Hooch

Meet Hooch.
He sort of resembles a blurry space alien in this photo.


He's a 6 week old Boxer puppy, weighs about 5 lbs., who came in for his puppy vaccinations today. He's a little wormey so he should start look a little better after a few days.



In other news, I am uploading new gift item designs to various sites over the next few days, and to my own shopping cart site. I started it last year, ?!?, but never got around to finishing it. It will allow me to send out coupon codes, gift certificates- the whole 9 yards. :)
So stay tuned for that.

I will be exhibiting at downtown Atlanta at ICE- Atlanta Holiday Market. November 21st. If you are in the area, stop by and say hello.

Stay away from apples with razor blades in them if you happen to be out trick or treating. . . .

M. Graham Watercolor Paint

I know a few artists are on my blog list, so I have to give a little shout out to this company- M. Graham.

Several weeks ago, I received a few tubes of their watercolor paint. From their cat Annie. Apparently, she's in charge of the studio. You've got to love that. Here's their website.
I consider a painting not to be complete without a little dog or cat hair mixed into the paint or varnish.

I've heard oil painters rave about M. Graham paints. Originally, years ago, I put my watercolor palette together with several brands- Winsor and Newton, Daniel Smith, and Holbein. Then I heard other watercolor artists mention M. Graham on some artists boards- most were in love with Napthol Red. So one day, I happen to come across M. Graham paint in an art store while traveling, and picked up a few tubes- Naphtol Red, Azo Yellow, and one other one, I think.

All paints start with a dry pigment that is ground and blended into a carrier medium. M. Graham happens to use honey in their watercolor formulation, making for smooth washes and moist paints.

If you don't happen to live near a store, you can also find their paints online. So, the next time, you happen to be looking for paint, give M. Graham a try. Quality approved by Annie. :)

If you like reading reviews on various watercolor brands, check out the handprint.com site.

Chloe- Lab- Pit Bull Terrier Mix

This little girl came in for her follow up vaccinations today. She was recued from the pound about a week ago. I don't think anyone knows for sure what breed she is, but are guessing lab and pit bull mix. She's a sweetie.

Of course, she wouldn't be still for a photo. So here's a little video.

Sasha and Art-O-Mat

This little girl came in for her vaccinations. 12-13 weeks old Pit Bull puppy.
She's a sweetie. And a cutie.


Below are some of the cards on their way to an Art-O-Mat machine, hopefully near you.
Familiar with these? They are old cigarette vending machines that are refurbished to dispense little works of art. Art-O-Mat Website.



I inquired about the machines a few weeks ago, and they were interested in animal artwork. So the next trick is to come up with something that fits in a 2 x 3 inch box. So I worked up an assortment of tiny mounted, varnished prints and a display easel. A few gift items are going along as well.



I am sending a couple of different images to see what is popular and then edit out the items in the future.

Bo Needs a Home- Pointer? Spaniel? Mix

This guy wandered up to a clients home last week. She sent me his photos to put on PetFinder so I thought I would share them with you.

She calls him Bo.



I thought about giving him a cool philosopher type name- like Socrates. Or Plato. But spell it PlayDough.

He's about 6 months-1 year old. Medium size, looks like a bird dog mix. Very friendly, plays with their other dogs. He weighs about 40 lbs. and is 22 inches at the shoulder. We don't think he will get much larger, if any.




If you know anyone who might be interested in adopting him, give me a holler.


PS. Scraggs found a new home last week. Priscilla and I sort of missed him for a few days.
He came back in yesterday to get neutered. He has a new name as well- Bach.

New Scratching Pad

I bought a new scratching pad yesterday for the Cat Room since Priscilla is confined in there most of the time because of her incontinence issues. Maybelline, Sunshine, and Leon have one in another area of the hospital that they use fairly often.

Well. Crabby Lil Miss Sunshine decided to try and claim this one as her own. Finally I had to lock her out of the room while Priscilla had a turn.

I shot this with my little digital camera and I am not sure why some segments came out so dark and others were fine. I tried to edit the segments in imovie, but that didn't improve them much. I apologize about the darkness, but I think you can see what is going on.

Callie and Allie- from the Chicken Coop

were in for their last vaccinations yesterday.
If you want to see their earlier photos and blog posts, click here.

They wouldn't be still for a photo, so I shot a quick video before the camera batteries died.



When they came in the last time, Callie, the dark calico was turning grey all over, it was the strangest looking thing. This time, her black fur is back on her body, but her tail is still grey. As if it belongs to someone else, haha.




Here's a quick photo of coasters and a bottle stopper top made from the beagle painting.
They turned out quite nice, I think.

A Beagle in Yupo

I was asked last week if I had any bottle stoppers with beagles on them. No, no beagles.
So we emailed back and forth a bit, and they sent a pic to try. It's a good photo, but not the best pet portrait photo as the angle is looking down from above the dog's head. But, nevertheless, it was an interesting photo. And the only beagle photo that she had handy.

Here's the finished painting. 5x7 inches, varnished watercolor on Yupo. I'll list it for sale for one of the dog charities, probably Old Dog Haven. OldDogHaven.org

20% of proceeds goes to Old Dog Haven

A Girl"s Best Friend . . .

DIAMOND.






10 week old pit bull puppy in for her vaccinations today.

Have a safe weekend, everyone.

Viridian, Is that you? It's me, Kolinsky Sable.

That probably makes no sense to the non-painter. As they are wondering who would name their child Viridian. Or Kolinsky. (Let's hope that no painter considers naming a child pthalo or ochre either.)

Like Margaret talking to God in the Judy Blume book, it has been so long that my paint brushes have seen paint, that they don't even recognize each other. By the way, Kolinsky Sable is the hair that expensive watercolor brushes are made of. I don't have many of those. Viridian is a green color. Just in case, the question comes up in Trivial Pursuit at your next party.

While my painting table was cleaned off this weekend, I decided to paint a little. The photo has been sitting in a folder for 2 years. ??? maybe a bit longer. I painted this guy's "sister" (remember Lily playing in the newspaper) about then, but never gotta 'roundtoit for his painting. Until yesterday.

The reference photo is of P snoozing on a window seat, all backlit and in shadow.

It's a good photo, but not my favorite lighting for a painting. He also sometimes sleep with one eye half opened, an old war injury. So I had to figure out what to do about that. It would look odd in a painting I think, so I closed it.





Penske, 5x7 inches, varnished watercolor on Yupo SOLD

I keep seeing things that I would change or add, but for the most part I am happy with it. Let's see what his Mom says.