Long days!

If ever there was a face to describe a long day... this is it!

While all the dogs take their "work day" very seriously, Lady is the one that gets most excited about the trip to and from the studio. As soon as the back door closes, she assumes the "travel position": smooshing her face in-between the headrests... and as soon as the car starts rolling... falling fast asleep.

Hayden, however, is more of a snoozer once he gets to the studio.

We all have been spending a lot more time at the studio now that the holiday rush is upon us. While I paint and sculpt, the dog-children are in charge of "NR&D"... that is... "Nap Research and Development". Yea... I'm not sure where the saying "working like a dog" came from... since I would gladly switch jobs with them any day!!

I've been quite pleased of the latest pieces that I have been working on. This Hazel was a joy to paint.... her owner basically gave me the reins on her, and it was wonderful to run with an idea. This was the result!

Her feet I was especially proud of. Previously, I had been doing feet with verticle striations. However, they needed something-- the horizontal striations-- to make them more realistic. I had tried several ways to do it, but none really created a convincing result. I am not sure why it had never occured to me before, but by doing the horizontal ones first in washes, and then using similar washes to do the vertical ones, I get the perfect balance. Any further details can be added with pencils (either oil or watercolor). The finished hooves look amazing!

From now on, all hooves will be looking like these lovelies. The next piece will have dark hooves, and I will be sure to post pictures of them as well!