Well, I picked up the last of my frames today for Botanical Gardens show

So guess what I am doing tomorrow ?!?
My show hangs on Monday afternoon and will be up for most of the month of November. Here's the details again. 50% of the proceeds go to the botanical gardens, Sundown Surgery Fund, and Grace Fund at the UGA Vet Med Teaching Hospital.

"Lucky" Dog

People often ask about pics of patients, so here's one that has been boarding for a few days. (click on the photos and they will enlarge a bit).

Can a dog get any skinnier? Not sure about his story. He was found out in the middle of nowhere. Most lab puppies weigh 10-13 lbs when they come in to start their vaccines at 6 weeks old. Here's one that weighs 14.5 lbs at 5-6 months old.

He has been here for the past 3 days, he was quite wormey, but this is more than just worms. Not sure if he was lost, not fed, trapped somewhere, etc.

He's eating and has gained a lb. already in 3 days.

Oh, and his name is Lucky. as he is lucky to be alive, lucky to be found, lucky that someone didn't shoot him, etc.

Ellen and the Dog Adoption

Much has been posted online for the past 2 days about Ellen Degeneres and the dog adoption gone bad. I found this on petfinder.com and I think it's worth posting again if you haven't seen it. Forgive the double posting, as I would have included it earlier had I found it then.

Mutts and Mom has chosen to temporarily inactivate their website on Petfinder.com because their email inbox and voice mail are overwhelmed. Petfinder has 11,000 shelters and rescue groups posting over 260,000 pets that need homes. We do not dictate the adoption policies of our members. We do work with them to educate their volunteers and hope to professionalize the industry as a whole, providing a positive experience for adopters. Petfinder advocates for all parties: the pets, the adopters, and the shelter and rescue group workers and volunteers.

Pet Return Policies

Many shelters and rescue groups insist, through their adoption agreements, that if a pet cannot stay with his adoptive family, the adopters must return him to the group. Why do they do this?

Between 500,000 and 1 million pets adopted from shelters and rescue groups find themselves homeless and in the shelter once again.

One foster mom said it best, "I found the dog on the street, starving. I nursed her back to health. She slept in my bed. I sang her back to sleep when she had nightmares when she first came to me. Then I adopted her to a wonderful family. A year later, I got a call from animal control because she was at the shelter and she was going to be euthanized. The family had gotten divorced and she ended up on death row!"

This too-common experience leads rescue groups and shelter to put strict policies in place governing what happens if the adoption doesn't work out. In effect, the rescue group and shelters are promising to always be there as a safety net for the pets. This can be very comforting to adopters.

Finding a New Home for Your Pet

Some pet parents, who have the best intentions for their pets, feel that they can do a better job of finding a new home for their beloved pet than a shelter or rescue group. Their rationale is that they know their pet best, they can keep it in their home until the perfect new home is found, and they can help ease the transition for the pet. Often times, this is a natural transition - a family member, trusted friend, or a colleague gets to know the pet, falls in love, and the ownership of the pet is unofficially transferred to them.

This is a controversial point of view, even amongst shelters and rescue groups who may feel that they have more experience identifying pitfalls and risk factors when identifying new families. Research, however, suggests that there is no difference in the success rates of the adoptions between organizations that screen heavily versus those that have more open adoption policies.

It also bears noting that shelters and rescue groups, understandably, want to keep in contact with new families to be able to lend their support and continue to get updates about the pets they cared for. So we have two groups, the shelter and the pet parents, who both want what is best for the pet, but who may have very different points of view. The silver lining is that everyone really wants the best home possible for the pet. If we could ensure that same future for all the pets available on Petfinder.com, our job would be accomplished.

Calla Lilies- Redeux

I finally was able to paint last evening for the first time in a few weeks. When doing that, I prefer to not jump back in right away with a very complicated painting, that I have to concentrate and think about too much. LOL- makes my head hurt!

I still had this photo sitting on my painting table, so I decided to paint it again, since the first one was donated to Postcards from the Ledge in Asheville, the first of this month.

Calla Lilies Again- varnished watercolor on Yupo board, 5x7 inches.




Here's the prettiest part to me, where the blue bleed into the Quinacridone Gold and Italian Burnt Sienna.



I will be offering this painting for sale unframed on ebay later this evening- here's the ebay link. If you think you want it, I would suggest bidding on it. If it's framed and goes into the show, with the show commission, it will be $200.

New Notecard Set

These notecards arrived in the mail today. 4 different designs, professionally printed on cardstock with a glossy finish. 4x5 inches, blank inside, with white envelopes.

Yupo Boards, listed on Etsy

I am often asked about painting on Yupo, specifically about the yupo boards. Yupo, in case you don't know, is a synthetic watercolor paper made out of polypropylene. That's a fancy word for plastic.

The boads are handmade, and while I was making some for myself, I pressed a few extra.

They have been removed from Etsy.

Limited Edition Christmas/ Holiday Ornaments

For a few years, I have wanted to offer a line of holiday ornaments. Signed limited editions that would only be available for that particular calendar year. For example, 2007 ornament available until Dec 31, 2007, and then retired.

I never have been able to decide on 1 image though. And then the question, would it have to be holly berries, snow, horse carriages, and santa?

I know that some people put up themed christmas trees around a design or a collection- all blue and white, all natural elements, etc. I like a more eclectic look. Choosing items that mean the most to me. Even if they don't all match a color or theme scheme.

Beginning the 2nd week of November, the 2007 ornaments will be released. I know they'll be a dog one, a cat one, and maybe a floral one. Still deciding, and they need some tweaking with photoshop, as rectangular paintings don't always look so great when cropped into a circle (You can tell by the mockups above).

If you have a comment, suggestion, or just want to root for your favorite, :-) ,
leave a comment below.

I can't seem to get any painting done, but

here's another video of LMS and Jethro while she was stretchng her legs around the office this morning.

November Show and Little Miss Sunshine Update

My postcards arrived the end of last week. The show dates were changed just a little (October 29 - November 26). The reception is still scheduled for Nov 4th. So be there, or be rectangle.

I tried to get a snapshot of Little Miss Sunshine this morning. But she will not be still long enough to get a pic with my digital camera, inside the building. Blurry!
So I shot a little 15 second video. She began eating on her own on Saturday. No stopping her now.

She had been eating, that's why she's licking her chops.

Little Miss Sunshine- stray kitten

I happened to be at the hospital on Sunday when I intercepted a kitten being dumped at my office.
There aren't many reasons why someone would drive to the vet, on a Sunday, when the office is closed,without an appointment, with a kiten in a box. After talking to the guy, it became obvious that if I didn't take the kitten, Mr. SUV driver would dump her out in the woods, throw her in the river, etc., that sorta thing. Nice.

There is a little 30 second video of the kitten below this post, if you click on this link which will take you to the top of the page.