Sophie the Adorable Corgi

This is Sophie, an adorable Welsh Pembroke Corgi.

I've been busy, but staying away from the computer. I have a lot to show you, hopefully I'll get some more photos up! I just finished this commission and Sophie was just so cute, I had to post her :)

Here are the comments from her people when the portrait arrived:

Whoo Hooo Painting Live finally!!

I started troubleshooting the video camera - Ustream problem at 10 a.m. today. Working at it on and off until 3:30 I finally got it fixed! We had a successful session tonight! Yay! It's nice to have visitors back in my studio while I paint. I'll be painting again tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Central / 8 p.m. Eastern time. I might be on during the day as well. Hope to see you there!

Tonight's painting was Tumbleweed, the flyball Corgi. He was only a baby in this painting, 5 months old. He is so cute!

Tumbleweed
4" x 6"
Commissioned Portrait
Oil on Panel

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Here is a portion of the show during which I painted Tumbleweed's portrait:



Live Creatively!

Liz

Mekky & Two More Paintings

It has been far too long since I posted. I have some Christmas commissions that I hope to get around to putting up, so maybe I'll post more often :) The first painting tonight is a donated K9 portrait that I couldn't post until after Christmas. Tonight I also blocked in two paintings, and I'll take you along on the process.

First here's Mekky - - -

Donation #26 - Mekky
Granbury TX Police Dept
4" x 6"
Donated Oil Portrait
Oil on Panel

This was given by the Officer's wife as a Christmas gift. Her description follows:

Mastiff Masterpiece on the Easel

This has been a hectic week - I'm leaving tomorrow for an Einstein vacation (it's all relative)

Bloodhound K9 & Canine Masterpiece

Bloodhound
whose name I can't find :)
Oil on Panel
4" x 6"

You may remember when I blocked in this painting MONTHS ago

Holley in Her Natural Habitat

This is Holley - she is a couch potato - so I painted her portrait in her normal position :)

HOLLEY
Rottweiler Mix
8" x 16"
Sold

I'm not very talkative tonight, so I'll make this brief. I am getting ready for my next show

Roxey's Story & Pico Finished

ROXEY
Belgian Malinois
4" x 6"
Oil on Panel
(click to see larger)

First let me introduce you to Roxey.

K9 Portrait - Pico - Donation #19

Portrait of Pico - K9 with Dallas Police Department

I juts got a note from the officer that handles Pico.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a busy day - but for once, I am not the one cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I do have some homemade yeast rolls baking, cranberry sauce on the stove, and am trying to find an interesting recipe for a casserole from our garden's summer squash. As always, at this time of year, I reflect on all the reasons I have to be very thankful. First of all, I am glad that I was born in the greatest country on earth. Good health and talent wouldn't be worth much in some countries, where it is all you can do to survive. Right now, in 2008 - Albino people are being slaughtered in Tanzania and Barundi because it is believed their body parts are useful in "traditional medicine" Not all "traditions" are good ones.

J.B. the Scotty Gets his Turn . . . Finally

Hi,

I hope everyone has survived the storms and managed to get to a safe place. I hope if you had any losses, it was just material possessions which don't matter that much in the real scheme of things. I live in the middle of Texas, we didn't even get any rain, so don't worry about me :)

J.B. the Scotty
18" x 24" Oil on Canvas

I've been working on J.B., but haven't had any good photos. Finally got a couple, although he's so dark that the camera doesn't pick up the variations very well. You may remember this is a memorial painting for a Scotch Terrier that has crossed the rainbow bridge. This is much larger than life, since Scotties aren't that large, and this is 18" x 24". It's looking good, hopefully when I get the background in, the photo will turn out better. I think all that white space is throwing it off. Also, he looks a bit bizarre without any eyes yet. Don't worry, he'll have his beautiful, loving eyes soon.

Here is a little close up of his nose, which shows more of the variation and colors of the painting better than the larger photo above. You can click on the photos to see a larger version.

In a total change of subject, I have one of those little plastic ponds outside my back door. I've stocked it with 10/$1 goldfish which have grown and reproduced - it's wonderful. Last summer a couple frogs found it and I've been serenaded nightly ever since. They filled the pond up with tadpoles, and now we have a little frog nursery - they are growing out of their tails and climbing up onto the lily pads - thought you'd enjoy a few pics of my baby frogs :)



You can't really tell it from these photos, but they're tiny!

Hope you and yours are safe, warm & dry tonight -

Live Creatively!

Liz

Mimi - a beloved Yellow Lab

Mimi
8" x 10"
Oil on Panel

This is a Christmas present to someone who doesn't get on the internet, so I can share it with you ahead of time. You may have seen the beginning of this painting on UStream.tv - All the segments are recorded there, although I did a tiny bit of 'adjusting' after I signed off on the final video.

Jennifer, who commissioned the painting wrote me a sweet email saying:

"Liz, You've outdone yourself again! I can't stop myself from checking out Mimi's portrait online again and again and cannot wait to see the original. You've done a fantastic job capturing who she is: her spirit, her gentle and kind way and her focus, likely on her own shadow! :) The only downside is having to wait until Christmas to share it with my mom! She will be speechless! I cannot wait for you to paint my two black labs together."

Congratulations to new collector Jennifer B. on her commission of Mimi - and I can't wait to paint her black labs either - although I already painted one of them, since they are Search & Rescue dogs - Thanks again for all your hard work and dedication!

If you are considering a portrait for Christmas, now is the time to get in touch with me so I can make sure that I incorporate you into my schedule.

Thank you for listening & looking - and
Live Creatively!

Liz

Police Officer Memorial Portrait Dedication

The Police Officer portrait that I painted a couple months ago was formally dedicated on Friday. I attended, but due to mis-communication and some glitches (plus the fact that I'm basically a hermit and am not always in my "assertive artist" mode) I ended up not being in the room at the time it was being dedicated. It was standing room only. I met the Dallas Chief of Police and a lot of great Police Officers, Lieutenants and others. I truly appreciate those who put themselves in harm's way on a daily basis for us!! (Especially those among us who are totally ditzy . . . . )

The ceremony was featured on the nightly news and here are some shots from the broadcast.

the screen says "Police Officer Remembered"

Brutus - German Shepherd K9

(click to enlarge)

Brutus
German Shepherd K-9 Dog
Portland Oregon Police Bureau

Brutus' description & story from the Bert Combs, Retired Police Officer that handled him

Brutus is a sable colored male German Shepherd. When he started with the Portland Police Bureau he was 1 1/2 and full of puppy. Now that he's nearly 7 he's still mostly puppy however being retired that's working out just fine.

Brutus has a great nose but would only hunt when HE wanted to. Thankfully, during one very eventful week he assumed the role of a real police dog and found three armed robbers on three different calls.

During one call we were unable to get started with a track. District officers had set up a great perimeter so we began a yard by yard search on the west end of the perimeter. Working into the breeze Brutus put his nose up as we entered the first yard. With any other dog I would have assumed he was working air scent but with Brutus I was never sure. Kids toys in that yard told me they probably had a pet and was a likely source of his excitement. We cleared that yard but Brutus seemed interested in the adjacent yard.

As we walked up the driveway he immediately ran to the side of the unattached garage. Heavy brush kept him from traveling down the side. I peeked in and thought I saw something at the other end. We went around to the backside and Brutus stuck his nose around the corner and began to wag his tail. I knew he had just found a rabbit or maybe even the bad guy. Of course, it was the bad guy all curled up in a little ball. He had been out of prison for 15 days and returned to prison for another 11 years. At trial the bad guy actually praised Brutus for being "a good dog."

What a great story! Thank you both for all your work & dedication to keep us safe!

In this painting, I was trying to show Brutus' eagerness - he was actually lying down in the photo that I used for a reference. I painted this online LIVE on UStream - it was fun and it was really nice to have all you visitors to talk to! Please come back and visit again when I'm painting! I'll try to send out a notice to my email list with enough time for you to get there while I'm painting. Make sure you are signed up for my email notifications if you haven't done so already.

Equine Mural Update

I started working on the panel tonight - LIVE on UStream!! It was a lot of fun - I'm not done with it and it's completely from my imagination. I'm going to do some research to get more details for the horse. One of the drawbacks to doing things from your imagination is that you miss a lot of the small details that really add credibility to your painting.

Come by and visit the next time I'm painting live - I'd love it!