ROXI #18/50

8x8 oil on canvas panel

Seriously, I blinked and Roxi painted herself; she was a joy to watch appear on canvas. Roxi has the distinction of being the very first painting I painted when I moved into the new studio. I will share studio photos one day; with the 100+ temps, I don't have the desire to finish the exterior painting, easel painting is more my taste and appeals to my comfort level.

FRANKIE #14/50

8x8 oil on canvas nfs

At four months of age, she found herself abandoned at a dry cleaners. A young man went to the dry cleaners, saw her, went home...and as we all know, could not get her out of his mind or perhaps his heart. The Veterinarian explained her age, her mixed breed status...Australian Shepherd plus Something Else...there were no explanations for her missing tail, her eyes were crystal blue, her heart was strong, but the young man already knew that because already their hearts were one, and one more thing...she was deaf. More than likely, she had been thrown away because of her deafness, but the young man did not care, he brought her HOME and loved her. Frankie was brought home to live with Lucy, you can see Lucy here. Frankie and the young man had to learn how to communicate, and Lucy had to learn how to accept Frankie's natural instinct to herd. All was learned and they lived happily ever after until a few weeks ago...for some reason, Frankie only lived to be four years old. She is buried amongst her favorite day lilies... the same day lilies she like to trample to make a soft bed. Rest in peace, Frankie, you were the best dog ever.

SAM #12/50

8x8 oil on canvas panel

This is Sam who belongs to the incredibly talented, Dana Cooper. I love Sam's intense gaze and his ready stance to jump off the ottoman and bark at the cat across the street/fetch his ball/attack his squeaky rat...oh wait a minute, I got carried away and was thinking of my little Cowgirl pup. I'm certain Dana's Sam is well-behaved with impeccable manners, unlike Cowgirl.

NATHAN & MICHELLE MUSE #8/50

8x8 oil on canvas panel
Or perhaps I should call this one, "It's cool to hold your pet chicken".

MAGGIE MAE #6/50

8x8 oil on canvas panel
Maggie Mae is one smart dog. She lives in Oxford, Mississippi with her loving family; however, while her family is at work, Maggie Mae has adopted the family next door. By day, she receives and delivers all kinds of affection to a family of 3 little boys and 1 little girl. By night, her loyalties belong with her family; good going Maggie Mae, you're living the good life.

BARDLEDOO #4 of 50

8x8 oil on canvas panel

#4 in the 50/50 series is Bardledoo, a sweet little baby who had a very, very short life. Bardledoo died last month of an unknown virus, but lived life to the fullest in her 4 short months as a cattle working dog and a great buddy to a family of longhorn ranchers. As a cattle dog in training, one of her favorite things was to play with the baby calves. She was particular about people, but was loyal to her favorite person her dad, Mark. Bardledoo's fav foods consisted of june bugs and ice cubes, yum, yum!

THE POSER

8x10 oil on moleskine nfs

The Poser is for sweet Linda Popple's moleskine with The Texas Moleskin Round-Up. I had so much fun painting this guy that I think I may have to commit to painting a few more roosters and chickens over my summer break. The background was a bit of a dilemma, I was aiming for dull, but sophisticated, something that would allow his plumage to stand out. I am happy with the end results, but we'll have to wait and see what Miss Linda thinks for herself.

And now I have a special favor to ask all of you...I have just recently lost 50 pounds...YAY!...Ok, that's embarrassing to admit that I even needed to lose that much, but it is what it is. I want to celebrate those 50 pounds with 50 pet portraits of animals of all kinds during my 50 days of summer vacation. In order for me to do this, I need you to send me photos of your pets, and I mean pets of all kinds...from dogs to piglets, I'm on for the challenge and am hoping for a variety of subjects to work from. The photos must be your own pictures and, you will be under no obligation to purchase a painting. In order for me to work from your photos, they must be clear and in-focus, along with good lighting; jpegs can be e-mailed to me at jaledge@aol.com . I am beginning this challenge within a few days, so it is important I get your photos soon.

Happy Summer to all of you, school is officially over for me and I'm ready to paint...Please help me celebrate my 50 with 50!

TINKERBELL

8x10 oil on canvas sold

Many of you know we adopted a cute little rescue puppy named Cowgirl this past May. She is a tail wagging happy dog and has brought us much joy and love after we lost our little 15 year old schnauzer, Zoe. Seriously, we should have named her Happy Girl, instead of Cowgirl. In addition to all that unconditional Cowgirl lovin' she brought us, she introduced me to her foster mother, who just happened to commission me to paint her 5 family pets! So, here is the first of five, Tinkerbell, a Devon Rex.

HONEY PIE

8x10 oil on canvas sold

Here's a little commission I just recently finished (yes, I've been painting, just neglected posting) for one of my favorite clients. You might remember Bandit, the Blue-Eyed Brown-Eyed Wonder Dog, Bandit's Mama and I teach together and she so kindly commissioned another portrait.

Now, first off you have to love a dog that is so special she has a first name and a middle name. Now imagine Honey Pie's name spoken with the sweetest little Southern Mississippi accent, well it doesn't get any sweeter than that. Honey Pie's story is funny in that my client and her brother grew up "pet-less"...no hamster, kitten, or even a goldfish, never mind a DOG! After the kids were grown up and gone, Mom decided she'd buy herself a little birthday present...a 6 week old Cocker Spaniel...imagine her husband's surprise/shock when he came home from a game of golf to find her birthday present. As you've probably already figured out, it wasn't long before Honey Pie wasn't Mom's dog, she was Dad's dog!

Honey Pie's favorite word is CHEESE! Not too long ago, she tore out of a screened porch to chase a squirrel. Can't you just see her family running around the neighborhood looking for Honey Pie, all the while yelling CHEESE, CHEESE? Honey Pie promptly returned home and, of course waited for her promised cheese reward. Although her days are spent with her Mom, at the end of the day, she faithfully waits at the back door for Dad to come home. Once Dad is home, it's all about the two of them, even though Honey Pie is Mom's dog, don't forget she's really Dad's dog.

Happy 60th Birthday, Ken!
Love, Cam, Jordan, Adams...and Honey Pie, too! :-)

HENRY...for Vern Schwarz

8x10 oil on sketchbook paper nfs

This painting is for Vern Schwarz for The Flying Moleskins. Actually this painting is incorrectly titled, it should read: Henry, My Nemesis! I met Henry while painting plein air a while ago. He walked up to me wearing a blue on blue polka dot choker collar, he had a sleek short hair cut, and the wildest pompadour, complete with a topknot. His owners graciously allowed me to photograph him; Henry was obviously comfortable in front of the camera as every shot of him was perfect, all ready for a painting.

Now, for the nemesis part. Henry has been the most difficult dog I have ever painted, I should know, this is my 4th painting of him. My other 3 Henry paintings...ready for a bonfire come winter...include his full body. Something about that wild hair-do with the sleek body did not make a lovely painting, too much of a textural weird contrast or at least that's how I've justified those 3 bonfire failures. My husband (thanks, honey) has assured me "not all dogs are supposed to be painted and this one is just ugly".

I still don't know why I selected Henry for Vern's book, I just felt compelled to paint this dog and succeed for once. Cropping that wild pompadour with the topknot and focusing on Henry's face was a huge help, I am pleased with my 4th and I guess final painting of Henry.

BUDDY & IZZY

11x14 oil on canvas sold

I received several photos to work from for this portrait. In each photo sat Buddy, ever proud, faithful and solid as a rock and then there was the other little guy, Izzy! Izzy was all over the place in the shots and I could not help but think of him as a child's toy. Wind Izzy up and watch him pop up out of the bluebonnets! Speaking of bluebonnets, soon we will have fields of the most beautiful display of Texas wildflowers, a gorgeous sight to behold. Take care and if you're on Spring Break, as I am, I hope you are having a great start to this beautiful Spring season.

SULLY

8x10 oil on canvas sold

This is one of several commissions I've been working on before Christmas. Sully is an English Labrador Retriever, otherwise known as a "Blockhead" Lab. They are given this name because of their square or block shaped head. I understand, Sully works hard, plays hard, and in-between, naps hard. At the end of his hard day, I've been told he sleeps hard!

I wish you and your families a very Happy New Year, one filled with lots of art: buying, selling, collecting, and most importantly creating!!

TWEEDLES x 2

Look at what I got in the mail! Several postings back I posted this painting of Tweedles, which I had painted from a photo from James Parker's blog. In addition to these photos of a very photogenic Tweedles, I also received a beautiful & sincere letter of thanks that made me cry & smile all at the same time...this is why I love to paint!

Tweedles, you are the best; please tell your moms hello for me!

LIZZIE, RANCH GIRL DU JOUR

11x14 oil on canvas sold

As you read my client's description of Lizzie, I'd like you to keep in mind that all of this is accomplished by Lizzie while sporting a 3-strand pearl choker with a sweetheart charm. This commission is a birthday present for Lizzie's Mama in October. My client requested a real girly pink for the background because, although Lizzie is a ranch girl, she is really a ranch girl du jour! I loved my photo reference of Lizzie, she's on high alert and the following explains why!

Lizzie lives on a ranch with her Mama Wynona, Granny Valli Pearl, and Ricky the parrot. She also lives with several peacocks, emus, egrets, ostrich, cattle and longhorns (did ya'll see that...longhorns, my favorite kind of cattle), horses and miniature horses, goats, sheep and Jonas sheep, antelope, deer, and a multitude of cats...WHEW!

Allowing her to maintain her girlish figure, Lizzie has a list of duties she performs daily from runnin' off coons to roundin' up dogies, a motherless or neglected calf. Lizzie is most interested in FOOD, barkin' at critters, EATIN', chasin' said critters, FOOD, and of course, sleeping under Mama's porch swing...I mean after all, a girl deserves to rest!

SHEP WEST

8x10 oil on canvas sold
This is one of three commissions I recently completed for a new client. Shep is a beautiful rescue German Shepherd and I think one of the largest shepherds I've ever seen; he is such a happy guy. The three paintings will hang as a group in their breakfast room; you can see the other two paintings of MiMi and Ollie on my website at angelaelledge.com. All of the West's dogs are rescues. MiMi's story of how she came to live with Sally & Dale is heartwarming, but first you have to have a little picture of her. She's a little black terrier mix of some kind, has lots of straggly white hair growing all over the place, black wide lips, and a little snaggle buck tooth. After seeing MiMi, Sally cried for days begging Dale to let her have her because "no one would love MiMi like I would". End of story: MiMi lives happily ever after with Sally & Dale!

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sally and Dale on these paintings, not only did they pay me, but I walked out of their home with a brand new printer they thought my school could use (and yes, we did!) and an awesome bottle of wine! Sally and Dale came over to my house to preview the paintings while they were still wet and they spied my bottle tree loaded with colorful bottles I have collected. This wine is a Meeker Merlot and is known as the Handprint wine. As I understand, one of the two owners of the Meeker vineyard paint their hands with bright and colorful paint and they add their painted signature handprints to the bottles, really cool. After we drink the wine, this is one bottle I can't wait to add to the bottle tree! Thank you Sally & Dale!