WINSTON & OTHER NEWS

8x10 oil on canvas sold

Winston is a 2nd commission for a couple of outstanding actors in New York. Brian originally had wanted this portrait as a Christmas present for his wife, but my commission list could not accommodate him, so he agreed on his 10th wedding anniversary for his sweet wife, Ashley...congratulations Brian & Ashley! Winston is a little black pomeranian and his portrait will join the portrait I did of his brother, Little Sweetheart Emmett.

As you can see Winston was another one of my black dog commissions, but painting this black dog was a little different from the others. Unlike the other black dogs I've recently painted, Poms have a dense coat so I had the added challenge of not having the sleek shiny coat to paint...instead, I focused on Winston's "come play with me" smile.
February 12, 2010

So, by now I'm sure ya'll are sick and tired of hearing about our snowfall last week, but this was big news for us in Dallas. We received 12-1/2" of snow and it resulted in a day off from school and an appreciation that I know I love snow for a couple of days, but not a real winter's worth of snow like some of you experience.

February 16, 1985

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary and well, I'm feeling a little brave so, why not show you what we looked like way back when...

Thank you all for visiting; I appreciate your comments very much! Take care. :-D

MY WEEKEND WITH HENRY FINKELSTEIN

6x12 oil on canvas
16x20 oil on panel
8X16 oil on panel

Another great weekend to talk about, but I will keep this short because I have so many photos to post...I spent a long weekend studying with Henry Finkelstein, an abstract expressionist from New York (3rd from left on back row in group shot). Our plein air painting days consisted of 30-35 mph winds, very gray days, rainstorms, and the occasional burst of sunshine. Our days began painting in the morning, breaking for lunch with a critique, and then back to painting into early evening. Before we sent Henry back to New York, we celebrated with a wonderful party last night. Artists are just the best people, I have made so many new friends, here in blogworld, and through workshops. We had so much fun painting together and plan on painting again very soon. I love seeing photos of artists at work and hope you enjoy seeing these amazing artists and their incredible paintings. Please keep in mind these landscapes were pretty quick, but hopefully I have some good studies that I might develop into larger works soon. 

EMMETT, LITTLE SWEETHEART

Meet Emmett, 8x10 oil on canvas. His parents know him best, so here's their story...sold

"Emmett is an alien. No really I swear he is. He'd try for world domination if he just didn't get so cold, and if he was just a little taller, but being a 4 lb Chihuahua...he'll settle for dominating the living room sofa. 

My husband and I are actors living in NYC, and we never thought we'd own a Chihuahua. I've always thought that they were ugly and buggy eyed, and not nearly as pretty as Pomeranians (one of which we are the proud owners), but here we are...alien parents. When Brian made his Broadway debut in Spelling Bee and I had returned from the Annie national tour, we began casually looking for another dog to keep our sweet Winston (the aforementioned Pom) company. One of Brian's cast mates had a friend who places dogs, and after looking at an e-mail with pictures, the little black and white Chihuahua with a  heart-shaped mark on his head was so amazingly cute that we had to bring him home. We have never regretted it. Emmett weighed just about a pound and had to wear a bell so that we could find him when he decided to crawl into tiny spaces. He has turned out to be such a funny and amazing little guy. Though he does have that Chihuahua edge, and often tries to let the pit bulls in our Washington Heights neighborhood know that he owns the street (we're working on that) he is actually very loving and snuggly, loves people and loves to play.

Emmett also can talk and loves to sing. Though I am still working on understanding his alien language, he will often jump info my lap and growl and whimper the days events to me. And if I begin to sing, watch out cause Emmett will be joining in momentarily, tail wagging, head thrown back and eyes bright. He is a boy soprano by the way, and the higher you sing the better he likes it. Emmett sleeps under the covers in the bed and shivers if it is less than 70 degrees outside, two things that our very furry Pom cannot understand. He gets scared when my husband watches horror films, yearns for his people when we watch X-files, and LOVES the doggie heating pad that Brian bought for him. So...next time you are in the neighborhood, maybe you'll catch us out for a walk and Emmett can tell you about his plans and give a command performance of his favorite songs...and if, by chance, you speak alien maybe you can tell me what he's saying."