The Dog Show

Well, I got up early this morning, woke my youngest child, and we went to the Charleston Kennel Club dog show. We saw lots of great dogs; I took some pictures, but not too many turned out that well. The camera was slow, and the "great shot" I thought I had didn't take until the dog had looked away. The outside shots were better; I thing the camera is slow when you have to use the flash. I might go back tomorrow, but it is supposed to be colder, and I wanted to go when it was not so cold.
I started another 5 x 7 portrait for my eBay sales; it is a tabby cat. I figured I'd better get some practice in if I'm going to do this commission for my friend. It is turning out really well, and I will post it once I'm finished.
I got chastised at the dog show by my daughter, because I wouldn't give out my business card to anyone. She let me know how many opportunities I passed up to talk to people about my art, and how I should just hand out the cards to everyone. I did manage to give out 5 of them, I guess this is something I will have to work on if I plan to make art and commissions my life's work. It's not that I'm shy or anything, I just find it hard to talk to strangers about my art when they aren't actually looking at it. I will have to get to where I can just go up to a total stranger and say "Hi, I'm Anita Putman, and I'm an artist."

More eBay Portraits

Once again, I've been lax in communicating my journey through the world of art. I will try to make up for it, by letting everyone know that my Hide-away series of cat portraits went pretty well; I sold eight of the twelve in the series on eBay. One buyer bought four of them! I sold two more to another buyer, as well as a portrait of an Australian Shepherd that I created. I've also sold one of a Welsh Corgi, and another of a West Highland Terrier. Two that haven't sold are of a Bassett hound and a Yellow Lab. I've re-listed the Bassett, and just listed one I completed yesterday of a Bichon Frise. I really like this one, it only took me about four hours total to complete; I was so into it! I have also been working on more wildlife art, and completed a Great Blue Heron over the weekend. I like it alot, and have already had inquiries about selling it!
The best news I've had lately is from an acquantance of mine, who called out of the blue to commission a portrait of her cat for her anniversary gift to her husband! Apparently, the cat just loves him, and his favorite bed is in his lap! I can hardly wait to get started; just waiting on the photos from her.
I will really try to keep everyone posted on what I'm working on, and I appreciate being able to let you know who I am.

Twelfth and Final

I finished the twelfth and final painting in the "Hide-away" series last night, and have it posted on eBay now. It is a gray tabby hiding out in a pile of autumn leaves. Out of all the paintings I have created for this series, I think that I saved the best for last. It isn't the last of my eBay paintings, however; I am contemplating the next one even now, although it won't be a series painting, it will probably be another cat painting. I usually do alot of dog paintings, but I am really enjoying the cats so I'll stick with them for a while I think. I will probably be doing some more wildlife art too; a zebra has caught my fancy!

Eleventh in the Series

I finished the eleventh portrait in my Hide-away series, called "Paper Pusher". It is a tuxedo cat, with his head poking out of a bed of shredded paper. I think it is pretty cute! One more in the series, and then it's back to random stuff. The series has taught me how to work on a schedule, and how to keep within a theme. I will probably do another series, but I'm not sure when or what theme I will follow. This one is currently on eBay, and I did sell two more portraits in this series!

Number Ten in the Series

I finished the tenth painting in my Hide-away series for eBay, titled "Snug as a Bug". It is a beautiful tortoise-shell cat, rolled up in a cream rug. I love the eyes on this one! Green as can be, they are really set off by the many colors of this cat. I will begin number eleven tonight; it is a tuxedo cat hiding in shredded paper. A real challange! I can hardly wait!

Nine and counting...

Just finished and listed "Jungle Cat", the ninth in my Hide-away series of cat portraits I'm currently selling on eBay! I really got "in the mood" over the weekend and finished this one up in about a day. I'm so into it now, I've already got number ten lined up in my head and will be starting on it tonight. The next portrait will be a tortoise shell, rolled up in a rug. Can't wait to get it started, so I'll be sketching it out tonight, and will probably start laying in the color. Catch you later, and I'll post my latest, as well as the next one as soon as I have it completed!

Number Nine

I have been lazy. You can call it a "creative block" or whatever, but the reality is that I just haven't been in the mood to create anything for the past few days. It can get frustrating to see your work, that you have labored over, not get any interest when selling. The sixth kitty in my series, House Sitter, didn't sell; it didn't even have anyone watching it, and I guess I just got a little dejected over it, because I thought it was cute and well done. But I have two more still on eBay, seven and eight of the series, and they both have watchers, so maybe they will sell. I finally got to working on the ninth, a brown tabby laying in the leaves of a plant, and I will of course create him to the best of my abilities. I will post him here when I have finished; I have the house to myself tonight, at least for about four hours, and I will work probably the whole time on number nine. I've been poring over my reference photos, and I think I have the rest of the series layed out in my head, just not sure of the order yet. I'll post again tomorrow when I've finished this one.