Coloured Pencil Portrait - Jaida

Beautiful Jaida, finished a few days ago. This is an 8"x10" coloured pencil piece that was an absolute pleasure to complete. 

I have been in the process of returning to 8"x10" pieces, instead of the 9"x12" pieces listed on my web site. For some reason, frames for 9"x12"s are almost non-existent now in the retail stores, and I prefer to create pieces that are ready to frame for my clients so that it is not necessary for them to go out and pay 100's of dollars for custom framing. Many of the frames that can be purchased through retail outlets are quite nice, and there is a large variety to choose from in the 8"x10" size.

It is a shame, because the 9"x12" is a really nice size, and the paper is readily available at art supply stores, but I would like to stick with a size that makes life easier for my clients. So there will be a small price adjustment to reflect the smaller size on my pricing page.

Random Cartoons

Wieners dog anyone? They are delicious!

A Chinese Crested of course.

Just some results of my imagination a few years ago.

No tooth? No ball.

Yes, I said it, and put my foot down. She knows, no ball, no bones, no toys. She doesn't like it, but she knows.

A loose tooth was discovered. I knew something was wrong in her mouth, the little pink tongue constantly flipping in and out like a snake tasting the air around her, but wasn't sure what the "wrong" thing was. I originally thought that maybe she bit her little pink tongue, but saw no evidence. So I searched her molars during our weekly teeth cleaning routine (she isn't a fan of the routine, but it's for her own good). Nothing.

I did it again the next week and found the offending item, and I'm really not sure how I could have missed it during the first search mission. A broken tooth, snapped in half, flopping around in her little mouth - her second one (though the first was many years previous). I'm not positive how it happened, but I have a feeling that the "head-caught-in-the-door-while-trying-desperately-to-search-and-destroy-the-vacuum", may have exacerbated the problem.

So this past Friday, she went in for the removal. A removal that went very similar to my impacted wisdom tooth extraction ... I was told a lot of digging, and I could tell from the pain afterwards that they must have dug right through my jaw bone into my neck looking for the roots. So, I felt her pain, but she did well, much better than I did with my removal, came out with one stitch and is on soft foods until tomorrow.

She is anticipating the re-introduction of her toys. Well, she didn't tell me in so many words, and actually that's me once again using anthropomorphization on the little dog, but I can tell that she's waiting with baited breath for the stitch to dissolve and the ball to be firmly planted in her little jaws. I can see it in her eyes. Only two more days...

Oh Brandy!

After some pondering yesterday, I've come to the conclusion (although grudgingly) that it was 98% my fault that we totally pooched the trial on Sunday. Reviewing in my mind, all of our outdoor trials, it seems it's only the AAC ones that give me an issue. CPE and JRTCC, no problem. CPE and JRTCC, no stress. AAC, though I like to deny it, there is some stress that surfaces. The little dog picks up on moods a bit too easily and I think she realizes that my confidence is down on these AAC runs, and she takes over ... and advantage (brat!). 

My handling definitely did not help the situation either. I felt like I was flailing around like a fish out of water during every run.  I'm sure I was throwing off some interesting instruction to the little dog while I ran around like chicken with my head cut off, my arms feeling like rubber bands, and my mouth not working fast enough to get commands out. It's really a shame that people were watching the performance that I gave. Though I suppose the entertainment value was high for the spectators. 

I still think that the weather played some roll in Brandy's insanity that day. And she was insane, you could see it in her eyes. The teeter fly-off proved that. 

Conclusion, bring a bottle of wine and a massage therapist to every AAC trial. That'll reduce stress!

The Bark

Once again, Brandy was my model (willingly I might add, actually she's always pretty willing, she'd just prefer that I not use any sort of flash) for these shots. My goal was to focus solely on the "bark" (after a good stretch and a look that could maim), which is why some of the shots have the upper half of her head cut off. Composition wise, some people are not a fan of leaving out the important parts, like eyes, however, I was merely interested in her mouth, the shape of it, and the expression of it for these shots.

So, I barked at my dog, she barked back, and I took some shots - simple as that!

I'm very happy with the shape of the mouth shown in the above image. As an artist, shape is very important to me in a painting, drawing or photo, and this piece is a perfect example of that.

Another Sneak Peak...

These April showers better bring some May flowers, or I'm going to be sorely disappointed with all of this rain. Once again, the sky's open and the afternoon is full of drops from the heavens. Although, I've been noticing that the temperature is slowly rising...odd
Another piece of the puzzle, a quick look at a portion of another piece from "The Dogs of Moron". This guy, as seen in the photos from a previous post, had what looked like mange, was very scraggly and seemed not to have a human friend anywhere in sight, but sported some of the kindest eyes I've ever seen on a dog.

More to come as the pieces progress.

Brandy ... ?

I sit here tonight, contemplating my little dog. I like to contemplate my little dog, well, because she's crazy. Crazy in a good way. Crazy and too smart for her own good.

There will NEVER be another Brandy. She is one of a kind, and I lucked out with my (actually my hubby's) $350 purchase. The best $350 we've ever spent. Hah! And they say money can't buy love! I beg to differ.

She really is like no other dog I've ever met. She can be extremely cat-like, independent, likes to hang out on her own, sleeps a lot (think she picked this up from her "dad") and basks in any sort of heat generating glow she can find...including the heat lamps on the chameleon cages.

I suppose the opposite to what a Jack Russell is suppose to be. But then, she is willing to work and overly enjoys it, is exceptionally easy to train (too easy if you ask me), extraordinarily driven (too extraordinary if you ask me) and has a memory like no one I've ever met!

Crazy enough, with all of her drives VERY well intact, she leaves the chameleons alone. Huh? A Jack Russell that leaves small animals alone? Odd. Yeah, odd, she'll sit right beside one, have a peak, turn her head away and carry on with what she was engaged in before the lizard rudely interrupted. But you throw a cat in our backyard, and all hell breaks loose, and she'd do a pretty good job of a rabbit if she ever caught one. But the CAT seems to be the #1 prey item for her. Oh scream, does she ever. So I'm safe if any burglarizing cat on a rampage decided to break in.

She is, in my opinion, the "perfect dog". Although, I'm sure that everyone out there owns the "perfect dog". She's my kind of perfect anyway.

I will now resume my silent contemplation of this amazing little bugger ... as she gives me dirty looks from her bed because tonight is her "night off"... still have to rest up that knee...