Little Angels, by Artist Julie Deans

I don't get the chance to create many people portraits, as my forte is pets, especially dogs, but I was given the opportunity to capture these two beautiful girls in a portrait, and am delighted with how it turned out.

This is an 8"x10" pencil piece, and due to some unforeseen circumstances, it may be available for sale.

If anyone is interested in a portrait of their loved one, please feel free to contact me, or check out my website for details.

www.juliesillustration.com

Featured on MAFE - Julie Deans, Artist

Look for my bio and business to be featured on MAFE this Monday!

Milton Area Female Entrepreneurs is an email networking group dedicated to featuring and supporting female entrepreneurs from Milton and the surrounding area.

Sandy Hatzis, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Aboutowne Realty Corp., Brokerage, is the founder of this group, and does a bang up job of getting all the members information out there for others to view and connect with.

For information about joining, please email Sandy at sandyhatzis@remax.net or join the Facebook Group Milton Area Female Entrepreneurs (MAFE).

Getting There...

This truly has been a long "one more week". Settling into a new house, cleaning, organizing and puttering takes up a lot of time. I suppose it's all worth it in the end, because I really do love my new house ... though it still doesn't quite feel like home yet. Putting Brandy in the "art niche" helped a bit, and she seemed ok with being on display. My ever patient little friend.

I was actually able to finish two portraits over the past few months for one of my clients. A lot of drawing during lunch at work seemed about the only time (and space) I had to actually concentrate on my neglected craft (sad, I know). Max, the lab, a gift for my clients boyfriend, and what a gorgeous lab he is! The lucky guy gets to go to work with his owner every day.

Brandy prefers not to be at work with me. She isn't able to get a full days sleep with all the activity going on around her, so by the end of the day, she's fully wiped out and crabby - lazy little dog. I suppose I understand though,  I feel about the same way when I get home from work too.

CONTEST WINNER!!

I happy to announce the I've drawn my portrait contest winner!

The winner is Shelley, and she will get a 5"x7" portrait completed of her late coonhound Maggie (shown above).

I'm really looking forward to getting started ... hopefully sooner than later. Seriously, anyone looking for a house to buy? I've got the perfect one right here. Milo is waiting patiently under my spare bed to be finished.

Congratulations to Shelley!! And thanks to all those who entered.

Portrait Contest

I thought it's about time I posted the information for entering the 5"x7" pencil portrait contest, so here we go.

This contest is for, as stated above, 1 free 5"x7" pencil (black and white) portrait - shipping included for Canada and US only. This portrait can be either a pet or a person. All I need from those entering is a clear, close up head shot of your pet/person of choice, and a little paragraph (a couple sentences) explaining who the pet/person is. Please send all files in JPEG format.

All submitted contact information (except first names) will be kept fully confidential. Please be aware I will be posting the first name of the winner, and the first name of the pet/person in the portrait on this blog, as well as an image of the final portrait and the photo that accompanies it (this info will also be posted to my website).

Please send all entries to:

juliesillustration @ hotmail.com (minus the spaces between the "n" and "@" and "h" of course, spaces are for anti-spam purposes only, sorry for the inconvenience).

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. This contest will be a random draw, and will be open from today, January 24th, 2010 to March 24th, 2010. The winner will be contacted and posted on this blog on March 25th, 2010.

To view more of my artwork, please visit:

www.juliesillustration.com

Samples of 5"x7" pencil portraits below.

A New Pet Portrait

Initial stages of a new portrait - Tequila

I love what I do, truly, I do. The art of, well, creating art fascinates me, entertains me and keeps me busy. I delight in handing over a finished piece and seeing how people react. I enjoy being able to create something special for people, that captures a memory, a look, personality or spirit.

There are times, however, when my job is heart breaking. I am often called upon to do "memorial" portraits of loved ones passed, be they animal or person. Though it is sad to reminisce that these lives have left us too soon, I am thankful that I am able to provide a special image, a memory for families that can be cherished for years to come, and I really hope that my work does justice to those who have gone before us.

This new piece that I am working on is heart breaking indeed. I was contacted by a client to create a portrait of his girlfriends beloved chihuahua as a Christmas gift. We worked out the details, and I met him and the adorable little canine one night after work to pick up the reference photos. What a beautiful little dog, full of life and happiness, just bursting to be petted and loved, a personality that I absolutely adore seeing in a dog.

With photos obtained and client met, I sat down to begin creation of this portrait. The finished product will be a double, with two poses of the little dog, and a name title on 11"x14" paper in pencil.

I received an email from the client over the weekend, full of horrible news. There was an accident and the dog, so full of life and love, unfortunately did not make it. I was shocked, and left speechless. It is extraordinarily difficult to lose a beloved pet, and the relationship that can be built with an animal is nothing like relationships that we share with our own species. The unspoken love and the awe of innocence is one of the most powerful feelings you can harbour, and the loss of a pet is just as great as the loss of a parent, sibling, child, friend or family member.

So now this portrait is a memorial, a dedication to this little dog that was taken away from her owner far too soon.

Though the outcome of this is heart breaking, it lifts my spirits that I have been blessed with the ability to provide the owner with something that she can cherish and remember her tiny companion by for years to come.

RIP Tequila.

CPE Fun and More Site Updates...

Photo by Gabrielle Deans - Agility on a nice day, rare appearance at an outdoor trial, from a past JRTCC event 2009

The weather really hasn't been cooperating. I usually like fall, but fall is disappointing me this year. The cool dampness doesn't make for ideal outdoor days. Spending an hour in the pouring rain last night while the little dog and I soak it up like two sponges in a sink full of dishwater, sloshing around in the car on the way home, and having clothes not dry over night because of how wet we really were ... well, that's not my ideal fall fun. Class was good though, minus the rain.

This leads up to why I prefer indoor agility trials. Indoor heated agility trials. Indoor heated CPE agility trials on dirt with a Q rate of 100%. The little dog prefers it too. We had a couple of "opps" moments at the CPE trial on Sunday, but ended up with 4 out of 4 qualifying runs, and we remained dry and warm, something that has become more dear to me in my later years.

Photo by Gabrielle Deans - Again, agility on a nice day at another one of our rare appearances at an outdoor trial - Ontario Regionals 2008

My website is continually being updated at this time, with the new designs and drawings that I have available. The brand new site is up and active, and I much prefer it to the old design. I needed a change, something fresh and new, with a little more colour, and a bit more emphasis on my fine art as well. Not to worry, portraits are still available to anyone who interested, I've just added a gallery of Fine Art as well as some Photography.

Have a look, and visit often within the next week or so while I get all the designs uploaded and ready to go.

Here's hoping this weekend will bring out the best in fall, not the worst. Though I have heard that my hope may not be fulfilled this long weekend.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Everyone!

And it begins...

Boxer Note card, one of the many new designs available at www.juliesillustration.com

I am about to begin to start unveiling the new sites.

New products such as dog breed note cards, key/luggage chains and magnets will be available, as well as holiday cards, and other animal note cards. These will be featured on the "Boutique" page at:

www.juliesillustration.com

It will take a little time to upload all of the designs to their respective pages, so please be patient with me while I complete all the changes. The site has had a complete make-over, so I'd like to get it up and running asap, even if all the products are not loaded yet.

I am still offering pet and people portraits for those interested, and my pricing has remained the same as it was before. I am also showcasing some of my fine art and photography, trying to broadening my horizons in the art world.

My design site at:

www.julies-art-design.com

has also gone through some changes, so please see the rates page for more details. I am still focusing mainly on real estate design, so if you are an agent in need of feature sheets, please visit my site above.