sketchbook
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Using much eloquence while juggling numbers
A new painting in my Odditerrarium series for upcoming exhibits via Caplan Art Designs is titled “Using Much Eloquence”. Like the others in this series this one is 10 x 8 inches and made with ink, gouache and collage on board. Here’s a closer view so you can see what this dog is thinking. Now…
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Desirous naturally of travel and Juggling Numbers
I thought about travel this week and the newest painting in my Odditerrarium series is titled “Desirous Naturally Of Travel”. It’s a portrait of a Portuguese Water Dog who is contemplating sailing. Here’s a closer look. Like the other paintings in my Odditerrarium series this new one is 10 x 8 inches and was created…
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Public art private art and pretending
I’ve been thinking lately of how important the ability to imagine is. What if “let’s pretend…” is one of the most useful skills to cultivate all of one’s life? Besides being lots of fun to do using your imagination is an essential mental health skill. I quote from this article “So when you choose to…
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Our current times, tuning in to awe and books
This week war began and for a second being an artist felt frivolous. But in difficult times we need art more than ever. We need things and people that feed our spirits and remind us of why we’re glad to be alive. We need hope. That’s how we fight for democracy and win. When the…
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Benefits of miniature art, celebrations and a love letter to librarians
Some of my sketchbook pages this week felt like personal milestone markers, like “Yeah! That’s exactly the point of it!” This what I enjoy about having a regular sketchbook habit, the aha moments. In the studio I’m working on a fine art reproductions project that I can’t talk about much yet. But I’ve discovered another…
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The Arabian Nights, miniature art and studio equipment
This week was … there. Reading Marcus Aurelius helped. So did the oranges, the coffee, the leaves in the yard, the books and art. Talking with my spouse helped too. I kept returning to this quote from Marcus Aurelius so I did this gouache and ink painting. Then I added it to my “for encouragement”…
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The last Professional dogs and The Arabian Nights
Drum roll please… here are the last pages from The Professional Dog. I finished the social media postings of this series on the very last day of 2021. How’s that for timing? Lol!! So you can see a closer view… and read the accompanying text 👇 Thank you for following my entire process as I…
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The Professional Dog and Jolabokaflod
Here are this weeks featured Professional Dogs … waiting excitedly for Jolabokaflod! Or… … maybe not. 🤣 Anyway, below are closer views of each dog portrait and below each is the text line in the book. As mentioned in a prior post the Aurora Gallery quickly sold out of my book The Professional Dog and…
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Professional dogs, artist books, unmentionables and hamburger
My new childrens book, The Professional Dog, is progressing nicely. I’ve been thinking of this as a fine art dog portrait album inspired by the idea of the 19th century parlor game The Minister’s Cat. My book concept is an excuse to talk to my friends about their dogs and see if I can do…
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Professional dog, the box project, encouragement, a chat and gnocchi
My childrens book “The Professional Dog” has moved into color! Over the last week I’ve inked more than 12 of the illustrations just so I could see where I was going. Now I’m doing the same testing with colors. I’m using my butterfly palette (a post about that here) – it’s a fun challenge to…
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