Stanley’s canvas arrives!

So I’ve mentioned a few different times that I recently completed my two largest portraits yet, two bulldogs displayed at a whopping 7 feet by 3 feet! Their mom and commissioner of the portraits has promised me a picture of the portraits hanging in her home (I’m holding you to it!) so I’ve been waiting to post that photo to show them.

But for now, I thought I’d show a shot of when I received the first canvas print in the mail as kind of a sneak peek. This also shows a little bit of my process. Since my artwork is graphic illustrations, I print the final digital file on high quality canvas. I purchase wooden stretcher bars separately and once I assemble the bars into the frame for the artwork, I wrap the canvas and then I have my finished portrait ready for delivery!

Here, Sam checks out the canvas while Makai remains unimpressed. Probably because I’m paying attention to something other than her.

Paws For Charity book is in!

I got my copy of the Paws For Charity art book a week or so ago and I just love it. There are so many great photographs and portraits throughout the book and I’m just thrilled to have my daughter Makai included! Here a few pictures of my copy, the hardback option with imagewrap. You can read more about the Paws For Charity Art Project, as well as features on each participating artist, here.

2010 Paws for Charity Art Book Project

A portrait of my little girl Makai in a coffee table book? How awesome is that?!?

I’m excited to finally announce that one of my portraits is being featured in the 2010 Paws for Charity Art Book! A portrait I did of my own pit bull, Makai, was selected from over 300 submissions and appears in the book along with 64 other pet portraits and photographs from 7 countries! Out of the 64 featured, only 21 are portrait artists and I am so happy to be one of them!

This wonderful project celebrates our connection with our pets while raising funds for a human cause: breast cancer.  All proceeds  will be donated to the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade. According to the Paws for Charity website, this charity was chosen for two main reasons:
1. The Avon Foundation supports breast cancer programs worldwide…in 50 countries.
2. This charity has the “Humane Charity” seal of approval.

Paws for Charity was started in 2006 by Sara Harley of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Paws for Charity Book project was started in 2009 to combine her two passions: raising money for breast cancer (her mom died of breast cancer when she was 21) and her love of animals. “Animals bring us such great joy, in good times and in bad.  I created this book to celebrate our bonds with our pets, and to raise money for an important cause.” -Sara

Since its inception in 2006, Paws for Charity has raised thousands of dollars for breast cancer charities.

I am thrilled and honored to be a part of this amazing project. I hope that you take a few minutes to go to blurb.com to check out the book. I just ordered my copy and will be posting pictures as soon as it comes in. You can preview the book (see Makai on page 9!) and you can purchase it as a softcover, hardcover with dust jacket or as a hardcover with image wrap.  Remember, all proceeds go to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.

Portrait of Makai, featured in the Paws for Charity Art Book

Top Ten!

Thanks to everyone who voted for my wine label entry, Bully Blend. My portrait of Makai made the top 10! Winner is announced tomorrow, Monday 6/22. I definitely have a few favorites (besides my own, of course) that I wouldn’t mind seeing on the finished label. But I’ll keep that to myself

Thanks everyone!! http://dreamdogsart.typepad.com/art/

Makai’s new friend

Makai made a new friend the other day. I started to notice that whenever she would go out back, she’d go straight for the back corner and hang out in the same spot the entire time. I thought she had just found a patch of grass that was actually alive. But then I realized that was impossible as our entire backyard looks like a dry, dead mess, so I went outside to see what in the world was so interesting about that back corner. That’s when I found Roxy, the dog next door. Not all of Roxy, though. Just her head. Seems she had dug herself a little hole and had been visiting Makai on a regular basis. You’d think with Makai’s history of random dog aggression she’d be a little more protective toward this strange little head invading her backyard, but I think she was actually more curious than anything else. I guess a dog with no lower body isn’t that threatening. Once she got used to Roxy (the top half of her, anyway), I think she really enjoyed the company. I snuck back there the other day and took a few shots of their budding friendship. (PS- Yes, Mom, we’re going to fix the hole. If not it’s only a matter of time before I open the door to let the dogs back in and I have three dogs run inside instead of two.)

Happy 11th Birthday Sam!

Today Sam is 11 (77 in people years) and she is still a spring chicken. Or I guess a spring pup. Her mom had too many glasses of wine last night in a pre-birthday celebration so Sam didn’t get to go to the beach today to celebrate. Instead we’re going tomorrow and her day was pretty good anyway. Shawn made her pancakes with peanut butter (an annual birthday ritual, I think it helps keep her young), which she promptly inhaled without even taking a minute to enjoy. Then she got to cuddle on the couch with me for a large portion of the day. We ended the evening with a visit from a boxer named Stella, where Sam witnessed a little dog fighting and almost saw Makai get her little pit bull ass kicked. Makai, a tad dog agressive at times, is way more bark than bite (no bite at all actually) and when Stella challenged her bluff by fighting back, poor Makai didn’t know what to do with herself. She went from dominant alpha girl to scared pup hiding behind her mama with tail between legs, shaking, looking at me as if saying, “What the crap, Mom? Who is this chick and why is she in my house? And more importantly, why isn’t she scared of me??” Meanwhile Sam’s in her usual hiding spot under the stairs, probably pissed that she has to spend the last few hours of her 11th birthday watching this madness. In the end, Stella went back home after a only a brief 10 minute attempted visit, Sam got back up on the couch, and all is right with the world. Well, at least with our world. Happy Birthday Sam!

The Birthday Girl

Sam's "Panic Room" – her safe spot

Blast from the Past!

This is the very first pet portrait I did, about 3 years ago. My style has obviously been fine-tuned ( a lot!) since then, but she’s still such a pretty little pit bull. It’s hard…dare I say IMPOSSIBLE… to make her look ugly.

Makai