Sammy, a pet portrait

I finished Sammy up and got him all framed, etc. He went home today with a happy couple to "meet" his mirror image. :-) Here he is in progress...

And all completed...

Puppy update

This fellow is a bit younger in this photo, need to get an updated one.

I'm a bit slow at updating since I'm so lost on this new computer, but... they're worth waiting for!!! Here they are at 4 wks old. They are getting to be little lovers, licky, licky! 2 are long coats, my very first ones. The personalities are coming out now, and the tails, they are a-waggin'. SO CUTE...

There's a painting in here somewhere- I just know it!

This last puppy is also a bit younger, again need to update. It's difficult to get a good photo sometimes, they just WON'T hold still!

Puppies and Miniature Painting- Doe and Fawn

Time for an update. I just finished this piece yesterday. Now to let it cure before I varnish it. It is a traditional miniature, acrylic on board.

Evening Stroll
3.5"x5.5"

Here is a close up of the doe and fawn- being a true miniature you can enlarge it and it still looks good. I've had it fairly large on my computer screen and it holds up to that. :-)


The puppies are growing like weeds- all except for my little tiny fellow. He went over the rainbow bridge 3 nights ago. It was very hard after doing so much with him, but when you breed these little guys you know it happens. So it wasn't unexpected. The others though are doing wonderfully well and so fun to cuddle. Trying to get a photo of them can be tough! Wiggle, wiggle.

This one and the black one are Widget's babies- just over 2 weeks old. This little girl opened her eyes 3 days early! That's a first for me, never had one open them early before.





This little gal is the "complainer"- I could NOT get a photo of her face being held or of her full body. It was all I could do to get a photo at all- she just cries and wiggles so much you just get a blur. But what a sweet face it is!


This last girl is Pooka's baby. She's 3 days younger than Widget's girls. Very quiet, very self-satisfied. :-)

Duck update and PUPPIES!!!

It's been a VERY hectic week. We now have 2 litters of chihuahua puppies! It's been happy/sad for me. I lost one and have been working to save my littlest guy. I'm crossing my fingers, so far so good. He seems to be getting a bit stronger. I am getting up several times a night to feed him and also supplement him throughout the day. Mostly I'm doing "puppy, puppy, puppy"!
I have managed to fit in a bit of work on my art. I've added some darkness to the water, but I just can not get the color right on the computer. It looks too yellow and dull. It has a bit more life to it. Computers are wonderful things, but... I'm also working on another landscape miniature and hope to complete that tomorrow.

Here is the finished hen mallard...


I hope you enjoy seeing my babies. I absolutely love to have these puppies, even with all the work, heartache, and sleepless nights. They are little miracles to me.
This is the tiny fellow...
I show him with a quarter so you can hopefully get an idea of just how tiny he is.






Here's daddy. The baby by birth weight is weighing in to be a lb. smaller than his daddy, who is a bit less than 3.5 lbs!

Here are the two mamas. Both are good mamas, but poor Pooka seems to me to know her baby is having troubles, so she is more protective (with me) and seems to be "worried". I hope that is soon in the past. Widget, the black mama is protective with strangers, but not nasty, just very "on top of things". Otherwise she is laid back and relaxed with her babies. They are eating so well they even have chubby legs!

Mah Lil' Baby Boy

He weighs a whole 2lbs. 1.5oz now...

He's full of "Sass" like I said- lets us know at all times what he wants! The poor girls have to put up with him chasing them around, grabbing them by their scruffs and pulling, etc. They are very patient with him, although Pooka can sound VERY cranky at times. You'd think she was going to eat him alive- all noise, no "tooth"! :-) I'm a bad mama- I have to admit- he's my favorite, but I love them all. This morning was the dreaded "toenail trimming" day. Glad that's done for another time. Don't know who hates it worse- them or me!

Taking the good with the sad...

My SAMMIE
Dec.15, 2000-June 24, 2009

I finally managed today to find time to finish the egret- I kept finding things I wanted to change on him- well, actually on the background. I do still have one tiny little thing I want to fix, but I'll call him done for now. I am finally fairly satisfied. Let me know what you think.
I was out of town for nearly 2 weeks, the main theme being "reference, reference"! I took a ton of photos so I should have something to paint this winter!!!
I spent last week out in the countryside shooting photos and re-connecting with the beautiful vistas to be found in the midwest. I drove nearly 1,000 miles doing it so I saw alot of vistas! I'll give you just a peek at some of the things I saw and enjoyed. I have "plans" for alot of landscapes- hopefully this winter.






While I was away, the day after I left I lost my best buddy- my Sammie must have had a heart attack in the heat or something, altho apparently he wasn't outside all that long. So I am without my little man and am heartbroken over it. I plan to do a painting of him when I can find the time. Meanwhile, his last babies are growing up fast. One has been sold- before it was even born! So 2 remain to find homes, and I'm in no hurry.

Jeepers, Creepers- We Got PEEPERS!!!

WE GOT EYES!!! They're kind of blue yet- don't think we see much other than shape/light maybe, but they are starting to look like puppies! And we haven't gotten to "cute" yet remember! :-)
The top photo is to remind you of where they started and you can see they've grown!










As you can see they've grown alot, their noses are darkening, and they are very, very well fed! Can you see the nose stop on the side photo? They have nice apple heads (chihuahua feature) and the nice "stop" where the nose meets the head. They will keep getting cuter and cuter now and next week the playful puppy thing will start to show a bit. Right now it's still eat/sleep/eat.

Brand New Puppies!!!

It's spring and such a busy time my painting has been taking a beating time-wise. Yesterday was supposed to be a painting day- but my chihuahua decided it was TIME!!! So I spent the day at her side- waiting, waiting, waiting. It took all day, she wasn't in distress, just showing the signs and I was afraid to leave her alone for more than a few minutes. Last evening about 7pm we began to have our first baby- by 9pm we had 3! A boy and 2 girls. All about 5 ounces. Thought you might like to see Mama and her new family. Mama isn't her usual "pretty" self- she's had a lot of work to do! Also- as you can see she "hides" her food and water which keeps me busy cleaning out the paper from her waterbowl! The babies are "squirmy" so they are hard to hold and photograph, but you can see they're pretty tiny- 2 fit in one hand with ease!
Hope you have a great holiday weekend, and stop to remember and honor our military, past and present.