Black on Blue

Black on Blue
10" x 8"
oil on canvas
Available at Sandpiper Gallery 

Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

Little Paint Sketch

Oil on paper

I've had this little shopping bag hanging around my studio for awhile now and I was itching to do something simple, so I decided to seize the moment and paint Frida on it.
I really like it!

Dog Dreaming

Dog Dreaming
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

I have a friend and a collector on Facebook that has been posting great photos of her grandkids napping with her rescues. I'm a such a sucker for sleeping dogs, and with babies? Well, that's just too good! So, I have been secretly hoarding these gems for a while hoping to one day paint them. Turns out today's the day.

Baxter

"Baxter"

10" x 8"

oil on canvas

view in my store

For the past week I have been struggling with one of the nastiest colds I have ever experienced. With the belief that I could control this and "get better faster so I can get on with my life" I have tried everything homeopathic to OTC from thera-flu to turmeric steams, Nyquil to epsom baths with mega doses of vitamin C, to no avail. I have come to the conclusion I just have to let it run it's course and take the break when it's given.
I surrendered.

Today is the first day I could concentrate without an uncontrollable cough, drippy nose, dizziness, migraine, etc. I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.

So, I decided to paint Baxter. Baxter is kind of a new addition to our family. He is a super unique loving pup with eyesight issues. When he first got here, he ran into furniture a lot and I considered putting pool noodles on the coffee table, but now that he knows the lay of the land, he fits in quite perfectly.

I found out that he is a mixed breed called a Meagle (mix of Min-Pin and Beagle).

PAINT MY DOG - Daisy

10" x 8"
oil on canvas
Sold

Blue Crab

 Blue Crab
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

PAINT MY DOG! Series #26

"Rosie"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

This is Rosie.
She belongs to Stacy who runs an awesome rescue called New Rattitude Rescue. I follow her rescues on Facebook and she played a big part in helping me save one of my own, Frida… I am forever in her debt.

Stacy rescues these lost dogs from kill facilities, takes them into her home, nurses them back to health, trains and socializes them like one of her own. She posts on Facebook their stories and progress all the way up to going to their forever homes - with so much bad in the world, it's comforting to know there are angels among us like her.

Rosie is Stacy's inspiration for her efforts in rescue.

Thank you Rosie for inspiring so much good for so many.


New Rattitude Rescue accepts donations for the care of these rescues and if you are looking to give your home to an awesome terrier, contact her - It'll be the best decision you've made all year!
http://www.newrattitude.org

PAINT MY DOG! #22

"Zephie"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

Zephie's story..

"Unsuspectingly, I walked in to a neighbors garage to see a litter of English Springer Spaniels; it was a dark time in my life as my marriage had disintegrated unexpectedly and I was facing an uncertain future as a former stay at home mom with as a friend said "no marketable skills." (You gotta love friends!) A small liver and white bundle of cuteness wandered over, the neighbor commented she was the only of the litter yet to be sold, and well, I guess she needed me and I needed her. My teenaged boys donned her Ledy Zeppelin of Hillside - I shortened it to Zephie. A true velcro springer, Zephie literally saved me - hours of walking the energetic Springer was therapeutic, her unfettered joy at the very sight of me, and her enthusiastic personality buoyed the spirits of both me and my boys. My groomer, describes her as "the person at the end of the party with a lampshade on her head." To me, she is the purest joy, constant friend, love of my life - Zephie!"

Note: some paintings are completed out of order in this series - I have 2 or three in the works that aren't ready to be completed. So if you haven't seen your painting, not to worry :)

PAINT MY DOG! #19

"Huckleberry"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

From a friend….

"Huckleberry belongs to my friends Elmer and Jesse. He kept me company when I was visiting them last February and was sick enough that I didn't want to leave the house while everybody was at work. Jesse and Elmer have paintings of their other pup, Dizzy, and the late great Dashiki...and I figured that I could add one of Huckleberry to their collection."

From his human: "He was a rescue dog. We got him from an organization that specializes in smaller dogs called pup. He's from a shelter in Stockton, CA."

Yayy! Shelter dogs!!

petportraitsbyclair.com

Reagan

Reagan Commission
10" x 8"
oil on canvas
sold


Handmade Wilmington is having an Artisan's Market  in the Sun Gallery and Gifts parking lot to raise money for Canines for Service Sept. 14th. The gallery is filled with a lot of my dog paintings and I will be there painting if you are interested in dropping by.
Here is the information...

www.sungalleryandgifts.com

PAINT MY DOG Series - Lyra - #16

"Lyra"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas
reserved purchase

Just wanted to let you know I'm taking a break for a week to celebrate my 50th birthday with my family in Florida so I won't be posting while I'm gone.

Here is Lyra's story…
"Lyra is a rescue from "Happy Paws Rescue" in Yuba City. We drove to Yuba City (about 30 miles away) in a torrential rain storm on Friday, February 28th and immediately fell in love with her. She weighed a little under 6 pounds when we got her, and is now about 23 pounds. She loves her big brother, Harry (an 11 year old rescue). We think she is a corgi/terrier mix. Her name comes from the book "Out Stealing Horses" by Per Petterson - it was the name of the dog in the book - and my partner, Jim, thought it was a great name for a dog, so three years later, when we got her, we used that name."

Here is Lyra with her big bother…



petportraitsbyclair.com

PAINT MY DOG - Copper - #15

Copper
10" x 8"
oil on canvas
reserved purchase


Coppers story…

"He was named Copper as a pup because of the copper markings on his face. He was 10 when he passed over the rainbow bridge and by then a lot of the copper color was white. 

When he was 7, he was bitten by a copper head, but survived. The bite weakened his heart and he lasted three years after. 

He was a fearless little man who knew what I meant when I asked for a kiss. He would look up and offer me his cheek.  His fur was as soft as rabbit. I miss him."

petportraitsbyclair.com

PAINT MY DOG #11 - Foxy

Foxy
10" x 8"
oil on canvas
reserved purchase

PAINT MY DOG - Homer

"Homer"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

A little about Homer...
Homer is the sweetest and gentlest dog I have ever known. For over 11 years, he has been Megan’s faithful companion, and the two are virtually inseparable. Homer’s favorite things are tennis balls and his Wubba toy. If you let him, he’ll jump off the dock all day to retrieve the Wubba toy in the lake. He is intelligent, loyal, loving, intuitive, playful and happy and is a true joy to be around.

PAINT MY DOG - Bear

"Bear"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

Bear's story:

Bear is the dog I waited 40 years for. I wanted a dog as long as I can remember – from childhood on. Growing up, we always had cats but no dog. Of course, I couldn’t have a dog in college or grad school or even as a single working professional living in an apartment complex.

At age 28, I married a non-dog person. He had never grown up around animals and had never been around a really great dog. I knew that he had the potential to become a dog lover if given the chance. A friend of ours had a wonderful golden retriever, and once or twice a year we would travel to Montana to stay with her and photograph in the surrounding area. Sure enough, over the years Mike ended up falling in love with Bridger, and so I started dropping hints about getting a golden of our own. Even after I had him convinced, we ended up waiting until we built our dream house on several acres just outside of town. We decided a golden retriever would be much happier if he had lots of room to run and play.

Bear came into our lives almost 10 years ago. He was the blondest and fattest puppy in his litter, and we both knew he was the one. He has given us more joy over the past 10 years than we could’ve ever imagined! He is smart, kind, playful, loyal, and goofy all rolled into one! And although his face is now white, he continues to be just as playful as he was years ago. Bear always greets us with a stuffed toy in his mouth, so in that sense he is a true retriever. However, he has never been into playing fetch. Instead, he likes to run around with the ball in the mouth and play keep-away from his humans.

Clair’s painting is based on a photo of Bear I took when he was less than a year old. 

PAINT MY DOG - Cleo

"Cleo"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas

Cleo's story:
Note: Sailor is Susie's other adopted dog
- stayed tune for Sailor's portrait!

One year ago today, two weeks after initially heading to New Hanover Sheriff's Office Animal Services Unit with the intent of adopting her, Cleo FINALLY came to the home she truly belonged in all along.  I had visited the shelter with the full intention of bringing her home on 2 November 2012, but Sailor wound up joining us that day after putting on one of the most heart-wrenching, theatrical displays I've ever witnessed. 

Upon our first meeting, Cleo was calm, happy and seemed perfectly fine with the people taking care of her at the shelter.  Sailor...not so much.  Sailor was a great fit for our family but...something kept tugging at me. I could never get Cleo out of my thoughts. I monitored her status on the NHSOASU site hoping every day to see where she had finally found her family. On 12 November 2012 it appeared she had been adopted and was off to her new home.  On 13 November 2012, she was back at the shelter, apparently having the misfortune of being adopted by someone who didn't clarify to her roommates that this was a BIG dog, so back she came.  This is when my heart moved to my throat. I was so sad to see this.

Cleo had initially been an "owner surrender" and to be returned again was too much for me to handle. I made up my mind if she was still available by Friday, 16 November, she was coming home. I'd even posted my intentions on the shelter site.

Sure enough Friday rolled around and, true to my word, I headed to the shelter at noon following some prodding by my beautiful and wise daughter in law, Stephanie Tyler Parker who knew it was meant to be.

I walked tentatively back into the shelter and upon crossing the threshold, was greeted warmly by the staff who knew why I was there.  "Susie - Cleo's ready for you!" they announced exuberantly. I was toast.

But I still wasn't convinced entirely. Picking up on this one of the great staff at the shelter suggested Cleo and I go to the play yard and get to know each other.  Talk about a flat meeting - if this had been a date, we would have smiled, shaken hands and said "see you later" which is match.com speak for "I don't think so". 

Cleo was having NOTHING to do with me. They would throw a ball for her and then hand me the ball and this giant loping black dog would return it to them, not me.  There was no chemistry, no "I'm so happy to see you please take me home and love me forever".  Cleo was playing VERY hard to get. I had doubts about it working out but a promise was a promise. The staff did everything they could to make it work but Cleo was having NONE of it.  She was far more interested in everyone there.

I half-heartedly nodded and signed on the dotted line, chose the complimentary purple collar and leash, smiled for the obligatory shelter photo to the cheers of the staff and as soon as the door opened, Cleo literally pulled me to my car.  No really - I had no idea a dog could have so much strength.  It took two hands and a lot of begging on my part to SLOW HER DOWN.

Oh my...this had all the ingredients for an adoption disaster.

I herded her to the back seat of my car and as I was backing up in the parking lot, I looked in my rear view mirror and was stunned to realize that Cleo was taller in the seat than I was.  What had I done?

Of course, I hadn't alerted anyone at home that I was bringing a 90 lb pony to live with us.  Sailor, after two short weeks, was running the show and the Prince of the palace.  You can imagine his glee at my opening the door and Cleo bounding in the house running over anything in her path, including Sailor. Talk about indignant - Sailor was all that and more.

My parents looked at Cleo and looked at me and then back at Cleo as if they were sure I had lost my mind. I was wondering the same thing. I'd never had a dog this huge. I thought Cassie was large at 50 pounds. Ha!

Sailor and Cleo circled each other and Sailor feigned a combination of disgust and fear. Cleo, for her part, was just completely clueless but seemed to love the backyard and really enjoyed chasing Sailor. I just didn't know if this would work at all. Here I was with a small terrier who was suddenly shaking and afraid of his shadow and a pony which didn't seem all that fond of me and appeared to think Sailor was an interactive wind up toy. 

Somehow, we made it through the rest of the day. That night, Sailor decided to bed down with my parents and Cleo thought my bed would be just fine and oh, by the way, I was suddenly her new best friend.  I can't pinpoint the exact moment it happened but during that first night she had gone from decided indifference to becoming my shadow; my really large, loping, gangly shadow.

Within 48 hours, I couldn't remember life without her and when someone would approach me she would sit upright and get in front of me in full protection mode, large white teeth exposed for added effect.

Sailor and Cleo spent the next week establishing their place which basically meant that Sailor let Cleo know that HE had seniority and size notwithstanding, Cleo would forever be his minion and underling.  Cleo seemed to accept this without any real static and within a week or two, you really would have thought they were siblings, save for the fact there was absolutely no physical resemblance and the approximate 70 lb difference in size. 

While Sailor is the clown of the family, Cleo is the steadfast, deeply devoted, follow me anywhere and everywhere (except the pool!) best friend I could ever wish or hope to find. She wakes me up at unreasonable hours to toss the tennis ball outside (and I usually oblige!) and she stretches out right beside me every evening. She gazes at me as if I really am her one and only mother and sits faithfully beside me on driving errands (unless Sailor is in the car and then she sits in the backseat).

Cleo, I absolutely adore you and I am so thankful that in spite of previous human misfortune you gave my species another chance and found a way to trust that I would take the best care of you that I know how.  I could ask for no finer companion and bodyguard and I am so proud of how you have acclimated to our family. I appreciate your menacing bark when I don't know who's at the door and I dearly love that you make me go outside several times a day to toss that ball and have some fun.

Thank you so much for waiting on me to meet you and thank you to the New Hanover Sheriff's Department Animal Services Division for taking care of my girl until we could properly meet. It was the best kind of destiny.

I ♥ you Cleo.

Landscape Challenge #29

"Bermuda Rocks"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas
view in my shop

Landscape Challenge #14

"Bulkhead"
10" x 8"
oil on canvas panel
purchase

We spent the day on Band Head Island - this if from one of the photos I took of the ferry entrance bulkhead. It was truly a beautiful day.

Landscape Challenge 4

12" x 9"

oil on canvas

purchase