The Pacifier

This handsome dude loves his favorite toy! Hershey first encountered his ball about a month after we adopted him. Its high- pitched squeak used to drive us crazy. We hid the ball for periods of time to save our sanity. Eventually, Hershey chewed his ball so much that the squeaker broke.

I've named this piece "The Pacifier", because my lab continues to chew on his favorite rubber ball. Whether he's resting our running through our home, there is always a hint of blue hanging from the corner of his mouth. The ball seems to soothe his spirit.

This drawing is rendered in soft pastels on smooth, white vellum. It is 11 x 14" in size and available for sale.

Green Frog

Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Was a good friend of mine. This fella is not a bullfrog, but he sure is handsome!

I took the reference photo at my friend Nancy Down's destination garden in Langdon, NH. She has a small pond in her garden that was lined with tadpoles. This frog was perched on a rock on the edge of the pool. He didn't budge as I photographed him from every angle. I don't know what it is with frogs, but they become relaxed around me. I find them quite easy to photograph.

I have finally gotten around to drawing this frog in pastels. The drawing is rendered in soft pastels on smooth, white vellum. It is 8 x 10" in size.

What's New, Pussycat?

I love the Tom Jones song, "What's New Pussycat?" In fact, I love singing it to my own cat, who cringes when she hears my terrible singing voice. Enough of my babbling about my lack of singing ability. The purpose of this post is about what's new in my studio.

The blog has been stale lately. I apologize for that. I'm in the process of balancing my day job & drawing. It is an interesting challenge. I have been able to complete my custom portrait orders without a problem. I will be posting my latest work soon.

I'm also working on vintage-inspired jewelry, featuring my artwork. This probably sounds confusing, but I actually am making custom cabachons, featuring my drawings and mounting them on brooches and pendants. I found that I love vintage jewelry and would love some pieces that resemble cameos with animal artwork in them.

I've also decided to upgrade my custom magnets. Currently, I slide prints of my artwork into plastic photo-holding magnets that are already assembled. They are cute, but I would like to use better materials. I ordered some glass tiles on etsy.com and magnets. The plan is to glue my prints to the glass tiles & mount rare earth magnets on the back. The result will be a cleaner, upscale look and a better hold on your fridge!

I will also be using the same tiles and process to create keychains featuring my art. All in all, I'm working on expanding my options and ways of creating prints of my work. In doing so, I'm trying to think out of the box a bit, beyond your traditional matted art prints.

I also want to add more designs, because it's always good to freshen things up. I'm ready for some new portraits!