snoof a noof! the golden retriever pet portrait 10×8 $45
I feel guilty whenever I am not working, so much so that I tend not to take any breaks all day, even to eat, except for when I grab something at the same time I am feeding my baby. I have a business project to do list that is four pages long, handwritten in very tiny script on unlined, recycled (used already on one side) computer paper. Despite this, for the past two days I decided to work on a birthday gift for my daughter, who is still waiting for me to paint some tennis shoes she got for Christmas and a canvas for her bedroom wall that she has occupied for a year and a half now. She watches me work on things for other people all day long, while working on her own art projects with only a small amount of assistance from me, if she even needs any at all. Now it’s her turn.
This birthday gift for her also happens to be something I can market to manufacturing companies. Of course, I am multitasking. Well, what did you expect?! This is how my brain works. 26, 542 browsers open at once…this is the reason I do not sleep at night!
We got a new dog last August after losing our sweet Siberian Husky, Aleksi, who had been with us for 10 years, when he escaped after the lawn service left a gate open. We couldn’t tell they had been there that day, and they didn’t let us know despite requesting advance notice of what days they would come because of the dog. We let him out without checking the gate. My daughter was a mess after he disappeared. She carried his Kong toy to school with her in her backpack for days. I was a mess too. That was over a year ago, and I have been obsessively looking for him ever since. I am sad, but not nearly as sad as I could be, because of Hank.
hank the big snoof
While searching shelters and Craigslist online for Aleksi, I came across Hank the Golden Retriever, who needed a new home. I knew that we were going to bring him home with us before I ever met him. I saw pictures that the previous owner had taken with a very large toddler sitting on top of him as he laid on the floor relaxing and smiling at the camera. He was perfect. And huge. I love huge dogs. You can use them as body pillows, and strangers are afraid of them. They are better for home protection than a shotgun. He is so chilled out, most of the time…except when he hears a strange noise or sees a stranger (which is a good thing), or a cat or a squirrel in the yard (not such a good thing). Oh, and he chases and barks at cars and boats going by! It is SCARY when he barrels down on something! He has a really deep bark and is about 140 pounds. A few Newfie owners have told me that they suspect he has Newfoundland in him too.
We love Hank. He came into our lives when we needed him, when I needed him, as rescue dogs always seem to do.
My daughter and Hank are buds. We recently set up a king sized bed in her room, so now there is plenty of room for Hank. He sleeps with her every night. He has abandoned me. I am so jealous.
iPhone case – $75 with purchase of pet portrait
Anyway, my daughter’s father is giving her his old iPhone for her birthday, so I decided to design her a new phone case with Hank’s big ol’ mug on it.
I created the portrait first, shown above, which is for sale for other Golden Retriever lovers in my Etsy Shop here.
And to the left is the final iPhone case design. What do you think?
I decided to offer the iPhone cases on my website, along with pet portrait commissions. So in addition to the pet portrait fee…which is $200 for a 10×8 inch fine art paper print with a white matte (final size is 14×11 inches) and $400 for a 20×16 inch gallery stretched canvas…you can add an iPhone case to your order with your best friend on it for $75. Your case will be one of a kind!
southern dock sittin’
And remember the American alligator illustration I mentioned in a previous post? He’s finished! It’s called Southern Dock Sittin’ because this is what we Floridians see sittin’ on swampy docks fairly often. I think he appeals to wildlife and University of Florida fans alike, don’t you? I can admit that, despite the fact that I am and always will be a ‘Nole. 🙂