German Shepherd Profile

And last for today -- but definitely not least!! - is this German Shepherd painting I did just two days ago.  Now, I feel that I'm really starting to change.  I feel that I captured the "shepherdness" of this dog (her name is Zoey, and I'm doing another painting of her as a commission for her mom) but gave her a lot, lot more life than many of my more serious paintings had (in my opinion), and yet with the bright background, gave her some playfulness, too, without taking away from her beauty at all.  Again, this painting makes me smile.  I would hang this one in my living room even if I didn't have a German shepherd, just because I like the looks of the painting.  That's a good thing.  I like this direction.  I dooooooo hope I keep it up (fingers crossed -- much too tightly!). 

I'm currently working on a really, really hard painting:  a brindle pug.  I've had a few pretty good paintings over the past few ones, and now I'm nervous.  Can I keep up the momentum of change?  Or will I choke?  Seriously, this becoming the best painting I can is the hardest endeavor I've ever, ever taken on in my whole life -- and I've taken on some doozy challenges, I promise you.  They all pale in comparison to this one. 

What do you think about my new direction?   

Red Miniature Pinscher, Min Pin

A red Minpin I finished in the last few days.  Well, I'm finally getting somewhere.  This looser (but controlled) style is starting to feel a bit more comfortable.  And I'm getting back to something I lost somewhere along the way:  bright, happy backgrounds, more graphic overall feel, if that makes any sense.  Although I added a bit of -- dare I say it, the "W" word - whimsy to my work, I think I'm still being very faithful to the structure and personality of my subject.  Let me know what you think of this new direction if you have the time.  I'm anxious about what others will think.  I'm showing the most recent ones for the first time this weekend.  Scary.

Shiba Inu portrait

Wow, I had no idea I had not posted on my blog in such a long time!  I've got a lot of paintings to catch up on.  I'm afraid I've missed a few, but they're all on my website  (http://www.wildwildthings.com/) if you absolutely must see every single one.  I always list them on my home page just as soon as they're done. 

This is a shiba inu portrait, still just coming out of my "dark days."  I'm pretty happy with this one.  I didn't feel the need (well, I might have felt the need, but I resisted!!!) to put in every single hair on ths one.  That's a good thing!

Shar Pei Puppy portrait

Another painting, a shar pei puppy, as I'm coming out of my "dark days."  This one was really, really difficult for me.

My daughter has also started a facebook page for my/our paintings (she does paint, too, from time to time.  I wish she did it more!)  Check it out if you have the time.  It's http://www.facebook.com/larkstudios.  She also gives a bit more info on where our original works can be seen/purchased, what we're up to in general (Too much info in my opinion!  But, hey, I'm from a different era, I guess.) 

Border Terrier Face

I've been working a lot lately, going through some difficult times with my work and not producing much.  I can't explain exactly what was going on, but I knew I was going in a direction that I wasn't especially happy with in my work -- too "photo-realistic, not grabbing me and making me  - and you - smile the way I like.  (There's just enough negative or even neutral in this world these days that I want my work to help bring even just a bit of cheer into our lives.)  So, anyway, I've been working away, really hard actually, but not able to get off that path I had started going down -- well, I think I finally have started forging a new path for myself.  I expect you're going to be seeing some  - for me, anyway - exciting changes in my work in the future.  I made the hurdle!!!!

This piece is the first to come out after my few weeks of wrenchingly hard work - with almost nothing to show for it - except in my head, of course, where lots, lots, lots was going on!  This is a border terrier, and the original as well as prints and pendants are available on my website.  There'll be other images to follow in short succession after this one until I am current again. 

English Springer Spaniel doing Agility Test

Okay, here's my painting for today - and I think I've loosened up a lot in my painting.  I really love the motion, the "painterliness" of this one.  I didn't draw in every single hair and be slavishly driven by the photo of the dog.  I used the images of this dog to create what I feel is an exciting, colorful, filled-with-personality painting.  I hope (fingers crossed!!!) I can continue in this direction!!!

This painting is for sale, by the way.  It's an 8x10" on wood panel, unframed.  It sells for $125, and I'll frame it for you for an extra $15.  Of course, as usual, prints, pendants, and clocks are available on my website, http://www.wildwildthings.com/.