New work

"Ice Dance"
20" x 24" acrylic and collage on canvas
Prints are available online at Imagekind.com

Finally got what I wanted with this piece...yay! By the way...you've probably noticed that I've been focusing more on my abstract work lately. The reason is that I have been offered a solo exhibit of my abstracts at the University of Denver for next year. I'm stoked! I need to build a larger body of work for it so I will be focusing on them the rest of this year. That doesn't mean I won't be doing dog paintings and still life...just not as many as I had planned.

On another note...went to hear a lecture last night about coyotes by Marc Bekoff Ph.D. Since we've had two coyotes visiting around our property lately...we wanted to learn more about their behavior. Marc has written some incredible articles and books on the emotional lives of animals and about expanding our compassion for them. Great reads!

Back to work now on more abstracts and Maisie's painting!

Crazy Maisie!

Have I told you that people at the dog park welcome us by saying, "Hey...crazy Maisie's here!"? Yep, that's my little nutball, goofball, sassy dog, Maisie. Here she is this morning...playing with her tennis ball in the snow. Winter is definitely still here in Boulder!

I've been working like a dog (yes, Maisie...like a dog) on my two paintings this week...but they are not quite finished. Sometimes the ones that seem like they'll be the easiest end up being the most complicated. That's certainly seems to be the case here! Hope to have them finished to show you early next week.

I leave you for the weekend with two of Maisie's favorite Haiku poems...from the Little Big Book of Dogs...

*Today I sniffed many
Doggie derrieres ~ and I celebrate
By kissing your face.

*Dig under the fence ~ why?
Because it's there. Because it's
there. Because it's there.

The Broadmoor and Snow Bandit

The Broadmoor Hotel

Hope you all had a nice Valentine's weekend! My sweet hubbie took me on a three day getaway to this beautiful hotel in Colorado Springs. I've always wanted to stay there since we moved here so it was a real treat. They also allow dogs so it's my kind of place so once Miss Maisie is a bit more behaved, she will definitely be going back with us. Then she can have her well-deserved bone on a silver platter!

We visited the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while we were there and saw some fantastic art. We saw the NASA/ART ~ 50 Years of Exploration exhibit that's traveling the country. There were pieces by Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Annie Leibovitz to name a few.

In their permanent collection, James and I also loved this painting (below) by Artist, Joe Baker of "Snow Bandit Waiting for Spring". It really grabbed our attention from across the room.

"Snow Bandit Waiting for Spring"
by Joe Baker, 1983
Oil on Canvas, 78" x 60"

Now, I'm back at work in the studio. I've got a new and different dog painting going and an abstract too so hope to show you those soon!

My Funny Valentine

Here's my sweetheart Maisie girl...who wanted to pop in and wish you all a very happy Valentine's day! I came across a little poem this morning that reminds me of her and how she touches my heart each and every day.

I'm heading out of town with James on a surprise getaway for a few days...so I'll see you next Tuesday! Have a great love-filled weekend!

You've Touched My Heart

You've given me a reason
For smiling once again,
You've filled my life with peaceful dreams
and you've become my closest friend.

You've shared your heartfelt secrets
And your trust you've given me,
You showed me how to feel again
To laugh, and love, and see.

If life should end tomorrow
And from this world I should part,
I shall be forever young
For you have touched my heart.

~unknown

Need more BALANCE in your life?

"Balance #3"
12" x 13" acrylic and collage on canvas
available for sale in my Etsy shop here

Here is #3 of the Balance series...hope you like it! I think I've mentioned before that when I paint abstracts, I always end up with something completely different than what I've imagined in the beginning. That's just part of the excitement of doing them for me...I have to really let go and allow my emotions, sense of color, form and space to be all over the place. Somehow, it all comes together in the end...like some hidden inner energy surprising me with what's REALLY going on in my psyche. Yikes!

I also wanted to let you know that you can now buy framed or unframed prints of my original abstracts and still lifes here on Imagekind. It's very high quality giclee printing on paper or canvas. Check out Imagekind's website too...it's pretty cool!

Dog Drawings Redux!

I was going through some older computer files the other day and came across these mixed media dog drawings I did a few years ago. I don't do many of them now but every once in awhile... someone will ask me if I can create something a little less expensive than the cost of an acrylic on canvas dog painting. The answer is, you betcha! Since I recently did a couple of cat drawing commissions, I've gotten the bug to do some dog drawings again. A 5" x 7" drawing is $100.00 so if you're interested...give me a shout.

By the way...some fun news is that my painting of Miss Pandora, the Potbelly Piggy won the Patron's Choice Award over at EBSQ. The show's theme was Barnyard Animals. Pandora doesn't think she's a barnyard animal...but I entered her anyway!

Hope you enjoy these three drawings of some pretty sweet dogs!

"Faithful Service Dogs"

"Two Shaggy Ones"

"Otis"

Painting - Poetry Friday!

"Night Bloom"
13" x 16" acrylic and collage on canvas
available for sale in my Etsy shop here

Just finished this new abstract painting yesterday. I absolutely love using red lately...this color happens to be Liquitex heavy body cadmium red medium hue. It really packs an emotional punch for me.

By the way...since we're heading well into 2010 now...I just reduced my Abby Creek Dog Calendars 25% in my Etsy Shop...in time for Valentine's Day! I only have a few left so head on over there now if you would like one for a special someone in your life.

And lastly...this poem came to me the other day so thought I would share it with you. Hope you like it. Have a great weekend!

A creamy dusting of snow
covers already shivering ground.
Soon, tiny birdtracks
leave silver indents.
My dog's paw prints
are everywhere.

What I like about winter
is that you can witness
where dear ones travel.

~Linda O'Neill

Artist Spotlight

Best Friend New York Artist Spotlight

Hey there! I'm back from the Bay Area. James and I had a great time seeing our families AND managed to avoid the rain deluge while we were there. Maisie had a wonderful time here with her best friend, Auntie and dog sitter extraordinaire, Mary. I don't think Mary got a lot of sleep while we were gone though. We've had two coyotes taking up residence on the other side of the irrigation ditch by my studio. They make Maisie crazy and when they howl...SHE howls...usually in the early morning hours. Oh great.

I wanted to share some news about the above "Artist Spotlight" with you. I am featured on Best Friend New York's Featured Artists page right now. Best Friend NYC donates a portion of all proceeds from work generated by the Artist Spotlight to the ASPCA. Take a look at some of the other Dog Artists as well...there's some fantastic work there.

Hope you're having a good week out there! Back soon with some new art...