Base, in Uniform

Practically by the time I finished typing, I was sick! I didn't get out of bed for almost a week. Today was the first 'normal' day in the studio since my last post. I sure hope you don't get this, it's awful. I still have laryngitis, so my hubby is enjoying the peace LOL

On to today's painting

Allow me to introduce "Base" a beautiful English Bulldog. His owner admires Robert E. Lee and for a gift, his wife had Base painted in Lee's uniform. I do extensive research to make sure that I get the details accurate in these uniformed paintings.

Base
English Bulldog
Oil on Panel
5" x 7"
Private Commission

This is a very small one, only 5" x 7" - I never thought it would work out to do one this small, but it really turned out great! I'm enjoying doing the smaller paintings, and they are more affordable while the economy is so awful.

WIN A FREE 4" x 6" PORTRAIT!

Send me a photo of your choice - the photo that gets the most votes will win a free portrait! This will be a monthly contest. So find a great photo and send it in! Remember, the backgrounds can be changed.

Can't wait to see the photos!

Live Creatively!

Liz

German Shepherd Commission

Zora
16" x 20"
Oil on Canvas
NFS

This is going to be a great painting - this dog has the best expression! She is a huge German Shepherd, who thinks she is a tiny princess.

Below is the photo that I am working from:


I see that I have her leg too long . . . I had it right, but it looked short LOL . . . guess I'll be fixing that when I paint again. I will be putting a 'mod' look background to this painting. This is a second commission for this patron. I painted her cat with a 'mod' background, so this will coordinate. She has another dog, so hopefully, there will be a third in this series :)

My husband has had the crud for the past week, and now my throat feels funny . . . wish me luck that I don't get sick for 2 weeks! I don't have time!!

Live Creatively!

Liz

Forest, Australian Shepherd Search & Rescue Dog

Forest
4" x 6"
Oil on Panel

Tonight's painting is an Australian Shepherd search & rescue dog, Forest. Unfortunately, it's a memorial painting, as Forest has passed away. I finally got together with his partner and she was able to watch me paint online through Ustream.tv (click here to see it) and see Forest's portrait come to life. I recorded the sessions so if you can watch it at any time.

I forgot to get his information, so I don't have his story, but I will post it on his page at Portrait of a Hero - http://www.PortraitOfAHero.com

If you have a search & rescue or K9 dog, or if you know someone who does, please allow me to paint a portrait of them free of charge in gratitude for their service. Contact me for details.

Here is a portion of the session during which I painted Forest's portrait



Live Creatively!

Liz

Whoo Hooo Painting Live finally!!

I started troubleshooting the video camera - Ustream problem at 10 a.m. today. Working at it on and off until 3:30 I finally got it fixed! We had a successful session tonight! Yay! It's nice to have visitors back in my studio while I paint. I'll be painting again tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Central / 8 p.m. Eastern time. I might be on during the day as well. Hope to see you there!

Tonight's painting was Tumbleweed, the flyball Corgi. He was only a baby in this painting, 5 months old. He is so cute!

Tumbleweed
4" x 6"
Commissioned Portrait
Oil on Panel

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Live Creatively!

Liz

Mastiff Masterpiece continues!

It's really coming along - the photo does not do it justice, I have to stop taking photos at midnight! It's not finished yet - but I am EXTREMELY happy with it. I have to finish their pawas, work on the lace overlay on the dress, and add some notes of color throughout. Wish you could see it in person!

Live Creatively!

Liz

Mastiff Masterpiece on the Easel Again

A quick update on the progress of the Mastiff Masterpiece - it's really coming along. This is just preliminary work on the faces, I will of course, add more color and dimension as I go. I expect to have this commission finished this week, It's supposed to be shipped out next week. The dress is not completed yet, either. And obviously the background has a way to go. More soon!

Live creatively!
Liz

Donated Search & Rescue Portraits

Only time for a very quick note - a MASSIVE thunderstorm is moving in and I'm shutting down the computer -

I made a movie of some of the Search & Rescue paintings - please forward to anyone you think would like to see them. I need some new dogs to paint!



Please help me out by rating and sharing the video with as many people as you can. I need some new search & rescue dogs to paint!


Live Creatively!
Liz

Mastiff Masterpiece Update

Just a quick note to show you the next step in the Mastiff Masterpiece.

Starting on the male's suit. Remember, this is just the beginning, there will be much more nuanced shadow, light & color work to come on all of it!

Live Creatively!
Liz

Mastiff Commission Underway

Here's a peek at what's on the easel this week:


This will be a portrait of two mastiffs in watercolor. It's not finished yet, I haven't even touched the background. But since I haven't been posting, didn't want you to think I wasn't painting.

Live Creatively!
Liz

Buster Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog with CARDA

Buster

Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog

CARDA - California Rescue Dog Association

4" x 6"
Oil on Canvas

This is a really bad photo. I'll get a better one soon and post it on the Portrait of a Hero website - http://www.PortraitOfAHero.com so check there in a week or so!

From his partner Lori:

"Buster is an 11 1/2 year old Louisiana Catahoula Leopard dog. Currently Certified as a volunteer Search and Rescue K9 with CARDA and the LA County Sheriff's Department. Buster has been involved in K9 SAR since 2000. He works as a scent specific Trailing dog. He has had "walk up finds" as well as providing clues and direction of travel to assist Law Enforcement in finding the missing

"He loves his "job" and you can't get into the truck fast enough when the pager goes off! Truly an inherent love to work. A very happy go luck boy. I am truly blessed to have such a great partner!."

______________________

Thank you Lori, Buster and your other dogs for all your work and dedication!

Tomorrow I'm off to my workshop - hopefully I'll have some new paintings for you when I get back. In my indubitable fashion, I haven't done a thing to prepare for this. I'll have to pull everything together in the morning :)

Live Creatively!
Liz

Waylon, Bloodhound Extraordinaire :)

Waylon
Bloodhound
South Carolina Police K9

Oil on Panel 4" x 6"

Unfortunately, this is a memorial painting :( I love bloodhounds, they have such fantastic faces. I didn't know Waylon, but he looks like a stoic dog.

From his partner: Sgt. Grant Huckabee:

Waylon was 13 years old and he served his entire life to public service.
I had to have him put to sleep in February.

------------------------------

My husband points out that the "POLICE" on the car is crooked, but I point out that it's a 4"x6" study that should focus on the dog. Who knows, I may end up going back and painting the "POLICE" part over :P . . . Personally, I like it and think it looks okay, what's your opinion?

I am getting ready for my workshop Friday - Sunday with Qiang Huang. It's going to be held at the Iron Horse Inn, a bed & breakfast in Granbury, Texas about an hour's drive from me. I won't be staying over, but the grounds are beautiful. Qiang does beautiful still lives, so I will be painting still lives this weekend. You'll have at least 3 to see before I get back to dogs :) I promise to show them, no matter how they turn out. LOL

Live Creatively!

Liz

Ali - A Fire & Rescue Dog

Ali
Fire Search & Rescue Dog
Lee County Fire and Rescue
South Carolina
4" x 6"
Oil on Panel

Ali is a youngster in this painting, not matured and filled-out.

From her partner Rev. Ryan Riley, Firefighter Lt. / Chaplain:

Ali was a a rescued dog and I had searched for a good German Shepherd for a while when I found a picture of her on line and I fell totally in love with her. When we met, I think the feeling was mutual and we had a tight bond. She trained every day and was hard to shut down. She always wanted to work and play. She has only 5 rescues to her list simply because of an early retirement due to health issues. She has searched tornado areas and even looked for a runaway Alzheimers patient. Her last assignment was with the Lee County Fire and Rescue in South Carolina. She is now with a family that needed a companion and very happy to be just that for them. I miss her a lot but know that God has a purpose for all of us…..even our dogs.

Thank you Rev. Riley and Ali. We appreciate all those who work so hard to keep us safe.

I got the bloodhound done today too, and if I can find his/her story & name, I'll post it tomorrow ;)

Live Creatively!

Liz

Sienna - Search & Rescue Dog Donation #21

Sienna
Golden Retriever
DAWGS

From her partner: My Golden Retriever Sienna was a search and rescue dog with Disaster and Wilderness Ground Searchers in CT. One of her best buddies in search was Jet, the black lab you painted.

During her career, she worked with a passion and joy even when cutting her foot open and tearing two ACLs. She started her career as an 8 week old puppy. On September 13 2008, I awoke to find her sleeping peacefully on her bed. She had died in her sleep. Sienna was 10 years old. My vet determined she died of hemiosarcoma which often has no symptoms until the dog dies.

Thank you Sienna for all you did :)

I've been busy working on some commissions, and I swear I'm going to get back into painting things other than dogs eventually :)

Live Creatively!

Liz

Uintah & Wahsatch & the Bluebird of Fair to Middlin'

Uintah & Wahsatch
Oil on Canvas
20" x 20"

Finally getting around to posting the final photo of the two golden retrievers - They have great names - they are named after the mountains in the area of Utah where they live. They are both search & rescue dogs. As usual it's not a very good photo, but I haven't posted in so long, I figured I'd put it up anyway.

My son and I participated in the Funky Finds Spring Fling art & craft show. My son's artwork can be seen here The show was a lot of fun. It was a 'dog-friendly' venue, so along with my husband, came Mackenzie the Wacky Pup.

Here is Mackenzie sitting under her portrait

My son brought Holley, his 100 lb German Shepherd / Rottie mix

and my sister came with Zora, her 130 lb German Shepherd / Yeti mix.

All the dogs were wearing their "Wacky Pup" bandana - Directions for making a bandanna for your dog, cat or even yourself are on WackyPup.com All those people and dogs in one 10' x 10' display area LOL . . . most people were not too intimidated to come in and look at the art. The majority of the shoppers had their own dogs, too. All in all, a lot of fun.

I took a couple photos of some dogs that I think will make good paintings, but I got very interested in babies in strollers. For one thing, the strollers are amazing looking now - some look like you could take them off-road - and if you put an engine on them, the whole family could ride LOL. But mostly I was interested because the babies are always either trying to get out, or sitting in funny positions.

Bluebird No. 5

The Bluebird of Fair to Middlin'
9" x 9"
Oil on Reclaimed Panel with painted sides
$225

Or click here to email me about Bluebird of Fair to Middlin.

This is one of a set of 6 kitchen paintings - contact me to see all 6

They are available as a group for $950 with free shipping.

I have been busy working on commissions, including a house portrait and another golden retriever portrait. Hopefully I will have some paintings to show after they have been presented to their surprise recipients.

Live Creatively!

Liz

Holley in Her Natural Habitat

This is Holley - she is a couch potato - so I painted her portrait in her normal position :)

HOLLEY
Rottweiler Mix
8" x 16"
Sold

I'm not very talkative tonight, so I'll make this brief. I am getting ready for my first show on Saturday, hope some of you can make it out there. I think I am listed in the program as either A Portrait For You or Wacky Pup - so look for me! I'll have some of my paintings with me and you will be able to see how much better they look in real life.

As a self-taught artist, I appreciate the following quote, even though I have no idea who the guy is that said it :)

“It is better to create than to be learned, creating is the true essence of life” Barthold Georg Niebuhr

Live Creatively!
Liz

You know, I'm eventually going to need glasses!

You know, I'm eventually going to need glasses!

Flat Coated Retriever / Cocker Spaniel Cross
11" x 14"
Oil on Panel

This is a very cartoonish depiction of my old dog Ruby doing her least favorite trick :) I went to the Fort Worth Arts Festival this past weekend, and there was a couple artists doing cartoony portraits, and I thought "neat! I should try this" I have to say, it's much easier than trying to get it to look like the real dog LOL. I'm not sure how many of these I'll be doing, but they are fun. I'll get looser with them after I've done a few.

I didn't have an actual photo of her doing this trick, so I just made it up, with a photo of her for reference. Here's a close-up of her poor crossed eyes.

Live creatively!

Liz

A New Painting . . . . and a SCAM

"HEY! YOU WITH THE OPPOSABLE THUMB!!"
Mackenzie

Labradoodle
24" x 20"
Acrylic on Canvas

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted. I do have some paintings, but no photos! I am so far behind. Allow me to introduce Mackenzie. She is my dog. I've wanted to paint her for quite a while, but I can't ever get the photo that I really want. I still didn't, but I like this one. When she's trying to get you to throw the ball for her, she looks up at you with the whites showing in her eyes - I love the look, but when I take the camera out she stops doing it! I have a lot more sympathy with those of you who tell me they can't get a good photo of their dog. Now I understand why I work from so many bad photos LOL

I waited until today to send this out so that I could get a good daylight photo. The painting is so bright that it's hard to get an accurate photo, but it's pretty close. I think the close-up below is more accurate.

You'll notice that the copyright is a bit different on this one - I have started a new website - what? 5 websites is not enough? plus 2 blogs? Ok have I mentioned that I have ADD . . . oh look a chicken . . . anyway, if I were a firearm, I'd be a shotgun. Anyway, this new website - WackyPup.com has more crafty type things, and will also have my wackier paintings. Mack will be the first to be showcased. It will also include things from others, like my sister who builds things from wood. If you have something that you think could be marketed through WackyPup.com give me a hollar and we'll see if we can work something out.


I'm using a different type of paint - Chroma Interactives. I'm excited to announce that I was approached to become a working artist for Chroma. This is the first painting I've done with the new paints. They are an acrylic paint that has a much longer open time than traditional acrylics. I don't usually paint in acrylics for exactly that reason - they dry so fast that I don't have time to do any blending or manipulation of the paint. Even oils dry too fast for me most of the time (but then I use a lot of liquin LOL) I LOVE these Chroma Interactive paints! The colors are fantastic and they handle well. I'm going to have to use them more to get accustomed to the properties, but so far it looks like they will be a wonderful addition to my studio. I'll be writing more about them as I find out more techniques to use them.

Now, the scam I mentioned. A while back, I painted a portrait of a golden retriver named Theodore, owned by Scott Shields. I just found out tonight that Scott is a fraud. He also owned another dog, Bear, who was purported to be the most successful rescue dog ever, won medals, and gathered a lot of publicity and money for Scott and his sister. The stories that Scott told were LIES and the dogs weren't even trained as rescue dogs.


I was one of the many who were taken in by Scott's stories. However, I am leaving Theo's painting up, albeit as a FAUX Search & Rescue dog, because it is not his fault that his owner is a fraud. He is still a beautiful golden retreiver, and I'm sure that if he had the opportunity to become a REAL search & rescue dog, he would be very eager to do it! If he understood what had been going on, he would be ashamed of his owner, but since dogs give unconditional love, he doesn't have a clue. So, this is a tribute to all the dogs we own that love us no matter if we deserve it or not.

Thank you as usual for your patience, I should be painting a bit more often over the next two weeks, because I'm supposed to be in an art show at the end of the month and I have nothing to bring LOL!!

If' you're going to be in the Fort Worth area on April 25 come by the Will Rogers Memorial Center and visit me at the Funky Finds Spring Fling - It's FREE and pet-friendly and looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. I'll be painting and doing dog caricatures . . .

Live Creatively!!

Liz

Portrait of a Hero - Donation #20 - Dakota

Dakota
Belgian Malinois Search & Rescue Dog
FLTF2

---

From Julie, his handler:

Dakota, 3, was imported from Germany to be a patrol dog, but fortunately for me biting was not is forte. For a Mal he has a sweat personality and likes to please. He negotiates rubble like a gazelle and searches extremely fast, sometimes blowing right by scent and has to work his way back. He likes to take direction and isn't as serious about his work as Lilly-Belle, but he also has a strong work ethic. Dakota, is my "Flash dog" and Lilly is my "steady girl" they make a great pair.

FLTF2 is a Federal Search team sponsored by Miami Fire Rescue. I am a 23 year fire fighter with Miami. Both Lilly-Belle and Dakota are Type 1 FEMA certified disaster search dogs.

---

Thank you Julie, Dakota and Lilly! We appreciate your hard work. I will be painting Lilly's portrait soon.

I am so happy with the way this portrait turned out. In this instance, I deleted the background from the photo and put in a generic background. I love the look on Dakota's face. However, I just realized that I never finished his collar LOL . . . so I guess the painting isn't exactly finished. I will post an updated photo when I add his bright orange collar.

“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion . . . . I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.” Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (American Writer, b.1922)

Live Creatively!

Liz

Oskar Black German Shepherd K-9 Portrait

OSKAR
Black German Shepherd
South Carolina
Oil on Panel
4" x 6"

From his partner - "Oskar is a 2 year old black German Shepherd that was imported from Slovokia. His is trained in narcotics detection, tracking, article recovery and patrol work. We have been partners since May 2008. Today we have accounted for 9 arrests, 4 vehicle seizures, about $6000.00 cash and various amounts of drugs, to include several pounds of marijuana. We look forward to putting more bad guys in jail and make our world a safer place."

Thank you so much! We appreciate your efforts!

A few weeks ago, I showed you the beginning of Oskar's portrait. Actually, it wasn't the very beginning because I painted the entire portrait then wiped it out, because I just didn't like it. I started over, and you saw the sketch that I did - but it wasn't right either, you can see that he is too short and his head is proportionately too large - but at least his feet were in the right place :)

So, I wiped it out AGAIN and started for the (hopefully) final time. I'm pleased with how it turned out. In response to those who have asked to see the reference photos, it is below. I don't like posting reference photos because I feel that the painting should stand on its own merits and also that sometimes I am so close to the original that some think I actually trace. Those of you who have watched me paint live know that is definitely not the case. It is just trial and error, replacing those bits that don't look 'right' and refining as you go along until you are happy with it.

.I'm going to see if I can get some more work done tonight, so maybe I'll have something to show you tomorrow.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. - Maria Robinson

As always - live creatively!!

Liz

K9 Portrait - Pico - Donation #19

Portrait of Pico - K9 with Dallas Police Department

I juts got a note from the officer that handles Pico. He says Pico caught another bad guy hiding in some bushes early Wednesday morning. He's up to 5 bad guy catches now during his short 10 month career after finishing his training!

I've gotten the basic shape blocked in and will let it dry a few days before painting the actual portrait.

People have asked to see some of the photos that I am working from. The sketch is just that, a sketch - for basic placement. The details and accuracy will be worked in as I paint. I don't see much 'off' about Pico's painting so far, but give me time LOL . . .


In other news, I just got some software so that I can digitize artwork into designs to be sewn by an embroidery machine. I'm planning on drawing up a series of dog sketches that can be made into embroidery for kids and adults. I don't want to do the actual embroidery, just create the patterns and let others embroider it on their own items. What do you think? If you have any comments, suggestions, requests or ideas, let me know. Also, if you have an embroidery machine and would like to receive some free designs in exchange for test sewing them for me, I'd appreciate it, although it might be a while before I figure out how to do it. I have a Janome 350E and the software I got is the Pfaff Creative Digitizing v6 - I haven't gotten started with it at all yet, but I've read the instructions LOL . . .

Our car with 250,000 miles on it finally died and we're biting the bullet and getting a NEW Acadia - I'm all excited! We just have to find the perfect one - and the perfect price HAHAHAH my house cost less than this vehicle LOL

"Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance." - John Petit-Senn

Live Creatively!

Liz