My Thanks

Hi all,
        Firstly I would like to thank everyone for their kind comments for the passing of Monty Poo.I know that from reading a lot of me blogger pals blogs that a fair few of you have been through this yourself and know how difficult it can be.It is in a roundabout way very strange as I feel exactly the same as I did when I lost my dear sis....but the more I think about it maybe not so. In my eyes my dogs are family, they have the run of the house,sleep with us, go out with us,share all the ups and downs of family life,just like a human member! I think the hardest part is the quietness,as I have always had two dogs and therefore am used to a fairly rowdy home,play fights,dog beds full up with toys,farting snoring dogs, etc and as Poo was a big boy, he was a big presence with an even bigger bark! However I know in time I will get used to it, and might even relish the quieter moments.
       Bluebell is very quiet and I know she is missing her brother,bless her, but she is a tough dog and quite an independent little mutt, so I think she will adapt in time.

     As you can see above the Bulldogs are finished now and I am quite happy with the finished image,so on to the next few pictures......I have hankering to do something on black paper and hopefully will find a time slot to experiment with the pastelmat that Gayle kindly sent me.

RIP.....PooPoo

Hi all,
           It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my dear friend Monty Poo. For those of you have followed this blog, you will know that at times I have written and posted up pics of poopoo and bluebell, my two most precious mutts.
          Monty was an Old English Sheepdog,( on the right in the pic) who reached the ripe old age of 13, which is good for one of his size and age, but this last year things had started to slow down for him and his interest in life was diminishing. The main problem was that his back end had gone and he needed help all the time to get up and do things. His balance was very poor and on many an occasion he fell over, and with failing eyesight this did not help matters.This had been going on for a while now and don't get me wrong I would of carried on doing it for a lot longer, but there comes a time when one has to stop and make that final decision for what is best. It was not easy..is it ever?....but the best and right thing I could do was to let him go.....so I cradled his head and told him how much I loved him and would miss him and then let him cross the Rainbow Bridge to be with our Bugsy. He was my best friend,confidante,my guide and soul mate and I shall miss him forever.....RIP Poopoo.

Feeling Blue

Hi all,
      Bit behind on my updates, so thought I had better make this post before everyone thinks I may of disappeared into cyber space ! Not been too good over the past few days had a bout of something nasty which sent me to my bed, but am feeling a little better today. I need to get back to my "normal" self before Saturday as I am off again to another dog show, and there is nothing worse that being outside amongst a lot of happy people/dogs when you feel like poo! I don't know if it is my age or just me, but I do seem to be more prone to getting stuff than I ever used to, a real pain in the ass !
    The picture above is a little something that I have been working on and is CPs on Stonehenge,12 x 10 inches and is of a pair of bulldogs. Not the easiest dogs to draw I have to say, and again the scan is not picking up all the grey details, but it is almost done and I am quite happy with it so far. I have also started drawing the Neopolitian Mastiff and I will post the beginning of that up in the next day or so.

Another Tangle

Hi all,
     I realised today that I have reached my 100th post, which is a bit odd because I have been blogging for a while now, but do have this habit of going back through old posts and deleting ones that seem nonsensical to me now, but at the time ok!
     Again no fine art to show yet, although there is plenty on the drawing boards, but none that I am entirely happy with so instead I have posted up a few more tangles which I do when I need a stress buster.I did order in some nice ACEO cards form a seller on Etsy with rounded corners which I really like, and the price was reasonable as well, but strange there do not seem to be too many UK sellers of cards, most from the states which is where these came from. I have seen some very beautiful work in this style but done on a very large scale, like 12 x 10 or bigger, some of it collaborative projects and this inspired me to do a couple of bigger ones as too. I do have some 11 x 14 black mounts and the thought of doing very large swirls/whorls/patterns with my pens is utterly enticing and it is something I can work on and off in between my other pictures when I need that vital stress buster.
 

Pup In a Bag

Hi all
      I know I have been a bit slack with the updates, but as always in the Summer it gets manic and one does not really want to stay indoors whilst the sun is shining. I have been doing Boot fairs and dog shows most weekends, and also this week painting a few stones which has been a stress buster.
        What do you think of the little cutie here on the left, a lady and her daughter bought this pup to a dog show at the weekend, but he was too young to go into any of the classes, and I managed to get a few snaps of her fast a sleep in her bag. This is a definite on my list to do!
        I received my sample pieces of Pastelmat from Gayle....thank you, and on first impressions it sort of reminds me of Colourfix, but I will do something on it soon and write my thoughts about that at a later date.
         Hubby has also added another shelf to my workspace and it is just about how want I want it now, thank god..all the moving around one part of the room to another drove me nutty, as an artist one needs security and contentment in their workspace and  I now have that....I have drawn an invisible line around my corner and woe betide anyone who crosses it without my knowing it..exception to the rule my doggies!
On to the art, I have a few full boards full at the moment of unfinished work and many more to start, and will get one shown as a wip soon.....more than likely it will be a Mastiff, but in the meantime it is now 4.45 am in the morning and I am off for another cup of tea and then back to bed for a few hours.