First of all... Yay!! I can finally post again!! I've been struggling with my site. I have no idea what I did or didn't do, but here I am :-) Wahoo!!

Ok, now onto business:

I thought I would post this little guy. His name was Luke and I painted him on a 12 inch by 12 inch canvas using acrylic paint. I love the solid pop of yellow. I feel like the focus is more on the pup. His ears are huge! I'm glad my client had a picture of his ears pointing in different directions. It's like you can sense his little curiosity peeking through.

So what happens when you're trying to avoid frigid temperatures and eating pizza? You do warm up sketches on the box it came in! I'm trying out a new thing this year: warm up sketches before working on paintings/murals/illustrations.
I'll be honest, I have not been consistent with this new practice, but I do notice that I feel little more "warmed up" for the next project. Think of it as stretching before exercising 😂

And by the way, this bear didn't take too much out of my day: 20 minutes. So if you just finished eating a pizza, or have a napkin,  or a piece of  scrap paper, and you're getting ready to embark on your artistic journey of creating whatever, grab a sharpie! Do a warm up sketch!

Meet my latest addition to my #petportrait series! Internet, this is the witty, awesomely fluffy, and adorable, Mr. Cody ;-)
I really enjoyed painting this little guy, but he definitely was a bit of a challenge:

I struggled with the background just a bit. Although I love the vibrant reds, I felt the color combination was a bit strong for this pup. He's 13 years old and is super smart. That's why I chose the dusty rose, a bit more subdued, elegant, and calm.

His right eye was missing a little touch of light as well, even though the photo my client sent me showed nothing but black.

 Sometimes, it's that little addition, that artist license, offering an opportunity to push the image pass the photo into something more.

obviously this pic screams, "I'm not even close yet!!" But this is the point that I realized I needed to take extra care in fluffing up the top of his head, and let his ears be more "stringy". I bended the background color at the top to soften the fuzz, and added detailed strokes (only a few) to enhance his floppy ears.

Thank you for stopping by :-)

 Yay! It's approved! I'm always flattered when someone wants to commission me to paint a portrait of their furbaby, especially when they plan to give it as a gift to a loved one. It took me a bit to get this pup's eyes just right, but in the end I'm very pleased with how he turned out :-) I think what did it for me, was to not add white to his eyes. Look closely. I used greyish blues to bring in the light source.

Thanks for stopping by, until next time!

 I just completed another #dogportrait, and thought I would share a few progession photos of my work. Please bear with me as I fumble through this post. 

As you can see, in this pic the dog is looking like a dog, but there's not enough fur detail
I get it, it's only 8 inches square, but it looked so unfinished to me. I mean, come on, it's a #goldenretriever , one of the hairiest, furriest dogs on the planet! And there was nothing behind those eyes. To me, the eyes and the nose are th most important of a #petportrait ... But that's just me.

A little better, but not much. 

Ah yes, this is Indie!
I added more detail to his snout. His neck fur feels like it cascades down and around his hidden collar and I love how his eyes have just a hint of light reflecting. I wanted the light source to focus on his wild - Golden Retriever -like fur.
Thank you for stopping by :-)

 Sketched out these images to practice #portraits of well-known icons. I entered my portfolio in another contest, and noticed I had zero samples of people. I chose these famous individuals for their contributions to the world in art and technology.

#ArethaFranklin #HenryFord #music #QueenOfSoul #Automotive #Detroit #pencilsketch

In addition to working on the #PublicArt #mural for the City of #SterlingHeights, I took a brief break to compete in the annual #ArtsBeatsandEats meter beautification contest. Last year I placed 3rd, and this year I placed first with my #giraffe! I was inspired by my love for feeding the giraffes at the #DetroitZoo nearby, and of course the shape of the meter itself. I love competing in this event, I've met several talented artists through this competition. One of them even came out and supported me while I was working on the mural! 

On another note, today is a big day... Ribbon cutting day! I'm nervous, I'm excited, I'm wondering if anyone will show up (other than my immediate family -and what if they are caught in traffic??). 

It doesn't help that today, just before the ribbon cutting, I find out if I made it into the final 5 for the Michigan Great Artist contest. Great timing. I hope that one will take my mind off the other. 

Perhaps I should just paint. Paint a dog. A Pitty :-) yes, that is what I will do!

If you're in Sterling Heights today, stop by and say hello! The ribbon cutting will be at the BP gas station on the corner of Dodge Park and Utica Road at 6 p.m. this evening.

Now I must paint!