Gone to the dogs

Hi guys!

I've had a busy week of doing dawg portraits. Here's an adorable great dane I did.....first I messed around with masking fluid. Don't you just love pulling up masking fluid? It's so therapeutic!

A post shared by Pet portraits from your photos (@studiokaufmann) on Mar 21, 2017 at 2:19pm PDT

This is another spotted dane I did in watercolor and acrylic inks.

Linking up to Paint Party Friday, Sunday Sketches and Brilliant Blog Posts.

Siamese Cat and Butterfly

Happy Friday!

I've had a busy week finishing up this pet portrait commission of a border collie. It was one of those cute dogs with one blue and one brown eye. It turned out rather dramatic.

I also pained a Siamese Cat and butterfly. I was trying to do something a little different, a little askew with the composition. Prints are available here.

Siamese cat and butterfly (acrylic inks)

Hope you've had a fabulous week. We had lovely balmy spring weather but today it started snowing again. Oh well, it does look rather beautiful......

I also decided to post my creative workspace on instagram as part of the #meetthemaker tag - warts and all. I do TRY and keep it tidy but it always explodes into life! I do work better in chaos....I don't know why but I feel so much more creative in chaos.

Well that's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it.

Yes of course I can't find anything. And yes of course I frequently put my brush into my cup of tea.

Maybe I should buy these mugs as a reminder of what goes where:

Anyway it doesn't really matter. I can't kill myself as I don't use oil paints......


I share my studio with my guinea pig Marshmallow. I work to a background of squeaks and scrabbles.

What is your workspace like? Do you keep it tidy or not? Do you need chaos to function?


Linking up with Brilliant Blog Posts and Paint Party Friday
 

Happy Fabulous New Year!!

How the mighty have fallen eh? While my kids were at a New Year's Eve Party I gave in to middle age and dozed on the sofa last night. Here's a pic of me:

I watched CNN with Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper. Kathy Griffin was rolling around nude at the side of a pool doing the ice bucket challenge. Then she was just wearing a bra in Times Square. It was all a bit sad and desperate for attention. I thought of all the people crammed into Times Square for hours trying to get on TV. What happens when they have to go to the bathroom? It's probably best not to think about it!

Suffice to say New  Year's Eve passed me by this year. I had been at the National Gallery of Art in DC all day which can be pretty exhausting for an old fart like me.

Christmas Tree and the Capitol

I went with a friend who wanted to see all the Medieval, Renaissance and Mannerism paintings. My favorite was this El Greco. Absolutely amazing! Can you believe this was painted in 1610??

The Laocoön by El Greco 1610-1614

2015 has been a hectic year that has just flown past. I have been doing a ton of pet portraits. Here's my latest one of a golden retriever:

Wishing all my friends a Happy New Year! Remember you are fabulous dahling!!

How did you spend New Year's Eve?

Happy Paint Party Friday. Linking up with Brilliant Blog Posts.

Cleopatra's Lookin Atcha

I am busy finishing up a bunch of pet portraits including this one. Isn't he a cute little guy?

I'm also running around like a headless chicken trying to sort myself out for Halloween. I ordered a Cleopatra costume from the internet hoping to channel my inner Elizabeth Taylor:

The costume I received is OK but the problem is the wig. When I wear it I'm not so much Elizabeth Taylor as Ru Paul!!

The wig is very CHEAP and extremely FRIZZY. I really feel for you guys and gals out there with frizzy hair. I feel your pain!

What did I do? I ironed the wig to try and get the kinks out which were standing up at right angles. First time I did this I melted the plastic hair then DUH! I realized you shouldn't do that and ironed it with a sheet on top. It still looks pretty bad.

I may or may not post photos of myself as Cleopatra. Watch this space.

Here's one:

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Linking up with PoCoLo and Paint Party Friday

Have a freaky Friday!!

Just the Right Size

Hi Guys!!

That's one of the pet portrait commissions of a Great Dane I did this week.

I recently found this poem and it really resonated with me. If you create out of joy that is the main point of creating something. That is why I try not to criticize other's work.....even if I don't personally like it you have to remember it meant a lot to them. And also the way you paint is unique to YOU and I don't think you should try to paint another way just because that way is popular or commercial. Do you know what I mean?

How to Paint a Donkey 

by Naomi Shihab Nye

She said the head was too large,
the hooves too small.
I could clean my paintbrush
but I couldn’t get rid of that voice.
While they watched,
I crumpled him,
let his blue body stain my hand,
I cried when he hit the can.
She smiled. I could try again.
Maybe this is what I unfold in the dark,
deciding for the rest of my life,
that donkey was just the right size.

UPDATE: BAM is excited about his new pawtraits!

 Linking up to Caturday Art Blog Hop, Sunday Sketches and  Paint Party Friday

Pup Pop Art

Here's my latest portrait commission. I call it pup pop art. I used the Sumi-E Japanese watercolors again and was so impressed by the brightness of the hues.

I am running around like a headless chicken trying to get ready for Christmas. I tend to be sick of turkey after Thanksgiving so I am very pleased that an Italian friend is inviting me for Christmas Eve for the Feast of the Seven Fishes. It should be fun and fishy!

Do you celebrate on Christmas Eve like the Europeans or on Christmas Day? What do you like to eat? 

Linking up to Paint Party Friday!

dog paintings for sale

Who Let the Dogs Out!

Hi Everyone!

What a crazy week it's been. I am busy working at the moment. I teach art in residential homes and I must say it is fun. I love getting out into the community and inspiring seniors and those with special needs to tap into their creative side.

I also found myself asked to create a vivid blue doggie commission. I am rather pleased with it. A friend even told me it reminded her of Chagall. I found it intriguing to juxtapose the solidity of the blue body with the translucent watercolor swirls of the background. What do you think? I am now adding blue pet portraiture to my repetoire over here at Etsy.

 

I am also thrilled that my doggie calendar for 2015 featuring all my original artwork is now out. You can buy it here.

It's been such a crazy week I have not had time to make my daughter's Madhatter halloween costume for a party tomorrow. I will have to scour thrift stores for crazy jaquard prints to create a truly tasteless ensemble! What kinds of costumes are you cobbling together?

Linking up to Paint Party Friday! Come and check out some amazing artists!

Upcycling into a Collage Dog

Today was pretty fun. I got it into my head to make a dog collage so I looked around the sidewalk for things I could put in my painting. I ended up with dried grass, candy wrappers, bottle tops, a squashed can of beer and all many of dried bits and bobs.

Then at home I went completely crazy and tore up lots of magazines and glued them down along with the found items. I made a complete mess. I love making messes but my husband doesn't like it. Luckily he was at work!

I don't think I am ever so happy as when I am paint splotched, with sticky, gluey fingers. Do you love working in chaos or are you tidy and clear up as you go along.

In the end my dog was so cute. All the mess was worth it. Bah....now I have to tidy up before my husband throws a fit. There is something really exciting about turning found materials into something completely different, turning it on its head so to speak.

Bits and Pieces Dog, Mixed Media, 18 x 24 inches

Linking up to Paint Party Friday, Illustration Friday and PoCoLo! Come and check out some amazing artists!

Eurovision Fever

Charlie, lab/pointer mix

Hi Guys!

I have to confess that I have fallen head over heels in love with a friend's dog, Charlie. He is the cuddliest, snuggliest dog on the planet, and although he is a lab/pointer mix I think of him as the Target dog's older brother.

I really enjoyed doing Charlie's portrait. He looks very colorful and of course, very adorable too.

Portrait of Charlie, watercolor & pen and ink, 12 x 18'

I'm in a feverpitch of excitement. I have fever! Eurovision fever!!!!! Tomorrow is the Eurovision Song Contest and I am so buzzed. I will be going to a party full of Eurofanatics and we will watch the Final streaming live.

I think I am going to have to get behind Austria's entry. I am after all half Austrian - an Austrish (half British, half Austrian). Which half is Austrian you ask? Well the bottom half that has weakness for Sachertorte, Schnitzel and Bratwurst of course. Which lets me segue gently into the name of Austria's entry - Conchita Wurst. Don't you just LOVE that name?

S/he is a Kim Kardashian lookalike. Her song, Rise Like a Phoenix is pretty good too. Are you going to watch the Eurovision and who do you want to win?

Go Austria!!

Linking up to Paint Party Friday so come check out a bunch of amazing artists!

5th Annual Bark! Exhibition at John Natsoulas Gallery

As a dog artist myself I am absolutely thrilled that dog art is becoming more and more popular. The 5th annual "Bark!" exhibition at John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis, California, is a tribute to human's best friend and seminal NorCal dog artist, UC Davis professor, and founder of the Funk movement, 
Roy De Forest (1930 - 2007).  This fabulous show includes larger than life depictions of two and three-dimensional dogs in every medium, making the show the most diverse exhibition of dog imagery in the country. Pieces created out of glass, clay, wood, oil paint, ceramic, assemblage, multi-medium, wax, metal, bronze, and integrated art forms are all included within the show.
 
Best of all, doggies are always welcome at the gallery.  

John Natsaoulas Gallery
521 First St.
Davis, CA 95618

"Bark! A Tribute to Human's Best Friend" runs until March 1, 2014.

Check out the John Natsoulas Gallery website for more information.

Here are some of my top picks of doggie art:

Kanna Aoki: “50/50 Red”

Lori Holland "Sirloin Tip"

Erika Sandana "Newborns"

Larry Clark "Best Friends"

Do any of you live in California and have you been to see this exhibition? I've got to get some of my dog art in here next year.

This week we had 15 inches of snow in Baltimore. I am so sick of it!! Today I found this snow heart on my doorstep. So sweet. But my husband also said the snow preventing him from driving to get me chocolates for Valentine's Day! Well maybe I can get some chocs on sale tomorrow!