Mosaic Monday: Beach Treasures

We went to Galveston beach last week and I brought home many treasures.

Some treasures were from land and some from sea....
From the beach I found: pods, shells and bird feathers ( to the left).

One day we went into the downtown area and took our cameras for some photo exploring. I like to walk down allies in Galveston because you can find wonderful surprises. Above: Mardi Gras beads, fiesta plate shards, rusted metal, clear glass warped marble, textured glass and a tiny ceramic angel. I have lots of great stuff to put into a mosaic.
Below are some of the great photo captures from that day:

Below is a lovely modern mosaic spotted at a local restaurant ... looks like seaweed.

And one last surprise treasure that we hope to return to the sea when we go back next year ....
I accidentally stole a crab from the beach. I have created a small habitat for him and if he survives a week with the food and care we are giving then I will go ahead and get him a larger box and do my very best to keep him alive until we can return him. He is a lot of fun to watch. The pic below is not so good, he is hiding in his shell right now. I will try to get a better picture next week after he has times to settle in and mellow out a bit. His name is Hermes.

Tomorrow I will post pics of the dogs in Galveston and give my travel tips for taking your pups to the beach. We learned a lot ... it was a bit of work to have the dogs there, but so much fun.

Fox Terrier & Doxie

"Chewie" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

"Perry" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

Chewie looks so much like my own little guy Whitman. I am totally caught up with my commission work, and I am planning to take a few days off next week to celebrate my Birthday. I do have 2 very new orders that have come in this week that I will jump on when I get back to my desk. 

Big changes on the horizon ... I am looking at teaching a bit in this next decade. I am looking both on-line and off-line at possible opportunities. I want to help other artists succeed at marketing their work, and soon I will be getting my mind around what that is going to look like. I have some ideas for on-line courses and I am also talking a little with people in our local art community about possible work shops and classes that can help artists grow their on-line web presence. Not sure yet how teaching will take shape for me, but I know I am ready to add it into the mix of what I do, and who I am.  Nothing like a Birthday ending in "0" to get you moving forward and writing new chapters.

Beagle & Pug Art

"Frasier" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

"Zoe" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

Working on new background options this week. I have a repeat client that is ordering several projects this month and so I decided to experiment and show her some new background choices. Next week I will have a handful of other pet portraits to add to the blog. I have been very busy this month.

Mosaic Monday / Paper Dog Mosaics

I love the web, you just never know what you are going to find. Today when searching for dog mosaics to share with you I found some lovely paper mosaics created in 2008 by students of Christina Hoff at the Alta Loma Middle School in San Fransico. Her assignment was for them to read the story "The Dog of Pompeii" and then write their own historical fiction essay, create  a paper mosaic of their dog, and also create a "Bulla" ( necklace or amulet that male Romans were given nine days after their birth to protect them against evil spirits and forces).

Click here to go see the details of her project and read the great stories that the kids came up with. Seeing these great mosaics makes me want to create a paper mosaic of my terriers!

Empty Easel Interview!

I was featured in an interview today over at the Empty Easel for my mosaic artwork! Thanks to Alyice for contacting me about this. Check it out and check out the other artist interviews, there are some great ones and they have been talking with a lot of mixed media artists lately. I am flattered to be included on such a terrific blog.

Doggy Portraits

Working hard this week, trying to get a lot of clients proofed. Here are just a few from the week. I have 3 revisions to do and one more new portrait to create, then next week I get to play with a Wire Hair Fox Terrier portrait. I am excited about all of the work we have in-house right now.

"Moses" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins/ artpaw.com

This golden doodle is adorable. His eye to our left was hidden so I created one that would show. Soon I will try and post a video tutorial on how to do that.

"Guiness" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins/ artpaw.com

Guiness was such a pretty boy. I had a nice conversation with my client about this special guy. I hope I have captured him well.

"Georgia" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins/ artpaw.com

Georgia shipped out today. I love working on pugs and we do not get many black pugs in ... they are a bit rare compared to the fawn pugs.

Pet Portrait Video / March Commissions

Well, I have made a new schedule for myself and I am taking each Thursday for marketing work. I made a list of all of the many things I do to market and it is a pretty long and neglected list of tasks, some fun and some not so fun. Last Thursday I decided to tackle something in the fun column and I created a video of last month's portrait commissions so if I did art of your baby last month they may become a you tube sensation. Please check out the video and be sure and share it with your pals.

Mosaic Monday / Dog and Cat mosaics

Scouring the web this morning for some doggy and kitty mosaics to share.

My first find is from one of my favorite blogs : http://www.midcenturia.com

http://www.midcenturia.com/2011/01/mid-century-mosaic-panels.html

Cool Micro Mosaic from the Antique Pooch.com

Vintage Poodle from http://www.alleewillis.com

From Natasha Thummel

Vintage Cats From Etsy

From Barbara Kreider at Etsy

Clever Cat from Laurie Treat / Only $28 at Etsy!

Another Great Etsy Find from Zee Fun Stuff

Whitman My Fox Terrier

Rainy, lazy day here in Dallas. This month I have heard about 2 Wire Hair Fox Terriers that have turned up as strays. One was placed back with his owners and the other is still in a temporary home. It has made me think about how lucky I am to have Whitman and how glad I am that we micro-chipped him. He is such a high spirited boy and I know if he got out of the house he would run wild. He has a collar & tags, but chipping is just one extra step to insure he can always come back to us if something should happen. I spoke with my rescue contact today and she asked to see pics of our growing boy, so here are a few ... these are for Julie with gratitude.

This is shortly after we first got him ...look at how tiny he is!

Lola & Whitman

Waiting for Da to come home

Whitman, Pickle, Ajax

Last Sept.

Taken Today ...  big shaggy boy needs a haircut

The End

New Custom Pet Portrait

"Laila" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins/ artpaw.com

Yesterday I showed you a pup named Lola and now I have a Laila to share with you. The Mastiff from yesterday was approved quickly and is shipping out today.  I love this sweet photo of this young pup. I look forward to printing up this new project very soon.

Dogs & Robots

Working a lot lately. I have half a dozen dog projects in-house and I am also working each day to create some digital robot sketches for my other blog on my personal portfolio site. If you have a pending pet portrait project and have sent me pics, I will follow up with you soon and help you finalize your order by phone.

"Lola" ( see all proofs)
rebecca collins / artpaw.com

"Circuit Boy"
see more at rebeccacollins.com

"Button-Bot"
see more at rebeccacollins.com

Flash Back friday/ My Hubby

Looking at some scans of old pics today. These are shots of my husband Dan from many many years ago, he is still just as cute. I love faded snapshots.

Dan with his first Fox Terrier. 

Ciggies & Coffee ... he still drinks coffee but no longer smokes ( thank goodness).

I think this is when he was going to school in New York.

New Black Lab Art

"Cuba" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

 

Today Lola is here busy stretching canvas and we are getting about 5 portraits out the door ... yay. The artwork above is one of just a few pending approvals we have on file. I love this handsome black lab and look forward to finalizing his project very soon. I seldom use the backgrounds in photographs however the colors on this one were really interesting and so in one of  his samples I incorporated the existing photo-ground along with a textured brush stroke ground for a nice effect.

Happy easter!

My Boy Ajax as the Easter Bunny.