Goodbye old, hello new!

"Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed

Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence,

Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man, 

Without his vices.

This praise, which would be unmeaning flattery if

inscribed over human ashes, is buta just tribute to the memory of Boatswain, a dog."

Although I never met Pixi, I think her name could easily be exchanged for Boatswain's in this quote. Rescued from a puppy mill, she had been abused, but courageously, she kept on loving. Her legs were deformed, but that didn't stop her from being beautiful. She was special...even though she didn't even live to two years old.

This painting is finally finished, delivered and payed for. To be honest, I'm really glad that it's done, and especially glad that my client is happy with it. This didn't turn out to be exactly the best painting I've ever done. I'm trying  to tell myself; "Practice makes perfect -- the next one will be better" but it is rather frustrating to work on a painting that you just can't seem to "fix." I think part of the reason I didn't do so great on this one was that I took too long. I don't seem to have the "stamina" to stay excited and motivated about a piece for much more than a week, so when I drag the work out and put things off, I get bored and then I can't concentrate. :P For instance, I did this painting

 in just two days last week and I LOVE the result! I think another thing that helped make this one such a success was that it was not commissioned, so I had absolutely no pressure. I was able to keep it light and fun the whole way through, and try new things that might not work out without worrying about messing it up. :-) (this one is for sale btw...email me if interested) So anyway, GOODBYE old commission! In spite of my frustration, you helped me grow, and I did have fun working on you after all. More than that, I was so happy to be able to make a lasting memory of sweet Pixi. 

...And HELLO new commission! I can't post much about this one now because it's a gift, but I will say that I'm very excited about it; it's a commission in my favorite medium and of one of my favorite breeds of dog :-)

That's all for now....