Etsy is an awesome, fantastic place to lose yourself for hours at a time. It's also awesome because it allows me to sell my artwork and merchandise to anyone anywhere! Etsy also connected me with Amber, an invaluable employee at Shady Brook Animal Hospital in Magnolia. When Amber started working there, one of her first goals was to redecorate the Clinic's front room (office & waiting area). She set out looking for art work on Etsy, and somehow stumbled on my page! A few emails later, in November, I met with Amber and began to sketch out an arrangement for 15 pet portraits in their office. The fun part is that the pets I painted belong to employees of Shady Brook, so they get to see their pets' faces smiling at them while they work!

Today we hung up all the portraits in the clinic (SO EXCITING)!  It felt so good to see them all hung! 

So, as you can see, I've been VERY busy! My studio space is small, and all these portraits were hung up on the walls around my desk at one point so their protective varnish could dry thoroughly... it felt like so many eyes boring into me as I worked!
Prints are available for all these portraits. Just check out my Etsy shop or contact me.

I have another fun project coming up (not portrait related), so stayed tuned!

When you're an only child, growing up, your pets become your best friends. They cuddle with you, sleep under the covers when it's cold, quietly listen when you have something to say, and take you on walks in the evenings. 
Meet Tinkerbelle:

We got Tink when I was 10 years old. We were walking in Old Town Spring, a little village of shops in NW Houston, and we saw a mess of puppies in a pen on a street corner. All the pups were bigger breeds, some were chihuahuas, and they were all sleeping except for this white toot with a big brown spot and a dark brown face. Being a little girl, of course I wanted a puppy, and my mom consented. (How could she say no to that face?!) 

10 Facts about this little dog:
1. One of my earliest memories of Tink in our home is my dad laying on the floor and Tink wedged in his arm pit sleeping.
2. For being only 10 pounds and maybe 18" tall, she could jump clear above the kitchen table, often stealing food right off your plate.
3. She loved Ernie and her Wooly-Man dolls. She went through 3 and 2 of each, respectively.
4. Tink didn't beg for dog treats....she begged for CARROTS. She could eat them all day long and never stop.
5. When she was younger, we'd buy her those rawhide dog chew sticks as big as she was, and she'd work on one for hours at a time. If you put your hand on her head when she was working and devouring one of those, your hand wouldn't be cold for very long.
6. Tink liked to play tug of war, as do most dogs. But if you'd just pretend like you were going to tickle her while she was tugging, she would growl like nobody's business. Always, ALWAYS made me laugh.
7. She thought she was bigger than any other dog out there, and never backed down.
8. She knew how to sit, stay, & come.
9. She enjoyed taking baths in the kitchen sink, and looking up at you so pitifully the entire time, yet kicking her leg when the water would hit the right itchy spot. Then she would run around the house like a mad woman, rubbing her back and face over every couch cushion, all over the rug, and then sneeze incessantly. 
10. Her place of rest was the corner cushion of the love seat, atop 2 throw pillows, her chin on the couch arm. When not on the couch, for years she’d jump in my Mom’s lap and then lean backwards against her shoulder,  so that Mom could scratch her belly. Nonstop, preferably. 
11. When she'd potty outside, she would often get so distracted while mid-potty-business barking at people walking past the fence that she'd end up kicking grass to cover her mess in a totally different spot or often while running toward the fence instead of where she actually went potty.
12. When it was time for bed, we'd say, "Tink, let's go to bed!", and she'd RUN up the stairs and sit in my bed, leaning on my pillow, waiting for me to say, "Okay, you can sleep with me," and then she'd put her ears down and give me that look of sheer love, then crawl under the covers and cuddle up next to my legs.
13. Tink was very resilient: She severely injured her back at least two times crawling under the couch, her place of refuge during a thunderstorm. She was put on steroids as a young dog (due to a back injury) and as a result, developed a very muscular physique. We used to squeeze her little thighs and joke that she'd be so tasty. Once she somehow walked into the branch of a bush and poked a hole in her cornea; She discovered and ate an Easter egg that had never been found several years earlier- and had the foul gas to prove it. She also ate rotten tomatoes and jalapenos from dad's garden and had no ill effects and she once downed a bag of M&M's and lived through it. And like most dogs, she was known to dig for "kitty candies" in the litter box. 
14.  She was the best friend a little girl could have.

When Tink started getting slower in the mornings, didn't always respond when her named was called, and seemed happier to sit on her pillows than in your lap, we all realized she was getting on up there in life. 

So in December of last year, she quickly developed some serious health issues, and we had to make the tough decision that all pet owners one day face. Losing Tink was very hard on our little family.

In her memory, I didn't want to paint a typical pet portrait like the ones you see here all the time. Instead, I wanted to capture Tink as I remember her best- on her throne of pillows, one ear up, one ear down, watching with at least one open eye both the back and front doors and her people moving around her. I gave the portrait to my parents for Christmas so that they can still look over at the couch and see her sitting there, even if only in our memories.

Many of the portraits I am commissioned to paint are in memory of beloved dogs & cats. A painted pet portrait is a unique and touching way to capture a pet's personality for all time. Here are a few other portraits I did in memory of lost furries:

A black cat!  (well, purple actually. HA!)

What are you going to be for Halloween??

Recently I passed off/sold most of my pet portrait stock to an awesome gal opening a grooming salon in Bryan, TX. And this being craft show season, I need to restock...FAST! So I've started a slew of paintings including this cute Dalmatian:

As a small art business owner, I have to constantly rethink how I display my art, how I advertise, how I can reach new customers. Each craft fair or trade show is a little different- different crowds, different levels of income, different season of the year. Art is tricky to sell. The majority of people like to buy art that isn't too big, won't break the bank, art that can be hung in an entryway and discarded in a couple years. That's why places like Pier 1, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond can sell reproductions of reproductions for a somewhat decent price. For artists trying to grow a successful business of creating and selling their art, they have to constantly be mindful of that fine line between "department store" art and creating new, edgy art that will still sell. With my pet portraits, it's harder to sell prints or paintings I've already completed, but even harder to sell a commission. Most people just don't want to invest in something, even if it will last years and years longer than "department store" art, will be treasured because it's sentimental, or is truly one of a kind.
 
It's common craft show/trade show conversation to discuss someone's success with that show the year prior- how much money did you gross last year? / how many business cards did you give out? etc. Artists can't as easily measure their success because you can't really see it until months later- once people have gone home, thought about a commission, planned for it. But I have to at least sell enough to cover my booth fees in order to stay in business. That's why I sell stationery, mousepads, tote bags and prints. 

Usually my displays include a table of merchandise that's priced cheaply and ready to take home. Then I also display all my completed portraits on panels for people to look at and hopefully think about commissioning one of their own. I might sell 1-2 actual paintings (or none at all), and most of my merchandise. So this season I've decided to paint fewer new canvas paintings, and just frame some prints. Prints are cheaper and they really look great framed. They're easier for someone to take home. Most craft fair goers want to walk away with something to show for their time at the show. Art isn't usually something they're willing to spend money on in order to take it home that day. Prints are a great solution to that problem! So now I'm spending time framing prints in preparation for a show next weekend in Katy- the United Methodist Church's Fall Bazaar.

So if you're someone who sells crafty or handmade things at shows/fairs, I hope I've given you some food for thought :)
If you're someone who doesn't, but is maybe interested in commissioning someone to paint or create something, then I've gotta say, Go Local and Support Artists and Small Businesses! They're what make our country great and keep the economy up! 
For more information about the UMC Fall Bazaar, shoot me an email or comment here.

In my last post I talked about Pocket Portraits, these adorable 6x6" mini pet portraits, great for you if you've got multiple furries! So here's an example of how you can display these portraits in your home:

How cute are these???
And so affordable, at $40 each. But if you order in multiples of 3, the prices decreases!

You might notice a new guy in the mix up there, this cute Boxer:

Check out two new pocket portraits I just finished! A beautiful, blue-eyed kitty and a sweet Basset Hound! These little pocket portraits are 6x6" and really cool to display in a grid pattern. If you have multitudes of pets, consider doing some of these, that way you can display all of them together. On the plus, they're really cheap! A STEAL at $40 each (with discounts for multiples)!

Don't forget- there are tons of items on sale right now in my shop! And if you're on my mailing list, watch out for a coupon in your inbox soon! If you're not on my mailing list, you're missing out on steals & deals, so contact me to sign up!

A very happy customer makes my heart sparkle!

This is Little Hand:

He was an extremely handsome, silver and white long-haired kitty. His real name was Mates, but he preferred Little Hand.
It was an honor to paint Little Hand's memorial portrait, Kelly! I hope he makes you smile and think of warm memories with him every time you look at it.