Byrd Avenue

I was walking my dogs one morning when I glanced up at a big, ol' crow perched upon -- what else -- the Byrd Avenue sign in my neighborhood.  Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me at the time, but I was able to cobble together some photo references taken later to recreate the scene.

"Byrd Avenue."  Pastel, 14" x 11"

Pet Portrait Commissions

Here are a couple of pet portraits completed this year.  The Coonhound Bruno was a friend of mine and my dogs, and was a sudden, painful loss.  I created that portrait as a gift for my friends, to honor his memory.

"Bruno's Last Hunt" Oil, 16" x 20"

This portrait was also done for a friend, and is a memorial portrait of his brother's Bulldog Bosley, pictured in the back.  This will be a Christmas gift for his brother.

"Three Bulldogs" Oil, 16" x 20"

Jack Russell

Not sure how I feel about this one yet...probably since it's much looser than my dog pieces usually get...

"Jack Russell"  Pastel, 12" x 9"

Strawberry

This one started with some scribbling on a scrap piece of paper, and became a strawberry!  No photo reference, just playing with the pastels.

"Strawberry"  Pastel, 3.5" x 6"

Flowers in a Teapot

Just a fun little still life in oil pastel.  I worked over an oil painting that I didn't much care for, and with all the layers it ended up with some really nice textures.

"Flowers in a Teapot"  Oil Pastel, 9" x 12"

Mount St Helens

Another pastel work created from a reference photo from my trip out to Washington, this time the subject is Mount St Helens. 

"Mount St Helens" Pastel, 9" x 12"

Visiting Mount St Helens is a wonderful and fascinating reminder of the awesome power of nature.  So much has been learned about the nature of volcanoes by studying the activity there...humbling gratitude given to those who sacrificed their lives in the 1980 eruption in the pursuit of that study.

Nisqually Deer

Another work from a photo taken at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge in Washington:

"Nisqually Deer."  Pastel, 12" x 9"

Nisqually Crane

From a reference photo taken at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge in Washington.

"Nisqually Crane."  Pastel, 9" x 12"

WJS Community Park

I'm very happy that this piece will be on display at Robbin Gallery as part of their 16th Annual "Extremely Minnesota" Juried Art Show, November 10th through December 15, 2012.  This is a spot along a walking path in Walter J Sochacki Community Park near my home, where I often walk my two dogs.

"WJS Community Park"  Pastel, 15" x 19"

Mastiff

A colored pencil portrait of a Mastiff I did to accompany my donation of a portrait gift certificate to a fundraising auction for a Mastiff rescue group.  The auction starts November 24th, and I'll post a link when it begins.

Mastiff, colored pencil, 7" x 5"

Birthday Flowers

From a photo of a bouquet of flowers that I received as a gift from my fella, now immortalized in pastel:

Birthday Flowers, pastel, 6" x 8"

Lone Tree on Lonely Road

The support is illustration board covered with a few coats of Art Spectrum Colourfix primer in burgundy.  It's been a long time since I did a landscape!

Lone Tree on Lonely Road.  Pastel.  14" x 7"

Geese At The Fair

I've made it past phase one of the judging for the MN State Fair Fine Arts competition with my piece "Geese At The Fair!"

Oil pastel, 24" x 12".

Phase two judging takes place the last weekend of July.

Update!  "Geese At The Fair" will be on display at the fair!  You can see it at the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Building (corner of Randall and Cosgrove) August 23rd through Labor Day.

Update II, Electric Boogaloo!   "Geese At The Fair" has been sold!  Okay, so it didn't win any awards, but I'm still thrilled my work has found a good home.  

And I'll get around to a truly new post one of these days, I promise...

Fluffy

"Fluffy," colored pencil on panel, 12" x 9".

The latest in my "Contrary Pet Names" series.

Bruiser

I'm working on a series, "Contrary Pet Names."  This is the first piece, "Bruiser," colored pencil, 9" x 12".

That is one vicious looking Pomeranian, let me tell ya...

Sheep update

Remember this sheep?  Well, I've been playing with it a bit more, messing around with some new materials and techniques...unfortunately the paper warped pretty badly, but should I decide to mat and frame it that should hold it down fine.

"Sheep," 12" x 9", pastel on paper.

Muscovy Duck

I really like how this one came out...do I need to "call an audible" on my State Fair submission?  (I hope I used that phrase correctly...you jocks out there can correct me if necessary...)

"Muscovy Duck," pastel on paper, 12" x 9".

Swan

Swan in colored pencil, 5" x 7".

This piece is available for purchase via online auction: Click to bid!

Zazzle Product Feature + Doodle

One of my Zazzle products, Cat in Shadow and Light Greeting Card was featured in this blog!  Thanks for the publicity!

Cat in Shadow and Light Cards by Pawsterity
Create my own card at Zazzle

Also, here's a little critter I doodled at the day job:

Sheep

I guess I have barnyard critters on the brain!  Here's a piece I'm messing around with, playing with alternating layers of soft and oil pastel...

Geese at the Fair

Here it is so far...I think I'll leave out the bars.  I need to leave it alone for a bit, but it's pretty much done.

"Geese at the Fair," 24" x 12", oil pastel.

Geese at the Fair: WIP

I was hoping to have more progress completed on this piece by now, but I'm fighting a nasty chest cold.  Oh well...here it is, so far.

Geese at the Fair: WIP

I've started work on my submission for this year's State Fair Fine Arts competition.  I'm working from a reference photo I took a few years back.  I saw some geese in a cage in the back of a truck, and I got a few pictures.  It just struck me kind of funny, to see a bunch of geese in a truck...maybe you had to be there.  Anyway, here's the reference photo:

And here's phase one of my piece:

I did a bit of "underpainting" with dry pastels sprayed heavily with fixative, then blended a bit with a brush.

I omitted some of the geese in the photo to simplify the composition.  I still haven't decided if I'll include the cage bars or not...if I do, it will be at the very end...and I may shift them so they don't intersect with goose eyeballs so much!

Longhair Tuxedo Cat and Yellow Flowers

Ahhhh...it feels good to be creating again!  After a long break updating my website and pricing, planning my upcoming newsletter, and getting new business cards and sample book together, I'm actually able to get back to drawing!

Working with the new oil pastels again, this is "Tuxedo Jones With Yellow Flowers," 18" x 12".  The support is a rough watercolor paper primed with ArtSpectrum Colourfix in Elephant.

New Website!

My new website is up!  Check out the new Pawsterity Pet Portraits !

I offer a 30% discount off portraits when you refer a friend...and your friend gets a free frame!  Spread the word...

Just a few more office-y type details to tend to, then I can get back to creating! 

A Fish Called Grumpy

A little something in oil pastel for the kind folks at Wet Canvas.

14" x 7" oil pastel on primed rough watercolor paper.

Tuff the Pug in Colored Pencil

Here it is, the finished colored pencil version of my Pug, Tuff's portrait:

 

10" x 10" Derwent Drawing Pencils on Somerset Velvet paper.

WIP: Tuff the Pug, part II

Tonight's progress on Tuff the Pug in colored pencil:

WIP: Tuff the Pug

My latest work, a portrait of my very own Pug, Tuff, in colored pencil on black paper.  Just getting the inital highlights in, so not much to see yet.

I'm using the same reference photo that I used for this pencil portrait of Tuff:

This will evenually go up on the new website, to show how the same subject would look in a different medium or style.

Cat and Tulips

While I wait for approval on my latest commission, here's a piece I finished just before starting that portrait.

Cat and Tulips, Derwent drawing pencils on black Stonehenge paper, 5" x 10":

Checkers, Phase II

Here's my progress on the portrait of Checkers, the cute Champion Aussie Cattle Dog:

Almost done!  Probably just one more layer of highlights to go...

Commission WIP: Checkers!

Another one of my donated gift certificates being redeemed!  This is my first Australian Cattle Dog, and first show dog.  Meet Champion Shalimar's Spell Check, aka Checkers!  This is the first layer of pastel, quite dark right now, but the next layers will lighten up quite a bit:

Milo!

This is a portrait of my dog, Milo!  He's a Mini Bulldog, and he came to live with me last June.  My co-worker had to relocate to Australia when his wife got a job there, and between the expense and 3 month quarantine they decided it wasn't a good idea to bring him along.  Milo's first family will be in town for a visit around Easter, and this will be a gift for them so they have a keepsake of him.

Colored pencil, 12" x 9".

Back to Basics: Tortoiseshell Cat in Colored Pencil

While I haven't given up totally on oil, colored pencil is a medium in which I know I can get good results.  Here's a portrait of a Tortoiseshell cat in Derwent Drawing Pencils on black paper.  I like how it has sort of an "old world" look to it:

Dogs A - Z, on hiatus

Well, I've come to the unfortunate realization that I need to put my Dogs A - Z series on the back burner.  I need to find a medium to replace soft pastel for my pet portraits sooner rather than later; I just can't take the dust anymore!  My work in oil is still way too uneven to count on a quality result for my clients, so I'll have to keep working on that on the side.  I'm looking to revamp my website in a couple of months anyway, so I'll be working on a new gallery of colored pencil work, and possibly replace soft pastel with oil pastel...stay tuned!

G is for German Shepherd (Work in Progress)

Working on the latest in my Dogs: A - Z series, G is for German Shepherd.  Oil on panel, 9" x 12".  Just kind of laying down colors, at this point I think it needs to dry a bit before the next layer:

Another Update on Grace

Today's progress:

The blue in the muzzle is a lot more subtle in the original, but it seems like the camera picked it up pretty intensely...I'm getting close to finished, though, so a scan is next anyway...