Title anyone?

Well here is proof I have been painting every day. I'm not sure what this piece is about so a title has not come to me yet - I'd love to hear your ideas! (the image on the left is mid process, always tempting to leave it that way but I can't help it, the black paint insists on coming back in and defining the image.)
I'll post more new paintings tomorrow...

*Special Agent* *Dale Cooper*

This pet portrait of Cooper only took a mere 365 days to finish! Last year I traded with Susan Hinckley at the One of a Kind Show. I received a beautiful hand stitched wall piece titled "Let It Go"....in return I agreed to do a pet portrait of her dog Cooper. And true to form, being the ultimate procrastinator I finished, varnished and framed it on Saturday night just in time for them to take back home to Minnesota (and I did it exhausted after 3 days of the show and wanting to do nothing more than recline on the sofa all evening). She and Russ were very pleased with the outcome..and so was I, this is such a fun composition. For inquiring minds, "Special Agent Dale Cooper" hearkens back to the television series Twin Peaks. Happy Susan...

Tomorrow...more photos from the show...
 

Holiday Goodies...Ornaments

I mentioned these goodies on my postcard but have not had time to get links on my website so I'll post some directly here. I will have all of these products at the One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart and at my December Open Studio Events as long as my supply lasts. So I'll start with ornaments.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS...each one comes with a red ribbon hanger. Available in my CafePress Shop. Follow individual links below to purchase:

Izzy Wreath Ornament

Border Collie Ornament

Cat Wreath Ornament

Dog + Snowman Ornament

Dog Park Debacle

"Dog Park Debacle": Just finished this up...well, had too - I ran out of time! Some of these dogs still need spots...The plan is to hang it in my booth for One of a Kind...loaded the truck tonight, we set up in the morning...which is coming at me way too soon - better get to sleep.

More Canine Playtime...

Picture 28

Shy Muse...my little Alice.

Picture 16

Buy Now at Boundless.com

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Dogs Rule Art

Picture 14

This was the secret project I blogged about the other day...I was asked by Jill  Beninato of www.sitstaysmile.com to be part of a 'fat book' called 'Dogs Rule'. "Fat books" are small books of a certain size that contain pages created by a pre-determined group of artists. They are called fat books because the pages are often embellished with ephemera that make the final book fat when it is bound. Embellishment is optional... Since I was really stretched for time I couldn't take the risk of trying something new...instead I stuck with what I do best. That's Alice with my 14 pages...all original paintings on matte board, a lot of work but it was fun! There are 13 other amazing artists who will contribute, we each get a book filled with pages from one another and the 14th one will be auctioned off on ebay with the proceeds going to artist Bernie Berlin's charity A Place To Bark please visit her links to find out about the amazing work she is doing to save homeless pets, rehab them and find them homes (she is a remarkable human being and artist). Stay tuned for more info on the auction & finished books!

No Passing: Red, White and Blue

I created this painting titled "No Passing" at the Fields Project last month, I wrestled with theborder color...too much Red, White and Blue. By my own rule and aesthetic I've always stayed away from using primary colors together like this: Rule Broken...it seems appropriate to show this painting on the 4th of July...

Back from the farm...

Picture 32

And just like that it's over....was it a dream? A beautiful week of blue skies, big puffy white clouds, endless gorgeous hilly back country roads, cows, pigs, goats and corn. I wish I could hold on to this feeling of completeness and happiness. No tv, no computer, a lot of times no phone (my outdoor studio at Castle Rock State Park had no cell phone reception). But it wasn't all sunny skies for me. I had some very real creative challenges and no where to run away from them...I seriously considered driving back to Chicago one morning. But I stayed and battled it out with myself and am very happy with the few pieces that I finished...I think what I accomplished out there mentally in a week would have taken me 3 months here in my studio with all its distractions.

The other magic that happens as an artist at a program like this is you

are PRESENT the WHOLE time, I mean visually and creatively, MENTALLY

PRESENT. Everywhere I went and every road I traveled I was scanning the

amazing lush green vistas all around me...appreciating every field,

cow, pig and hay bale..stopping, sketching, taking photos.

The community and group of folks that make up this organization (The Fields Project) are so amazing, they are like a second family after my 3 different years of participation in the program. I also met a group of wonderful artists from around the country and a few right here in Chicago (I had this silly idea that I knew all the aritsts in Chicago!)

The field sculptures this year were so vivid and beautiful thanks to a new grass field and all the rain of the past few weeks. Another huge highlight was Cathi Bouzide & Danny Mansmith's collaboration on the wrapped corn bin. PHENOMENAL!

Picture 23

I'll post more photos and notes soon but in the mean time I did upload my photos to my FLICKR page so please check them out.