lessons learned

I was thrilled when at my reception at Athan's, a woman who came said that she was going to buy "Retired Racer" (above). I had my friend John take care of sales and emails. She wrote the email on a list and now when I'm writing to tell her that the show is over and the piece is ready for her, the email bounces back. I have no other way of communicating with this person :(. I have posted on my Facebook page and have contacted other people that I new were at the reception, but no one seems to know who she is. She did take my card and information and I'm really hoping that she gets back in touch with me. I feel so embarassed and unprofessional. This like this shouldn't happen.

Please please please get in touch with me, CarolynWhoBoughtRetiredRacer! I wouldn't want you to think that I swindled you!!!!

SOLD!

So the last Sunday, we had the Insperable Companions reception and I'm thrilled to let you know that "Luna" and "Retired Racer" were both sold that night and 10% was given to the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton MA. Thank you so much to all who attended this great event! It will be up for viewing until the end of August.

Exhibit at Athan's Bakery in Brighton MA

Inseperable Companions is the name of the SOLO show that will have over 30 pieces of my work on display. Located in Brighton Center, Athan's is a cozy cafe, air conditioned and a great meeting place for those who want to take a moment out of their day for some sweets or coffee. The exhibit runs from now until the end of August with a reception on July 28th from 7-8:30pm. I really hope you can make it down!!!

Legacy

Art can do a lot of things.

Olivia Pedrick

Ms. Olivia Pedrick is a 9 year old girl who paints pet portraits and gives all the money to rescue organizations. I found out about Olivia from a friend of mine who posted this article on my Facebook page. http://www.cesarsway.com/dog-rescue/rescue-stories/Helping-Animals-with-Art

This young lady has created quite a stir with her folky art portraits and the compassion that she has for helping the animals. Reminds me of me when I was a young girl.There was a few people talking about how giving gift certificates towards paintings isn't a good idea because the lack of customer base and actual sales will come from it are pretty low. That may be the case, but can we be more like Olivia and just do it for the doggies? I can only imagine what great things are in store for this young lady and her art career. Beautiful and admirable, Olivia.

Pussy Riot

Yesterday, 3 members of Pussy Riot, a Russian all girl punk band, were sentenced to 2 years in prison for performing their song on the steps of a Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Whether you agree with their methods or what they had to say, there is no justification in putting these girls to prison. If you want to listen to the song go here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2012/aug/17/pussy-riot-release-new-single-video.

If you don't speak Russian and want to know what they're saying, here are the lyrics:

Punk-Prayer "Virgin Mary, Put Putin Away"

(choir)

Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away

Рut Putin away, put Putin away

(end chorus) ...

Black robe, golden epaulettes

All parishioners crawl to bow

The phantom of liberty is in heaven

Gay-pride sent to Siberia in chains



The head of the KGB, their chief saint,

Leads protesters to prison under escort

In order not to offend His Holiness

Women must give birth and love



Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!

Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!

(Chorus)



Virgin Mary, Mother of God, become a feminist

Become a feminist, become a feminist

(end chorus)



The Church’s praise of rotten dictators

The cross-bearer procession of black limousines

A teacher-preacher will meet you at school

Go to class - bring him money!



Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin

Bitch, better believe in God instead

The belt of the Virgin can’t replace mass-meetings

Mary, Mother of God, is with us in protest!


(Chorus)



Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away

Рut Putin away, put Putin away


These women, and Olivia too, are creating a legacy with their art. A read a post from LuAnn Udell (FineArtViews newsletter) who wrote about "What we leave behind" just the other day:

"What matters, in the end, is the kind of life you strive to lead. The ripple effect of your actions in the world—the kindnesses, love, energy, opportunities you were given, and in turn gave to others, create wavelets that move far past our own seeing. We have to simply trust they carry our best intentions, wherever they go.


What comes after, whatever is made of our efforts, when we are gone, whatever it is those others who come after will understand, will be what serves their need, not ours."

What's my legacy? I may never know..... but it makes me want to create more art.

So why do you paint animals?

Kitty on a Tractor

2006

8x10 inch watercolor and prismacolor pencils

This past Easter, I was hanging out at my parents house. A lovely time, had brunch at the Georgetown Country Club with my parents and brothers and then later did some horseback riding. I spent the rest of the afternoon at my folks....

A while ago I did a painting for my dad of the Gate A entrance to Fenway Park. I used someone else's photo, hence the reason why you won't see it here. But my dad, God Bless him, was looking at it on Easter (it hangs on the wall with all the other paintings that I've done for him) and says "You know Chris, I really like this painting." and my mom chirps in " Yeah, you should do more paintings of Fenway and sell them!"

Sigh.

I know they mean well, and every one around me would love to see me succeed. The fact is, I paint animals. I like to paint things from nature as well and have been trying different mediums as well. But it's true, I love the personality that comes through in each painting of the animal. Who knows you better than your dog? No one. Who loves you more than your cat? Well, maybe your spouse might... but.. When I meet with a client who just lost their beloved dog or cat and knowing that I can mortalize that relationship somehow with a portrait, it makes me feel better. It allows me to connect with person with my art.

I've always loved animals. Growing up I had horses, dogs and cats. The occasional mouse, gerbil and parakeet were thrown in the mix too. Ask my 2 brothers or my sister (who has 4 cats of her own - all rescues!) how my house was growing up. When I drew as a kid, it was always animals. Later on when in art school and during the high tide of censorship (marched in DC when they pulled the Maplethorpe exhibit out of the Corcoran Gallery of Art), there was so much going on with SHOCKING people. (remember "Piss Christ"?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ) It seemed in my 18 year old eyes that people were loosing what art was and what it supposed to be and spending more time just shocking people. Especially my class mates at school.

What is art? I believe that a successful piece of art is something that you can look at, it evokes an emotion inside of you, you walk away.....sometimes the emotion is so strong, you need to go back and look at it again. Now, if you know me personally, I'm never one who goes out of their way to piss someone off, or disgust them. More, like a person who wants to cheer you up or make you laugh...

I continued to paint things that I loved. Blooming trees off the rooftop of my dorm, still lifes with flowers and .. animals. You can do so much emotion with those big brown eyes. I love creating a flowing mane or Collie's ruff with watercolor brushes. I love the wrinkles on a pug's head. Cat's eyes: I could go on forever.

Animal art has been around for ages. Royalty used to have their dog's portraits painted all the time. And your animals are such comfort givers, I believe that the art can do the same. So I will continue to paint animals. Enter contests, shows and continue to be a part of something that has been around since the 16th century.

Sorry mom.

It's all in the eyes....

So the other night Jason and I watched Bambi. I haven't seen this movie up to now, and that's probably a good thing because as I child, I may have been deeply effected ... in the incorrect way. Dating a hunter and being an environmentalist and doing many field studies on the whitetail I could go on and on all the incorrect things about this movie. Not to mention the amount of destruction the Disney has done on the everglades of Florida (I'm sure the alligators and whooping cranes are tearing up just as Bambi did when his mom died) but I digress.....

I want to talk about the great thing about this movie... the animation.

Bambi was based on a an Austrian book "Bambi, A Life In the Woods". The book (which I would love to have a copy) was about a year in the life of a Roe deer. Disney changed it to a whitetail as more Americans are familiar with that kind. This film was made in 1942. 1942!!! We officially were out of the Great Depression, but I'm sure there wasn't a whole bunch running to the picture shows at that time. In fact, Bambi didn't do very well at the box office because of the financial situation of the country. But in any regards, the animation was just lovely. Look at the eyes of these characters! Just melts your heart. The eyes have it. Just compare the pictures of Bambi and Thumper above to the ones below.

Bright eyes in awe of a butterfly! Eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of a crash while the other's is rolled back, almost terror. Yes the whole facial expression is there!

Back in the days of The Art Institute of Boston, I took a class for children's book illustration. We had an assignment where you were to take a stick figure's face and try to get as many expressions as you can. Something like this (I just did this one before I started writing):

Isn't it amazing to what a few simple lines can represent? Happiness, wonder, sadness, indifference, anger, extreme anger!, awe inspiring, eerie (what the hell was that I just heard?). The third one down in the first column is the look my mom would give us when she found us still up playing and giggling at 1 in the morning. That's when I knew she was pissed! Bug eyed and angry as hell! LOL.. then leering, boredom, very happy, laughing, chewing lunch? lol. and exasperated.

So here are some portraits I have done of friends pets. Mind you, both of these animals have crossed that rainbow bridge. I may have made the eyes a little sadder because of this reason.... It's pulling on the heartstrings. My friend Cathy looked at the Reba picture and when I had said that Reba is no longer, she actually got emotional herself. It's all in the eyes.......

Reba

8x10 inch

watercolor, colored pencil

Echo's Birthday

8x10 inch

watercolor and colored pencil

Does anyone go to art shows anymore???

If you keep up with this blog, you know that I was at the Charlestown Arts in the Park this past Saturday selling my wares and pitching my art along with about 30 other artistsans. And we all had the same question: Does anyone go to these art shows anymore???? The weather was beautiful, it was a Saturday in Boston. I think I saw at least 30 Duck Boats drive by throughout the day. Don't get me wrong, there were some people there and from those people I received a great interest in my work. And I'm not complaining... I'm just confused. Is it the economy? Is it the Internet with sites like Etsy, Zazzle and Ebay that makes it just easier to shop online? When I spent some time in Montana we were fortunate to come across the Sweet Pea festival in Bozeman. That was pretty packed. Maybe it's that there are so many around here (I know that the Boston Waterfront was having an arts fest the same day) that it doesn't seem so special. But then I went to the Allston Street Fair on Sunday afternoon and granted, there wasn't a lot of art and the stuff was there well, lets just say not the same caliber as mine (can I say that? yes, it's my blog) but there were plenty o' people there. I just don't know. Can you please comment on this blog and let me know your thoughts. I would love to hear from you.

Fortunately, I brought my sketch book with me and across from my booth was a couple of park benches. When someone sat down, I donned my sunglasses (so they wouldn't see me STARING at them haha) and sketched away.

Those that moved to fast or got up as soon as they sat down, turned more into doodles but there's nothing wrong with that either.

I'm currently working on a commission for a woman who is a returning customer. Her friend's dog, Glover, recently crossed the rainbow bridge and she's getting a pet portrait of him. He was such a chunky dog, but so cute! She said that he loved his fluffy chew toys and would always greet you with one in his mouth, so I kept one in the portrait. (it'll be between his front legs, still white paper here)....

Glover

Phase 1

A Monday in April

Sushi, 8x10" painting layers

Sweet Sushi is almost done. I have completed the painted portion, now I have to go back in with some colored pencil to push out the highlights (I think the crown on her head is too dark) and add her whiskers and other small details. I hope the customer loves it!

So - this coming weekend is the annual Wine Tasting/Silent Auction to support the Gifford Cat Shelter. Location and time can be found here: http://members.petfinder.org/~MA44/events.htm

But I wanted to let you know that I have donated a gift certificate for a 5x7" painting done by yours truly! Come out and help the kitties!!!!

Hey - I like what I like. Everything else is sh*t.

It's so true, isn't it? I will be the first to admit that when it comes to music, art, even wine, there is NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER. I just have an opinion and I like to share it with you. And if you're smart, you'll agree with me completely. :)


Meet Sushi, the corgi. This photo was emailed to me (along with others) from a client wanting a pet portrait. She said, however, she wanted Sushi in more of a nature scene. Laying in some grass or something to that effect. And that ear on the right needed to be fixed. So here's the first layer:

Sushi, the Corgi 8x10" watercolor - 1st layer.

I've put up the photo and the painting so that you are able to see the nature and that fixed ear. I worked on this Tuesday night and plan to do more this weekend.




Last night was the Wednesday at the MFA and the model never showed up. And the MFA put our drawing session in the Chinese art gallery. One of the artists there volunteered to be the model all night. To her defense, she wasn't planning on being a model so I guess I can't complain about the outfit she wore, but.. She had the worst Mom Jeans that I had seen in a long time. It was difficult to see if she had a waist at all. She held the poses nicely but those pants. .. Couldn't get over it. AND the Chinese art gallery was SO dimly lit that it was really hard to get any good values. Owell, this is my sketch from last night. I did a lot, but this was the best of them



So when I leaned over and saw T drawing horses (there were statues of horses in the gallery) and on my other side H was just staring at the model I realized that the 3 of us weren't *feeling* it and decided to get out of there.

Interior at Stoddards in the Ladder District in Boston

We headed downtown on the suggestion of my friend H, who is also a food blogger for www.onenewengland.com. Stoddards was lovely. Expensive (apps are $10ish, entrees in the $20s) for my wallet, so T & I split the fondue plate and each had 2 beers. The food and drink were very good, our waiter was awesome and the interior of this place is BEAUTIFUL. This picture does not do it justice. From what I was told, they re gutted this building so that the original brickwork and interior design is showing. This building is around 1900's (maybe earlier) and has old T railings and Boston Lighting. You can read more reviews here
http://www.yelp.com/biz/stoddards-fine-food-and-ale-boston

Then came home and after a quick wardrobe change ( I had to get out of my work clothes!) met up with J at O'Briens, a local live music venue in Allston. We were there to catch 3 bands, but mostly we were there to check out Jim Healy's acoustic set. He has residency there on Wednesday's in April so if you have nothing to do on the 28th, you should head on down. He's a great singer, who knows how to use that mic to enhance his own, very powerful voice. You can check out his site here: http://jimhealey.net/

We also checked out Birds Make Birds. If you like the Strokes, you'll like this band. They were very tight and good at what they did. The other band, Lovers, Muggers and Thieves SUCKED. Lead singer was drunk, or acted like it. Music was unoriginal and not inspiring and they were really all over the place. At one point she, the singer, apologized for sucking (!) because they "hadn't practiced in a month". J heckled them "NO EXCUSES!" (I love him!). But yea, don't waste your time or precious sleep by staying up late to watch these fools.

Happy Patriots Day

Happy Monday and to those in Massachusetts, Happy Patriots Day. Patriots day marks the start of the first battles of the Revolutionary War in Lexington and Concord. It's also the day of the grueling Boston Marathon. Since I'm not in a reenactment of the First Shots Fired nor am I running the Marathon, I'm sitting at my desk at work.

So I want to let you all know that my piece "Black n' White Farm" (shown here) not only sold during the New England Arts for Animals show, but also made the calendar for 2011. Yay!

NEAFA is an organization founded by artist Jill Flynne who wanted to help the people who need assistance animals in order to feel more independent. A lot of these organizations that train dogs, and therapy horses and the like are purely privately funded and need your help! If you would like to become a member of NEAFA go here: http://neartsforanimals.org/ If you want to see how wonderful therapy dogs really are, watch this video: http://video.pbs.org/video/1435104301 (So Sweet!)

Lastly, I received a commissioned order last week! Yee Haw! What was really nice is that this woman had held on to my postcard and price list from a show that I did back in 2007! I had expressed my appreciation and she said, "Well, you were so nice to talk to!" :) aw, shucks!

Pictures and Paintings

I'm still trying to figure out how to place type & images in my blog so please forgive me if this looks like a mess. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.




























This is Lou, a black lab. Nikki is a repeat customer who commissioned a pet portrait years ago of her dog Bocca. Now, she and her boyfriend own Lou and she asked for a portrait to give to her boyfriend for Christmas. She later said when she received it she couldn't wait for Christmas to come and gave it to him right away. Thanks Nikki!!
































These cute pups were for another Christmas gift. Susie was the winner of a gift certificate of mine that she won at the Scituate Animal Shelter fundraiser back in 2008. She emailed me this picture of her parents dogs and wanted to get a painting done. She later emailed me after Christmas telling me that her parents loved it and now her sister wants one. Thanks Susie!!










My sister emailed me yesterday with an image of her friends dog. Apparently he recently passed away and she wanted to have a portrait done of him for his owner. What a great way to remember a best friend. Thanks Sal!





have a great weekend!