Custom Dog Painting on Etsy

This is one of the stranger (but fun!) pieces I have done as a custom order on Etsy. The client produced a photo of a dog sitting on a chair in a slightly awkward pose. She asked if I could put the dog on a throne and maybe dress him up like a king. I'll try anything (artistically speaking) once so I told her if she could find me some samples of what she was talking about I would do it. I had visions of hounds playing pool and poker in my head but the job turned out to be simpler than that. I did have a lot of fun creating this piece for Cathy and it is a gift for someone special. I hope they appreciate her ingenuity and my willingness to bring her idea to life. The dog is actually a puggle, a mix of a beagle and a puggle and he is quite cute. I'm showing the painting and the picture of the dog sitting on the chair like a little person that inspired her gift idea. ;)

12"x16" oil on linen

The Dog is Larger than Life...

The dog may be larger than life, but so is his personality, according to the woman who commissioned this house painting. She is giving the painting to people who LOVE the dog, so I guess that's all right. This is a small 11" x 14" piece and it was difficult to get enough detail into the dog to be recognizable but you can tell it's a French Bulldog.
House paintings are usually fun to do. The owners are thrilled to have something hanging on their wall that tells the world how much they love their home. And it's always a challenge to turn a bland photo into a colorful oil painting. It requires imagination and invention because the details are just not readily apparent in the photo. Thankfully, most houses are constructed the same way and I've painted a lot of them so I know where to fill in the blanks.

This Dog Owns The Lawn

11 x 14

Some pears are better than others and then some foods are not good for you at all

We like the Anjou pears because they are versatile and ripen faster. I like to paint them because they are cute and compact. This 6" x 8" painting was done in an hour with a palette knife and the paint that was left on my palette after painting the one below it. So these two foods are kind of like "good" and "evil". Pears are healthy and green, hot dogs are red and artery clogging. Whatever... when you want to paint something food is always available and it comes in a multitude of colors, shapes and sizes. It is not about the subject to me; it is about the arrangement of shapes on the picture plane. Is it interesting or is it too static to be a good painting? I don't always know the answer until the painting is finished. And sometimes not even then...

I had a guy from the Russian Federation email me today asking why I didn't ship to their country. Basically he was saying that I should-- I lost a sale because I didn't. So I have amended my shipping exclusions at eBay Etsy and Bonanza. International sales are good and I needed to be reminded that we Americans are not the only consumers in the world. Two of my most recent sales were to Japanese collectors. It's a global economy!

What effect will the decline of the Euro have on American sales to foreign countries? I would think if the dollar is worth more our goods would become more expensive to people who use other currencies. THAT might not be a good thing.

ANJOU PEARS and ALL AMERICAN LUNCH