Art Paw / Houston Vet Clinic

Exam room 1, a photo by raerae_hall on Flickr.

Check it out guys! My work is on the walls at the Sunset Boulevard Animal Clinic in Houston Texas. YAY! Each exam room has samples of my art and I am working on some large show stoppers for the reception area. I really love the bright colorful chairs that Holli has chosen for these rooms.

Above are Carlos kitty and Jade the cow dog.
If you are in Houston and need a good vet please visit these terrific supporters of the Arts.
http://www.sunsetblvdanimalclinic.com/

New Digital Dog Art

"Sampson" ( see all 13 proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

"Sampson" ( see all 13 proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

"Sampson" ( see all 13 proofs)
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

Last week I created over a dozen new background patterns. The ones shown here are a few of the more mod offerings. My backgrounds are created from a wide range of resources that include altered clip images, and patterns and textures that I shoot with my camera. When I use clip art patterns I always throw them through dozens of filters in Photoshop and I combine and overlay them on to my existing color grounds. Clip art is typically vector based and flat, so in order to get a painted texture from it I have to layer things up and get creative in order to make it my own. Below is a sample that shows the original black and white pattern that I used to get the pattern in one of Sampson's proof offerings.

© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

Robot Print on Etsy

"Button-Bot"
© rebecca collins
$35 on Etsy

Back in April I was trying to do a robot sketch a day. This fellow came out of that work. He is available as an 8 x 8 stretched canvas print over at Etsy.

Great for the kid's room or your favorite Sci-Fi fan. He will ship with a free robot bookmark.

Green Haired Lass & Terrier

Today I was going through pics trying hard to find a decent up close shot of Whitman to create a portrait with. Unlike our last Alpha he is very hard to shoot. I stumbled on to a few great shots of Lola and Whitman playing outside of the stretching shed last November. She looks great with her bright green hair however he is just a crazy wild blur of action and that is kind of fun for a snapshot, not so great for a portrait shot. Decided to post these today as we head into our hot summer months ... seeing Lola in her winter knits is a nice reminder that the summer heat will end someday.

Mini Postcards From 48-hour Print

Today I spent some time ordering mini postcards from 48 hour print. These little cards are 2.75 x 4.25 and are perfect for art postcards. They are having a sale and this month you can save 20% plus shipping. Just use code rockin20. The sale ends June 28th and you can use the promo code on multiple orders. I think I may have to design and order some more cards soon. I designed 4 doggy cards and 2 robot cards. I need to create some cat cards and some more bot cards I think.

The 48 hour print site is pretty easy to use and if you run into trouble like I did today they will help you by phone and they are just as nice as they can be ... they do not treat you like an idiot. Their quality is always terrific.  I also went over to moo.com and ordered some facebook moo cards this week they are free for a limited time so I thought I would try them out. 

Roxy Cat Art

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

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

Today I proofed little Roxy. This adorable kitten was a challenge due to a 53 KB web quality image. I think I did a pretty good job of smoothing out the pixelation and painting in a bit of extra fluffy texture and detail. The 2nd proof above has a new background pattern that I created yesterday. I  am happy with all of the proofs I provided.

I always prefer a minimum of 500 KB on photo images however many people are just not able to supply images at the right file size and so I always do my very best to work with any image provided.  The best images to work from are a whopping 1MB in size, however very few clients are able to send images that large. I could do like many digital artists and send clients back to the drawing board to shoot more photos however my experience has been that this only slows down the ordering process and too often the pets are no longer around or the pets belong to friends and so re-shooting is just often not practical.

New Kitty Portrait

"Ben" ( see all proofs)
11 x 14
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

Last week we were caught up on Weds. and within a week we have had around 9 new projects trickle in. The fun news is I have 3 kitty cat projects to work on. I was also fortunate in that 2 out of the 3 Cat projects have nice detailed images to work from, the better the photograph the better the final portrait. This weekend I spent a few hours creating some new background pattern options. Later today I will get back to that fun task. I love making new backgrounds.

Mosaic Monday / Robots Oh My!

"Love Bot 49223" ACEO
3.5x2.5
© rebecca collins
purchase at etsy $65

Just listed 3 robots for sell over at Etsy. In an effort to clear out room for new work to happen I am listing some of my personal mosaic and ceramic work for sell over at Etsy this month. I created a section just for robots and I may even start listing a few robot print works over there later in the month.

Why robots? My best friend and I got into a discussion the other day about my fascination with robots. I know she does not understand why I am compelled to create robot after robot in my free time. I love robots because they can be created in so many different ways. There is not one single recipe or format for robots so they demand originality and thought when you are putting them together. The other reason that I do so many is that they are like no pressure sketches for me. I do not feel the weight that an artist might feel when facing an important serious work such as a portrait for a loved one. My bots only need to please me.... and they do make me smile.

"Irene 16"
4.5x4.5
© rebecca collins
purchase at etsy $120

"Clown Bot"
© rebecca collins
purchase at etsy $75

Playing With Porcelain Clay

I started back in a ceramics class last Saturday and it feels good to be getting my hands dirty again. I am playing with some Porcelain clay today. Oh my gosh, it is soft as butter. My teacher told us there was no grog in it, but I had no idea what that would really mean until I got my hands on some.  Right now I have to say it is not my favorite clay to work with but that is just because I am not use to it yet. I made a pinch pot that I will not even post because it is so wonky and a robot head and a little Scottie sculpture. This clay seems very well suited for small sculptures.

Yesterday I went to Trinity Mills Ceramic Supply and picked up a couple of tools, a 25 lb bag of wet porcelain and a book called " Finding One's way with Clay". The book was originally published in the early 70's and the writing is terrific. Berensohn has that old school spiritual approach to craft that we were exposed to in college. In college I was a Fine Arts major with a concentration in jewelry and metal working. In school we were taught that you not only need to be concerned with making beautiful objects, you also need to be connected to your materials on a very deep level. Process, materials, technique ... these were our gods. As a young woman I could only take so much "craft art talk" without rolling my eyes, however at this point in my life I find I am much more receptive to ideas and perspectives that may not be my own.


Here is one paragraph I really like: "And so I am concerned here with the questions of 'How do we work? ' How do we exercise?' so that our bodies and the clay bodies come together strengthened and more articulate. The freedom I seek is not one that lets me do what I want to do but rather a freedom that equips me to do what I need to do." - Paulus Berensohn.

Clementine/ New Doggy Portrait

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

 

This sweet pup is one of 4 pet portrait projects shipping out today. I really love the days that we ship! Such a  feeling of accomplishment to see all of those corrugated boxes getting loaded into the jeep. Clem was a fun project and I really like the bandana in the original photo. I always enjoy working with doggy clothes or toys in a portrait.

Earlier today I met with a lovely gal from the Sunset Boulevard Animal Clinic in Houston. She is redecorating her husband's clinic and has asked us to set her up with some samples of our artwork throughout the building. Next week we will start printing for this large showcase opportunity. We will also be doing her Saint Bernard and Chihuahua ... very excited about that project too.

Frenchie Frechch Bulldog Portrait

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

This adorable Frenchie named Charlie will be shipping out tomorrow. June has been rather busy and I have nine proofing sets on-line so far this month. As of today I am officially caught up with orders. I had one new project come in yesterday, but I am waiting on pics for that one.  I may catch my breath this week and find some time to work on website updates.

Prices will be going up at the end of the month on all sizes and styles. This month is a great month to order a portrait and lock in 2011 pricing.

Mosaic Monday/ Owl & Scottie

"Scottie Fly"
4.5 x 4.5 Scottie Butterfly (Available at Etsy)
© rebecca collins

Help ... I am running out of wall space!
This weekend I was looking around at all of the mosaic artwork that is starting to pile up and decided that I needed to start selling a few pieces so I have listed 2 recent projects over at Etsy. I will start listing some of my personal projects for sell on Mondays. I hope to also take part in some local art sales in the fall and will let you guys know about those as well.

"Moon Blinked" ACEO
2.5 x 3.5 (Available at Etsy)
© rebecca collins

Flash Back Friday/ Vintage Creative Toys

Lately I have been feeling just a wee bit out of sorts creatively. I have not really been wanting to do mosaics at night and when I am not at my desk working on pet portraits I feel ... well sort of bored. Boredom is not something I usually have much time for in life, or much patience for. Had lunch with a good friend last week and she was telling me a story about a kid in her world getting their hands on a vintage spirograph kit. That conversation got me thinking about all of the cool creative toys we played with as kids.

This post is for summer fun and all the groovy things we did to beat boredom as children....
Spirograph

pic from Robert Donovan Flickr

pic by Ariane Colenbrander

Creepy Crawlers

from : Treasures From Paul's Basement

 

 

Lite Brite

from Crysti

Macrame

From Scott Beale

Etch A Sketch ... lol ... a precursor to my wacom tablet

From tea drinker

Silly Putty ... our first image transfer tool

from jagrap

Wire Hair Fox Terrier Sketch

"Whitman Galveston"
© rebecca collins / artpaw.com

Every time I go on a road trip vacation I pack art supplies. I usually do not make time to use them, but it is nice to have them on hand. Last month when we went to Galveston I managed to do one sketch and Whitman was good enough to sit still for me on the deck of our beach house so I could draw him. I used watercolor pencils on this quick sketch.

New Pug Art Shipping Out

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

Today we are shipping out several pet portrait projects including these two Puggies. Fifi belongs to a terrific repeat client that has done several projects with us this year. Rocco ( below) is a sweet little black Pug that likes to swim. My client loved the original snapshot and asked me to try and smooth out the wet look.

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

Bulldog Art "Otis"

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

Original pic was a bit dark, but terrific in every other way.

So is this English Bulldog sorta handsome or what? I am very partial to Bulldogs and went a little crazy giving my client around 17 proofs to choose from. The thing about doing a lot of art proofs ... well it is sort of like the cereal aisle at the grocery store .... more choices will not make it easy on the client. And yea, I did not mean to compare my artwork to cereal just now, but you know what  am talking about. She had a tough time, but she chose the sample above ... proof #6. I think the green & blue is a really great choice and will look good with any decor. The darker blue border draws you in to those amazing cool eyes. We will ship out on Weds.

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

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If you are a past or current client, know that you can order additional prints of other proofs from your proofing set at a discounted rate of 50% off of normal commission prices. I can afford to offer this discount because your design time is factored into the initial order. Just give me a call if you ever need reprints.... 214-321-1150.

Mosaic Monday/ Mini Bubo ATC

"Mini Bubo"
3.5 x 2.5
ATC Trading card

Just grouted this little fellow tonight. He is a trading card for an upcoming ATC Happy Hour swap here in Dallas. I am still facilitating in local mosaic card swaps and this next one has been designed to be easy on everyone. For starters there is no host, we are meeting for drinks at a local bar to do our trade and instead of multiple cards we are doing a blind swap of one card in a brown bag. The card swaps are tons of fun however folks that have been playing since the start ( a little over a year ago) are getting a bit burned out on feeling the pressure to do 3 or 4 cards every few months. I thought that the one card blind swap might be a fun quick alternative to our larger card trades.

I love the ATC swaps as they keep me connected to the local mosaic community. A little over a year ago I started thinking about what I was gaining through mosaics and top on the list was a sense of community. The ATC card swaps have been a great way to stay connected to old classmates and meet new like-minded friends. Originally I tried to also keep a strong on-line trade happening however the time involved became too much for me.

Special thanks to Linda S. for her inspiration on this guy.