Blog Archives
Close to My Heart
Three Paw Prints on My Heart, Acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20", 2012
I painted this for friend who had adopted a dog from me years ago. He was a sweet husky who came to me very broken. He had been hit by a car and was running loose on a broken leg for over a week. When animal control finally caught him, he was in bad shape. The shelter the was taken to put a cast on his leg, but that was absolutely NOT what he needed. His leg was horribly infected and he was slowly dying. We got the call and moved on it immediately! One emergency surgery and several days and 38 staples later, he was safe and sound (although missing a leg!) in my home. He stayed with us for over a month while he healed. Finally, he was ready for his forever home, which he found with a colleague from work. Over the years, we became friends. His “mom” started volunteering for the husky rescue I work with and we have all remained connected over the years.
A couple months ago, at the approximate age of 14, my three-legged buddy passed away. He left many broken hearts behind. The photo I used for reference for this painting was taken just last year. You can see that he is an old boy, but still so handsome!
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
