Terry Pond...the blog

Illustration Friday - "Swept"

2011-06-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

For Illustration Friday prompt "Swept"
On a wind-swept beach a longhaired Dachshund runs into the wind.

Illustration Friday: Shadows

2011-06-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday using the prompt "Shadows." I've been working on my technique in Corel Painter 11 and I'd love some comments!
Added a little later in purple:

Tuesday update: I just couldn't leave it alone. I think this one is much more appealing.

Illustration Friday - "Safari"

2011-05-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

Things on the savanna got much safer after Leo became addicted to Angry Birds on an iPhone left behind by a Safari Tourist.
My entry for Illustration Friday, created today, May 18, 2011. It's been quite a while since I participated!

IF: Spooky

2010-10-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't participated in Illustration Friday in a while! The prompt this week is "Spooky." I often have trouble deciding whether to make art in the computer or to use watercolors, so this week I am presenting both. The original drawing of a Brachiosaurus on a Broomstick in my sketchbook was done in ink. First I scanned and colored it in Photoshop. Afterwards I painted the original sketch in watercolor. Guess which one took longer! Do you have a preference?

Watercolor

Digitally Colored

Academic Dyslexic Feline: Catademic

2010-04-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

This is a quick painting I made tonight at the gym (after my workout, while waiting for Kelly to finish playing). I thought he was a Business Cat, but the more I look at him the more I think he's an Academic, or Catademic. Maybe dyslexic as well...

Dacchus - Doxie Doodle of the Day

2010-03-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

Having the most wonderful time playing with Corel Painter and my Cintiq today. Got this idea for Dacchus, The Dog of Wine, and developing it in an oil painting style. The background will involve pillows and the like. This is the painting so far. Comments welcome!

Illustration Friday: Subterranean

2010-03-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

My entry this week for Illustration Friday's Subterranean. Just click to enlarge for more detail. This idea went through a lot of variations involving weiner dogs and security cameras, but in the end I think this one works the best. Painted yesterday in Photoshop especially for IF. Comments welcomed!

Ilustration Friday: BRAVE

2010-03-08T18:48:00.000-08:00

A young dragon must be very brave to try that first flight on such tiny wings.

Illustration Friday: Welcome

2009-09-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

FiFi begged to differ.

Sketchboook Selection of the Day XII

2009-09-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

This one makes me laugh - because the woman and the horse weren't planned to make a single illustration, but when I scanned them they had a sort of angry Lady Godiva vibe. Often before posting I remove bits of other drawings that butt-up against the illo I am planning to use, but this time I left 'em as is.

Illustration Friday: Strong

2009-09-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

IF: Strong

Mable often awoke with very pronounced morning breath, but this morning when she accidentally rinsed her mouth with XTra Strength® Toilet Bowl Cleaner rather than her usual Fresh Smile® Breath Freshener she had a rather stronger reaction than normal.

Above, just for kicks, is the pen sketch before I applied watercolors.
Thanks for any comments!!

Sketchboook Selection of the Day XI

2009-09-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

"Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth" - Alan Watts. That is one of my favorite quotes and seems appropriate today because I have spent the day pondering how to re-do my websites and leverage more name recognition for Pond. This led to today's sketch, which I call "Pond Scum." I had thought to draw this villainous looking frog leaning against a plant and trying to corrupt some tadpoles with contraband flies, but in the interest of a quick sketch I came up with this.

In re-creating my websites TerryPond.com and Wiener-dog.com I have a few different goals: one) is to drive more traffic to the illustrations I have for sale on products and two) is to create more work and thus, more income. With the crash and burn of my Cafe Press sales I am moving forward with my plans to actively seek more clients and perhaps to even secure a full-time job.

Kelly started first grade yesterday, so for the first time in over six years I have actual, uninterrupted time in which to work - on my own or an employer's ideas and initiatives.

Sketchboook Selection of the Day X

2009-08-31T22:34:00.001-07:00

Sketch today is a goth girl drawn on the Cintiq in Painter and vectorized in Illustrator. I love the great trace feature in Illustrator, which allows me to maintain my style while producing scalable, printable images.

I still need to do an illo for Illustration Friday - the word of the week is Magnify...what to do? Nervous this week because school starts for Kelly on Wednesday, perhaps my fears are magnified by the dramas of kindergarten last year.

Sketchboook Selection of the Day IX

2009-08-30T12:08:00.001-07:00

Today's sketch is unusual because she was drawn while I was on a exer-cycle at the Y. I had forgotten my book to read while I exercised, so I drew this in ballpoint pen on the moving surface of my pad.

Sketchboook Selection of the Day VIII

2009-08-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today's sketchbook is doing double duty on my other blog as the Doxie Doodle of the day and is actually a couple of studies I developed for a 5x7 watercolor I did a few years ago. I felt this was apropo to post for today because yesterday I was at the Tulalip Casino with my husband, playing a really neat fortune-teller themed slot machine called Clara T. I was impressed by the fun, creative graphics and game play.
I seem to remember that the original painting (shown below) didn't generate a ton of bids; it is rather a narrow niche - tarot reading Dachshunds. Still, it might make a fun greeting card to re-create with a lab or some generic dog, or maybe a cat or llama? While browsing in my old files for the scanned, finished painting I was amazed at the hundreds of paintings I've sold on eBay over the years. Considering that my take-home on Cafe press is now under $50 month since their commission re-structure (yes - ouch) I might be doing a lot more originals to sell in the near future. I imagine that after 6 years of being self-employed the time to work for someone else again may be here. Maybe a fortune telling weiner dog could look in a crystal ball and see where my art is going to lead me next.

Sketchboook Selection of the Day VII

2009-08-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today's illustration is a loose watercolor of a dragon/sea serpent. I love the eyes on this one. I really need to do some dinosaurs because I already have a store on Cafe Press for them, but so far I haven't uploaded any.

Lederhosen Pirate Party Pics

2009-08-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

As promised in my earlier post about Kirk and Gary's Birthday party, here are a few pictures of the day:The Birthday Boys, Gary and Kirk.

Kelly, Gary, Bobby and Kirk, at the end of a long, fun day.

The Fabulous Tiki Dean, who says he'll wear Lederhosen next year, if we don't opt for kilts instead.

Kelly - I don't know if she's pretending to be a moose or what, but clearly she's having a good time.

Now if only we can get the deck cleaned up in time for next year's party.

Sketchboook Selection of the Day VI

2009-08-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

Quick sketch using my Cintiq - a mermaid contemplating an air bubble. I think I spent 20 minutes on this - 10 longer than I meant to.

Sketchboook Selection of the Day V

2009-08-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Character study/watercolor and ink pen of two men from my SB. Comments appreciated!

IF: Caution

2009-08-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday: Caution

One should use caution lest the hunter becomes the hunted. Created in Photoshop for IF .

Sketchboook Selection of the Day IV

2009-08-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today's painting, another loose and quick character sketch in ink and watercolor:

Sketchboook Selection of the Day III

2009-08-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

A couple more sketches from my collection. Still working on my new scanner's settings - it wants to sharpen everything and I haven't had the patience to fiddle with the preferences much. My old Epson scanner died a few weeks ago. I think my electronics are in cahoots trying to make me buy as many deductible items for my business as possible before the end of the year - the scanner, then the printer, and my treasured laptop has a fan that sounds like a wooden roller coaster. Hoping the new part I ordered to replace the fan isn't too difficult to install since I don't relish begging Kirk to do it for me according to his time schedule (anywhere from a week to a year depending on how often I mention it - more mentions=longer wait)

Sketchboook Selection of the Day II

2009-08-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

Posting three things today. The first is also on my other blog, http://weiner-dog.blogspot.com/, but I felt it deserved a viewing here, too.
The other two are also from my all-media sketchbook. The first is a mermaid hugging a fish:

The second is a woman in braids. Both are watercolor and ink.

Yea - I fixed my printer!

2009-08-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

The other day my Canon i9900 printer began acting hinky, and after wasting a lot of time running diagnostics on it I figured out that the Photo Cyan printhead was clogged. I removed the print head and used a zillion alcohol saturated q-tips to clean the printheads. Still no photo cyan. Seeing that printhead replacements run about $100 I figured I was going to have to buy a cheap printer to replace what has been a rather nice photo printer. Then I got tough. I soaked that printhead in a container of alcohol and water and kept at it, rinsing and cleaning. I ordered fresh new inks (confession: I tried a generic ink, which is what caused the problem) and the printer is working again. The 8 new ink cartridges cost as much as a cheap consumer printer, but I feel lots better having a Giclee quality printer even though I get few print orders these days.

Sketchbooks selections I

2009-08-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to scan and post my daily sketches for some time. I decided to start with this full page of ballpoint pen drawings from back in February. I wish I had done them in my all-media sketchbook so that I could also paint them.

The Lederhosen Party

2009-08-17T11:32:00.001-07:00

Today is my husband's 41st Birthday. We had our annual joint birthday party for he and our good friend Gary and our kitty Wuggles, all born August 17th, on Saturday. The theme this year was Oktoberfest/Pirates/80's. I will post pictures soon, but imagine the birthday boys plus Uncle Bobby wearing Lederhosen and pirate hats and you get the picture. I wore a white dress with a green bodice for that St. Pauli look. I cannot rock a bodice like in the old days and felt quite the frau, but fortunately no one managed a picture of me. We had good attendence - about 20. The usual over the top food selection cooked by Kirk - steak, pork and spaetzle, chicken and dumplings, bacon mashed potatoes, tiramisu and peach cobbler - all made from scratching as Kirk likes to say.
I've put together two videos of the event, taken with my little Flip camcorder. Check them out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqiP5dZcUYs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRhIL9T9yOs.
Anyhow, as tonight is the actual DOB, we're contemplating our favorite local casino, the Tulalip. Unfortunately, our favorite local cover band, The Afrodisiacs/Spazmatics (http://www.afrospaz.com/index.html) won't be playing.

IF: Modify

2009-08-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday: Modify. To avoid extinction this Velociraptor's parents sent it for the first day of school following the motto: "Modify...or die." Any other motives for a dinosaur to go to elementary school are open to interpretation. This was also inspired by my 6 year old daughter, who enters first grade soon and wishes all of her classmates (and teachers) were dinos.

American Doxic

2009-08-01T23:19:00.001-07:00

Several years ago I created an illustration I called American Doxic, a Dachshund parody of sorts of American Gothic, the classic painting by Grant Wood. I didn't like how my weiner dogs turned out, so after about 6 months I discontinued the design, intending to someday re-do the dachsies.

I recently completed the new version, using the original background I had created in 2002 with its weenie dog whirligig and bone-pattern curtains but with all new doxies. The farmer's wife also has a dashund cameo and rabbit patterned dress for extra weiner dog fun. This fresh version with either two red Dachshunds or one red and one black and tan and are now available on a bunch of products in my Cafe Press shop.

I framed a print of the new version for myself and it always makes people laugh. I think it is one of my favorites.

The original Grant Wood image and my old version with its weird dogs are also shown here. You can see why I retired the first version so quickly! My mother has an old t-shirt of the original design and gets comments whenever she wears it while I stand by and cringe as she directs them to "the artist".

New on eBay

2009-07-31T23:38:00.001-07:00

The previous year or so has been difficult in a lot of respects, and my lack of blogging certainly shows that my mind has been...elsewhere. Kelly's first year of Kindergarten was dreadful. With First Grade coming up in about a month I am very hopeful that it will be a better year for her. She has qualified for special education services at the school, mainly due to her behavioral difficulties. She is too full of energy and too strong-willed and willful for the structure of school. I think she may have sent her Kindergarten teacher into early retirement.

I am beginning to find my artistic footing and passion again following months of distraction. I have begun using watercolors again for the first time in at least a year. For the first time in over two years I am offering original art on eBay; I have two auctions going on right now and ending Sunday, Aug. 2.

The first is this Lederhosen clad Dachshund hoisting a beer and a Bavarian Pretzel:

The auction for this little ATC starts at just $9.99 and can be seen here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330348770967

The 2nd Art Trading Card up for sale is a Jack Russell Terrier starting its day with a cup of strong coffee. I love how the expression turned out on this one:

The eBay auction is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330348815643.

I know it will take folks a while to find my art again after my long silence. I pray they will.

Cafe Press, which was my main source of income until this June, has been where most of my art energies have been channeled the last couple of years. In June they changed their commission policy so that unless customers find and purchase my art directly from one of my links I receive only a 10% commission of their stated price - this is a 75%-80% percent pay cut, the equivalent of being laid-off. I am still selling on Cafe Press but for my loyal customers please remember that unless you come directly to my store at http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond I will not receive a full commission for products you buy with my designs. Cafe Press has in good faith tried to keep my work out there in the public eye by honoring me with a Featured Designer Banner in a pilot program they've begun for Top Shopkeepers. This has been better for my ego than my pocket book, but sometimes knowing your work is valued and noticed can mean more than money. Our utility company disagrees, but I'm working on 'em.

IF: Legendary

2009-03-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

Created for Illustration Friday: Legendary. I came up with this idea in a roundabout way - I had been thinking about a Legend Dairy, where legends like Paul Bunyan and Big Foot could go to get their milk and cheese, but whilst thinking of cow logos for that establishment thoughts of Sea Cows came into my head, and then I thought of how some folks believe the legendary Mermaids or Sirens that sailors from long ago reported seeing were actually Manatees or Dugongs...hence this picture of the Legendary Siren singing sailors to her in the night. The background and pose were inspired by one of my favorite paintings, Maxfield Parrish's "Stars".

Illustration Friday

2009-03-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to participate in Illustration Friday (http://illustrationfriday.com/index.php) for about two years now - I have finally taken that first step! This is my illustration for "Breezy" created in Illustrator CS3.

2008-09-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

I have one new design on Cafe Press based on the recent controversy about pigs and lipstick: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5967392 with a pig in pink lipstick and the Palin Pitbull that has proved to be very popular. I am so thrilled to see the pitbull getting such a positive response! I would love to see someone at a rally wearing one of my designs. I've added new bumper stickers and coffee mugs to the selection: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5950007

My other design is a dapple-ization of the Oktoberfest Weiner Dogs. I love dapples - they are so gorgeous -but it can be really hard to capture their markings, especially in vector art. I also need do do a piebald. This has been a very unproductive 4-5 days for me, with Kirk out of town and the school issues. I am way behind on email again. Hopefully I can get back into the groove tomorrow. So much art to create, so little time!!

Politics as UnUsual

2008-09-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided to make an illustration of a Pit Bull Terrier in Lipstick in honor of the latest political sensation, Sarah Palin. During her historic vice presidential nominee acceptance she mentioned that she is a Hockey Mom, and that the only difference between a Hockey Mom and a Pitbull is Lipstick. First I drew the pitbull, with big brown eyes and sweeping lashes, upswept ears, pearls and a sophisticated, perky raised chin. Of course what really pulls it all together are the bright red lips integrated into what really remains a dog face, yet I think captures some of Sarah Palin as well. I did several versions: Hockey Moms for Palin and Pit Bulls for Palin in versions with and without glasses. My new politics store can be seen here http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5950007 for shirts, campaign buttons, bumper stickers and more. Now my quest is to find a suitable animal to represent Obama. My mother suggests a bulldog for McCain, which actually makes a lot of sense.

I also have another new political design about Community Organizers, another hot button issue of late. Ms. Palin implied that Community Organizers have no responsibilities, which has reportedly annoyed several CO's.

My new design has a logo for Community Organizer which notes: Bringing People Together to Create Change and (yes, it is a big responsibility!). Products with this design are here: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5950007.

I'm having a lot of fun with my Cintiq, but can't decide whether to move on to Halloween or continue with campaign stuff. Actually, at this late date I should be already designing for Christmas. Oi.

The Scintillating Cintiq

2008-09-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

The main theme of our lives yesterday was Kelly's first day of school, but interwoven with that was Kirk anxiously awaiting a computer order coming from UPS. He is upgrading his computer, passing his old but faster/more powerful desktop to me and in the usual trickle-down Kelly will get my current desktop with its better graphics card. For the last year I have done most of my work using my Compaq laptop and a portable tablet and drive. I got my first computer, a Mac, in 1994 (and met Kirk on AOL in 1995 using said Mac). Since then I have had at least five computers, not counting any I've used at work. I switched to PC after my 2nd Mac, a clone, made me mad enough to never go back. now as a die-hard PC user I really hate those Mac vs. PC commercials - makes me want to strangle that smug hoodie-wearing Apple guy.

Anyway, I found out around 6pm, when UPS finally came, why Kirk was so anxious - it seems there was a big surprise there for me: the coveted, wished for, drooled over, schemed for and ultimately given-up-on Cintiq 12wx. Kirk tells me that when he was ordering his new computer components that he accidentally left open a link I had sent him with a Cintiq demo and that Beebers, our Head Cat, in collusion with Itty Bitty, used auto-fill on his computer to buy it for me. As we all know cats are not as cognizant of the budget limitations in a household and should be prevented from ordering whatever they like. I recall a situation Steve Martin described when his cat ordered a bunch of cat toys and the resultant cat spit meant they could not be returned for credit. But I digress. I have a Cintiq.

I. Have. A. Cintiq.

I am in love! OMG, this thing is better than sliced bread, electric blankets and rice pudding put together. Here is my first drawing on the cintiq:

It is a sketch of Beebers using a Cintiq, which allows you to draw directly on the screen, like a real media paper pad. I opened that sketch in Illustrator and did this to it:

That was fun. Then I decided to "paint" it in PhotoShop and vectorize it in Illustrator with color, something I don't usually do:

Three very different looks...the possibilities stretching ahead are endless. No more scanning everything and then cleaning it up in the computer using a "blind" tablet (not to complain, I adore both my Intuos3 tablets). The Cintiq is going to revolutionize my workflow. Here's another sketch I quickly produced in Photoshop last night:

All of these sketches were done low resolution and very quickly, in between cooking pizza for Kelly, installing a Spongebob game on her "new" computer, and talking on the phone with my Auntie RaRa. I'm thinking it's time to start that German Shephard in Lederhosen drawing I've been meaning to do do. Kirk wants me to do a drawing of Barack Obama as Barackus Obama modeled after Mr. T on A-Team. He didn't care for the first one I did at his request (not buff enough I guess):

It's All About the Weiners!

2008-09-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Finally I have longhaired Dachshunds in Lederhosen for Oktoberfest! I did a longhair red weiner dog and a black and tan. I am also putting the shorthaired versions up with Oktoberfest text. The longhaired weenies have the saying "It's all about the Weiners!" on them, too. I was thinking about "I love beer and weiners" but just couldn't decide if that would appeal. The longhaired black and tan Oktoberfest products are here: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5929761 and the reds are here: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5925458.

Today was my daughter Kelly's first day of Kindergarten. We walked her down to the bus stop and waited with her. When the bus arrived she marched confidently aboard and took a seat. I will meet her when she gets off the bus in about a half hour. I hope her first day at school went well. She looked so cute and sweet this morning, with her pink and blue outfit, her fluffy short haircut and her new Spongebob backpack. I doubt she will give me a whole lot of clues about her day when she gets off the bus; I wish I could have watched a webcam to see how it went.

Still working on getting my mom out here - found out IL unemployment is going to drastically reduce her benefits because she applied for Social Security benefits - how not fair is that? Finding the search for information on UI benefits from state to state is really difficult. I consider myself a fairly expert Googler, but the trail to actual information is very convoluted, and you can forget about talking to anyone in person.

2008-08-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a week here - in fact, quite a month - so anyone who is waiting on an email from me please accept my apologies for not answering yet! As for my blog, I've hardly had a chance to scratch my fleas, much less write about them. (Note to the literal: No, I do not actually have fleas!).

I'll start with the most recent happening and work backwards:

The Volatile Volvo

My 16 year-old Volvo 850 developed a new problem, wherein the car would squeal loudly upon first being driven and then begin to stink like burning rubber. Kirk couldn't seem to smell the car, commenting usually upon construction smells in the area and it just being another squeaky belt. The power steering fluid again needed refilling and the AC stopped blowing cold. All par for the course as the Volvo gradually repossesses itself. Then Kirk went out of town for several days, including a three-day visit to Disneyland after completing his business obligations at this year's Siggraph conference in L.A. (prayer to the God of Vain Wishes...please send me a Cintiq tablet, Amen.). The first full day of his being gone I had Kelly out in the green car and the belt thing happened. This time the car decided I just wasn't taking it seriously enough and all of the indicators lit up on the dash and it stalled at the first stoplight leaving the shopping center. I restarted it and made it home, but the hard turn up the driveway again caused the lights to go on. I stayed home the rest of the week, but since I was expected to pick my husband up at the airport on Thursday night I took the car to the grocery store on a bit of a trial run. It did not run beautifully, but it ran. The hard turn at the driveway again caused the dash lights to go on. I called Kirk and expressed my concerns. He said it was probably the power steering rack continuing to go, and that if it went while I was driving I would just have to steer really firmly. I almost took the truck. I almost bought Triple A before leaving the house. But I didn't. At 9:30 at night I approached the freeway on-ramp and noticed the headlights and dash lights beginning to dim. I was too far onto the ramp to stop, so I hoped I could get to the next off-ramp. I couldn't. The car died and I managed to coast it to the shoulder. Here I was in one of the scariest situations I had ever imagined: stuck on the side of the freeway with my 5 year-old daughter and no lights at all - not even the hazard lights would go on. I quickly climbed out the passenger door and got Kelly to get out of her booster seat and then I hoisted her over the concrete barrier into the grass. With that darkened car and a dark freeway the possibility of someone running into the car on the shoulder was too possible. I called 911, who connected me to highway patrol, who said they would send someone out. An eternity (6 minutes) passed, and a nice couple who had passed by and seen me with my little girl standing in the weeds behind the barrier came back around and parked their car behind mine with the hazards on (bless them!). They insisted on staying with us, and after a while I accepted their offer to drive us home. Kelly was a very brave girl throughout all this, but began to cry as we got in their car, saying she missed her pink carseat. We got home and I retrieved our 92 Ford Ranger's keys from the house. I have never driven the truck on the road but I had to get to the airport to pick up Kirk so we could go try to revive the car. With Kirk now off the plane I was able to talk to him on the phone, but he seemed not to "get" my near hysteria over what we had gone through. Men. By the time we got back to the car it was around 1am, and we parked the truck behind the car to try to jump it. The cables wouldn't reach and every second I was becoming more terrified as the traffic whizzed past my entire vulnerable family. Eventually Kirk lined the truck up behind Volvo and pushed her (with me steering) to the off-ramp, where it was possible to coast downhill until I saw a 7-11 to steer into. There we were able to determine that the car could be started when connected by jumper cables to the truck, but that the alternator was not charging and the car would die immediately if not connected. The very nice older woman working at the 7-11 allowed us to park the car next to the store and we made our weary way home in the truck. The next morning we took the re-charged battery back to the car and were able to drive it home. Kirk worked on it in the driveway for quite a while and we determined that the alternator was only working intermittently, and the compressor for the AC was broken and turning it on would make all of the indicator lights go on again. So here we were - broken alternator, compressor, steering rack...the time had come to cry "Uncle" and get a better car.
Meanwhile this was the day I was supposed to bring the kitties to the shelter, and we were having a heat wave. I carefully drove with the windows open and got them to MEOW, where they got their final booster shots and a big cage to be displayed in. I drove home again. Pingu the cat was lonely for her siblings, but adjusted amazingly fast to being without them, and our cats have accepted her into the fold. Beebers is still peeing on everything in response to the challenges from Mama Cat, who was adopted a couple of months ago after the Raccoon Incident.
At this point we began the intensive research into getting another car. At first we thought we would scrape together about $3000 and get a slightly better beater. We argued about what to get; Kirk wanted an all wheel drive SUV (I've always hated SUVs), I wanted a large sedan., maybe a used Toyota. On my list there were Honda Odysseys, Toyota Siennas and Rav4s, Subaru Foresters and Outbacks and on Kirk's were Toyota 4Runners, Nissan Pathfinders, Chrystler Pacificas... The two of us sat hour after hour at our separate computers looking up car ads and then looking up each car in Consumer Reports and CarFax and Edmunds.com. I haven't been this full of car information since I was a car saleswoman back in the 80's. We went to look at a Rav4 and it was tiny, like a little toy SUV. We moved on to another lot, where the salesman pointed out a van which featured a VHS player! Honestly, he may as well have told us it had an 8-track player. A VHS in a van?!? Put that one in a time capsule and bury it. By this time our spending expectations had gone up into the 6-7000 range. We were aware of model year changes on all SUVs and minivans from 1996 and newer. On Monday we got in green Volvo (thinking to trade her in rather than burden some poor soul with her) and drove to Lynnwood. Unfortunately it began to rain and we discovered that turning on the lights or wipers would also completely drain the battery. I was asking Kirk if her felt prepared to bargain hard with whatever dealer and be prepared to walk if the deal wasn't right when I had to laugh - we agreed that since the car was running so badly we might end up walking anyway - all the way home. We drove a Honda Odyssey after arriving (barely) at the dealer; hated it. Like driving a big squishy sponge with soft handling and unstable front wheel drive. We looked at the Pathfinder and 4Runner we also had come to see and were unimpressed. Kelly was bored silly. We hoped the Volvo would start after Kirk spent so long picking apart the flaws on the dealer's cars. It would be embarrassing to be quibbling about the rims on a truck and then have our car show everyone what a turd it had become. The car started and Kirk had the voltage meter plugged in so we were able to watch the battery drain all the way home.
By this time the thought of buying into a very used car was driving us to consider car payments on something decent.
We decided on a Ford Escape or a Mazda Tribute (nearly identical), and bravely took Volvo out to Monroe to see one. Kirk had secured financing from his bank, and we had cleaned out the Volvo. We had examined costs, payments and car reviews. We had run the carfax on what we wanted to see and knew how long the dealership had been trying to sell it. We had a sheaf of papers with other Escapes and Tributes to go see if this one didn't work out. We spent the whole day there haggling. They wanted to give us only $100 for the Volvo (what about the $40 of gas still in the tank?). In the end we got a 2003 Mazda Tribute ES with 77,000 miles for under blue book, and they got the Volvo for about $400 (you could sell a few parts of it on eBay for that!). The Volvo will probably end up on a lot somewhere, but I hope they fix some of it first. The good news is that I love my new car/SUV. It is a 4 wheel drive, small for an SUV, drives beautifully and we no longer have the crappiest car in the neighborhood. We have car payments for the first time in three years, but I am happier with a car that is actually worth paying for.
And that was just LAST week. Stayed tuned for what else I've been up to!

Dancing with Dachshunds, Waltzing with Weiners

2008-08-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

I have finally gotten around to finishing the Dancing with Dachshunds art and putting it in my Cafe Press store. Take a look here: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5847723. I am pleased with how it all turned out, and for some of the products I created a whole new background swatch in Illustrator with music notes. This is the image for the coffee mugs (click to enlarge):

It was tough to decide what text to put on the shirts, so I actually just let the picture speak for itself. If anyone reading this has an opinion on what the shirts should say, if anything, I would love to hear it! I know I've just restarted my blog, but it's looking kinda lonely with no comments.

In other news my mother will be retiring this week and will join me here in the Seattle area to finally be closer to her granddaughter. Kelly starts kindergarten on September 2nd and we have yet to wake up here before 9am, much less be bustop ready before 8am. We're all very excited, even at the grim prospect of keeping regular hours.

The rescue kittens are getting really big and need to go to the shelter to find homes. Hopefully they will only be there for a couple of days. They are so adorable that I could keep them here forever, but they need to be seen. Their Mom, Dreamboat Annie, was adopted from MEOW (http://www.meowcatrescue.org/) a couple if weeks ago, thus ending her long saga of being an abandoned kitten and then teenage momcat. Now she can live in the luxury she deserves. The babies are listed here: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11522153. We are keeping the tuxedo kitten now known as Pingu.

Dogs in Leather Pants

2008-07-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

The title of this post comes from something funny that happened at Epcot in Disney World - I will try to explain it as briefly as possible: During previous visits to Germany in Epcot we had seen these big, gorgeous steins with highly detailed dachshunds in lederhosen on them. During one visit when my husband Kirk was there with his friend Bob he decided that Bob needed to see these artful steins himself, but they were not to be found on this trip in the Germany shops. The night wore on and they found themselves in Norway, where Bob decided to ask the clerk there about the item. Part of the charm of Epcot is that the various countries are staffed by natives of those countries, and for whom English is often not their first language. In this case Bob asked the very tall, very Norwegian man behind the counter if he had any "Dachshunds in Lederhosen." The young man looked perplexed as he translated what to him must have seemed a mix of German and english into his native tongue and back to english before he asked Bob slowly and carefully, with just a touch of wonder "You are looking...for a dog...in leather pants?"

Several years ago I painted a wirehaired weiner dog in Lederhosen standing in front of a bar. The image is still popular, but I have been meaning to create some other weiner coats in the same theme, and now I have. Shirts and buttons and stuff with the black and tan smooth can be found here: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5814518 and the red can be seen here: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5815212. I hope to follow these with dapple, piebald and longhaired versions.

Another illustration I am pleased to present is a couple of new Dachsie Birthday cards. This came from a very rough sketch in my pocket-size sketchbook. I am posting it here in case anyone reading this is interested in my artistic process:

The finished cards are available in red smooth and black and tan right now, and I think I will be making party invitations and more from them. Both can be found at http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/3570104. Here is what the red version looks like:

Oh, the Huge Manatee!

2008-07-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

I cannot take credit for the clever title of this post - while I was researching manatees I saw the title used a couple of times on the internet. Woe for the poor manatee, because while it can survive on lo-cal romaine lettuce and sea salad, it still retains a blimp-like figure. I have always found manatees particularly endearing up close, looking as they do like good-natured russett potatoes with arms and tiny eyes. The manatees I have managed to see up close were "rescued," the lucky inhabitants of a large tank at Epcot's Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. Seeing their deep scars from boat propellers really makes anyone visiting them want to protect them from the ravages of man and his machines. We visit the 'Tees every year in late Fall at Disney World and never fail to exclaim "Itty Bitty!" at first sight, because our Itty Bitty Kitty bears more than a passing resemblance to them. Bit-Bit was trying to get up on the bed the other day and we came to the conclusion that if he had just a little of a manatee's buoyancy (or environment) his full figure would make getting around a little easier. He can't help it if he is just big-boned, can he? The manatee illustrations can be found on a full assortment of cards and clothes at http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5773532.

Another illustration I have been working on lately is the Waltzing Weiner Dogs - based on a painting I did several years ago: http://wiener-dog.com/waltzingwienersB.html. This one is re-created in Illustrator to make it more re-producible for shirts and products: I think this pair of loving Dachshunds would make great anniversary cards.

I will post a link here as soon as I have them up on my store. I have been making a lot of sketches of dogs and cats in Lederhosen, and hope to be able to make some finished illustrations next week. I also have some new sketches of Birthday dogs I hope to get going on - they are long overdue.

Feeling a little sluggish...

2008-07-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

I decided to have some fun with a theme that I have used over the years - that of a Banana Slug with personality, even vivacity. I recall being mesmerized by the Santa Cruz University mascot back in the 80's when I lived briefly in Brookdale, a tiny town in the SC mountains. Now living in the Pacifc Northwest I have seen more of these gooey mollusks than I might care to, and they are generally a dark horse-poo green rather than yellow. Banana Slug Babe was extremely fun to create and is now available on the usual assortment of goodies:

You can find the store for her at this link: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5757890. As much as I like this type of illustration I know that it is unlikely to find an audience, much like my fabulous martini-swilling fish cartoon: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/3417786. I'm sure I will do a little jig if someone ever buys a shirt with either of these designs on it.

In other news I changed around the menus at http://www.wiener-dog.com/ - simplified them and added this new blog address. One of these days I'll add the dozens of new designs from the past year to the prints section. In my next blog post I'll show the latest incarnation of Waltzing Weiners, updated for anniversary cards and shirts, and what I was working on today: a cuddly Manatee.

Sunday Morning Coffee Cats

2008-07-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

This morning as I look from my desk to the guest bed and windowsill I see five cats, all soaking up the sun coming through the windows of my daylight basement/studio. Given this lovely morning view I thought I would post my Caffeinated Kitty Coffee illustration. The slogan of this coffee company is "Helping Cats Stay Awake for Up To an Hour!" It is available now on shirts, buttons, tiles and more here: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/5752284.

Itty Bitty Kitty was inspired of course by my own baby boy, Pixel, who at 23 pounds is very little indeed. He was my first Pixiebob cat and turned 12 in April. Here he is in a recent photo. He looks a little dismayed here because I dressed him in the Tigger costume (at my daughter's request) and he is quite aware that stripes make one look wider. His own natural stripes are a more subtle and flattering look for him. The first time my daughter saw a Kliban Cat calendar she exclaimed "Mommy! Look, it's Bitty!" and she is correct; he is the living incarnation of a B. Hap Kliban cartoon. Sometime I will have to take a picture of him in a Kliban inspired pose and post the images side-by-side.

The Return of the Blog

2008-07-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

I've just spent a ridiculous amount of time tweaking the colors and graphics of this blog template. I still can't figure out why it has light colored cuffs at the bottom like bad 70's bell bottom pants, but for now I am going to let it go.

It has been over a year since I posted last. In that time I have created a whole lot of new art. I tried to keep up with a "New" page I created for http://www.wiener-dog.com/, but there are few things more tedious than updating my own HTML code. I taught myself web coding and design over 10 years ago so I am pretty old-school about writing my own code and not using a WYSIWYG editor. Some day I really should give in and teach myself to use Adobe Dreamweaver. I'm pretty sure Adobe already owns my soul; I have been captivated by PhotoShop for about a dozen years and in the last year or so Illustrator CS2 has had me totally enchanted. As I get more and more into the Live Trace features of the program I find I have barely picked up a real paint brush in the last six months. Illustrator allows me to make clean vector art that actually looks like my style rather than like a coloring book outline. Yea! Here is one of my more recent illustrations, done for Colorado Dachshund Rescue:

The image above is the first I've ever done for Colorado Dachshund Rescue http://coloradodachshundrescue.org/. An interesting side note about this rescue organization - Teresa was one of two people who originally wrote me back in 1998 about my Dachshund art and got me started on this crazy path. The other was Kelly Page Gathers with Dachshund Rescue of North America http://www.drna.org/. All these years later it is still a thrill that they use the logo I designed for them on their website. I should also mention that without having drawn my first weiner dogs for my mom none of the above would have happened.

I willl be putting up lots more pictures as I post, of all sorts of art - different dog breed, cats, creatures, critters. It is taking a little longer these days because I am pasting my copyright information on all of these images here since I have found some folk will actually try to copy and sell my work - flattering only until you realize that this is how I make a living. For now I fear if I don't publish this one I'll never get to the next one!

2007-09-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/3538731

http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/3550276 http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond/3561908

Code Pushing

2007-04-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the wiener-dog.com website redesign for a few days - endless hours of hand-coding HTML (I'm very old-school about that). I have been surprised about how confusing I am finding the organization of all of the prints. I have always had them categorized by coat, and I am planning to do that again as people do tend to want coat-specific art, but because many of the prints have multiple coats I am having to really sort out the images multiple times in order to avoid coding the same thing over and over again. I'm already a lot of hours into this, but I begin to wonder if I've taken the right direction from a coding standpoint. If I knew how to create a database or knew more Javascript this could probably be done a lot easier. Since I stopped being a full-time web designer/developer about five years ago much of my knowledge about these things has atrophied.

I am putting some of the black and tans up for testing, so if any kind soul wants to take a look and comment I would be ever so grateful. Start at http://www.wiener-dog.com/cloudangelbtB.html.

I also spent a day re-doing one of my early websites that I designed and maintain for Expresive Pixie Cattery at http://www.pixiebobs.com/. It was still using frames for gosh sakes - how late-90's was that? I just cleaned the site up and changed the code on all pages to get rid of the frames, but I think it looks fresher.

I will likely take a break from the coding because now I am terribly behind on emails and haven't painted in way too long.

My birthday was on the 1st and we splurged on a new 22" LCD Viewsonic monitor. Of course my old video card wasn't compatible with the ratio so then we had to go buy a new video card and while we were at we got a new hard drive because all of mine were nearly full. These days a single scanned image is sometimes larger than the 250mb hard drive of my very first computer back in 1994. Add that to my first 2400 baud modem and it was a stylin' system. I was debating about getting a new 6x11 Wacom tablet as mine is about 7 years old, but that will have to wait for some future financial solvency.

Easter was fun at our house. We dyed hard boiled eggs on Easter Eve and left them to dry in the egg cartons. Unbeknownst to us Kelly decided to start the fun early and hid about two dozen of them in the living room. It was almost unbearably cute. We found them in the bookcase, nestled on her stuffed Echidna, balanced between the horns of the goat ottoman (yes, I said goat ottoman), and in several socks that happened to be lying around. One of the sock eggs was notably squished from pushing it in there, but she meant well. Naturally in the morning we re-hid the eggs and woke Kelly up with her Easter Egg Baskets. Her favorite presents came from her Grandma Betty, a plastic gumball dispenser and a stuffed bunny with a carrot motif. Betty always sends stuff that Kelly loves.

Here is a picture of Kelly waking up (reluctantly) to see her baskets: We also went to the Tulip Festival on Friday, which was less of a success. A lot of driving, not a lot of actual activity. Kelly's favorite thing was finding a few mud puddles to throw clumps of dirt in. We also got to see some Alpacas, which were adorable.
And so it goes. I better get to all those emails I've been neglecting. Hope everyone had a hoppy Easter!

Dogs on a Beach

2007-04-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

And now for another update! I have a new painting of dogs on the beach:

The original is a large size for me, 12x16. I have no idea what to do with it - since it is not Dachshund specific (though there is a dox in it) I don't know that I would find a buyer among my regular collectors, so I won't risk it on eBay. My husband tells me I should just hold on to it for now. I created it for a project I am working on with Dog Speak Cards (http://dogspeakcards.com/). I am happy to report that they will be licensing some of my images for their charming notecard line.

Here are a couple of scenes from the painting - still a bit of a work in progress:

This is exactly the direction that I have been wanting to take my career; licensing for the gift and greeting card market. I have been reading my Artist's Market book and many other books on the subject of entering this arena. It is a lot of information to absorb! I have submitted samples to a couple of calendar companies. These companies are a Very Big Deal in the calendar world, but I was emboldened to submit my work based on how popular my Dachshundicity Calendars have been the last few years. I really need to be submitting art and queries to several companies a week, but I haven't quite ramped up to that level yet.

Another Big Project I am working on is a complete over-haul of http://www.wiener-dog.com/. I am basing the new design on what I just finished with my other new site, http://www.terrypond.com/. I hope to make prints easier to find, and eventually I would like to link each image with the other products available, such as mugs, shirts, calendars and the like. Another thing I am undertaking is to re-size and crop many of my most popular prints to make 4x6 and 5x7 images. I think that a lot of people have limited wall space and might enjoy these smaller sizes (and smaller prices). I may also look into printing my own notecards again - I have to analyse whether I can offer them at a reasonable price and still make them a quality item. The way I churn through ink now they would have to be very popular in order to make them a viable thing to offer. The real benefit to my customers is that they would no longer be stuck with 6 cards of the same design as on Cafe Press. I could offer sets. Of course if I could just get a publisher to take on my line everyone could buy the cards at their favorite gift store

It's been a long time...

2007-03-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, a very long time since I posted to my blog. A lot of time and art under the bridge! When I last wrote I believe I was preparing images for my calendar and for my planned vacation with hubby and daughter in Disney World. Hmm - maybe even longer than that. I was pretty busy leading up to the holidays. In an absolute burst of productivity in late October/early November I managed to paint several new images for my 2007 Dachshundicity Calendar and for Christmas cards to sell on Cafe Press. We had a great time at WDW, one of our finest trips ever! It was uncrowded and we were able to experience both the Food and Wine Festival, be there on our 7 year wedding anniversary (and revisit the spot in Epcot where we actually got married) and see the Christmas decorations. Here is my favorite picture from the trip: We got Kelly one of those Viking hats with the blonde braids in the Norway pavilion, which as you can see were a great match in length for her own hair. She wore that hat everywhere, earning a lot of grins from other guests. In this photo she is practicing her teenager scowl.
Through Christmas I was pretty busy filling orders and even did three commissions.

As usual after Christmas sales on eBay fell off dramatically, but thankfully that is when the commission checks from November and December sales on Cafe Press come in. My 2007 Dachshundicity calendar was once again consistently in the top 10-15 calendars on Cafe Press in all subjects. Yea! I am so grateful to all of the folks who continue to enjoy and support my work.

Which brings me to this new phase in my career (which is how I am choosing to see it). I will be closing my eBay store at the end of this month. During the summer not only did eBay raise prices (again and dramatically) for stores, but they also stated that they were trying to de-emphasize stores (read: direct less buyers there) because they don't bring in as much revenue for eBay. They raised the final value fee to 10% (ouch), and doubled the listing fees. For the last few months I have seen sales drop off there by as much as 75%. It now costs as much to have that store as I make there in some months. That is just not good business sense. Well, not good business sense for me; maybe it is for them. In addition I have seen my originals go for less and less since December. This is the nature of auctioning art - the artist is totally dependent on the interested collector seeing your art at the right time, during that particular 5 or 7 day auction. Those who have purchased my art over the years have seen the prices go up and down in cycles; in the low cycles one can purchase an original piece of art for a very low price, or if one is a crafty eBayer they can wait until the last 10 seconds of the auction to make sure any competing bidders don't have a chance to bid the art up further. It would not be fair for me to compain about this, since I am the one who chooses to put my art out there to the highest bidder, so I don't blame anyone for trying to get a bargain. But the fact is I can't afford to do this (sell originals on eBay) to my self or my family anymore, or at least not as often. eBay again raised prices a couple of months ago, this time on live auctions. I see a lot of artists sell their work for less than it costs them in fees to list it.
I am still taking commissions, and of course my store at http://www.wiener-dog.com/ is still open!

2006-10-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I had a chance to blog. This entry may, in fact, be a little short. I am preparing to send several matted prints to the Dream Dachshund Halloweenie picnic in Georgia, where they will be selling them for me. I provided the art for the logo and for their event t-shirts, and will also be sending some prints for them to raffle or auction: http://www.dreamdachshundrescue.com/HowlOWeenie. If you are in Georgia I hope you get a chance to attend this rescue event and say hello to the hardworking volunteers there.
The picture at left is one that will go on auction tonight. I am painting several square and small rectangular pieces with the view of using the images for ornaments and cards in my Cafe Press store. Some originals that are up on auction this week are already available there: http://www.cafepress.com/terrypond. I also have two 12 month calendars up - the regular Dachshundicity and the Longhaired version. Reds and black and tans will be up soon.
The new paintings include this wirehaired snow Dachshund at left, which is also now available as a card. coat.
The painting at right cracks me up, and I am very gratified to see that others have found this image funny as well. Be sure to see the description in the auction for the whole story: http://stores.ebay.com/Wiener-Dog-Art-by-Terry-Pond_Original-Watercolors.
I have once again had eBay's feedback system lose all of my feedback. I try to come up with personal, original comments when I leave feedback, but many times now I have spent time typing in fresh feedback only to have eBay give me an error page when I try to submit it - losing up to 20 at a time. Ugh. Right now I think I am all caught up, but I had to re-write everything. Thanks, eBay.
Well, I better get back to work. Those prints aren't going to mat themselves, and if I don't clean the house soon the producers of "Cops" will be calling to ask if they can use it as a set. We also think they should do a new realty series and use our house as the pilot - they can call it "Smell this House!"

Oil and Water Don't Mix!

2006-09-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday as I was working away on a painting which was already up on auction I found that where I had rested my hand against what should have been a dry part of the painting I had smeared black paint onto the background. Hm, I thought, I must have put that paint on thick! I wiped at the paint and fixed the background with some fresh paint and left it to dry. Then I came back and sure that it had to be dry this time started painting again. Same story. I also noticed that the little brush I had been using seemed to be especially difficult to clean. How such clear undications eluded me I do not know, but after checking I found that a tube of oil paint had snuck in with my acrylics! Bah! I'm going to have to scrap the whole painting.
Meanwhile, my little silhouetted witch Dachshund is finally done and ends soon on auction at: Witch Weiner Dog Original Dachshund Halloween Painting. This is one for the calendar and I am very pleased with how it turned out. It has had little time on auction with a completed image, but hopefully people will find it. This one was a lot of work! Acrylics are still quite the learning process for me.

In Memory of Spike

2006-09-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

I have more sad animal news to report. My mother's rescue Dachshund, Spike, went to the bridge on Sunday, the 24th of September. I am proud to say that Spike was my brother. Spike was aged 15 or 16, and mom had him for 8 years. He had a good life after his rescue, and was loved and spoiled. He was a suspected puppy mill rescue, and when found was emaciated, had little hair and a host of other problems. He and his brother were wandering the streets alone. He never did take to toys, probably never having seen one before, but he was a "love sponge" and had a fondness for Taco Bell food and a comfortable bed.
Spike inspired my painting Weighty Weiner Dog, which is why I have that picture posted here.

Another Day...

2006-09-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

I believe that anyone who has ever lost a much loved animal knows that you never cease to miss them. When you have several animal companions I imagine it feels a lot like being a mama animal, always mentally counting noses... Animals may not use numbers as humans do, but their instinctive radar for who is supposed to be there helps them keep track. I feel a lot like that now, as a small feeling constantly tells me "one is missing...one is missing..." Squirrel's absence hits me at odd times as I tick over the lives in the house and realize afresh that she is not here. Life does continue, and I know that she is not suffering, which is a comfort. It is difficult to believe that last Monday night I had no idea that in less than a week she would not be there, trying to lick my arm, reaching a paw out to request more attentive petting. The picture to the left is Squirrel with her beautiful son, Spot.
I have several works in progress up on eBay this week. I would have like to have put up finished works, but I just couldn't manage it. The one at right is a black and tan longhaired doxie with Halloween pumpkins. I have outlined the picture in paint. This has been my preferred technique lately. I sketch it with a hard pencil like a 3H, then paint the outline with a very small brush (my current favorite brush in the world is a da Vinci Maestro size 1 followed by a Daniel Smith 44-14 Kolinsky Sable #6 and another Maestro #3 for those who are interested). I used to outline first with one of my archival pens, but I find painting the outline allows me to change the image a little as needed during the paint process, whereas once the ink is down there is not changing anything. I have tried from time to time not to outline in ink, but for me the image never looks complete until I have done that, so I guess that is just my style. Anyway, on the left here is another work-in-progress (WIP) of a pair of weenies on the beach. Many of the upcoming small paintings I do are going to be testing the waters for my calendar illustration ideas. The wine dachsie on the right is one I have had on the drawing board for months. I took a chance and put in the text - I am not a skilled letterer by any means. When I use this one for prints I will use computer fonts for the text. On the left again is another small painting WIP of a weenie roast. This one is definitely a test run for one of the summer months of the calendar. Those are the paintings this week on auction: http://stores.ebay.com/Wiener-Dog-Art-by-Terry-Pond_Original-Watercolors.
Last week I managed two paintings, already sold now, and the week before I had some others, interspersed in this post. I also had two mis-fires - one a a longhaired red Dachshund on a square board that was to be painted in acrylic I had to pull from eBay because after Squirrel's diagnosis I knew I wouldn't have a chance to finish it. Look for it some other week. Another a smooth red dachsie looking at a heart I pulled because I hated the lettering I did on it in sharpie pen of all things. I've already painted about 8 layers over the text and the sharpie still shows through. I may have to just throw this one out. Never, never think you can cover up a sharpie mistake. I draw an illustration on each envelope I send with art purchases and I love them for that. But never again on art!
Well, it's 1am here and Kelly is still running wild. I'll try to get her up before 9am and perhaps she'll take an early nap. I would hardly call myself an optimist, so even I don't believe that. Kirk has been able to call from the boat a couple of times. They are not getting a lot of good video apparently. I put him on speaker phone for Kelly to listen to the other night and that was a big mistake, because moments later it hit her that Daddy wasn't home. She began to cry and ran and got her socks and started yelling about the green car and daddy - meaning we had to go get in the green car and go get him. It was difficult to calm her down, and explaining why daddy wasn't there was impossible.
Kelly is making great strides in her speech and using more complicated sentences in an attempt to communicate. I am hopeful that she will soon catch up with her peers in language. She has gotten a little better at behaving when we go shopping, although we got the evil eye at a concert recently when a couple and their children sat near us and they clearly did not approve of Kelly's exhuberance. They kept an iron hand on their little girl who obviously thought that it would be fun to play ball with Kelly. What is wrong with these parents? They are so rigid that their children are supposed to be little robots, and woe to those of us with free-spirited little ones.

Trying to say goodbye...(warning, sad post)

2006-09-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

Squirrel came home from the vet on Wednesday night. I wanted her to be home for some pampering, for a chance for me and the rest of her family to say goodbye. The vet gave me some painkiller for her, and it seems to ease her a little. She will eat Gerber chicken baby food, and when I take her out from under the bed she will lie on my chest and purr and be petted. But if I am not holding her or if Kelly is being rambunctious she goes back under the bed or into a closet. I have been told this is the equivelent of going under a bush to die. Her quality of life isn't good, though there is some life left. Kirk did not get to say goodbye since she came home from the vet after he left for his week on the water.
So I have a call in to a vet who makes house calls. My message was probably unintelligible as I am unable to speak about this with any composure at all. If she calls back perhaps she will see my kitty today. If not, perhaps Monday. My biggest fear is that Squirrel will worsen over the weekend when there really are few options for veterinary care for her. I do not want her to suffer. I am hoping that when the euthanasia is scheduled I can distract Kelly with some Oreos and the garden hose to make mud in the back yard. I absolutely can not have her right there, right then. She is too young.
For all of my friends out there that read this looking for my latest art, please know that I will be painting again soon and will post new work here as soon as I am able.

Postscript to the above:
I was able to talk to the vet, and she came out at 3pm. Kelly was in the backyard flinging mud against the side of the house and making mud pies and never knew what went on inside. Squirrel/Momcat/Golden Girl was sent to her rest peacefully. I will miss her always, but she will be with her son Spot, who was her best friend and passed away on Dec. 5 2004, in Kitty Heaven. Rest their little feline souls.

My Poor Squirrel

2006-09-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

I took my Squirrel, AKA Golden Girl, in to the vet today because she had developed a limp last night. I suspected that Kelly had been playing roughly with her, and had also been meaning to have her in to the vet anyway to look at her eye condition and do a blood test because she has lost some weight. She is only 10 years old, but her spine was becoming prominant while her belly was still round.
I just spoke to the vet at 7pm, who was so busy she was not able to examine her until after hours. Rather than hearing that perhaps Goldie had a break or a sprain, she instead has a massive tumor in her abdomen. The leg is fairly inconsequential after this news and has not even been examined yet. She will stay at the vet overnight and have the tumor tested tomorrow. The vet tells me that it does not look good for her, that either of the two types this tumor might be are generally inoperable and untreatable.
Kirk is leaving town tomorrow for a week and as he will be on a boat doing some 3D filming for of some underwater wrecks from a tiny submarine and he will be extremely difficult to reach. This reminds me of when Spot (Goldie's son) was diagnosed with FIP and died during another long-hours project. Kirk might not be home to say goodbye to Squirrel, our matriarch cat, our Grandma Kitty. I refuse to let her suffer, but we will do all we can for her.
Goldie is famous worldwide for the photo you see here. This picture has been all over the internet for the last six years or so, and every so often crops up in emails full of cute pictures. The kitten pictured in Bebe, also still with us and thankfully healthy. If you are reading this please think positive thoughts for our kitty.

Crikey, sad news

2006-09-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

This morning when I turned on CNN the news that Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin had been killed stunned me and Kirk. I know that we are just two people among the millions who somehow thought Steve was invincible, and who are shaken by his death. I don't want to descend into cliche here, I just want to acknowledge that this is a shocking loss, and possibly more so because of the seemingly benign nature of that which killed him. We have followed his career for several years. His wife, Terri, is a native of Oregon just like Kirk. His son Bob is just a little younger than our Kelly. Steve Irwin seemed an accessible sort of person, even though he was internationally famous. His love of animals and his family, his unpretentious style...he will be missed. Our hearts ache for Terri and Bindi and Bob and all of his friends, human and animal. I know people will come out of the woodworks with unkind things to say. There will be a rehash of the ridiculous outcry when he held Bob as he fed a crocodile. There are the cheerful CNN anchors who treat the news story as entertainment as they report what happened with a little smirk. But I just wanted to use my little slice of Blog to say that we respected his work and mourn his death.

Party Recovery

2006-08-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Here it is Wednesday and I am still trying to dig out from under all of the stuff that ended up here in my studio when we cleaned the house for Kirk's birthday party on Saturday. But it had to be done - I believe you should clean the house once a year whether it needs it or not.
The little dog in costume is my latest ATC offering, up on eBay right now: Dachshund Hot Dog Costume Original Weiner Art ACEO ATC . At right is my Nibblefest Art Contest entry for this month. The theme was Butterflies. This is acrylic on 5"x7" stretched canvas: Butter Flies Over Cows Original Art Painting NFAC EBSQ . I like its whimsy and hope it finds an audience.
Last weekend I had three pieces close: the Soaring Dachshund, much refined from the last post; Home is Where the Hound is, actually a surprising complicated piece to paint but one which I am quite happy with; and Showered with Love, a cute little ATC. I have not had a lot of time to paint with the party and all, and Kirk has been ill since the party with some sort of flu. I dread Kelly and I getting it next, as it seems to be a particularly yucky one.

My art focus coming up really needs to be on the art for my 2007 calendar, and I am hoping to come up with a fresh Halloween idea soon. I am also trying to decide if it will be in watercolor or acrylic. Both have advantages and disadvantages. I also used gouache in Home Hound and the Hot Dog Costume above. I found out why it is so chalky - it is made with chalk. Who knew?

Soaring Dachshund

2006-08-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the most recent scan of Soaring Dachshund.

Painting ending this weekend

2006-08-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

I forgot to put this one in the last post, and blogger is very buggy about adding pictures at different points in the process. This is my first Goauche painting. As one reader asked "What is that - it sounds like an ethnic food" or words to that effect let me briefly explain. Gouache or Designer's Gouache (pronounced gwash, like Goofy would say it) is an opaque watercolor medium. It is often used by designers who appreciate its denser texture and stronger color and its opacity. So far I find it a little chalky and inclination to "lift" as I apply layers. In watercolor jargon, lifting is what happens when the paint you are applying on top of another color disturbs the paint below. Sometimes this is desirable, but often now. So there you have it. Like acrylics I am sure I will like this paint more as I get used to its personality.
This painting, a 2.5" by 3.5" art card is on auction here: Dachshunds Sick Day Original Weiner Dog Art ACEO ATC .

What a Knucklehead!

2006-08-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

I did it again - I forgot to remove the bidding restriction on an auction after I posted the picture and description. I was wondering why there were no bids! Duh. I decided to relist the Soaring Dachshund in any case because I wasn't done and wanted it to have a full run on eBay. I am really pleased with this one so far. I love the landscape. It was so exciting to do one in acrylic - they are hard for me in watercolor because you really have to plan them out due to the transparency of the colors, but in oil or acrylic you can layer them on and make decisions as you go. I looked at a lot of pictures of Tuscany before painting this. In the end it could be anywhere, but I do know it is a place I would love to soar over. The Dachshund isn't finished yet, but already painting her coat is a pleasure - the underbelly will be a little golden with reflected light. I am still deciding whether to add small wings or any clouds. I believe this one is going to make it into my 2007 Dachshundicity Calendar, which I had better get going on. Soaring Dachshund is on auction at Longhaired Dachshund Soars Original Weiner Dog Art EBSQ .
I really enjoyed painting a landscape like this, so I decided to look at eBay to see whether landscape paintings make any money...my verdict is that they might, but the market is so crowded that it would be nearly impossible to sell one. eBay has this thing called a "Featured Listing" which the seller pays an additional $20 or so for to ensure that their item comes up at the top of the search. In the case of landscape paintings these featured listings take up the first two pages before you get to any that are not featured. So an artist has to spend big bucks to even be seen; the artist who does not has little chance even at the end of the auction when their listing should be at the top of the page - because the two pages of features will be shown first. Many shoppers on eBay will not search through so many pages, and also don't realize all of those pages are artificially high on the search. So probably no straight landscapes for me.
In other eBay news I have decided to keep my store open but to reduce inventory by 50%. I have put the prints I will be eliminating on sale there. I will of course have all prints available on my website at http://www.wiener-dog.com as usual. I also took the big step of listing a print on Etsy, and it sold in a day! Yippie!!!! You can see my new store at Etsy here: http://faerypond.etsy.com. I have only a couple of prints listed there so far, but I will be offering an introductory price of $11 for prints there. I may also be posting more of my women and fairies there since they are listed for several months at a time rather than a week and may actually find the right home that way. It is really demoralizing to list them on eBay, pay the 70 cent fee and then have them close without a single bid. I list them under my alternate ID, so they often go unseen by more than 10 people or so.
Remember, if you have feedback for me on whether to add wings to the Dachshund Soaring now is the time to tell me!!

Star Gazing

2006-08-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

I finished the star gazing Dachshund last night. I had decided to try gouache over acrylic, but it didn't quite have the depth and sheen of the acrylic, so the whole piece is acrylic paint. I did use black gouache to outline the eye. I must say - thank goodness for magnifying lights! I had to get in there really close to do some of the little details. This one was really fun and I expect I will do others on a like theme. Scanning the acrylics mystifies me a little - where the scanner does not pick up the texture of watercolor paper in most cases, it really pickes it up on the canvas. The actual paintings are much smoother in person. There is also a little more color correction involved. Be sure to click on any of the pictures for a larger version. This one is on auction through Sunday at http://stores.ebay.com/Wiener-Dog-Art-by-Terry-Pond_Original-Watercolors.

2006-08-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have finished with the longhaired black and tan angel Dachshund, all except for extending the clouds out to the sides of the painting. I am really pleased, and excited because the more I paint in my "new" medium of acrylics the better I get at it. I do spend a long time because I keep thinking up new ways to improve each painting - a dab here, a brush stroke there...and the interference paints are really nice. Interference paints do not cover the paint underneath, but they react with it and enhance it.
My other work in progress, StarGazer, is a fun little piece. I am trying something new here - using gouache on top of acrylic. I'll post a more recent picture soon. I painted the background with ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and interference blue - the affect is a slightly shiny sky, but more than that it has a real depth to it. I can almost feel the heavens wheeling around this small dog looking up at the stars. I remember when I was about 8 I asked my mom if dogs think. She said to they do, but not in real specific terms and not that deeply. She said that when dogs look at the sky and see stars they probably think "Hm, bright." For some reason that stuck with me. Maybe its part of why I feel the need to imbue my dogs with deeper lives, deeper thoughts. Don't blame my mom - she wasn't short-changing dogs, just giving a little girl an understandable explanation. I know she thinks her Dachshund Spike (my dog brother) is more intelligent than most of her acquaintances.
Another work on auction now if a Wine Dog Art Trading Card, here to the left. I am also working on a larger wine dog. This one is a red in a glass of Chardonnay with some figs and cheese. This one is destined to be a print. I had a thought when I was working on it today: how about a wine dog calendar this year? Maybe with a different breed for each wine with appropriate tasting notes. I would need to figure out how to design them in a horizontal format. Maybe if I included food pairings...
Oil painting class went much better on Monday. I was about 15 minutes late, and when I arrived the instructor had set up a still life, but this one included a skull. Yea! I am awful at things like bottles and particularly keeping things symmetrical, but something with life (yes, even a skull) always inspires me. I was so happy sketching away while most of the other students groaned over doing a skull. All of the acrylic painting the week before seems to have improved my oil technique and I am really pleased with how the painting is going.
Kelly gets to go to the speech therapist again next week. She is talking more and more. One side effect for me of exploring Kelly's late talking is that I have come to realize that some of what we have experienced is not "normal." Now, I don't want a normal child. I love Kelly as she is, a very, very special, bright and charismatic girl. However, perhaps I am realizing that sometimes it has been more a challenge, and that it is not just my failure that she can't be convinced to brush her teeth, use the potty or just let go of the kitty, please. One funny thing she did recently was go to sleep in a laundry basket. My attempts to get her to sleep having failed, she took her blankie, her big down pillow and stopped at the door to our room, said "bye bye!" brightly and then went out to the living room where she started one of her DVDs (Gumby, I think). I went to check on her later (this was around 2am) and she had put her pillow in the laundry basket, crawling in on top of it with her down comforter and fallen asleep. She's done that a couple of times now, and just gets a kick out of curling up in that basket and watching a little TV. My funny little girl. The picture to the right is how I found her, sleeping like a little laundry angel.

2006-07-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I updated my blog, so there are a lot of pictures to add! Many of these are already sold, but some are available on auction at eBay: http://stores.ebay.com/Wiener-Dog-Art-by-Terry-Pond_Original-Watercolors. The Dapple Dachshund at left is my first offering on stretched canvas in several years. I am quite proud of it actually. After a frustrating start I think I am getting my acrylic fingers back. A major difference in painting acrylic rather than watercolor is that you can correct, change, adjust, fiddle with and generally paint on one forever, whereas if something isn't right with a watercolor, especially a watercolor with an ink outline, there is no going back. You can to some extent lift a color mistake from a watercolor or add some white gouache to add back a highlight, but you can rarely paint over something you don't like, and there is no disguising a line out of place drawn in ink. I love watercolor, but I am very excited about the possibilities of acrylic paint and hope that sales on them will be good enough for me to continue painting them. Most will be on 8x10 canvas so that I can scan them for prints. Anything larger won't fit on the scanner and I don't trust a digital photo to capture the image well enough for a printed reproduction.
The painting at right here is the first acrylic I offered, which closed tonight. After a rough start I think it also turned out well. It is painted on a gessoed masonite board rather than canvas. I don't think the scan did it justice. The acrylics scan a little darker than watercolors. I think that is because the light bounces off the watercolor paper and transparent watercolor paint, while it does not illuminate the opaque acrylic the same way. I'm sure I'll have to adjust my settings to show the paintings on canvas "in their best light."
My newest offering is the work-in-progress to the left here, of a longhaired black and tan Dachshund sleeping in the clouds. This is a revisit to work I have done before, and this coat has been much requested in this pose. I had a lot of fun painting the clouds and hope to have this one finished soon since it is already on auction! Be sure to click on any of these to see larger pictures!
I have some ideas for other canvas paintings and will probably mix them in with more watercolor Art Trading Cards. I was pleased with the interest in my theme park Dachshunds so I will very likely do more with that. My husband thinks I should have all of them with the "You must be this tall" theme, but I think it would be fun to have them in tea cups or sky cars. I am always happy to hear ideas if you have any!
Only three weeks left of my oil painting class. The biggest thing I have learned is that I am better off painting in acrylic! I simply do not have the patience to wait for oil to dry, and being a poor planner I do not compose my art with that in mind. Unfortunately much of the class has been painting swatches of colors on canvas sheets and painting still lifes. I have seen no improvement in my technique, and as I already know how to mix colors and make gradients this has not been a big learning experience. I spent $200 I didn't have to take this class and I am going to eek every last thing I can out of it. When you are three months' behind on your bills like we are it can be hard to justify something like this. I do like the instructor very much. He is very talented and I know it must be difficult to teach to so many levels of experience.
And speaking of bad finances, I belong to a couple of groups of artists and many are also struggling to keep doing their work and pay bills. Many of them, myself included, have seen sales dip 70% this last several months. My husband is starting to make more noise about me getting a real day job. If that has to happen I guess there will be a going out of business sale, because there is no way I can do art and hold a full time job outside of home. I don't want to sound whiny, but that is how it is right now. eBay just send a notice out last week that they are raising fees again. It seems they don't think they make enough from eBay Stores because things take longer to sell there. They are doubling the fee to list in a store and will now take 10% of each sale in addition to that. They raised the fee to have an eBay store by 50% a year or two ago. I will deal with the latest increases by removing a lot of items from my eBay store, and I may yet have to close it altogether. I will still have auctions on originals , but at the high price just to list, the final value fee, and the fee from PayPal it simply makes more sense to sell mostly from my website at http://www.wiener-dog.com. If you ever wonder why you can't get stuff cheap on eBay anymore it is because they are actively trying to rid themselves of the little guys. Some sellers have dealt with the high fees by selling items for a ridiculously low price and charging a silly shipping fee, such as selling the item for a penny and charging $20 for shipping, which eBay does not levy a fee on.
I will be opening another store soon on a site called Etsy. Etsy is all handmade items, and many artists hope that it will be a good alternative to eBay. I will post a link to my page there when I have it completed.
Kelly finally made it the speech therapy center for an evaluation. We did not get a lot of feedback yet except that she knows lots and lots of nouns, some verbs and is not all that interested in speaking in sentences when you get right down to it. My pet theory is that she actually has a mini Einstein Syndrome, which is when very bright children are late talkers. Kelly is exceptionally bright but is more visual and physical than verbal. Her dad, who is a very analytical and smart guy, also talked late. Kelly has many of the trademarks of Einstein Syndrome except that she is not physically inept or socially shy as many of those kids tend to be. She is a joyous, happy, funny child who happens to get exactly what she wants without bothering to say it. I have recently updated her website so if anyone is interested they can see pictures of my gorgeous daughter at http://www.kellymelby.com.

2006-06-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

If you are here looking for new original art I hope to have some up soon. I have several new prints which will be available soon. You can see them all in a couple of days on http://www.wiener-dog.com/prints.html. TDox, Longhaired da Vinci's Dachshund, Blessed by Older Dogs, Dachshunds are our whole lives, more Coffee Hounds and some others are in the editing process to become 8x10 prints. It takes a while to integrate them all into my website as well. When all is done I expect to send a missive to my mailing list.
In other news I have donated the use of another design to a rescue group, DREAM - Dachshund Rescue Education and Mentoring. Their link is http://www.dreamdachshundrescue.com/

The Raccoon Report

2006-05-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

I just fed our raccoons. In a funny bit of coincidence we had a brand new bag of raccoon chow (i.e. cheap dog food), forgot to close the garage door and also hadn't replenished the raccoon's supply of food on the front porch. Being the clever and persistent not to mention entitled creatures they are, one of them decided to help herself to the unopened bag of food in the garage. She ran when I went out there, but didn't go far. The bag was knocked over and ripped up. It took about a nanosecond for her to position herself on the porch with the new supply of food I put out after righting the bag. This was not "Mama" as we call our original raccoon, but probably one of the four offspring from last year. This year Mama seems to have only one baby, and she has been bringing it out to feed for the last couple of weeks. Quite the little cutie. I walked out the door without giving them enough warning the other day and boy can they growl - baby even louder than Mama. Mama raccoon is a sorry sight at times - blind in one eye from an accident or infection last year, with a slight limp and a kink in her tail. I am guessing she has had a litter a year for several years. We started feeding her and at least a half dozen other adults last Spring. We even have a rumpy raccoon, who lacks a tail from what was certainly a bad experience. Maybe I should start painting raccoons.

I have five paintings up on eBay right now. Naturally my favorite of the group is attracting the least interest. The portrait you see to the right here; I just think this one has a lot going for it, and it might make wonderful stationary. I think they all turned out pretty well and I actually got them all finished before the weekend! Here is the link to all of the originals up right now: http://stores.ebay.com/Wiener-Dog-Art-by-Terry-Pond_Original-Watercolors_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ7QQftidZ2QQtZkm
I have several more planned for this weekend, including some more beach scenes and tug o' wars. I also have a wine dachshund in progress. I may not write the tasting notes on this one unless the winning bidder wants them on there. My intention is to scan the finished piece and add the notes with the computer, so I would just be cutting out anything handwritten anyway.
I haven't gone back to my oil paints. It also looks like I won't be able to afford that class, though I am still hoping I'll be able to pay the utilities and take the class. Pie in the sky and all that. Maybe I'll win the lottery as well. When I am feeling ambitious I think that I will paint all day and even paint on canvas with oil or acrylic, and then reality sets in and I realize that with Kelly wanting my attention every three minutes it is unlikely that I will be setting the art world on fire anytime soon.
Kelly has been doing great. I am amazed at how smart she is with her computer games. She has been playing Putt-Putt, made by the now-defunct company I used to work for, Humongous Entertainment. The age group is 3-8, and other than some areas like having to use addition to solve problems she manages them easily; she is one smart cookie. She remembers where things are and how to solve problems and can do the puzzles and games with ease. She is quite logical, but also has a sense of art and whimsy. I notice that whenever she earns enough coins in Putt-Putt Enters the Race she heads straight to the Paint Shop to become a new color rather than buying racing tires to enter the race. Just like her parents, come to think of it. Her priorities are aesthetic rather than practical. I have had to find most of the Putt-Putt and Freddi Fish games through Amazon.com's network of resellers, because when I worked for HE I did not have a child and did not save all of the games. So far she shows no interest in Pajama Sam, one of the company's other characters. She likes Blue's Clues, but I have to say for being the same game company they are far less engaging. Kelly is talking more, though not using a lot of sentences yet. She certainly knows the names of many things, as well as constantly counting things (not always accurately) and pointing out letters of the alphabet (also not always accurate). She has finally started calling my "Mommy" rather than just whining or grunting at me. She likes to call me me Mommy a lot. I have gotten her to say "Kelly" but it is a little garbled yet. She does know all 8 cats by name and seldom gets them mixed up, even the ones that look alike.
That's about it for tonight. I need to ink in the latest drawings. Maybe I'll get 'em done early this week and be able to do some extracurricular drawing. In fact, I have done a number of new non-dog sketches lately and will try to put them in my next post. Ciao!

Deviled Dogs

2006-05-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

I have done several new pieces which are interspersed in this post. I hope people will know just to click on them and see the larger versions. I have four new works in progress, two of which are listed on eBay. One is another parody of Raphael's Cherubs, only this dog has devil horns and bat wings. I owe this idea to a lovely customer who suggested a devil dog. The other is another Tyrannosaurus Dox cave painting with a longhaired Dachshund.
I've been off my blog for so long I guess I haven't mentioned my new printer. I was filling two wholesale orders for rescue groups when I came to the conclusion that I would never get through it with my old HP. As much as I loved the print quality, I was having to toss every other print for ink splatter or other flaws. I also timed each print and they were all taking over five minutes a piece for the color print and 1.5 minutes for the Certificate of Dachshundicity. Yipes. So after a lot of research I decided on a Canon I9900, the nicest printer I could afford. The prints are beautiful, though I have to switch to glossy paper because the HP satin matte never dries with this ink. The archival rating is excellent and the prints are gorgeous. This printer takes 8 ink tanks, which in the end will hopefully be more economical because you only replace the ones getting used up instead of buying a single cartridge with all the colors. So far the Photo Magenta and Photo Cyan go out fast while the green hasn't budged. It also does larger format and if I can find a way to mail larger prints I will offer them soon.
In other news I have decided that I want to take an oil painting class. There is one through the Kirkland Arts Center starting in June for $185 plus supplies. I hope I can save enough money to take the class, and that Kirk will be home for the eight sessions; one night a week for three hours at a time. I bought some new oil painting supplies earlier this week and tried a little oil painting this afternoon. It is painfully obvious that I need to take the class. Also that I need more paint thinner. Anyway, I am really looking forward to learning from a master painter and hope I can come up with the bucks before the class is full. I've said it before - I don't miss working in an office, but I sure miss the regular income. I have noticed checking in on my favorite artists on eBay that for many of them their auction income is also off by at least 30%. Could be tax season, could be something else. The rising interest rates and gas prices aren't helping anyone out there.

2006-04-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

I have been alone with Kelly for the last five days, and we are coping quite well. We've either established a rythm to not having her daddy here or as Kelly gets older she is easier to handle. We made it to the park one day and most days have been going to bed about 3am. Tomorrow we are scheduled to have her bangs trimmed at noon, but it is already midnight now and no bedtime in sight. I will also have to rinse Kelly's hair because she had one of her favorites, sour cream, with dinner and the ends of her hair are coated in it.
Well, it's been a while since I have posted here. I continue to try to put my studio in order after combining it with my office. I got sick after Kelly and Kirk and it took a while to feel right again. Where to start? I got large (52 and 20 prints) wholesale orders from two rescue groups and found that my printer had gotten so terrible that I was having to throw out every other print for little ink smudges. I started to research new printers and after finally deciding on one I got it locally. Normally I would mail order, but the prospect of burning through more expensive paper and ink was more than I could take. I also timed the old printer after reading the specifications on my choice. My old HP 7350, which has been a work horse and very reliable for gorgeous prints for a few years, clocked in at nearly five minutes per color print and 1.5 minutes per certificate of Dachshundicity. Ouch. Add to that that every other print was ending up in the recycle bin and no wonder I had no time to get other things done. My new printer, a Canon i9900 uses 8 ink tanks, and has an archival ink life of 25+ years takes 6o seconds for a beautiful, flawless color print and about 30 for a certificate. 4x6 prints are about 39 seconds. It also does larger format and if I can find a way to mail larger prints I will offer them soon. The new printer was as high end as I could afford, but considering how much I was spending on ink and paper with the HP I think this one will soon pay for itself.

New Doxies

2006-04-07T01:29:00.000-07:00

I have been able to paint today, and I finished my two paintings while watching the Pride and Prejudice miniseries again. My favorite movie.
You can click on the images for a larger version. I am quite proud of how both of these paintings turned out, which probably means they're doomed. The coffee hound one was very interesting to paint because I was painting on top of coffee-stained paper which tends to "lift" easily. The best part was the steam swirls, which actually did cut through the coffee and created a very interesting effect in person.
"Doxie's" also turned out great. I haf think I should add a shadow, but that could ruin it very easily so perhaps I will leave it alone. This one is going to make a terrific print and great t-shirts in my Cafe Press store. I will need to do all of the coats in this sort of illustration. Both of these paintings are without bids right now, though having been up in an unfinished state until now, that is not surprising.

New Works in Progress

2006-04-05T00:51:00.000-07:00

Two new works in progress are up. Yes, I meant to get finished pieces up by Sunday, but as always I am behind, especially with my b-day celebration on Saturday and on Sunday I really got into sorting some of my old art supplies. I now have one storage box of abandoned craft materials - meaning I abandoned the craft but hope to return to it, perhaps when Kelly is a little older. I combined my polymer clay materials, my wood burning tools, and my wood carving tools together. If I find my clock parts they can go in there, too. I guess watching these "Clean Sweep" type shows helps a bit - at least I'm learning to make my mess more compact.
The first new WIP (work in progress) is a larger version (5"x7") of the hot dog with a black and tan dachsie. The fries will feature the logo "Doxie's". The auction is here: Dachshund Hot Dog Fries Original Weiner Art Painting
The second is on 10"x7" coffee-stained paper and features a longhaired black and tan doxie relaxing in a coffee cup. The cup will feature a coffee bean pattern. It is difficult to see the image unless you click on it since it is just penciled in right now. Longhaired Dachshund Coffee Weiner Dog Art Original I think I will paint this one first and outline it after, just the opposite of the Hot Dog painting above. I plan to do a series based on both of these with all different coats. I need to get crackin' on the wine series, too. That and the cave paintings are a couple of my most original ideas and I really need to keep refinining them and offer them as prints. That's it for today. It is 1am and Kelly is here with me playing a computer "edutainment" game. She is already a master with the mouse after only a week or so.

Kangaroos and Wallaroos, Oh My!

2006-04-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Kirk, Kelly and I drove up to Arlington to the kangaroo Farm for my birthday. http://www.christmastreesandroos.com/ It started to rain hard on the way up, and we got to the farm an hour before the tour - bad planning on our part. We had some time to kill and were told it was okay if we went around to see the lemurs, which were actually the animals we most wanted to see. Apparently it had rained hard overnight at the farm, and it was still raining and cold. We found the lemur enclosure and Kelly found the biggest puddle she could. We had outfitted her in water-resistant clothes and rubber kitty boots, but they were no match for a puddle-stomping mud monkey like her. We were unable to keep her out of the puddles and took turns watching her or the lemurs. She had no interest in anything but the muddy water right then.
There were about six ringtail lemurs, including a mama and a tiny baby. They were sleeping in a cat bed with their long striped tails crisscrossed over each other. They did wake up and inspect us amid yawning and grooming. Eventually they did get pretty active and jumped around. They were very cute and endearing. We also got to visit with a young female llama who made these really adorable little noises. She obviously wanted company and would stand in the rain to get it. The farm itself is very rustic and is obviously not just for tours - they do keep and raise their Australian animals there as well as a menagerie of other pets.
The tour began and we were first introduced to the wallabys, wallaroos and Patagonian cavies. The cavies are really sweet looking but don't care for being touched. The wallabys and wallaroos were happy to be fed and petted. They were unexpectedly soft and friendly. The owner and guide, Ray Strom, made sure everyone had plenty to feed them and went out of his way to show us the babies, even opening a pouch so that we could see a hairless joey. We also got to see the big red kangaroos. It is clear that the owners really love their animals. Kelly enjoyed feeding the smaller bouncy critters but was especially intent on making sure a bunny got some of the loot, too. Leaving the 'roos we encountered some turkeys, a muscovy duck, two miniature donkeys, a pygmy goat, nearly a score of peacocks and some pot-bellied pigs. We were able to feed and pet nearly all of these. There are two emus on the farm who were far friendlier than we expected. We always thoughts emus were bad-tempered but these were quite nice and hand-tame. Next came the llama and alpaca, two gelded boys who will take an alfalfa pellet straight from your lips! I partook of these llama kisses but Kirk and Kelly did not. I have always wanted llamas and my mind was not changed by meeting these nice boys and especially the sweet girl llama we first saw. At this point the tour was mostly over, but we got to talk to Ray about his lemurs for quite a while after everyone else was gone. We found out they do lemur tours for $20 each and we may do that some day. By this time we had gotten our two stuffed lemurs from the car and Kelly was giggling up a storm making them converse with the real lemurs. When it was time to go and hunt down lunch we removed Kelly's rubber boots and poured out about a half cup of muddy water. No wonder she had wanted to be carried on the tour! We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. Wow, was that ever a mistake! Kirk and I both ordered the hot turkey sandwich for $8.95, and we got Kelly a corn dog for $2. The turkey arrived on a rather small plate with a small scoop of reconstituted potatoes and what at first looked like a heap o' turkey, but turned out to be thin, dry turkey shavings over dry but salty stove-top stuffing. Imagine the turkey has been in the fridge with a little plastic wrap draped over it, leaving some portions exposed to the air, making them drier, darker and well, curlier, than the rest of the bird and you have what appeared before us. A gravy boat accompanied our repast, no doubt to lubricate the meal and prevent any liability for us choking on the dried out food. Kelly enjoyed the chips and the lukewarm milk that came with her meal, and I convinced her to eat one little piece of hot dog. Then she and her daddy began to play "llama"; Kirk would put a chip in his mouth and Kelly would take it with her teeth. When he tried the same with a piece of hot dog Kelly shook her head vigorously and said "Yucky!" This is the kid who eats hot dogs (only all-beef kosher) with nearly every meal. So score zero for this Arlington eatery!

Tyrannosaurus Dox

2006-03-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the most feared creature in all of pre-history - the TDox, AKA Tyrranosaurus Dox! Be sure to visit the auction for a full description of this evolutionary marvel: Tyrannosaurus Dachshund Cave Painting Weiner Dog Art . This one is 5x7 inches painted on coffee-stained paper. Be sure to see the close-up in the auction.
Next is the Black and Tan Coffee Hound. This is one of the little ATCs that is 2.5x3.5 inches. A small treasure with iridescent blue bones on the cheerful yellow cup. The auction for this one resides at Dachshund Coffee Hound Original Weiner Dog ATC ACEO Art . The third original up is a classic Hot Dog. This one is also an ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals)
Dachshund Hot Dog Original Weiner Dog Art ATC ACEO WWAO. All three auctions end on Sunday, April 2.
Starting tonight as soon as I get my code changed there will be a big sale in my store at http://www.wiener-dog.com: all prints just $11 each. Right now the sale is planned through tax day, but you never know, I might extend it! Folks on my mailing list will get a note about the sale.
Saturday is my birthday, which is my excuse for having the sale. We are going to a kangaroo farm to celebrate and we might even get to pet a lemur! Yea!

New ACEO's (Art Trading Cards)

2006-03-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest pieces for sale up on eBay. The link to this auction is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7397519225. The wings and wand are painted in interference paints, somewhat like iridescents but they change color depending on how the light strikes them. I also use salt to make that interesting texture in the background.
The other here is a longhaired Dachshund angel, whose wings are also painted in iridescents. the link for this auction is http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7397497207

A Flat Tire

2006-03-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

It is raining hard outside and the tall fir trees outside my window are swaying randomly side to side, as if undecided about something. Vacillating Trees - sounds like a name for a music group or a PhotoShop plug-in. I just got home from a semi-harrowing experience. I had gone to Bellevue for envelopes, the bank, and Daniel Smith art supply. I had debated about stopping at Michael's crafts, but given the increasing rush hour traffic, the increasing rain and an increasingly tired and cranky little girl I opted to go straight home. I am glad I did because about a mile from my exit the car began making an awful whupp whupp sound which I recognized as the sound of a very flat tire. I called Kirk as I got to the off-ramp and he was able to meet me where I pulled the car over, about a half mile from home. The tire appeared to be a goner - we had already identified it as wearing out a few months ago - but at least I had not ruined the rim. I had not been willing to pull over on the freeway with Kelly in the car. At least she was asleep through all of this. Kirk followed me on the slow trek home and then attempted to fill the tire with his air compressor, but it must have a huge tear somewhere because it just hissed and spat in the rain like an annoyed cat. Given the downpour neither of us wanted to stand around getting wetter and colder. Kelly and I are home safe and when time allows we will go buy a new tire or order one online. Meanwhile Kirk has left the keys to the truck since it has the spare carseat in it.

da Vinci's Dachshund is Done!

2006-03-03T23:27:00.000-08:00

Finally finished with the longhaired da Vinci's Dachshund! I think it turned out terrific - this is one I wish I could keep myself. I absolutely love how the rigid handmade paper looks. Now I need to do the black and tan smooth version! I also finished the red smooth hugging the feet. I am going to leave the background white on this one. I like how the eyes turned out. I scanned it several times before putting in the highlights so that I could play with the positions in PhotoShop. I always forget how rough the Arches watercolor pads
are - painting on them is not fun sometimes. I think there must be less sizing on these pads.
I am working on designing new business cards featuring the red smooth da Vinci's Dachshund. I've done three different versions and I need to decide which I like and where to get them printed. I know a number of artists like Vistaprint, but their prices, particularly for shipping, seem way out of line.
I took Kelly to St. Edwards park today. She had fun but got rebuffed for shrieking while running around with some kids, and twice got upset and shoved little boys because she did not want to share a toy. I finally had to take her back to the car, and boy did she have a huge hissy tantrum. I had to carry her like a wiggly sack of potatoes. I got the survey from the Scottish Rite center today and filled it out. I hope she can see them soon!
Kirk is working past midnight again and I think we will have to miss the special event at Columbia Winery this weekend. Bah! Kelly probably would have been a pill anyway.

The Goat Girl

2006-03-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

Once again I have some works in progress up on auction. It occured to me that someone might think this was some kind of weird marketing ploy. While I hope that people might find it interesting to follow the progress of a painting, I am doing this because I simply don't have my act together. I could use the excuse (and it's a good one) that having sole responsibility for a 3 year old makes it difficult to get things done, but I'm pretty sure it isn't the whole story. Kirk has been working until midnight every night, poor man. When he gets done we figure out dinner and then go to bed around 1 or 2am. I'm really not sure what I am doing with my time, only that it is fragmented. I sit down to paint and then something else distracts me. Hopefully this will get resolved soon. I need to get these two paintings finished so that bidders will know what they are really bidding on. Then the process starts all over again for next week's paintings. Yesterday Kelly managed to shut down my computer while I was working and I'm not even sure yet what was open and did not get saved. I know I had been working on a new print, but I think I did save it at some point.
We took Kelly to the pediatrician on Tuesday and that did not go as smoothly as hoped. I loved the office, but Kelly was crying the whole time and trying to escape. Thank goodness Kirk was there to help handle her. The doctor was very nice, and took a lot of time with us. It was apparent from the questions the nurse asked that we have been expecting less of Kelly than we should of a 3 year old. She doesn't know her first and last name, and if you asked she couldn't tell you if she was a boy or a girl. It never occured to us to cover that ground with her. Why? Anyhow, Kelly is significantly delayed in her speech, and this was confirmed by the doctor. She gave us a referral for speech therapy, but of course our insurance will cover no such thing. I called the Scottish Rite society and they do free speech therapy for those who qualify - meaning those with nothing more wrong essentially than delayed speech, and that is our Kelly. She is very bright, happy, healthy - she just doesn't talk in sentences. They have a long waiting list so it may be May by the time she can see them. But if she talks in the meantime, that would be great - if she doesn't she will need it more than ever. I wish I had someone to talk to about this who has gone through it. Kelly's daddy was a late talker but I don't think his mom can offer any insight, and I have a cousin who was a late talker but I get very minimal responses when I try to talk to my aunt about that (or anything, really).
Beebers is doing better (see previous barfy post). I figured that he was reacting to some Friskies canned food that I had given the kitties. Normally I wouldn't feed such garbage, but we had run out of their normal canned food and had a whole case of the Friskies that I had gotten for our stray cat. Unfortunately the stray disappeared immediately after we bought the case. Very sad. This was a little black cat that wouldn't come near us but enjoyed consorting with our raccoons. When the raccoons came to the porch to eat this kitty would be right there rubbing up against them and eating next to them. It was really sweet. I even saw her with the opossum and with two new raccoons who were very perplexed by her behavior. One of them even took hold of her tail and inspected it curiously. Then she just disappeared. Kirk likes to think her owner took her, but I think she was really homeless. In any case we never saw any signs of foul play, so I hope she is out there somewhere and happy.
Here is a funny story about Kelly: She loves to watch movies we've taken on her dad's computer, and her latest favorite is one of a goat at the Indianapolis Zoo. In the video the goat takes a bite of the zoo program that her dad is holding. Dad got out the program to show the nibbled off piece. After that Kelly insisted on taking bites of the program (see picture) until it was mostly gone. Then later I was painting at the table with Kelly and discovered that she was chewing up a piece tissue paper. I looked at her sternly and told her not to eat tissue and she gave me a look and bleated like a goat! Funny little girl!

Just a little off...

2006-02-22T23:12:00.000-08:00

Those are five of my kitties lying together in a Pixie Pile. Pictured are Itty Bitty, Baby Girl, Mau Mau , Rumpy and Beebers. Not pictured are Bebe, Wuggies, Squirrel and our dear departed Spot. This was taken with my new camera which I am just getting the hang of. To the right here is a picture of my darling Kelly.
I have been working on a couple of very detailed Dachshund paintings that took waaay longer than I thought they would. As a result for most of their time up on auction they have not been complete. The reason I did these larger, fancier paintings is so that I can make prints of them. I do hope the originals find an audience, though. They were a heck of a lot more work than a little Art Trading Card/ACEO. One is a 10"x7" of a hula dancing weiner dog. I know that is a theme I have visited before, but the previous one with a red doxie was not available in 8x10 since I painted it on a long panoramic pad. This one has a lot going on in it, and in a departure for me I actually used some acrylics in it - the leis in particular. I think it turned out very well. The other is a homey scene of dogs sleeping by a fireplace. This one presented a whole different set of challenges and also just kept demanding more detail as I went along. I am also pleased with how it has come out, though I may tweak it a little more anyway. It also is destined to become a print. The original is 5"x7".

The Terrible Three's?

2006-02-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

Here are my latest efforts. Up on eBay now, just follow the link to the left there. I really, really need to finish this old commission. The people probably think I just took their money and ran I have had it so long. But truly, I have turned down all but one other commission since I took it. I have actually lost a good deal of income and productivity. It really is almost done. I just have to paint the background and that's about it. It is a larger piece than I normally do, so that poses a problem as every time I get it out to work on it I have to clear off a large space to work, and when I stop working on it I have to put it somewhere safe - all I need is for the cats to decide they're art criticWe just got back from shopping with Kelly, and I must say it was something of a nightmare. Kelly was in fine form shrieking and running about like a mad child. She was mostly in a happy mood until the end of the evening, when she really got obnoxious. The nightmarish aspect was not so much her running amok and refusing to do be curbed, it was the dirty looks from everyone around us. Hello, were none of these people ever children? One woman in particular was offended by Kelly shrieking in the play area at the mall. She was shrieking in a joyous, free-spirited manner but this woman and her apparently unspirited child felt it was occasion for dagger glances and stomping away. Yes, she was a parent. That was weird. But aside from that Kelly had such a fit when we needed to leave that she gave herself a small nosebleed. Everyone around was glaring at us. Then we went to Target. Oi vey. Kelly was an incredible pill there, and the employees were actually quite pointed in their disapproving looks. She didn't mess anything up there; we always make sure we don't leave a trail of destruction in our wake. She simply would not heel and was running around the racks. When it came time to leave she was very difficult to handle and as her dad left he bumped her noggin on the door frame - more dirty looks as he carried a weeping little girl to the car. I guess this is my reward for not always having been as patient with other people's misbehaving children before I was a parent. I just have the creeps from having been the target of so much animosity.

A Very Blustery Day

2006-02-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

We had a major storm here on Saturday. I had terrible nightmares the night before the storm after seeing a house with a floorplan similar to ours on the news that had an enormous tree fallen through it right where our bedroom is. At around 4am when the winds got strong I tried to take Kelly to sleep in the daylight basement, but she had a fit and dragged her blankie back upstairs to her bed. When it was finally light outside I was a little relieved to realize that the big firs next to our house are actually too close to get much momentum coming down, and also are rather smaller than the tree on the news and would probably not cleave the house in two. The power was off from about 8am to 8pm and we had one tree come down, which Kirk went out and took apart with the chainsaw. He did this while the wind was still blowing and had me nearly in tears with worry. It was all very nerve-wracking since a wind storm back in '87 nearly killed me. I respect the wind now...
I just listed this ATC last night. A couple of days ago I listed a Dachshund in waders doing a little fly-fishing. No nibbles yet, ha ha. I guess that one just has to appeal to the right person. I have a couple of ATC's on the drawing table, one is a long red doxie with a bow around its middle. I will use that one to make a Cafe Press greeting card - something like "heard you got a long little doggie!" I also have a couple of superhero dachshunds in the works.
I took my camera apart and broke it for good, so I spent an overly long time looking at camera review websites and decided in a Canon A620. I hope I get it in time for Kelly's birthday. Hopefully we can go to the zoo on my little Onion's special day. I picked up some watercolors and finger paints for her yesterday and plan to give letting her paint next to me a try. I also got her some big sticks of chalk, but she ate some of it. I wonder if her iron levels are low again? Maybe chalk just tastes good.

Featured Artist Interview

2006-02-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

My Featured Artist interview came out today. I am actually quite pleased with how it came out. It was really a thrill to be asked. You can see it at http://www.ebsqart.com/Artists/cmd_263_profile_Interview.htm.

The image on the left (yes, you can click on it for a larger version) is a grouping of faces I did this evening. I used a .20 micron ink pen and watercolors, of course. I cheated a little - the lady on the left was moved up to make it more compact. They were a lot of fun to do, but haven't got a lot of practical purpose beyond giving me practice.

I did post my first-ever art for A4C in a 10 day auction. Happily there is already a bid on it. I get the feeling this is something I will do often, post A4C auctions. There are some absolutely amazing artists connected with the group and it is quite an honor to have been asked to join them at the git-go.

Poor Kirk got done working in the garage pretty late tonight. He is very busy with the Continental project. Oh, and my darn camera died. It fell of the table the other day and the lens sensor would not pick up any images. So today I gave it just a little whack against the desk and now the lens won't even come out. Bah. I looked at different camera models online today, and I like the new Canon's, particularly the A620. Unfortunately it is over $300, money I do not have. As it is I still have not found something for the Volvo headlight's broken lens, and the car itself is falling apart - we may have to get into car payments again, yuck. It would be smart for me to be reading my Artist's Market book instead of re-reading the Eyre Affair, wouldn't it? Anyhow, I must get a new camera (or buy a disposable, yuck) before Kelly's birthday this month.

2006-01-31T23:13:00.000-08:00

More sketches from my sketch book. I will have a new Cave Dachshund going up tomorrow for a 10-day auction with 30% of the profits going to DARE Dachshund rescue. I also did a new black and tan angel doxie that I really like (see below). I almost feel that I am channeling some of the dogs at the rainbow bridge when I do these. I think this new one has a gentle sweetness to it that will make it a wonderful memorial print.
The picture at the top left was inspired by the latest Patricia McKillip book that I read. I'm imagining a mermaid with the sea in her hair - clown fish using her flowing hair like an anemone, shells, pearls, a little found fishing net and a seahorse anchored on her finger. It would be fairly intricate to do and I do worry that no one will ever see it on eBay unless it were featured, and I am not ready to do that. I might try an ATC, but again I would be really discouraged if it took a lot of time, if I really love it and it sold only for the maiden bid. I know a lot of artists must have this dilemna - put the work out there and hope it gets discovered and be ready to accept losing money and confidence, or just stay with the tried and true. Back when I first began selling on eBay everything sold. And they were just prints! There are many, many more artists out there now, and many seem content to practically give their art away. IMO I think they short-change themselves, but as I mention again how else do you do it? I guess in business you have to offer some freebies to get noticed.
Here is some big news: I was asked to be a Featured Artist on EBSQ for February. I think that will be published on the first. I hope it turns out well. I seriously need to update my portfolio there. I have so much more stuff than I used to have! Unfortunately much of it never actually gets scanned for reproduction - just for auction, so they are small. Hopefully I can get to that tomorrow.
When I was out at the park today with my little Kelly I suddenly realized that I passed my 14 year anniversary of being up here in the Pacific Northwest. I think that is a first! And I couldn't remember the date - was it the 23rd? I am going to have to look at some old emails to figure it out. It might have been the 13th? Boy, I'm getting old!
In Kelly news she is talking more every day. She has also developed a thing for lettuce. She nibbles on it like a bunny. In fact, here she is now so I better publish this and get her ready for bed. My darling girl!

2006-01-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time getting started this morning - no, wait - afternoon. It is nearly 1pm. I've really been enjoying drawing and painting these sketches. They engage me and I enjoy them. They are not work. However I look at the two non-dog ATCs I have up with no bids and I get really discouraged. I know I need to keep putting them up, keep doing them until people find me. I wish I could paint like Patricia McKillip. Her writing is so evocative that I see what she writes and I am torn between reading on or putting the book down and sketching. I just finished Winter Rose and am now reading Something Rich and Strange.

2006-01-17T00:52:00.000-08:00

The wind is blowing through the fir trees tonight, making them shiver rainwater off their needles. We went out this afternoon to the Seattle Aquarium, driving through the dark day and dreary rain. The aquarium looked a little sad as well with its construction debris, though the seals and otters seemed content. Perhaps they know good things are in the works there. Kelly had a short nap in the car, and was not in the best frame of mind for exploring the exhibits. She wanted to play with the felt board and nothing else interested her for a long while, though we tried carrying her to other exhibits. Eventually we were able to interest her in the reef exhibit, but she was having none of the big tanks, thank you. I saw that there are not as many seahorses and the seadragons are gone. I hope they did not all die, but delicate creatures as they are I fear they might have. Last time there was only one, and he (she?) seemed sad and lonely. When I was raising seahorses they became really miserable when separated from their mates, and as they all look similar as juveniles this sometimes happened. But the dance of happiness they did when they reunited was breathtaking to see. Anyhow, there is a big dogface puffer in the seadragon tank now, but the neat news is there is a tank with 4 little cowfish in it, and we were able to sing the cowfish song to them, which goes "Moo moo moo moo mooo moo".
After the aquarium we decided to go to IKEA, and got lost in the rain and rush hour traffic. Ugh. Then we visit Mor to look at beds for Kelly, then to Fry's, then to Kirk's office, then home. Kelly sat on her potty for a long time and eventually announced "Potty!" and we hugged her and praised her. She has used her potty 3 out of the last 4 nights, and perhaps only another parent would understand how exciting that is, but we are very pleased and proud of her. I have been sketching a lot lately, trying to keep my drawings loose and to let my own style come out. It is my goal for 2006 to develop my style more fully, and to expand my subjects. So I am going to post images from my sketchbook from time to time. Here are the first two sketches, each of which took 10-20 minutes total (drawing and painting). These were done on an Aquabee 4x6 sketch pad with Sakura ink pen and painted in DS watercolors.

2006-01-16T00:34:00.000-08:00

This is my latest ATC/ACEO, which I will probably post tomorrow or Tuesday for a 5 day auction on eBay. I actually started this faery with the the cigar months ago, but only just finished her. I like how she has turned out, with sparkles in her hair and wings. I have been debating whether to list her under DachshundArt or Pondragon...I would like to be able to leverage the number of eyes that see DachshundArt and my extensive positive feedback there, and this fairy isn't too saucy, but there will come a time that I post something a little too racy for my animal fans. I just don't know - will I lose collectors who dislike my non-animal art by mixing in other stuff? I keep going back and forth on this. Comments welcome...

2006-01-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Blog! Here I hope to post art works in progress and art for sale, as well as muse about art and life.