Holly West

Art for Pet's Sake

Yesterday was Pet Art 9.  This is an event I generally look forward to every year, but I have to admit I wasn't feeling it yesterday.  I almost told Mick we weren't going to go.  I'm glad we did, though.

I always feel a little, I don't know, dirty after Pet Art.  I go into it with the best of intentions thinking I will only bid on one or two pieces, then the wine starts flowing and my credit card is out.  This year was no exception, but as the auctioneer said, think of this as a donation--the art is free.  So I got two great pieces of free art and made a modest donation of (ahem) to a great cause.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

The first thing I did when we got there was check out my own painting:

I was pretty happy with the location, but not quite as happy with the frame.  Next time I will have the art framed myself before donating it, because I do feel this makes a difference for bidders.

Next, I checked in with my friend John, who used to be the volunteer coordinator at PAWS/LA.  Now he just volunteers. 

 
John is on the cusp of a really big deal to produce a script he wrote.  So everyone, cross your fingers that it goes through.

The next thing I did was look at all the art.  Overall, I thought the art this year was really good.  Going in, there were two pieces I was seriously interested in buying:

The other was an original piece by Gary Baseman, which unfortunately I don't have a photo of.  I knew it was unlikely I'd get that one though and I was right--it was insanely popular.

The main reason I didn't get either of the pieces I intended on getting is because I ended up bidding on (and winning) two pieces in the live auction.  I can never help myself in the live auction--I am an attention whore and I love raising my bidder number.  So, without further ado, here are the pieces I got:

Another Morbid Cat, Shag, acrylic on canvas

I put this in my guest/workroom because it's fun, and Shag inspires me.  I love his work and I'm very happy to get an original piece, even if it's small.

 
Dancers, Roger Herman, lithograph and watercolor

I love this piece!  Even though I didn't go to the auction intending to bid on it, when I saw it in person I knew I wanted it.

My own piece ended up selling for (I think) $80, which was the last bid I saw before we left.  Here is the bid sheet--I blocked out the bidder's info for privacy.  I was glad it got multiple bids, even though I wish it would've sold for more.

Overall, it was a successful event and I hope PAWS/LA made loads of money.  At least I know I did my part to help!

Odds and Ends

PAWS/LA's annual fundraiser, Pet Art, is on November 4.  It is such a fun event, and moi is a participating artist.

The work/guest room re-do is well under way and I love it.  It's amazing how much you can get done when you put your mind to it.  The only thing left to do is some furniture set up and some jewelry supply organizing, so photos will be coming soon.

Last night, we could see the fires in Malibu burning from our balcony:

Lover's Spat

It's been a long time since I painted anything but my nails.

Fall is coming, however, and so is PAWS/LA's biggest year fundraiser, Pet Art 9.   I've been involved with this event since 2001 (or Pet Art 3, if you're counting), and I absolutely love it.  Time to paint pictures of pooches!

 
Lover's Spat, 12x18 acrylic on canvas panel, signed

This year, I knew I didn't want to paint anything from my "dreaming dogs" series.  The problem is finding a theme that is kind of universal--after all, who wants a painting of someone else's pet hanging on their wall?  (That said, after years of attending Pet Art, I have loads of paintings and photos of other people's dogs on my walls, so maybe I'm not the right person to ask).

Anyway, I'm lovin' this painting.  I'd totally hang it on my own wall if I wasn't donating it to Pet Art.  Hopefully someone at the auction will feel that way as well and pay lots of money for it!

Some All-Time Favorites

I am kind of sick of jewelry at the moment.  Time to talk about painting or knitting for awhile.

I was looking through my photos and I came across some pictures of some of my older work--some of which are long since sold and I'd forgotten all about them.  Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

The painting above is of my friend Theresa's dog, Ling.  It was, I think, the third portrait I'd ever painted and it remains probably my best work to date.

This painting, called Stuart Dreams of Peace is another favorite.  It was donated to PAWS/LA for their annual Pet Art auction a few years ago.  The unfortunate part of the story is that about a year ago I got an email from the woman who purchased it, saying she loved it and was so happy she bought it.  But she referred to it as Kramer Dreams of Peace.  I wrote back and thanked her, then said it was actually called Stuart Dreams of Peace, and that PAWS/LA must've made a mistake when they labled the art at the auction.  She replied that the title was actually written on the canvas in back of the painting (which is something I routinely do), which means I'm the one who made the mistake.  Oops.  Well, they look a lot alike--I guess sometimes I can't even tell them apart.

Can you tell these dogs apart?

The painting below is called The Walk and it hangs in my living room. 

Finally, the photo below was taken the first year we got Stuart, around 2001.  He was a cuddle bug then, and he's a cuddle bug now.

Here Fishy Fishy

Occasionally, I get requests from non-profit organizations to paint portraits for their benefit.  Generally they like me to donate custom portraits, where someone can bid on or donate money to the organization, then send me photos of their pet and have me do a custom portrait.  For some reason that's not my preference though--I like to paint something, send it off, and be done with it.  When I paint for charity, however, I do try to paint portraits that would be attractive to a general audience rather than an individual pet owner.

The portrait below was painted for a cat rescue organization.  I chose a photo of my brother and sister-in-laws cat, Joey:

Joey Sleeps with the Fishes, acrylic on stretched canvas, 2003

I really liked this painting when it was done, and proudly called it "Joey Sleeps with the Fishes."  Unfortunately, the organization I was donating to thought that potential buyers might be offended by the tongue-in-cheek title.  "Sleeps with the fishes" implies a dead cat, afterall.  I reluctantly changed the title to "Joey Dreams of Fish."

In my heart, however, this painting will always be called "Joey Sleeps with the Fishes."  ;-)

Incidentally, I painted another portrait of Joey the following Christmas, which was intended to be a gift for my brother and his family:

Ball o' Cat, acrylic on stretched canvas, 2004

Unfortunately, I'd neglected to prepare the canvas properly and when I varnished the completed painting it got completely ruined.   I was very disappointed by that since I really liked the painting.  Thankfully I photographed it before applying the varnish, so at least it still exists in the digital world.

New Subject Matter

I started a new painting today--one that I think will take me awhile to complete since it is not my usual subject matter (dogs).

I started with a photo and a 12x16 blank canvas.  Based on the dimensions of the original photo (8x6), I penciled a 1 inch grid on the photo, then penciled a 2 inch grid on the canvas.  I then transferred my image to the canvas by sketching what was in each square of the original photo:

 
I decided to begin coloring my painting before finishing the sketch because my pencil was rubbing off as I drew.
This is a painting that will require many layers of color, so at this point the painting is very rudimentary, not much more than the sketch itself.

A bit more color:
 
At this point I kind of lost patience (as often happens) and I began coloring the entire canvas:

This isn't entirely unjustified, as much of the remaining work is layering color over color, and I felt that painting the remaining base colors was the next logical step.

At this point I don't have a lot of confidence in this painting, but it has miles to go before it's completed.  Every painting I've ever done has a time when I'm certain it's not going to come out right and then somehow I usually get it just how I want it.  We'll see!

Andy Warhol's Got Nuthin' on Me

When I began painting pet portraits in 2001, my dogs Kramer & Stuart were my inspiration.  I quickly filled my house with paintings of them, and while these portraits remain some of my favorites, I harbored a secret desire to paint huge pictures of them to hang in my dining room.

It took a couple of years to get around to it, but when I did, it only took a weekend to do both of them.

Kramer, acrylic on canvas, 36x36, 2003

Stuart, acrylic on canvas, 36x36, 2003

I really like using latex wall paint for my portraits because the consistency is good to work with, especially for backgrounds.  After choosing the photos on which the paintings would be based, I painted each canvas with latex paint I had left over from painting rooms in my house.  Next, I transferred the images on to the canvases by drawing grids on both the sample image and the canvas (scaling up).  Using a pencil, I simply drew what appeared in each square of the sample photo in the corresponding square on the canvas.  This is a little tricky, but it actually went pretty fast and I was pleased with the result.

Once I had transferred my images onto the canvases, I simply painted in all of the details.  In some ways, the size of these canvases made the process more difficult in that it was harder for me to capture such important details as the expression in the eyes or the blend of the fur.  And truth be told I'm not 100% satisfied with the results, although these paintings have a central spot in my home and I love them.  And others love them as well--I get a lot of compliments from visitors and I've gotten more than one commission from people who know my dogs, have seen the work hanging in my own home, and want one for themselves or for a gift.

Besides, no pet lovers home would be complete without giant-sized portraits of their loved ones, right?  (Or am I just obsessed with my dogs?)

Come Play with Me

It makes me sad sometimes that so many of the paintings of pets that I do are of animals that have passed away.

Last year I painted this for a friend who commissioned it as a gift for her sister, whose dog Kramer had recently died:

I absolutely love this painting, but it is definitely melancholy.  The hedgehog you see in the painting was one of Kramer's favorite toys, all alone now since Kramer is no longer around to play with it.

My own dog Kramer is going to be 15 in May and though he is doing fairly well, age is slowly taking it's toll.  I try not to think about his eventual passing, but it's hard not to sometimes, especially when I see him stumble or get confused or not be able to jump on the bed.  On the other hand, when he runs around like a crazy puppy looking for his next meal, I feel some reassurance that he's going to be around for awhile longer.  At any rate, I am lucky to have found him.

Buddy and the Bee Gees

There's something you need to know about me:  I absolutely adore the Bee Gees, particularly, Barry Gibb.  Really, I can't emphasize enough how much I love the Bee Gees. If you were to get me started, I'd babble on about how they were the greatest pop group of all time and that their song writing is unparalleled... see, you got me started.  At the moment, I am listening to one of the songs Barry recently released on iTunes called Carried Away which is part of a demo compilation he  originally recorded for Barbra Streisand's Guilty album.  Carried Away didn't make the cut, but it is a great song.  Well done, Barry.

Anyway, all this talk about the Bee Gees has got me thinking about a pet portrait I completed in September of last year:

Buddy, acrylic on gallery canvas, 24 x 24, signed

Buddy is owned by my friend Heather, and she commissioned this portrait for her husband's birthday.

For some added perspective, here is the photo on which the above photograph is based:

And finally, Buddy is famous.  Check it out.

If you can't see the connection between Buddy and the Bee Gees, let me explain.  A couple of weeks ago I was reading one of Heather's blogs and she'd posted about becoming suddenly (and some would say inexplicably) obsessed with the Bee Gees after watching Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon on The Barry Gibb Talk Show on SNL.  Normally I'd object to anyone or anything making fun of Barry Gibb, but dude, it is hilarious.  If you haven't seen it, you can see it on YouTube or the NBC website.  A small flurry of emails ensued, during which we (and another friend) discussed the sweet harmonies and generally addictive nature of songs like Nights on Broadway, which is the basis of the theme song for The Barry Gibb Talk Show.

So if it's not clear yet, I was listening to the Bee Gees, which reminded me of Heather, which reminded me of Buddy, which reminded me of the portrait I'd painted of him.  Frankly, I'd need much less of a connection to blabber on about the Bee Gees.

Holiday Card

May all your dreams come true:

Order Here

The image on this greeting card is based on a painting I did in 2003 called Stuart Dreams of Peace.  The original was sold at PAWS/LA's annual art auction that year.  It's one of my favorite paintings, both for the message it sends and for the portrait of Stuart.