas present. I just got this message on Facebook from Sue, the recipient: “Thank you so much for doing a painting of my dog Rex (border collie) for my brother as a gift to me. It is just beautiful!”
I love hearing back from people who have received presents.
The Studio 