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Rescue Me: Puppies
Rescue Me: Puppies, Acrylic on canvas board, 16" x 12", 2012
This is a painting of one of the little pups that is being cared for by Husky House in New Jersy. This guy is very sick and fighting for his life at the hospital. Several of his puppy friends are also quite ill. Husky House has a huge vet bill looming! I will be selling this painting as well as Rescue Me: Prince to help raise some money for their care. Please think positive thoughts for the pups! Stay tuned for information on where these two paintings will be posted for sale!
Stretching
I started running this year. I usually like it. Sometimes, though, it causes a lot of pain. I’m told, that stretching after every run will do a lot to alleviate that pain. But I HATE stretching!!! I’m pretty sure everyone does! So how do I talk myself into doing it? I know it’s good for me…but I just don’t like doing it.
I also find it difficult to paint outside of my comfort zone. If you haven’t noticed already, I really like dogs. I like them as living creatures and I especially like them as subjects! To strengthen my painting ability, though, I think I need to STRETCH a bit. It’s good for me! I know that…so how do I get myself to do it. Stay tuned! I will be testing out some new subject matter over the next few weeks!
Stretch, Acrylic on canvas board, 16" x 20", 2012
Time to S-T-R-E-T-C-H!
Shelter Me!
Shelter Me 1, Acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24", unfinished
My vision for the Shelter Me series is to capture the faces and emotions of the animals who wait in shelters for their new homes. This is my first attempt. It’s not quite there yet, but I can almost see where it is going. I took the photo that I am using for reference years ago at a local kill shelter. The dog in the photo, being part pit bull, likely never made it out of the shelter (although I hope I am wrong about that!) It makes me so sad to think about all of the animals that spend weeks in shelters, scared, alone, only to be euthanized. I hope painting these pictures will honor them in some way.
Trying Something New
Henrik in the Wood, Acrylic on Wood, 8" x 24", 2012
Quite a few years ago, I bought a stack of book-matched pieced of wood from a luthier who was going out of business. I’m not exactly sure what I planned to do with them all, but they have been sitting in the basement waiting for me ever since. So, I decided to see what would happen if I tried painting on them. Well, I quite like the results! In areas where I thinned the paint with water, it absorbed nicely into the would, giving it a stained effect. Where I applied the paint heavily, it sat nicely on the surface.
This piece was a gift for friends who have a beautiful dog named Henrik. He was a shelter dog and has begun to thrive with their love. This may be the style that I adopt for my “Rescue Me/Shelter Me” series. I still haven’t decided. I am excited to get started working on it. I know exactly who my first subject will be! His name is Luke and he is a guest of MaPaw Siberian Husky Rescue. He and his friend, Dora, came into MaPaw from a local shelter. Soon after arrival, they were both found to have Canine Influenza. Sadly, Dora did not make it. Luke spent several days in critical condition, but is now improving. Their vet bills are quite high and my hope is that the sale of Rescue Me: Luke will help offset them just a bit.
Inspiration
Apparently I have it! All I can think about is my next painting! In fact, I have a whole series in mind: “Shelter Me; Rescue Me!” I have always had a passion for painting animals and I have a passion for helping homeless dogs and cats, so what makes more sense then using them as the subjects of my paintings? I did this years ago on a small scale and created the “PupArt” series. These were little 5″ x 7″ paintings that I sold and then donated a portion of the proceeds to the shelter where the subject was residing. This time I’m thinking of going MUCH bigger! 3′ x 4′, 4′ x 5′, or even bigger! Again, with some sort of profit sharing with the shelter or rescue. Seems like a win-win to me! I get GREAT subject matter and an endless suppl of inspiration and the shelter gets some level of publicity and hopefully a couple of extra bucks. I can hardly wait to get started. I hear the art supply store calling!
PupArt: LCHS, Acrylic on canvas board, 5" x 7", 2003
Proper Respect
A couple of years ago, my husband and I visited the Lakota Wolf Preserve. One of my favorite photos from the day is that is of a young wolf licking an alpha’s muzzle. While the technical quality of the photograph is awful, the feeling that the photo captures always makes me smile. This photo was the inspiration for my most recent painting, Proper Respect.
Proper Respect, Acrylic on Canvas, 24" x 18", 2012
This photo was the inspiration for Proper Respect.
I Know I Shouldn’t Have Favorites
I Know I Shouldn't Have Favorites, Acrylic on canvas board, 20" x 16", 2012
I know I shouldn’t have favorites, but Flora was my favorite. Sadly, we lost her to cancer almost two years ago. Typical of her breed, she often slept curled in a “husky ball.” This painting captures a memory I hold very close to my heart!
Old Man Wolf
Old Man Wolf, Acrylic on canvas board, 20" x 16", 2012
Several years ago, my husband and I were lucky enough to win a photographic tour of the Lakota Wolf Preserve. While I don’t pretend to be much of a photographer, I did come away with some amazing pictures! Whenever I need reference material for my paintings, I go back to the stack of images from that day. I will likely never run out of inspiration from that day!
Alpha Shadow
Alpha Shadow, painted in 2008 by Kathryn Armstrong
I started this painting months before I finished it. It sat in the corner of my room next to my bureau waiting to be finished. I really didn’t even like it. The nose was wrong and the tail wasn’t placed properly. I wasn’t even sure that I was going to finish it. Then one day, I saw what it should look like. I got out my paints and literally picked the wolves out of the mess of paint on the canvas. After months of staring at it, the painting was finished in two hours. I still haven’t figured out my process. It just seems to happen when it happens. Wish I could learn to force it or focus it or what ever you want to call it…
