On Ebay right now!

Dashiel Sleeps with the Beanies
Originally uploaded by tagscats

This is my entry for the Ebay Nibblefest art contest this month, theme Vintage Cats. My cat Dashiel loves to sleep on top of my Beanie Babies, and I have painted him as such. This is an original 16x20 oil painting with a no reserve starting price of $.99, so, don't miss out on this auction! Search NFAC on Ebay this week from Feb. 20-27 for all the great Nibblefest entries!

Click HERE to see the auction!

Raffle Reminder!!!

Yes, I'm posting about this again because, well, it's important! Time is running out to enter my charity raffle to benefit the cats of Forgotten Felines and get your chance to win a custom pet portrait! It's been tough times for everyone these days, and animal rescues especially have been hard hit. These rescue folk work so hard for the cats in their care, and remember that every little bit helps.

You only have until noon on Valentine's Day to enter, that is when one of my cats will be picking the winner!

RAFFLE INFO HERE

I've gotten a great response so far, thank you SO much to those who have opened their hearts to help these cats and those who so unselfishly care for them

Charity raffle - win a custom pet portrait!

So, it's no secret it's been a pretty crappy few months around here in the house of many furries. I have lost 3 cats and a dog since just before Christmas. The latest, and really no surprise, was my sweet Bronte just this past Thursday. It was time, though no less heart-breaking, Bronte had been with me for nearly 17 years. She came to me a skinny flea-ridden kitten from the local humane society, and grew into a beautiful long-haired tortoiseshell cat, and kept her loving disposition throughout her life. She loved to be carried around and would rest her paws on my shoulder and purr into my ear.

I decided to honor her memory by helping other cats in need. I am running a raffle, the winner of which will receive a custom 16x20 pet portrait oil painting. The drawing will be held on Valentine's Day. All the proceeds will benefit a local feline rescue from whom I have adopted several cats, Forgotten Felines. Full details regarding the raffle can be found HERE

I'm happy to say since posting about it for the first time yesterday, I have some entrants already. Hoping for lots more!

Gentle journey, Bronte, my baby girl. I will always hear you purring in my ear.

Dawn's Lucy - Lost and Found

Dawn's Lucy - Lost and Found
Originally uploaded by tagscats

This is a portrait I did for a fellow artist Dawn Thompson. We were swap partners in the 2008 EBSQ pet portrait swap, and I was late getting her portrait finished and entered it into the EBSQ Better Late Than Never Show.

This is an oil portrait of her sweet rescued dog Lucy. I loved the photo ref of her snuggled on some beautifully patterned cushions and decided to paint her as such. This dog has blossomed under Dawn's care, I'm so glad she found her way to Dawn, for she is truly home now.

This is 16x20 oils on stretched canvas. There's still time to vote for your favorite piece in the EBSQ Late Show, a few days left, so get out there and see the great entries! It's free to become a patron!

Heather's Gumbo

Heather's Gumbo
Originally uploaded by tagscats

This piece I finished on Christmas day. It's a portrait for a fellow EBSQ artist, Heather Sims. We meant to swap dog portraits for the 2008 EBSQ Pet Portrait swap, and both got overwhelmed, so ended up finishing our portraits in time for the EBSQ Better Late Than Never Show.

So, this is my entry and my portrait of Heather's beautiful collie pup, Gumbo. We decided to swap as we both have dogs named Gumbo, though mine is a JRT. It was so much fun painting her Gumbo, he's so lanky! I decided to put him on a fun size of canvas, this is an 8"x24" stretched canvas. He's done in oils, with a very limited palette, only titanium white, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and a bit of cinnabar.

Feel free to visit the Better Late Than Never Show, and vote for your favorite piece, it's free to become a patron of EBSQ! Only 2 more days to vote on this show!

Bee & Rose of Sharon

Bee & Rose of Sharon
Originally uploaded by tagscats

A new 10x10 oil painting on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=17367539

new painting on Etsy

Just listed this on Etsy....it's oils on 10x10 gallery wrap canvas...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16232638

new commissions

Finished up these two commissions last night. Portraits of two beautiful black standard poodles. Both are 8x10 oils on stretched canvas...

new art and an art show...

Later on today (ack! is it today already??) I'll be at the Monte Sano art show here in Huntsville www.montesanoartshow.org/

It's looking to be a really beautiful day, a great day in fact to stroll around the lovely park and look at some art! Bil and I went up this afternoon and set up my tent and display, so, all I need to do is hang my artwork in the morning. I did manage to finish a new painting today as well, and will be taking it to the show. Yeah, I know it's still wet, but, so what? lol I've done that before...nothing like being last minute. And besides, I still have some prints to package up and some cards as well...yes, I'm that last minute! Anyway....stop on by and say hi if you are in the area!

Here's a few views of the new painting...tough to photograph because it's wet, so there's some glare, but, you get the idea. It's big...24x36. I call him "The Lazy Sitter"

new art!

Finished these two pieces up last week just in time to take them to an art festival I did on Saturday in Athens, Alabama. The 3rd annual Athens Art on the Square, a very well-run festival and lots of fun. The weather seemed like it would be iffy at first, but, the rain held off and it turned out to be a pleasant day, not hot at all which is a nice change.The first piece is from a photo ref of a friend's cat, fellow EBSQ artist, Windi Rossen, (thanks Windi!) It's her cat Ziggy, he's so adorable!It's 9x12 oils on stretched canvas...I call it "The Yawn"

This next one is a portrait of a very cute bulldog who belongs to a fellow EBSQ artist, Deb Sprague, thanks for letting me use that fabulous reference photo, Deb! This is also 9x12, oils on stretched canvas....entitled "I love football"

I'll be taking these two paintings with me end of next week to another arts festival....they got a great reception at this last one in Athens, lots of smiles. That always makes me feel good. I'm happy people have a good reaction to my art.

my entries in the EBSQ Pet Portrait show...

I had 5 (yes 5!) partners for the 2008 EBSQ Pet Portrait Show. I did manage to finish up 3 of those entries in time to make the deadline, 2 of those entries I have yet to finish will be entered in the EBSQ Better Late Than Never show in December (thank goodness for that one!)The Pet Portrait show is a swap show, we partner up and exchange photos of our pets and when the portraits of our pets are complete, and the pieces entered into the show, we send our portraits to each other. It is, of course, one of my favorite shows for obvious reasons.My first portrait was for my partner Heather Mathieson, and here is her lovely EBSQ portfolio link www.ebsqart.com/Artists/cmd_15928_profile.htm. We exchanged pictures of ragdoll cats, and she did a fabulous pastel of my dearly departed Elizabeth. I had the privilege of painting her beautiful blue-eyed Isis and decided to do a rock portrait.





Next, I did a portrait of Deb Sprague's lovely new rescued kitty, Ruby. Deb is a wonderful animal artist as well, and does so much for animal rescue groups....www.ebsqart.com/Artists/cmd_3414_profile.htm I enjoyed painting this beauty, in oils on 5x7 canvas...



Then, it was on to Vicky Knowles' Boston Terrier Mr. Wiggles, who is featured in many of Vicky's own amazing paintings, www.ebsqart.com/Artists/cmd_7_profile.htm. He was a true joy to paint, I loved the reference she sent me of him holding a favorite toy, as if to say "yeah, I know you want it, but, you can't have it, ha!" This is oils on canvas as well, 5x7.







Be sure to check out the show, http://www.ebsqart.com/ArtShows/sh_179.htm, and, vote for your favorite piece of art! It's easy to do! If you aren't a patron of EBSQ, become one, it's free! www.ebsqart.com/info/fp_Become%20an%20EBSQ%20Patron_initRegister_Become%20an%20EBSQ%20Patron.htmIf you are already a member, then what are you waiting for?? Vote! All the art in this show is great!!

another new one....

Well, this one isn't exactly brand new. In fact, I started it in a palette knife workshop back in March, and as such things usually go with me, I didn't finish it during the workshop, so, it languished in my garage until my husband started to make me feel guilty about it. And, he wants the painting for his office, so, there you go. Anyway, finished it up a few weeks ago and it's been drying since then, I just wired it and painted the sides last night so Bil can take it to work tomorrow. I had fun painting this, it's oils, and I used a new medium to mix with my oil paints, Sennelier Flow and Dry. It's different than Liquin, as far as how it dries...not as fast, but it does leave a nice gloss to the paint, almost like enamel. I'll be using it some more in future paintings....

"2 Apples" oils on 11x14 stretched canvas

new landscapes...

Worked on these two paintings over the last day or so, a couple of small landscapes. I submitted them today for inclusion in the Unique Views of Huntsville exhibit at the Huntsville Museum of Art in mid-September. I'll find out next week if they get juried in. Unique Views showcases the work of local artists painting scenes around the Huntsville area. The sunflower field in my painting is on Redstone Arsenal, an army base here in town that also houses the NASA facility Marshall Space Flight Center, where my husband works. I love sunflowers and really enjoyed painting these scenes...hopefully more in this series to follow. Both are 8x10 and done in acrylics on gallery wrap canvas.

new art just listed on Etsy...

A pear study, done in acrylics with palette knife, on 6x6 museum panel. I love working loose like this, so fun!! Just listed in my Etsy shop...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14493658

new art on Ebay, right now!

Just listed my piece for the Nibblefest Contest on Ebay, this month's theme is "A Dog's Life". This original 8x10 oil painting, textured and loose and oh so fun to do, is a portrait of my dogs Mardi Gras and Gumbo, going on one of our walks that they so love. This auction is only a 5 day auction, so, don't miss it! And don't miss the other Nibblefest listings, lots of great works for this theme, all starting at a no reserve price of $.99! Search NFAC on Ebay to find these artworks!

http://cgi.ebay.com/NFAC-dog-oil-painting-original-art-EBSQ-NR-jack-russell_W0QQitemZ270267728976QQihZ017QQcategoryZ60437QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem