My sincerest apologies for not keeping the blog up to date! I have no excuses except that I have been pretty busy.
My boyfriends birthday passed in September. That being said, we spent a lot of time up in Vermont. He's an avid trout fisherman and I am an avid bird/nature watcher. We have been going to the same place year after year and it's so beautiful. I think I broke out my sketch book a couple of times, but I'm usually following Jason around (I've become the camera person ever since we got a recorder) so it's tough to start and stop again. (This picture was taken after a thunderstorm in Conventry VT).
While I was gone, my friend Tracy did the Jamaica Plain open studios and I had some of my work displayed there. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and she said that she didn't have a whole lot of foot traffic and that sales were very slow. She said a lot of people had taken my information seemed interested in getting commissioned pieces done. And then there was the woman from PetRock. Pet Rock is a big festival in Worcester, MA that happens every year. I was offered a few years back a spot at Pet Rock but had to decline. Reason is that they are associated with an organization called HSUS (the Humane Society of the United States). This organization is almost as bad as PETA (another organization that I can't stand).
First, my boyfriend and his family are all hunters. Big game, upland bird and fishing. I personally never thought I would be associated with this as I am an animal lover. As I became closer to Jason and his family I realized that these people are the biggest environmentalists I have ever come across in my life. The love that these people have for wildlife and nature preserve goes beyond anyone that I've ever met before. The respect that these people have for animals is immeasurable. I could never support an organization that would take away the rights of these people and all the hard work that groups like Massachusetts Wildlife Management have done. Most of the people associated with PETA and HSUS (IMO) are mostly people who don't go into the woods with the animals. They live in houses in the cities and the suburbs and don't interact with animals except with the dogs or cats that they own. HSUS blankets all hunters together as cruel and unethical. I admit, there are some poachers out there and animals that are "trapped" in a fenced in area, but that's not all hunters. It's like saying that all artists do drugs and that they're not responsible people in our society. hmmmm. So needless to say (as I step off the soapbox) I am not doing Pet Rock....
Instead, I am currently a donating maniac. In the past week, the following organizations have received a gift certificate for a commissioned 5x7" painting from me! This is a $125 value!! CAPS of Fallon NV, The Leon County Human Society (in Florida), Mid Florida Pit Bull Rescue, the Scituate (MA) Animal Shelter and now the Carolina Care Bullies (NC) will be auctioning off my gift certificate as a fundraiser for their organizations. I figure, a.) I'm going to be painting anyway, why not do it for a good cause, and b.) in a roundabout way, it's marketing. And getting my name out there! Do you have an animal organization (that's not associated with PETA or HSUS?) Email me about fundraising donations!
Finally here's a recent pic of my sweet Luna Tuna. She's trying out for the new "Hang In There" poster.
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