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Caricature

Yesterday was the Spouse's retirement party - those all require caricatures, don't they? He is an old-timey film-type photographer and enjoys darkroom work, and I forsee lots of that in his future.

I happen to know that he covets purple shoes, so I gave him some in this picture.

Trio #1

It's nice to work in trios. Three pictures really tell a little story, and show the same character in different situation. The large image in this group was done some time ago. Then I decided to give the little rat a story - a daring nighttime foray into the kitchen...cooking a delicacy....

which is presented to a friend.

I'm not sure if the cat and the rat are already friends, or if our ratty buddy is trying to make nice with the cat. Maybe there's more to the story.

Merry Christmas 2010

Wishing you all an abundance of joy this Christmas and hope for the new year.

Ghosts of Christmas Cards Past #3

More of the dachshund cards from previous Christmases....

Merry Kissmas! Everyone likes a nice slurpy dog waiting for them under the mistletoe, right? This piece was done in a watercolor/Prismacolor mix. I like working this way, since the Prisma picks up the texture of the watercolor paper. You can get some lively color blends depending on what colors you layer.

My actual dogs, in festive finery. This was a Photoshop job, of course - time was short in 2006, no time to render! That is handsome Louie on the left, and soulful Moose on the right.

No card in 2007. I had a big job due and not even enough time to slap together a Photoshop job!

In 2008 the kiddie lit influence began to creep in. Loud zippy toys make for happy kids but annoyed old wiener dog. This piece was done in oil.

Last year's card was another oil. Santa better get to this house quick...those cookies ain't gonna last.

This year's greeting will appear later this week. Our tree is decorated and there's just a little shopping to do. Time to fire up the CD player, listen to some favorite Christmas music, and try to avoid the egg nog and baked goodies for another week!

Ghosts of Christmas Cards Past - #2

I've always loved animal interlace patterns and the astounding Celtic gospel books ornamented in that style. Wiener dogs just naturally lend themselves to such a design. This is one of my personal favorites, because it comes the closest to being a successful combination of real Christian sentiment with the silliness of the dog designs. It seems like one ought to be able to be pious and have fun at the same time, but I found the combination very tricky to execute.Media for this design: gouache and digital manipulation.Walkin' in a Wiener Wonderland...an animal dressed up in people clothes + St. Nick + tacky snow globes. What's not to like? This piece was truly mixed media. Paint, photography and Photoshoppery were all combined. This was the year I abandoned the attempts to combine secular and sacred. Wiener dog nutcracker - another of my favorites. This design was rendered in Prismacolor pencil.

Are you getting in the mood for Christmas 2010 yet?