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

Bulldog Charity Painting

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but most of the painting I've been doing are gifts, so I can't share them with you. Today I finished a painting for Bulldog Rescue - I need to get a better photo, but thought I'd post what I have for now. Please check back to get the link for the auction - remember this goes to help the dogs!

BULLDOG CHARITY PAINTING
12"x 16"
Oil on Canvas

(better photo to come soon)

This painting will be auctioned to raise money for The BCA Rescue Network, Inc - non-profit organization. There are many volunteers nationwide who love the Bulldog breed and are dedicated to its continued well-being. These volunteers find new homes for more than 1000 Bulldogs per year. Many thousands of dollars are spent to provide medical care, food, shelter, and training while the rescued Bulldogs are awaiting adoption.

Please check back to get the link to bid on this painting - remember 50% of the proceeds go to help support bulldog rescue!

If you have a charity to which you would like me to donate a painting, please let me know!

Scroll down to see the steps to this beautiful portrait!

Step #1 - Beginning the portrait. This actually isn't the VERY first step, but it's the first time that I took a break to take a photograph. I started by painting in the basic shape of the dog with burnt sienna paint.

Then I blocked in the darks and lights on his body. I like to use very colorful underpainting on animals, I think it gives more of a sense of the life and vibrancy of their being.

Close-up of Step 1 You can see his face starting to emerge from the shadows.

Step 2 - Now I'm adding the details and the actual coloring of the dog - this appears to bring him out of the shadows.

Step 3 - I now have just about all his body in basically the correct coloration. I will now refine areas and model the muscles and bones of his structure to make sure he is anatomically accurate.

Step 4 - Just about done! I will probably make a few adjustments - but basically he is finished. I have modeled his muscles, and adjusted the balance between light and dark. This is not a very good photo as it was 11:00 p.m when I stopped painting. I will try to get a better photo in the daylight.

Thank you again for your interest in my artwork, and for your patience :)

Live Creatively!!!

Liz

Damp Paisley

Paisley - Border Collie
Search and Rescue Dog

4" x 6" Oil on Panel

Well, today I had a bit of a quandary . . . . I have one painting that

Mack - Labradoodle at the Beach

(click to enlarge)

Mack Discovers Water that Plays

Labradoodle at the Beach
Oil on Panel
6" x 4"

You probably remember this painting from a month or so ago. I mentioned that I was revisiting some of my daily paintings. One of the reasons that I am doing 'daily' paintings is so that I will do quick studies, learn from the process and move on, instead of trying to create a totally satisfying finished painting as I do with my commissioned portraits.

Well, in theory, that's a good idea. However, I can't stand to have paintings that aren't as good as I think they should be. So, the other day, I took a bunch of 'completed' daily paintings and fixed them up a bit.

Here is the original painting:

The original is actually very close to the actual photo that I worked from. However, I felt that it lacked the color that I like to infuse my paintings with. The adjusted painting has much warmer colors in the shallow water and sand. I did this by putting away the reference photo and just working on how I 'felt' about the beach. I didn't change a hair on Mack, I think the painting had already really captured her excitement and goofiness at discovering waves.


Tomorrow, I have a commission to work on, but I am hoping to get a few color studies done for the Equine Mural panel that I received. I would like to get the painting completed over the weekend, but since I have no idea what I'm going to paint, that presents a challenge.

I just finished a great commission that turned out really well. I don't want to send it away :( It's a pub sign, and I can't wait to show you. As soon as it has been presented to its recipient, I'll be able to share! You're going to love it.

Also, I finally have the majority of the Search & Rescue paintings packed and ready to mail tomorrow. I'm going to miss having them around. Guess I need to paint some more.

As usual, thank you so much for your interest, your encouragement and your patience :)

Live creatively,

Liz

Bria - English Labrado Retriever SAR

Bria
English Black Labrador retriever Search & Rescue Dog with DAWGS
4"x6" Oil on Panel

From her owner, Jennifer:

Bria is a four year old English Black Labrador retriever who has been training for search and rescue since 2005, first with my husband Matt and for the past year, with me. Having recently become a certified Field Assistant myself, my goal is to be a dog and handler team able to work in the field together by the end of 2008.

Bria has been called a natural and is so incredibly focused and in her element while she is working that just watching her makes me beam with pride. I’ve told my teammates time and again that only hope I can be as good of a handler as she is a search dog. While Bria is not working, she is seeking as well as giving love and attention to everyone around her and will occasionally romp and play with her fellow dog teammates, that is if there’s nothing available for snacking.

Disaster and Wilderness Ground Searchers (DAWGS) is a volunteer search unit dedicated to the training of search and rescue dogs, handlers and support personnel in order to provide professional and highly-skilled search and rescue teams in the event of emergency response events. Formed in 1997 and operational in the spring of 1998, their primary search area is the state of Connecticut, although they are willing to assist disaster relief efforts and lost person searches wherever they are needed."

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In this painting of Bria, I was trying to portray what her handler calls her personality of "calm, sweet and peaceful with a gentle soul". Remember, these are just small, quick ol sketches, not full portraits. Because it was late, this photo was taken with a flash, and I will try to get a better photo up soon, she really isn't quite so blue in the actual painting.

Thank you, Jennifer, Bria and all the other handlers & dogs out there that dedicate so much time and money to save us from harm.

If you are a member of Search & Rescue, K-9 or Mounted Patrol, please allow me to paint a small portrait for you at no charge, in gratitude for your service.

Bear's Story

Bear gets to be Dog of the Day for 2 days. I just got his information and it is wonderful and I want to make sure you appreciate this fine fellow

Bear
German Shepherd
Police Service Dog - Dallas, TX
Oil on Panel 4" x 6"

Bear was born in October 2005, in the Czech Republic. He came to the Dallas Police Department in November 2006. Bear finished his training in May 2007. In less then a year, Bear has located two lost children, apprehended two burglars, a car-jacker, and a suspect wanted for murder.

Thank you to Bear and his partner Sr. Corp Nails.

K-9 Bear

Today's painting is a K-9 officer (?) I'm not sure what you call them.

This is Bear, a Police Dog with Dallas Police Department

Bear
German Shepherd
K-9 Officer - Dallas, TX
Oil on Panel 4" x 6"

His partner got in touch with me to do a FREE oil portrait - I think it turned out great - Bear is sure a handsome guy!

Thanks again for your interest in my artwork. I had over 800 people on my list until I moved it to Google . . . . I'm slowly trying to build it back up - you can help me out by forwarding this to anyone you think might be interested.

Thanks!

Three Pugs with Personality!

Three Pugs with Personality!

16"x20"
Pastel on Paper
Private Commission, NFS

These three adorable dogs were actually painted from one photograph! I don't know how she got them to sit like that LOL

Don't worry, if you can't get all the critters to behave at the same time, most of my portraits are painted from multiple photos.

Here are some closeups of their faces:

DON'T FORGET:

English Springer Spaniel

Available on eBay
Great Christmas Gift!
Starts at $59 - click here to bid

The painting is signed by the artist,
the website copyright appears only on the internet
Satisfaction guaranteed!

The most recent charity auction for
English Springer Spaniel Rescue
Raised over $300 Click here to see!

I am leaving town for a couple weeks, so it might be a while before I post another photo. Back soon!

Collie Charity Painting

This week's charity painting:

Original Oil Painting

4" x 6" - Oil on Panel, unframed

The detail below shows more accurate color

The painting is signed by the artist,
the website copyright appears only on the internet

Every bit of the money raised by this auction will help dogs receive the treatment they need to live long healthy lives - please be generous!

100% OF ALL FUNDS RAISED WILL BENEFIT RESCUE AT
Collie Rescue of Greater Illinois, Inc.

Click here to bid!

Detail of brushstrokes - larger than life!

When I painted it, I just washed in the background - It was a bit too thin, and I will be touching it up in the next day or so - I'll send an update!

Remember if you have an animal rescue that you would like me to donate a painting to, just let me know! I'd love to work with you.

Thanks for your interest!!
Liz

Shiba Inu Charity Painting

Shiba Inu

Original Oil Painting

4" x 6" - Oil on Panel, unframed

Every bit of the money raised by this auction will help dogs receive the treatment they need to live long healthy lives - please be generous!

Now, I have to admit that I had never heard of a Shiba Inu dog until they contacted me to do an auction for them. They are gorgeous dogs, sort of like a small akita. They come from Japan.

The last auction, which I did not put on my blog (shame on me) raised $160 for Papillon rescue! I hope this one does as well. It is already up to $66 and I just started the auction a few hours ago.

100% OF ALL FUNDS RAISED WILL BENEFIT RESCUE AT
MIDWEST SHIBA INU RESCUE

Detail of brushstrokes on painting - larger than life

Thanks for your interest in my artwork - and for your wonderful emails!

Liz

Object of My Affections III

"Object of My Affections III"

Black Labrador Retriever

4"x6" Oil on Panel

(Available $100 - click here)

Since Black Labs love everyone and everything and all food, the object of this Black Labrador's affections could be anything you could conceivably throw, including the couch, or an eagerly anticipated food treat

My goal was to capture the intensity of a black lab as they wait for you to throw something (anything!)

The painting is signed by the artist, the website copyright appears only on the internet.

Thank you for your interest in my artwork, all replies answered, please forward to your friends!

Liz

Border Collie 100% Charity Painting

It's nice to be back in the swing of things again! This week's 100% charity painting is for

100% OF ALL FUNDS RAISED WILL BENEFIT BORDER COLLIE RESCUE AT
Border Collie Rescue of Northern California

Border Collie
4"x6" Oil on Panel

Click here to bid

Detail of painting (much larger than life)

Thank you again for your interest in my artwork. I appreciate it more than you know!

- Liz

Beagle Charity Painting

This is the most recent charity painting I have created. It raised over $80 for Nittany Beagle Rescue. Congratulations to new collector Anne Hoag for her winning bid!