Abby's got a boo boo

My poor baby had a freak accident this weekend. She caught her nail in the heater grate and yanked it completely off. We took her to the Vet where they had to put her under, cut the rest of nail down to the skin, cauterize it and bandage it. Apparently a dog can get a very nasty infection if you don't do this...plus the nerve that is exposed if you don't cut it off is very painful.
With all Abby has been through...she really didn't need THIS. Please send her lots of good thoughts and kissies today, ok? Fortunately she'll be fine...bandages come off in another day so that's good.

Thought I should post another more "happy" picture of Abby from Saturday morning before all this took place. We had another snowy day and Abby was standing outside taking it all in...and enjoying every minute. I love this picture of her. Have a good Monday everyone!

Dog Nappie

Here's my baby dog...schnoozing the day away. This is a good photo to end the week on I think...I'm tired too! Abby schnoozes a lot lately...it's hard watching her get old. It breaks my heart to watch her struggle with her walking and with her renal disease. She's almost 13 now and has survived many health problems in her life...she has a very strong spirit though and has beaten the odds every time.

I know it's not her time yet...Abby is still enjoying her life; loves to go for stroller rides, walks around the yard, plays with her toys, eats and drinks pretty well. I know it's coming though and way too soon. I wish dogs could stay here on earth a much longer time...the years go by too fast for one of life's sweetest creatures.

So...give your dog a big smooshy kiss tonight and tell them you love them. You'll get a big sloppy one back I'm sure.

Have a lovely weekend!

More New Abstracts

Click to enlarge

Here are six more abstracts...which seem to be evolving but I'm not sure how! I'm just trying to let my mind go and see what spews forth onto the paper.

I feel like I'm going through an artistic metamorphosis...not sure which direction to take with my painting. On one hand...I absolutely love doing the dog portraits but there is another part of me that loves doing still lifes and abstracts. There is more creative freedom for me personally with the latter. The question is...do I continue to do both or do I concentrate on one body of work. In Art School it was always drummed into me that an Artist should concentrate on one body of work that showcases one's unique style but in a cohesive way. I guess I'm not sure exactly what that means to me now...so maybe I need to give it some more serious thought. Hmmm...so much contemplation...my head hurts!

Fun Dog Book

This is a good book for you fellow dog lovers out there. In a nutshell...it's about a woman's canine-led quest for love. She starts to hear her dogs actually speaking to her during her many escapades...and the "dog-speak" is just hysterical. I could swear Abby says some of those things! If you want an off-beat, light read...you can get it here.

New Still Life

Any of you antique lovers out there know about "Tea Leaf" Ironstone China, yes? Well, my mother-in-law, Barbara (hi Barbara!) gave us a whole bunch of it. It's actually pretty charming stuff...but mostly...the little tea leaf bowl I painted here is the PERFECT bowl for Grape Nuts. I can't even eat grape nuts without this bowl...so I thought I should capture it for all eternity.

Hope you're all having a nice weekend out there. It's another cold day here in Colorado. I'm really pining for spring now!

Three more abstracts

Been working on three more little abstracts. This is a really interesting process...seeing how things take shape and progress. It's a good exercise...to paint something really different than what I'm used to. I do ocassionally paint abstracts which you can see here...but not a lot so this stretches my right brain which needs a little stretching right now!

We're finally pulling out of the big chill here in Colorado. It got up to 28 degrees today...yee hah! Finally got out for a nice long walk so that felt good. Hope it's nice and toasty in your neck of the woods.

Small Art Challenge

It's a whopping 5 degrees here in Lafayette, Colorado today. Geez, if it's not feet of snow lately...it's Alaskan chill! This is the kind of cold where you can't go out for a walk...not unless you want your face to freeze. Abby's pee almost freezes before it hits the ground!

So...let's talk indoor activities for the next few days. I've started a new art project just to keep the juices flowing this month...inspired by Shari Beaubien and Art By Chrysti. Instead of doing 1" x 1"inchers though...I'm doing 3" x 3.5"inchers. Here are the first two. They are painted on 140 lb watercolor paper with acrylic, collage, ink, and colored pencil. The challenge is to do 100 of them. Not sure if I'll get there since there are dogs to paint...but it's a great way to get inspired.

Pledges for Pets

The Denver Dumb Friends League...a fantastic animal shelter here in Colorado...is having an online auction to raise money. There are many items to bid on...one of them being a custom 10" x 11" Acrylic Dog Portrait (normally $275) painted by me. You can bid on that here...the auction runs through January. When I was looking for a shelter dog (who turned out to be Abby)...I went to the Denver Dumb Friends League many times. They have some of the nicest, cleanest facilities I've seen. They provide so many great services for homeless animals and for people who love animals...so please help if you can.

Abby New Year!!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful start to the New Year. It's crisp, sunny and snow covered here today in Colorado so we're taking Abby for a walk in her stroller. Figured that would be a great way to start out 2007...fresh air, exercise and the three of us being together! We found a bike path that's been plowed so we're headed there. Have a good 01-01-07!