Dogs Rock my World!

 

I adore dogs! I cannot remember a day in my life where a dog has not been in my household. I can be in the most foul of moods and catch a glimpse of a dog blissfully jutting his head out a car window and my temper is instantly lifted. It is like my insides smile! So being a pet artist among other things is a treat for me and one of the perks is spending time with a dog and taking reference photos for a portrait. The other day I met Gwen and her dog Coltrane at Greenlake in North Seattle for a session.

First off Greenlake is one of my VERY favorite haunts in Seattle. My mother and father met at 11 years old as neighbors a block from the lake and one of my grandmothers continued to live there into the early 1990's....so I have spent many a day there since birth. Best of all Greenlake is a doggy haven with a large percentage of walkers and joggers umbilically linked in exercise harmony.

Gwen is a professional dog walker who walks this beat with her charges Monday thru Friday and creates quite the stir. This particular day she had a dozen dogs in tow and at the end of the 3 mile loop it was Coltrane’s moment of paparazzi glory. With the other dogs safely tucked inside the truck Coltrane had his moment in the spotlight and we posed him in the warm afternoon light just off the path about 12 feet from the lake’s edge. He tolerated our commands initially but suddenly he bolted for the lake! Despite our calls of STOP and COME he was having none of it. He was thirsty after his trot around the lake and he had decided it was time for a drink!

Now these are the moments I live for! I tell my clients that we can have all sorts of ideas about how the dog should pose but it is essentially up to the beasts themselves. I give the dog latitude and they ultimately tell me how they want to be portrayed. Coltrane had a heyday in the shallows of Greenlake! He slurped and sloshed and romped and grinned his goofy delight at us. He was in HIS element and we were the lucky spectators. And I was the lucky recipient of his canine joy and over 100 shots of a gorgeous Golden Retriever!

Nostalgia

This year for Christmas some dear friends gave me a fabulous gift...the board game "Masterpiece: The Art Auction Game" which they have searched garage sales for 2 years before scoring a hit. My parents gave the very same game to me in 1970 the year it debuted. Even though I couldn't get any of my 4 siblings interested in playing it, I poured over the 24 color reproduced cards depicting historically grand paintings and became completely enchanted! Today I can still vividly recall how impressed I was! The full color reproductions from El Greco to Edward Hopper planted a sense of art history in my young little brain. I marveled over the differing styles, compositions and colors, not realizing the future impact this would generate. Leafing through them today I am struck by one thing in particular....Mary Cassatt was the only female artist represented. We've come a long way baby!! BTW....last week the 4 of us played the game and had a lot of fun bidding and buying masterpieces. My husband collected the most in value, but overall I think I am the winner!

The Importance of Camaraderie

  We artists can be a quirky and strange breed....most of us are aware of this! Often we march to a different drummer and pay unusual heed to the dictates of society. We spend inordinate amounts of time alone creating art and speculating upon the visions percolating inside our brains. That is why being a part of an artist's group is so essential: it is a safe place for us to carry on with our antics with like minded individuals who understand...or at least pretend to!

My group...Washington Artists Group (or as we like to call ourselves....WAG) have been banding together since 2007 and we all agree our time together is often the highlight of our month. The WAGs meet the first Wednesday of each month over a potluck meal, bringing our quick wits along with our recent paintings for critique. Really we are just a bunch of smart mouthed jokers that love art talk and a good time but it is priceless!

 Last week we had our 4th Christmas party together at the grand home of member Judythe Sherwood and gathered for a group photo. This year was special in that we also celebrated the induction of our guru, Ned Mueller, as a Master of Oil Painters of America....a prestigious and well deserved honor! We are fortunate to have Ned and each other!

Standing in photo: Liana Bennett, Ned Mueller, me, Mark Boyle, Pepper Peterson, Dick Smith
Seated: Patty Forte Linna, Joanne Shellan, Judythe Sherwood

SEIZING OPPORTUNITY

I think I may be a serial opportunist. Ya know....I think you have to be that way in a creative industry! Today I visited my husband Dave at the hospital where he is recuperating from knee replacement surgery and I brought my camera and props along. As callous as it sounds I realized earlier today that I have a golden opportunity for a photo op with Dave being hospitalized. You see I have been painting these portraits of heads that I call FACEs and posing people with the portrait replacing their real heads. My mind has been astir with so many possibilities that represent life in general. Being confined to a hospital bed fits right into this category! He has been in there for 3 days now and will be coming home tomorrow so I realized that if I didn't get a picture taken today I may be out of luck. Thank God I married a good sport! Despite his obvious pain he allowed me to pose him in several shots holding up a portrait in place of his face. Even though the FACE in the painting is not his (it belongs to his closest boyhood chum) I'll bet he had about the same expression on his face behind the board! Here are 3 pictures I took today, one of which will be named "The Impatient Patient". Which one do you like best? Tomorrow I bring him home and who knows what indignities I will come up with by then!

ART AS THERAPY

I was doing the avoidance thing today…you know what I am talking about…avoiding thinking about something stressful or hurtful. I took my husband to the hospital this morning for his second knee replacement surgery this year and I was still hurting emotionally from a tough issue with a dear one the day before…so I had plenty on my mind! I dodge these feelings by confronting my easel and JUST PAINTING! Standing in front of my easel wielding paint-slathered brushes and swiping them across the canvas has proven the best remedy! I am forced to put my mind to the task and forget to roll my troubles around inside my head. During the physical process of painting I have a multitude of decisions to make and these consume my thoughts: Is the drawing correct? Do I make this warmer or cooler? Is this mixture of paint in harmony with the rest? Should I lose this line or make it sharp? Does this area need to be darker, or does that one need to be lighter? Should I take a break and have a drink? Well….taking a break is useful cuz walking back into my studio and seeing the painting afresh is good critique. As for having that drink…is it 5 o’clock yet?!

First Snow in Seattle

Today was our first real snow of the season and I love it! Last year we had nothing to lay claim to and the winter doldrums were all the worse for it. There isn't much on the ground but enough to gloss over the world for a moment in time. I skipped the gym this morning and took Homer, my trusty Wiener Dog, down to the local park to savor the snow. What I love about this particular park are the 2 ponds, or bogs really, that are separated by a trail and surrounded by natural woods on one side. There are beautiful in so many seasons, but today they were special! The snow gave even the blackberry brambles a delicate loveliness. Snow can be the same as light is to artists....glazing objects in a splendor that normally does not appeal. Even a pile of trash can look attractive dusted with snow! Homer and I relished our stroll between the ponds and through the trail in the woods in a full circle back home, taking the time to breathe deeply in the brisk air and observe the distinctive charm of the snow’s caress!

Once home you can see by the photo that Homer showed the results of his snowy trek. See the snowballs that cling to his feet? If he wasn’t wearing this sweater then his entire chest and underside would be festooned like a decorated Christmas tree…seriously! It would take a bit of defrosting before he was allowed inside. So forcing him to don a silly sweater is not a fashion statement at all…just a practicality. Sorry Homer!

R.I.P. Baby!

I had a phone call this week from a friend....not a call you want to get, but one that inevitably comes. She had to put her French Mastiff down last Saturday and she was very torn up over it. Baby was her pride and joy....a big huge galoot with a heart as large as his robust body! He battled a few health issues from puppyhood but despite it all he was jubilant, always game for a walk or romp....a prime example of what mind or matter truly means! Having plied my trade as a pet portraitist for the past dozen years I have felt these losses all too often....once hearing of a dog's passing while I was in the process of painting the portrait. That one was tough! They are my occupational hazards in this otherwise pleasurable gig. Baby....I was lucky to know you and even more honored to paint your portrait...not just once...but twice!