Christian the Lion - the full story (in HQ)

This is so amazing...I got all teary eyed watching it..

I've Moved to a new blog!

Please come visit me at my new blog www.sitstaysmile.com/blog. You should automatically be redirected there by this site...hopefully!

It must be summer...

I know it must be summer when the beach portrait season begins...Here are a few from the other night...what cute kids and their dogs were a lot of fun as well. I had never seen a miniature bulldog before...I guess they are one of the new genetically engineered designer dogs that have become so popular lately. His name is Travis and he snorted like a little pig when he got tired...too darn cute.

I have been in the middle of home improvement hell for the last week...I decided it was time to put laminate down in my studio since the carpet smelled like dog and it was seriously grossing me out...What an undertaking. I have collected so much junk over the years and I had to carry it all out to the garage downstairs so we could lay the floor. I was so overwhelmed I did not know where to start. So after a lot of work, the floor is down, the studio is finally back together and I now have a nice clean, smell free studio....YAY! I will post a few photos when it is presentable...

We are having a heat wave here this week with temps around 99 for the next five days with high humidty...sounds lovely doesn't it? On the brightside, I have one of my best friends in town for the next few days visiting and I am sooo looking forward to seeing her and her family. She is a west coaster now, so we don't get to see each other that often anymore and I am looking forward to catching up in person...I hope everyone has a great day!

Sweet Lily

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet little girl last week...Her name is Lily and we went up to the produce stand for her photoshoot. She came ready to pose with several outfit changes...Little girls have the best clothes and Lily was a great model with endless energy. I don't photograph a whole lot babies but I always seem to enjoy it when I do...

We are off to the beach today...I am mortified that I have to put on a bathing suit but I guess it is time to take the plunge...my motto, if you can't tone it, tan it! Probably not the best theory but I am sticking with it for now. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day...

Bailey

Meet Bailey...she lives in Ghent and loves to go for a walk...I had the pleasure of documenting her last outing and she showed me all the hot spots on Colley Avenue. We stopped into the new doggie boutique there to get parmesan dog treats and she was mine for rest of the afternoon. I had her complete and total attention and the slobber was flying. Bailey was a great model and we had such a nice day for our photoshoot. I hope you enjoy her photos! Have a Happy Tuesday!

Clancy Painting by Two Dog Studio's

Look at my new painting of Clancy painted by Wendy Crumbley of Two Dog Studios...I am so happy with the way he turned out! My house is slowly but surely turning into a shrine for my dog...I hope everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day. I ate my way through the weekend indulging in bad things...my new addiction is Pineapple Upside Down Pie...OMG.

Here are a few photos of a dog named Rudy I took over the weekend along with a couple from the K-9 Carnival...The weather has been so bad here lately I have not had many opportunities to get outside and take pictures. We have had 3 tornado's touch down here in the past two weeks which is unheard of for us...weird weather.

Art Journal Pages

Clancy Page

Clancy Page with flap lifted up...

Daisy Page

American Bulldog wearing a tutu...

Finished Journal....

What a wonderful feeling....my art journal is completed! This particular one covers about a year and a half of my life...I don't work in my art journal on a daily basis, it is usually more like once or twice a month. I wish I had more time to devote to it, but my photography business keeps me so busy that I don't always have as much time as I would like for art projects lately. The fun part now is that I get to make a new one! I think I am going to make the next one by hand this time because this one is in an old book and it is really starting to fall apart. In a way, that kind of adds to the charm of the book but it also means that it is pretty fragile and cannot be looked through quite as easily. It was really cool to sit down with this journal last night and slowly go through all of the pages...It really took me back to what I was feeling at those times in my life and it was interesting to see how my art and journaling style has evolved over the past year and a half. I am really proud of myself for sticking with my journal because I tend to be all over the map sometimes with projects so this is an accomplishment for me. I will post my new journal as soon as it is completed...Have a great Monday!

Miss Emmy

Meet Emmy...she is a cockapoo and she likes walks in the park, car rides and she will work for treats...Is there anything more joyful than a dog who has his/her head hanging out of the car window? We could all learn a lot from dogs about finding joy in the simple things in life...They have it down to an art form. I hope little Emmy brings a smile to your face today...

Ollie

This is a new portrait of Ollie the Schnauzer...What a handsome boy he is! I have had a really busy week here so I have not been posting as often as I would like...sorry. I have two different groups of friends visiting and I have been spending my time with them catching up and eating far too much food. Whenever we have company in town it seems to turn into a never ending food fest...why is that? I am going to have to do some serious dieting after this week and to be honest, the idea of another big meal leaves me cringing. It is time to step away from the table or at the very least, order a salad...

I also went on the local garden tour here this week and I have to say I love going through other peoples homes and seeing how they decorate, live, etc. It is always inspiring to me because I am not very talented in the home decorating department. I did not get that gene or the gardening gene...The theme of the tour this year was historic beach cottages and they were so quaint and homey. My favorite belonged to an artist of course whose eye for detail was amazing. She had this subtle wave theme that went through the entire house. The walls would have a curve to them or the railing on the steps had slats that were not straight, but slightly curved...The art was amazing and the colors in the home were sooo soothing. I would move in tommorrow if I could. I wish I could share photos but that was not allowed...I guess that is all for now. I hope you all have a nice weekend!

New Photobook Arrived today....

Jamie over at Cowbelly Pet Photography told me I had to try out this book...I have been using Asuka books (which I love) but the turn around for the photobook is one week compared to four and the price is even a little bit better. The look is totally different than the Asuka...The photobook has really thick pages, kind of like a board book, and the pages are super glossy. I wasn't sure how I was going to like the glossy finish but I have to say it really is a stunning book...The colors are really saturated and the feel of the book is nice and heavy. It's build is more like a wedding album I think and it makes a big impression. I plan on adding these to my current line up of photo related products and look forward to offering them to my clients...I think they will be very pleased! Thanks Jamie for the heads up...Here is a sample I did for Clancy...sorry the photos are not better (shame on me) but I was so excited to post, I couldn't wait...I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Thank You Linda!

I received the most wonderful, heart felt gift the other day from my dear friend Linda O'Neil over at Abby Creek Art...She took a photo of my dog Clancy who recently passed away and made me this beautiful collage. The photo does not do it justice..the colors and textures are so rich and it captures his spirit in a way I will cherish for a lifetime...Thank you Linda...

Here is a recent commission I did of a Shitzu named Rhett. His owner wanted him posed in front of the cherry tree in their front yard and after he held him in the air for me, I got this shot and turned it into a painting...How sweet is that face? I love spring and all of the wonderful flowers and trees in bloom. It always chases away those winter "blahs" and makes me want to get outside and enjoy the day instead of staying holed up in front of my computer all the time...It is supposed to be 70 degrees here today...YAY!

Benny

Here is a recent digital pet portrait I did of a clients dog named Benny...he is too freakin' cute with a face only a Mama could love...he is a big, goofy, slobbery mess and bad to the bone. I am sorry I have not posted a whole lot of art lately...after being out of town and then being sick I have kind of been out of the loop. I will probably have to bore you with a few more Costa Rica photos but after that, back to my regular stuff...Have a great weekend!

Costa Rica...the rafting incident....

While we were in Costa Rica, we decided to go white water rafting again since we enjoyed it so much this past summer...We had a great time even though I am convinced we had the Kamikaze raft guide from hell...he was really sweet and knowledgeable but a bit reckless when it came to the actual rafting part of things. Long story short, he pitched me from the raft while going down the largest Class 3 rapid of the trip by going over the rapid sideways...of course it was all caught on camera for your enjoyment...I was scared to death at first because I thought the whole raft had tipped and my nine year old was in the water as well...when I came up the first time and saw that she was still in the boat I felt 100% better until I started slamming into all the submerged rocks as I was sucked down stream. OMG, I am too old for that kind of abuse....every rock I hit, I was thinking "that's gonna leave a mark". By the time I landed in calmer water and was hauled back into the boat my knee was bruised and bleeding, my back was killing me and every other body part was wondering WTF? I can only equate it to a human version of a rock tumbler...Anyhow...I got back in the boat and had a great time for the rest of the trip, even though I was wondering what this madman was going to do next....he decided going down one of the rapids backwards and slamming us into a wall at the bottom would be fun and then doing the "washing machine" down another which basically spins the boat in circles while going down the rapid and into another wall...I think we are lucky to have survived Vladimir the raft guide. With all it's ups and downs (ha ha) it was a beautiful river and we saw wild Toucans and many other animals..the rapids themselves were really fun besides the almost drowning part...I would totally do it again, just not with Vlad...

Everything is going along fine here...

Then the swan dive...I give myself a "3" for style, form & grace

My sweet husband trying to save me while holding onto the child...impressive...

All I see is that really big rock and I am heading straight for it...ouch

Safe at last....Thanks Hansel!

This is Vladimir one on the rapids, just having "fun"...he was insane....

Caroline having fun at the end after she realised I wasn't going to drown...I will post more photos later when I get a chance...Have a great day! (P.S. - disregard my copyright on these photos, obviously, I wasn't taking these pictures...the photographer was from Hacienda Pozo Azul Rafting Company...like any good photographer he got the money shots!)