DUFFY

11x14 sold

I don't know a lot about Duffy, but I do know Duffy has a very important job. Duffy goes to work everyday with his owner, offering snaggletooth smiles and hugs to the customers...at least that's what he gave me when I visited their incredible antique store this past Christmas in Opelousas, LA.

This was my first Pomeranian to paint, there sure is a lot of hair on such an itty bitty dog, and not just long hair, but very, very thick hair. Anyway, there had to be a perfect balance of showing Duffy with not too much hair and not too little hair, all the while showing the depth of his coat. My brother deserves a great big thanks for taking new pictures for me (when I met Duffy he was a young pup), thanks Shane!! This portrait is going out in the mail this week so Duffy and his Mom can enjoy it together!

Thank you all for your comments and encouraging e-mails. I have more pet portraits to share with you, it was a very busy summer with lots of pets on my easel. I would love to take a break and do a little plein air painting, but painting outside is impossible in 100+ temps. I hope wherever you are the weather is a little cooler and you are enjoying your summer. Take care!

JOLIE BLANC

8x10 oil on canvas sold

Before I begin this story, let me explain that this memorial portrait is for a family that lives in SW Louisiana where many people speak French.

Many years ago a puppy was needed for the perfect Christmas surprise for my client's daughter. A visit was made to an older gentleman's home and my client sat with all the puppies trying to make a difficult decision. Can you imagine them climbing on top of her, playing with each other, and giving her sweet puppy kisses, you can only have one, but you want them all! One puppy in particular caught her eye, this puppy stayed close to her mother and was very, very calm. She asked about that puppy, and the gentleman responded, "Oh, that's my Jolie Blanc". He went on to explain that she was the only blonde puppy in the litter full of darker colored puppies. He named her Jolie Blanc, which is french for Beautiful Blonde. She was the perfect Christmas present and her name would remain Jolie, because she was the most beautiful dog this family would ever know.

Jolie remained a very calm dog her entire life, she was easy to train and brought her family years of love and enjoyment. One of Jolie's favorite things to do was fetch the morning paper and deliver it to her Dad each morning while he remained in bed. I don't think I've ever met anyone who keeps a bag of dog treats right beside their bed, but there they were kept and every morning Jolie enjoyed her Beggin' Strip while Dad enjoyed his morning paper.

TROOPER

8x10 oil on canvas sold
Trooper was on the euthanasia list, weighing in at only 31 pounds when the most wonderful family adopted her and gave her the loving home she deserved. She was one of many rescues this family would grow to love, but she was the most loyal and loving dog this family has ever known. As her family rescued countless puppies and kittens, Trooper was known as "mother" to each rescue that came to live with her. She was incredibly intelligent and infinitely patient with the entire home, from critters to kiddos, this family could count on unconditional love from Trooper; she even once protected the house from an intruder. Trooper weighed 100+ pounds when she died of leukemia, never letting her family know how badly she felt until the very end.

I love painting memorial portraits, but they can be some of the hardest to paint because I usually have limited photos to work from. I am including a close-up scan of Trooper's photo, surprisingly she was easier to paint than I thought, perhaps she was mothering me along because happily her painting seemed to just happen. Thank you so much for looking and reading Trooper's story.

SUMMER SLUMBER

8x8 oil on canvas

For those of you who were wondering what my husband looks like, here you go! This was painted for the Summer Time theme for our new blog, Some Texas Artists Like to Paint. You can read why Jay became a subject for this little painting here.




My summer is going by so very fast, once July gets here it's time to start thinking about returning to school. Last week I had lunch with some great blog friends: Gwen Bell, Ann Rogers, and Nancy Medina, after lunch we checked out the awesome art at Southwest Gallery. If anyone has an extra $40K, there's an incredible John Cook painting I'm coveting! To see Mr. Cook's paintings on the SW Gallery website, click on events, then his name, you won't be disappointed, I promise!

TOLERANCE

6x9 oil on canvas

You might see more paintings of this couple, the cow did not change her posture very much, but her friend flitted about displaying her fine plumage for all to see.

Isn't summer great? My summer has been filled with a lot of painting and a lot of lunch dates with friends. Today began with a few hours of painting, then a 5 hour lunch with a long lost friend. Later this week I am joining some very special blogging buddies for lunch, two I have already had the pleasure of meeting and two I look forward to meeting.

Like I said, summer is great...painting and lunching...lunching and painting! ;-)

BALLERINA BELLA

9x12 oil on canvas board nfs

Summer before last a wonderful friend came for a visit and she brought her granddaughter, Bella with her. Bella arrived dressed in her little ballerina outfit and happily posed for the camera. Not only was she creative with her poses, she had most expressive eyes that seemed to match each pose she struck. For once I enjoyed painting a hand, especially her little knuckles.

Happy Fourth of July to all of you!