Happy Oct 1st!

October is here! It is hands down my favorite month of the year. It brings the smell of Fall in the air, the turning color of the leaves. Those beautiful oranges, reds, yellows and even browns. There is color everywhere and from the eyes of an artist, this is a wonderful thing.
I love to just wander around in the woods and smell the earth, listen to the silence settling in, watch the leaves fall. Are you like this too?
My order wait list has now closed. If I can keep up with the schedule of paintings, then I will open a few slots. I work fulltime as well, so it depends on how busy I am at work along with other factors.
 I have found lately, that I am beginning to see a lot more canvas orders. I am grateful that more people are trusting me to paint their beloved furs as a bigger body of art. In the past its been the glass semi-flat ornaments or the polymer clay pendants, so this has been a fun and challenging turn.
This past month, I have been working on a set of three ornaments, from a long time customer. She has me paint her two American Bulldogs and one cat, every year. Its fun seeing what color backgrounds she will pick and what photos. This year, the two bullies where smiling.
They were just puppies last year, so its also been fun to paint their every changing faces. With all puppies, their markings change.
Here is the complete set.

Another order I just finished was an 8x10 canvas painting. Her name was Jenny Rose. Unfortunately, She passed away this Spring, but her mother said she loved her little stuffed elephant and wanted a painting of her and the elephant. 

I am now starting a new project and hope to keep up the pace before the holidays really hit.

Thanks for following me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and this Blog. 

🍁Happy Fall!🍂

Hello everyone,
Summer has been busy for me, so not much time to blog.
That said, a quick note to let you know that my prices have now changed for the year.
The new price list has been updated, I apologize for not getting to it earlier.
Also, I am now taking commissions for the upcoming holiday season.
I am starting to take  commissions now. If you want on the wait list, you must let me know by September 30th. , if you want it by Christmas. 30% down  will secure your spot.
Thank you again for your continued support.

Painting on the go

One of the things I love about painting pet portraits, is I can paint whenever or wherever I am at. I don't need a studio or set home address to paint.
I love to travel, so it is that my life allows me to do travel and paint at the same time.
I could be in a National Park during the day, exploring and enjoying the natural beauty, then when night falls, sitting in my mode of transportation painting away.
The natural beauty that our country has to offer is vast. I like to think that I can take that and use it to draw inspiration for my work.
Right now, I am sitting outside, enjoying the wonderful sunny, 64 degrees here in Oklahoma.
The state may not have the trees and mountains other states have, but it does offer the quite countryside full of bird song and rustling of squirrels.
I have started on the wait list of "after the Christmas rush". I was hoping for February, but I was a bit busy. Since March 1st, the painting has begun, so if you were put on the list back in November or December, I will be getting to your name soon.
In previous years, Spring has not been that busy for me, but this year has seen more orders, which is great and I thank all my supporters for this. It warms my heart when I get a notification that someone is interested in a piece of my art. Usually they are asking for ornament, which just goes to show you these are not just meant for the Christmas Tree. The ornaments can be put into shadow boxes or hung from an ornate hook and displayed on a mantel.  Here is an example:

My other works such as the pendants and Scrabble Tiles are not only used for jewelry, but some customers have creatively framed them, such as these two examples:

Its all up to the customer and how they like to display their art work. I enjoy seeing the different ideas.
The past three weeks have been devoted to just ornaments, but I do have some larger and smaller pieces on the list that are coming up and I will post when finished.
Here are the latest pieces:

By the way, all of these were painted in a different state I was visiting at the time. I can't express how much I love my life. The journey I have been on and continue to this day. Travel and Art go hand in hand. 

Until next time, my faithful followers.

Back into the groove

It feels almost like the holidays with as many custom orders I am getting. Its pretty nice, that after years of painting that I am now busy during a "normally slow season". Winter/Spring of the new year is always the slowest part of my business, but not this year,(Yay!).
I am winding down in my personal work day life and getting ready to hit the road. I am excited to start a new adventure, plus I will have a lot more time to paint in the coming weeks, which is good, since I do have a lot of orders.
It would be a whole lot better if the places I am going would warm up a bit or stop raining. I swear, ever place I look at its raining or going to rain. I need the sun! Part of me, just wants to head straight down to the Gulf coast.
Last year at this time, I was in Florida and got to enjoy sitting outside in the sun, painting. Natural light is always the best to paint in. I just have to have patience for the coming months. I am hoping that the rains let up a bit and the sun will start peaking out, the green will start showing up and the birds will be back. I am so ready for Spring warmth.
Because of my work schedule, I only get about one ornament done a week. I finally finished up two ornaments I have been working on. I posted the first one last week in my blog, but here are the two of them finally finished, sent off to their owner. She wanted a grey background as the dogs are mainly white. I do think it makes the white pop.

I am now working on a set of four ornaments. One I painted a while back, but unfortunately, these ornaments are glass and it broke, so the customer wanted me to paint her dog again. I don't mind, but as with anything handmade, it won't look exactly like the original one. I have had my fair share of the ornaments break on me and it feels like a punch in the gut. 

I have one commission coming up next month that I am excited to start on. The customer has a very old heirloom frame that she wants me to make a polymer clay pendant to tuck inside and then paint her dog on it. It is a beautiful frame too. I love when I get unusual requests and can pretty much paint on anything or work with most items. I will be posting the progress. 

Well I am going to take advantage of today, it is actually sunny outside, and paint in the sunshine..through my window, because its still really cold outside. One day I will be outside painting..one day. ;)

Painting on the road.

I don't talk about my private life much, but some already know that I travel the USA. I decided to just let go of my previous material life and hit the road five years ago. 

Being a painter and living fulltime while traveling is pretty easy and very fulfilling. However, I am not retired, so I still have to make a living.  I do occasionally settle down somewhere and work. When I do, it means that my painting time gets limited, so I paint when I get off work and my days off. 

Usually this time of year, my commissions  trickle off and I have time to explore nature and the wonders of our country, but this year, I am actually as busy as I usually am during the holiday peak season, which runs from mid-September to December, I also decided to keep working at a company I have worked for in the past. 

You may not see many completed art projects, since I have to paint when I am not working and also again some of the commissions are presents. Its actually very satisfying that, almost ten years after I began painting  pet portraits, that I am at this point in my career. Very grateful indeed. Many thanks. 

I started on two American Bulldog ornaments last week and finally have one to show. I do love their squishy faces and miss my AB every day. (she passed away 2016). Lots of squishy detail and when they smile, their whole face just changes. 

Here is the one I finished last night. 

I have a full schedule all the way into mid June, however if anyone wants to get in before the prices go up in July, please message me either through here or FB messenger, so I can add your name. Anything ordered after July 1st will be at the new reflected price 

If all goes as planned, I am hoping to relax in the mountains somewhere and just paint my heart out and of course explore. 

Perhaps one day, I can just live off what I love doing. ;) 

This Blog and I have not been friends

Hello!
Its only been a year and a half since I said that I was breathing new life into this blog and then...nothing.
The reason why is that at the time I only had an Ipad and iPhone and unfortunately, Blogger would not allow me to up load any photos. I tried and kept getting a message that I could not upload from either device.
So fast forward to 2019, as of today, I now have a laptop to add to all my gadgets. I do love new gadgets.
There are a lot of things you can do with the smart devices, but one still needs a good old laptop.
I have also had other priorities these last couple of years, that put buying  a laptop on the back burner.
Here is a link to some of the commissions I did last year.
2018 commissions 

My go to art page is Facebook, but I do have Instagram and Twitter, if you are not a big fan of Facebook. I do not have a web page for my art, its just this Blog and Facbook and I don't sell on Etsy. If you have a question or would like a portrait, please message me on any of the above sites.
Twitter is houseof_pawz and Instagram is houseofpawzpetportraits

Now onto 2019, I will be raising my prices this July. If you would like to get locked into the old price, please contact me before July 1 2019. After July all commissions will start at the new price. I will continue asking for a 30% deposit on all commissions.

Well that's about it for now. If you do read this blog, please leave a comment, so I know I am not just talking into Internet space. (I probably will be for awhile, since I haven't been here for awhile)

New life into my blog

Good Evening,
I am not much of a blogger, but I need to breathe fresh life into this blog. I have used it mainly to list my prices and give a bit of information, but feel that I need to start being more active on this page.
If I have done this right, then the price list will be on the right hand side.
I am now into my busy season. I do have a wait list that extends into November now. If your interested in a piece of art for the upcoming Christmas season as well as many other holidays, please email me. The sooner you get on the list, the better I can guarantee you will get your item before the end of the holiday season.
This is my latest piece. It is an 8x10 on canvas. Using acrylics and sealed with a premium gloss top coat.