My Winter Home

Here is my winter home, this December of 2007, on the shores of Lake Superior, waaaaaay past Duluth donchaknow, almost to
Canada, where it's downright COLD most of the winter.

My Summer Home

Here is my wonderful little summer home up on Lake Superior, way, way past Duluth donchaknow, almost in Canada, where it's cool all summer long.

Blue Dog Revisited

Blue Dog finally recovered from a long awaited face lift in time to be shown with his mates in the DOG SHOW, a presentation by 8 Minnesota canine artists at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais. 118 paintings and 3 very heavy cement and mosaic dogs were shown from the end of July until after Labor Day, 2007. It was a delightful show, the town was full of tourists, it had not begun to rain, and the artists were all so laid back there was no discussion about whose work went where, no competitive edgeiness that sometimes accompanies group shows, and no one was left out who painted dogs and wanted to show. We had high quality work, and I wonder how many shows comprised of just dog paintings have ever been held, not counting the famous AKC museum in St. Louis. Many dogs attended the show, live dogs, that is, including my Roxie in her gorgeous Saworski Necklace. I'll try to find some pictures of my red beauty showing off and being sedate in crowds of admirers, microphones shoved in her face, and having to pose next to cement dog, of ALL things. But here is Blue Dog, a 3' x 3' oil, in one piece.

Wonder wondering when it will stop raining...

It's been about 6 weeks of rain now broken with only a few decent days in Northern Cook County, MN, with floods yesterday, and NO FUN at all for puppies. Of course puppies make fun where they can find it, so one good quilt has two holes dug in it, chewies are being devoured by the boxes full, Roxie is being tormented, and playing "Ring Around the Car Instead of Getting In" seemed like a good game yesterday morning with Mom standing in a raging downpour, then on hands and knees begging Wonder to jump in her crate with the treat and chewies so we could drive to Thunder Bay to meet our new vet. And she looked so pretty on my bed just moments before I discovered the quilt holes and began preparing to leave for a day in Canada, so at least my image of her is this one, it's not the real Wonder. She's 6 months old here, Surrey Hill's Kentucky Wonder. In a week we go to Arizona, and she can wonder what happened to the rain!

Bejeweled

The elder of the two princess Whippets in the yard yesterday, Roxie, agreed to pose for me in her lovely crystal necklace made by another Whippet person out east. We had the first 85 degree day of the summer, as it's been 60s and 70s mostly, and I love it, but Roxie was hot from running with Wonder pup, the younger princess and so she is seen relaxing in a chair after being soaked down with the hose. I'm sure she is dreaming of the days when she ran at the lure course competitions, and keeps herself sharply tuned by hunting the elusive squirrels and chipmunks that taunt her from tree to tree.

Where's the food?

Roxie and the fast growing pup, Wonder, have a new favorite viewing post. From their vantage point they can watch for oncoming dogs, squirrels, chipmunks and stray children for whom they run to the fence and look terribly forlorn and captured in my zoo. It works everytime.

Wonder

Roxie found a friend! Her name is Wonder, and she is 10 weeks old here, and having a very good time with her new family, her new yard, and lots to see and do. She's not Wonder Dog, nor Wonder Woman, but Surrey Hill Kentucky Wonder. She is everything naughty and nice a puppy should be. Of course she is a Whippet, although she could still almost pass for a Beagle Lab Steet Dog cross at this age. Soon she will be elegant, swift and cunning I am told.

Angel Wings: Version Two

In attempting to correct a fault I perceived in the painting, I found myself painting nearly the whole head over again. I wished that I had just left well enough alone. But too late now, so I am looking at these two on the blog wondering which I prefer. Hmmmmmmm.

Angel Wings

This is the second of two paintings of the Whippet puppy, Wings. Acrylic paint this time, and I haven't worked in acrylic for a long time, so it was challenging. It's too cold to work outside this week, and I can't use chemicals in the house and still breathe, so I played with transparent washes, colored pencil and a pen to create this one. It is also 16" x 20" and the colors are again quite soft, but an array of mixed hue pastel washes of this beautiful puppy. An old friend was the photographer, and as always allows me to use her wonderful work when I find one that suits style or my spirit. I think my dear friend has memorized my favorite poses by now, and this is one of them, but of course the puppy had to have the gorgeous head and neck to contribute to the beauty of the art.

On a Wing and a Prayer

This is a small oil painting of a Whippet puppy who lived with me for a few months. He was very sweet, and so photogenic my favorite photographer friend took many photos of him for me, and allowed me to use them as inspiration for my paintings. I called him Wings, and Roxie thought he was great fun, as you can see in previous posts. This painting is 16" x 20", and is very subtle in color, so hard to know what different monitors will see. I'm out west again, in Green Valley, Arizona, where it should be very warm by now, but there is ice on the water of my neighbors fountain inches thick every morning and the wind is blowing like mad all day long.

Roxie's new life

Roxie is now an only Whippet, and her lure coursing career is over, abruptly cut off by the discovery that she has a disorder that prevents her muscles from dissipating heat. After 13 days of competing, she was just 50 points short of her Lure Courser of Merit title. We had to quit, but fortunately Roxie can still enjoy chasing the frisbee in very cool weather if I carefully monitor her actions. She was the best lure courser I have ever owned or enjoyed seeing on the field. She is now the perfect model as you can see here. We are actively looking for a doggy friend for her to play with. She can still run and play and do lots of things, but extreme excitement and lengthy runs are a thing of the past. Her she is, looking like Greta Garbo, on a chair of her selection.