Jasper & Josie Pet Portraits

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

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

These two cutie pies shipped last week to North Carolina. They are one of 2 anniversary present commissions I have had in-house this last month.  I just adore Josie's blue eye and Jasper's sweet expression totally melted my heart.  I really enjoy working with men on special projects for their wives and girlfriends. Guys are great to work with because when they do need design changes they are very good and quick at communicating those needs without a lot of fuss. They are also usually very kind to my ego and always let me know what they do love about the artwork. Lets face it, if a guy is sweet enough to order a pet portrait for their lady they are usually going to be a pleasure to work with. Men may be tough as nails in their workplace, but they are usually very friendly and nice to me when we collaborate on their pet projects.  I do love my job.

The week ahead ....
 We are getting very busy here at Art Paw and I am spending the entire day answering e-mails and organizing new orders.  If you placed an order within the last few days you will be sent an e-mail very soon with an expected proofing date. Stay tuned for more pet portraits on the blog soon.

49

I turned 49 today. It was a good birthday. I had lunch with my best friend, worked on a mosaic, watched the egrets feeding at White Rock and looked after my sick hubby, he should be better tomorrow. The photo above was taken 47 years ago I guess, anyway I think I see 2 candles on that cake.   This is going to be a great year.

New Kitty Cat Art

"Jack & Luna" ( see all proofs )
© rebecca collin / artpaw.com

"Cranmer" ( see all proofs )
© rebecca collin / artpaw.com

 

 

Today was all about kitty cats. Some months I will not  have one kitty portrait come through and right now I have 3 different feline projects in-house. Yay! Cranmer will be shipping to Hawaii and Jack & Luna are local Dallas kitties.

Mosaic Monday / New Leg Milagro

New Leg Milagro
© rebecca collins

 

New project under way. A leg project with hopes for strength for my husband Dan. His legs are very strong and yet they will often freeze up if he tries to run full out. When he saw the  other leg mosaic I was doing he asked to be added to that project and instead I told him I would do one just for him.
About the Work In progress:
The china doll leg will hang away from the mosaic about a half inch. The entire surface will be covered in stained glass, cinca, and clear smalti. The large clear pieces in the center are super duper thick and really magnify the artwork collage underneath.  I shot the leg with my camera and macro lens then played with the photos in photoshop.  I am in search for a very very pale pink glass that I have one small scrap of. Wish me luck.

Abner Misses Watson

"Abner Misses Watson"

You guys may recall Watson's artwork from last March.  His people sent me a very nice e-mail today and told me how much they love their portrait. They did say that now Abner is very jealous and wants a portrait of himself soon. He is shown above with Watson's artwork. This project was 24 x 36, it looks huge next to Abner. Thanks to Karin for sending such a cute shot. I look forward to working on Abner some day. Oh, and the title for the post and photo were taken from the name of the jpg file they sent me.... very sweet and sad.

It is Monday .... and for those Mosaic Monday followers out there I will get a post up later this afternoon/ evening to show you guys the mosaic projects I have been working on.

Buddy The Boxer

"Buddy"
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

 

"Buddy"
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

 

This is Buddy. He is one of about 3 projects I am going to try to get proofed by tomorrow. I love this guy. His owner said he always looked a little sad, but he was a real clown and a very happy boy. The original photo here was pretty good with some nice detail. When I carved away the  body to focus on just Buddy's head and face it became very clear that one ear was hidden. I borrowed his ear to our right and copied it, flipped it and warped it into place.  Photoshop cs5 has a new tool called "puppet warp" and it is amazing and allows me to do some pretty cool stuff when it comes to perking up ears.  I always say that ears are so important when reading a pup's mood, and I like them to show well in the pet portraits I do.  Stay tuned for more artwork samples on the blog soon.

New Weimaraner Art

"Heidi and Fritz" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

This project of Heidi & Fritz will ship out tomorrow. These cute Weims are the 2nd pet portrait project for this client. Pet people are the best. A large majority of my clients come back for more portraits because well, we all have so many pets and you can't leave anyone out.  Which reminds me, I have a couple of wire haired fox terrier portraits that need to happen very soon.  I have not yet done any artwork of our new puppy.


About the Art:
The proof shown here is one of the wilder options that I showed my client. I added in some violet on the coats just to have a little fun with it. I usually show both a few wild bold choices and some that are just a little less bold. They went with proof number 20, which has some bold coloring in the background but a little less color on the pups.  I really enjoyed playing with these two. The original photo was excellent to start with.

Gidget's Mom Loves her Artwork!

"Gidget" ( see all proof )
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

 

Yay, got an e-mail from Gidget's people and they loved their portrait and complimented us on our follow through. Is she adorable or what? I love pets with grey muzzles. Senior pets are just the best. This was a great original photo to work with. Look at how nice the lighting is.

Pet Poetry Contest Winner!

We finally have a winner to announce in our Pet Poetry Contest. Congrats to Rebecca Forrest for her winning submission " Sighthound".

Sighthound
Millennia of pounding feet
a sound replete
with rush of breath
and throbbing beat.
...
The bounding flight
beguiles the sight
of bolting prey—
first left, then right.

Around the bend
anticipating
past the fence
accelerating
gaining on
the flashing fur.

The quest evades
and slips from sight.
The coursing fades.
Then—hound’s delight—
a new command.

The heart complies—
smooth backyard spanned—
to alpha’s eyes
and loving hand.

- Rebecca Forrest

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you entered the contest and did not win we do not want you to be empty handed. Just send me an e-mail ( collins@artpaw.com)  with Swag Bag in the subject line and I will send you a Swag Bag of goodies that will make your tail wag!  Be sure and paste in your poem that you entered last month so we know who you are. Your bag will have breed specific stuff if we can tell from your writing you are into one breed, assorted stuff if you are not a breed lover and kitty stuff if you sent in a cat poem.

Izzie the Frenchie

This week I have proofed a handful of doggy clients including Izzie the French Bulldog. Tomorrow we will announce the winner from last month's Pet Poetry contest.

"Izzie" ( see all proofs)
© rebecca collins

My client asked how we choose the photo to work from when a client sends in multiple images. It is a combination of things with file resolution and detail being very high on the list. In this case I just fell in love with those little white teeth showing. This shot was also well lit and contained a lot of detail.