Sarge

Christmas came a little early for me this year! Seth revealed his plan to "buy me a puppy and wrap it in a box with a bow for Christmas"(which would have been adorable), but once we started talking we quickly realized we had two different ideas about pets. We finally decided on a shelter dog and browsed through hundreds of photos online through humane society websites. I knew I wanted a mini dapple doxin, but they are so hard to find unless you buy from a breeder.

Finally, on Thanksgiving day Seth spotted Sarge, a four year old mini dapple just like I wanted! We went that night and visited him shivering in his cage between about a dozen other barking and jumping mutts. Poor little guy was so nervous!

He's just the absolute sweetest thing and is super low key. He loves to cuddle and chew on his new fleece blanket and soft toys. He's still pretty nervous around most people and has had so many visitors over the past week! Kourtney and Peyton (our neighbor's kids) absolutely love him and help me walk, bathe, feed, and groom him on a regular basis. Then we cover him in his blanket and he curls up and falls asleep, snoring for hours. Such a little darling! He's already such a fun studio-mate.

Sketch journal no. 10

Sketch journal no. 9

On bravery and dogs

There are two things you should know.

1. I have this fear that someday I'll wake up with regret for the things I wasn't brave enough to try. 

And that would cause me such a deep sadness. I look at some artists and think how brave they are to do what they do, seemingly unencumbered by a fear of man. I look at their work and wonder what it would take for me to do work that personal, honest, and revealing. Which impulses should I listen to and which should I ignore? What areas of my life am I lacking courage? What paintings am I avoiding because of my own insecurities?

2. I have this intrigue with dogs.

When I was little I used to watch 101 Dalmations like it was my job. Every scene stuck in my mind like a picture. Still to this day my favorite all-time Disney scene is the intro to that movie when Pongo is looking out the window at all the different people walking their dogs on the street below. You'd be surprised how often I still think about that scene.

There's this girl in my neighborhood who walks these two big Welsh Terriers down the sidewalk in front of my kitchen window almost every day. They're so big they nearly drag her along.

Sometimes just for fun I look up different dog breeds online. Then pin them to this board or doodle them into my sketchbook. I find myself daydreaming about the secret lives of dogs. Weird. I know. I'm not obsessed like some people...just intrigued.

* * *

So, I've gathered my courage and am going to try something I've been wanting to try for a long time: two great big oil paintings of dogs. They'll hang above our couch for now and add more color and life to our rather neutral living room. I want them to be big and bold and fresh and to make a statement. I want them to be funny and clever and modern.

And I have no idea how they're going to turn out. So sharing all of this is a bit intimidating.

I wanted you to know because I want to be braver and pass this courage along, even if it seems silly.

Let's talk about something fun today.  Let's ignore the cold and snow and biting wind and dream about riding our bikes through the park with flowers blowing out of our baskets.  Let's talk about plum colored pants and little furry dogs.  And please, let's not mention the color gray.  Just for today!

I'd like to teach you how to do something I just started doing a few weeks ago.  Let's go back to the basics and start our days right, with clarity, Scripture reading, journaling, and painting our dreams.

Here's what you'll need (let's keep this simple):
a compact watercolor set
a cheap sketchbook
a pencil
a glass of water
a paper napkin
a small collection of visual references

What inspires you?  What colors and patterns make you swoon?  If you had the day all to yourself, what would you do with it?  What sort of things would you want to see?

Now, open the curtains and let in the morning light.  Start the tea kettle.  Turn on the music.  Ignore the clock, your phone, the computer.

Let's begin.  Lay out the fun visual references you've been collecting.  How happy are you right now?  What about those references make you happiest?  Now pick up your brush, wet the palette, and begin.  Who cares what happens after that?  This is just for you, for fun, for practice, for presence and joy.

Finished?  How does it look?  Does something bother you, please you, make you smile?  Remember those things.  Now, close the sketchbook and open your heart to what God has in store for you today.

Repeat each morning.  :)

*If you're on Instagram, tag your paintings with my custom label #morningpaintsketch and see the artists who have already joined the fun!

and dogs...

In case you haven't heard, this isn't a dog blog.  OR a cat blog for that matter.  Although, I think either one of those options sound pretty amazing, especially with all of these pet pictures I've been getting lately!  Are these not the cutest dogs?  It'll be hard to choose, for sure.  I know there are still a handful of people out there who've told me about their pets, but haven't quite had time to send the picture, so I think I'll wait about another week or so before I make my final decision on who will be the lucky winners of two custom painted pet portraits!

In the mean time, I'll be catching up on my Downton Abbey while I paint and dream about a vacation in the mountains.  I recently stumbled on this amazing blog of painter and founding contributor to Kinfolk Magazine Lily Stockman, who I'm now convinced just might be my aesthetic soul mate.  I immediately connected with her work and have fallen in love with her blog, partly because she happens to be on a vacation of my dreams in Montana and is posting pictures about it, partly because of her studio and overall aesthetic, and partly because of her paintings.  Anyways, it's a little embarrassing to keep this rant going, but alls I'm sayin is read her bio.  I want to be her friend.

via

Oh!  and speaking of vacation...Seth and I are wanting to maybe take a not-so-expensive trip this winter.  Any ideas?  I'm clueless about vacationing.  Tips would also be helpful!  Thank you! 

Want to win a pet portrait?

my booth on 57th Street, Chicago

my booth on 57th Street, Chicago

afro mama

So you know how I've been at these outdoor art shows for a few weeks now?  Well, I've been sitting there in my booth for hours and hours, watching as hundreds of people pass by, talking to a lot of them and hoping they don't notice me staring at their afro-headed dogs and puppies and poodles and who-knows-what breed of pooch.  As I sit and watch, it's becoming almost a game for me to try and spot the coolest looking dog or the cutest and smallest puppy.  I really think the type of pet someone owns says a lot about them.  My favorite for example are the giant dogs that, if freed from their leash , could be a very real threat to society.  They're like miniature horses!  Perhaps I like them so much because they make me, all 6 feet of me, feel small.  Or maybe it's because they remind me of something wilder, like a bear.

You also have probably guessed that my fixation on custom portraits has been growing.  I can't stop thinking about custom paintings...I think you know where this is going...

CUSTOM PET PORTRAITS!

Sorry.  I get excited.

The only problem is that I own not a single pet to paint.  If custom pet portraits is something I wish to offer, I need subjects.  Which is where YOU come in.

Send me pictures of your pets, and I'll choose which ones I want to paint.

If you are so kind as to allow me the opportunity to use your pet portrait for promotional purposes (say that five times fast), I will GIVE you the portrait when I'm finished with it.

How does that sound? 

So here's your chance!  Send me your best pictures of your pets and if I choose your pet, you'll get free portrait! 

Here's a few hints of what I'm looking for:

dogs sitting up or walking on a leash

cats curled up on patterned rugs

dogs being walked by their owners

cats sitting in window sills

Send your photos to Michelle@TheArtofMichelle.com or post them to my facebook page for your chance to win!  I'll pick 2 winners- one cat and one dog.