Industrial Zen Treasury

I was excited to have my Teal Night Scape painting included in this wonderful Etsy Treasury of Water Towers put together by jeweler Rone Prinz. I find them whimsical in spite of their industrial, utilitarian design. I used to paint a lot more of them but they are disappearing from Chicago's skyline. Another reason I love to visit New York city, they are everywhere...delightful urban dinosaurs.  

Apartment Therapy....

As promised last week, here is a link to our House Tour on the Apartment Therapy Blog which went live on Monday. Thanks to Jason Loper now a Contributing Editor as well as fabulous Designer. Here's a peek at a few things that didn't make the House Tour...still lots of painting to do upstairs and art to hang:

 

Top Ten...

Moira McLaughlin, of Dog Art Today, named my blog one of the Top Ten Dog Art Blogs for Blogs.com. It was an unexpected lovely surprise to be included with these other wonderful bloggers and dog lovers.

Map #211

The Hand Drawn Map Association (HDMA) is an ongoing archive of user
submitted maps and other interesting diagrams created by hand. I found out about HDMA on their Facebook Fan Page...it's a great concept and site. I submitted the map below that I made for my Mom and Bill a few years back...it depicts their favorite walking trail in McMullen Park located in rural Warrens, Wisconsin. It's now #211 in the HDMA archives. They now have monthly map making contests ...do you have you would like to submit?

I found this wonderful artist on their site, Dahlia Elsayed. Her map is #173. It says she created this map to represent the month of August. She tells
us that the map represents pretty much everything that was going on in
her life at the time. Check out her other amazing map related art on her site: www.dahliaelsayed.com. I love the abstract yet humorous nature of this!

Chicagoland Tails Feature...

I was interviewed by Agnes Jasinski of Chicagoland Tails last fall and am honored to be featured in an article she wrote that appears in the December/January Issue of the Magazine titled: "Pet Artist Uses Work To Promote Adoption and Rescue Groups", I have included it below. Our (tentative) first adoption event at the studio for 2010 will be on February 13th with Chicago Canine Rescue ...stay tuned. If you know of a group that would be interested in having an event here, please send them my way!

Pet artist uses work to promote adoption and rescue groups
By Agnes Jasinski

AnneLeuck Feldhaus was still working a corporate job when she adopted Izzy,the beloved canine who sparked her creative spirit and got her to leaveher job and pursue art full-time. Around the time Izzy came into herlife, she began doing dog images, paintings, and promotional art forshows put on by rescue groups. Her images were “very funny bright,colorful dog paintings,” she says, that started out as a hobby butbecame a calling and a way for her to promote pet adoption.
“The first dogimages came from her, along with the whole awareness of how serious theproblem was,” Feldhaus says about her passion for adoption and Izzy’sinfluence. “I went to a lot of different places to meet dogs and tofind the right one, and had two cats at the time from Anti-Cruelty. …That process really opened my eyes.”
Feldhaus has now been donating art for fundraisers to rescue groupslike the Treehouse Animal Foundation and Young at Heart Pet Rescue forthe last 14 years. Her work with the rescues has been pro bono, but shealso does paintings of people’s pets. Her artwork has been hung up inlobbies, sold to raise money for local rescues, and used on T-shirtsand posters to promote shelter events.
Earlier this spring, Feldhaus also opened a storefront studio in RoscoeVillage at 2040 W. Roscoe, where she hopes to not only have a presencein the neighborhood as an artist, but to also invite local rescuegroups to hold adoption events there. The first event was held Aug. 8with Chicago Canine Rescue. A portion of any sales at any of theadoption events will go toward the rescue that day. The next event willbe held Dec. 12, with pets brought in from Young at Heart Pet Rescue.
“My goal and mission are to give back to our dogs and cats all theunconditional love and devotion they provide us by spreading the wordabout animal adoption through my art and designs,” Feldhaus says. “AlsoI truly believe that our pets make us better human beings.”

For more information, visit AnnesArt.com.

Generous Feature from artist, Marilyn Grad...

Chicago Mixed Media Artist, Marilyn Grad wrote a very generous feature about me on her Blog titled Personal Artist Hero. I'm humbled by her words. I spend most of my time so caught up in the day to day, thinking I'm never doing enough and wondering what's around the next bend. Her post made me reflect on some of things that I have accomplished and appreciate that I am living my dream...then it occurred to me that in that dream, there are flowers and I should take more time to smell them.Thanks, Marilyn!

Feature on Modern Cat Blog!

Thanks to MODERN CAT BLOG for featuring my work and hosting this great Holiday Giveaway for Feline Lovers:  Visit their site to see the package which includes a ‘Feline Tips Tree’Holiday Gift Mug with Candy, a Porcelain Cat & Wreath Ornament, oneCat & Wreath Magnet, a 5 x 5 inch Mixed Feline Notepad, a 4 x 11inch Mixed Feline Notepad, and one ‘Feline Tips Tree’ Holiday GreetingCard PLUS the winner will receive a $150 discount certificate toward acustom pet portrait box frame print!

To enter this giveaway, please visit MODERNCAT.net and leave a comment.The winner will be chosen in a random drawing on December 24.

Bid now on Art Auctions to Benefit a Place to Bark!

Last spring Jill Beninato of Sit, Stay, Smile Pet Photography invited me to be a part of azine called Party Animals: it features the artwork of 21
different artists from across the country. The proceeds from the sale
of this zine will directly benefit the animals at A Place To Bark
animal rescue. All work was donated by the participating artists and
the original pieces are up for auction right now and end late Monday night...the 20th! This is my piece up for auction HERE and it is actually the first painting that I created in my new Roscoe Village studio back in May:

This is all especially meaningful not only because animal adoption and rescue is near and dear to my heart but most of Bernie's dogs are rescued in Tennessee and she transports them here to Chicago to the Anti-Cruelty Society to find them homes. I had the pleasure of meeting Bernie last summer - her commitment and mission to rescuing animals is pretty awe inspiring.

So please check out these auctions, they end late Monday night depending on your time zone. Remember ALL proceeds go to benefit animal rescue sanctuary A Place To Bark. You can help buy purchasing the Party Animals book and/or bidding on the Art Auctions.

Below is a list of the artists who participated please visit their sites and their auction pieces.

Jill Beninato www.sitstaysmile.com
Bernie Berlin www.aplacetobark.blogspot.com
Suzi Blu www.suziblu.typepad.com
Rebecca Collins www.artpaw.com
Wendy Crumbley www.2dogstudio.com
Ingrid Dijkers www.ingriddijkers.com
Manon Doyle www.hoochiepoochiestudios.com
Sarah Fishburn www.sarahfishburn.com
Rice Freeman-Zachery www.voodooandzen.com
Heather LaHaise www.heatherlahaise.com
Melissa Langer www.pugnotes.com
Maija Lepore www.maigirlz.typepad.com
Anne Leuck Feldhaus www.anneleuck.com
Tamandra Michaels www.heartdogstudios.com
Kim Rae Nugent www.kimraenugent.com
Linda O' Neill www.abbycreekstudios.com
Nancy Schutt www.gooddogart.com
Jill Marie Shulse www.jillmarieshulse.blogspot.com
Kelly Snelling www.soulhumming.typepad.com
Carla Sonheim www.carlasonheim.com
Kathy Weller www.wellerwishes.com

You can get your copy of the zine here and remember, ALL of the proceeds go directly to helping the animals at A Place To Bark!

And I promise, Grand Opening Photos coming soon...it was a wonderful evening! :)