Max

I don't usually have stories to share about my paintings and where the inspiration came from, but my most recent painting is an exception to that.

We had a black Labrador named Max. Max joined our family when my daughter was six months old, and stayed with us up until April 4th, 2012 when we had to put him to sleep. Max was quite the character, with a strong will and a propensity for mischief (most especially if there was a skunk around. Oh, the skunks. You'd think a dog would learn to leave them alone!)

Max was also my companion. I had not realized how much he had become a part of my life until after he was gone. The loss is something I feel keenly. I painted this painting for my family, to always remember Max.

One of Max's quirks was that in the middle of the night, he liked to go out back, sit on a hill, and just gaze at the moon and stars. Usually this was around 2AM, and we didn't find it very funny - especially since we were the ones who had to go and drag him back inside (it wasn't safe out there with all the coyotes and other wildlife prowling around. And the skunks. Did I mention the skunks!??!)  But the truth was that Max was my moon-dog, and that's how I'd like to remember him.

So here he'll sit, on a hill of flowers and fireflies, watching the moon.

While the original will remain with us personally, already there are requests for prints.  Those are available for order on my website here.

Alice Carrying On!

It's been a little while since I posted, but I have a couple more paintings to share with you!  These are both from my Alice series:

"Viceroy"
4x4x.33, stretched, gallery wrapped and sides painted

"Viceroy" is an ultra-mini I did while going in between the second painting. It allowed for drying time, but also to play with the butterfly! The wings are iridescent and I love it!

The second, "Wanna Play" is my character development for my Alice series. Obviously, the Hedgehog and Flamingo croquet from Alice. I like the way it came out, though the hedgehog admittedly gave me some problems for a day or two. But this is why I am developing these smaller paintings before I launch into the larger sizes. And I DO plan on a much larger painting. I want to do a 24x36 painting with multiple elements. This means it'll be complicated and take a while, but should make for a wonderful painting, and absolutely will yield large sized prints!

"Wanna Play?"
Acrylic, 9x12x.75, stretched, gallery wrapped and sides painted

I had to put my faithful Labrador Max to sleep last week. I was suggested that I paint something of him. At first I rejected this idea. The truth is, I haven't even been able to paint until last night anyway. Now? Now... I'm thinking about it. Well, in truth, I'm doing more than thinking about it. I'm planning out a canvas now. It'll be a mini-break from my Alice series, but I'll get right back to it.

The originals for my Alice series aren't offered for sale yet because I am holding them all until I can do a complete show with them. The night of the show, the paintings will also go live for sale. Prints will be made of some of the paintings, and will be available beforehand (as I get the completed.)

I'm really looking forward to rounding out my cast of characters, and then creating several large pieces!