of masked gentlemen, gaggle of jrts, a mysterious cat, and my muses

Lets revive this place a little. Its been quite a few moons since I last posted and yet my stats tell me that people still occasionally visit this blog, for which I am grateful. Perhaps they wind up here by accident but I know I'd rather stumble onto a live blog than a dead one. So for the sake of those people, and perhaps for those that miss us I figured I'd throw in an update :)

As usual - i've been busy! School, work, a lot of dog shows, and a little painting here and there.

I put two new shells into my shop just today. Here we've got two boys hiding behind masks. Or maybe they're girls, that's really up to the buyer to decide.


Here we have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, a sighthound from Africa that was once used for lion hunting, as the story goes. Man you guys should see how intense Ridgebacks are on the lure coursing field, its amazing. i like this breed a lot.


And here we have a Bullmastiff. Now most of the bullmastiffs I've met have been mushy fools, but my understanding is that they will protect their family with whatever means necessary if the need ever arises.

Oh here's a fun one, I painted a custom kitty not too long ago! Okay it was long ago, but I never blogged Java:

Java is an abyssinian, a beautiful slender red cat with huge jade-colored eyes. He is unfortunately no longer with us and I hope this shell portrait will bring Java's human fond memories.

Oh you guys know what else I did? I painted 20 Jack Russells over the summer. Twenty!

That's a bunch in progress.
Here's one of the finished JRTs:

You can have a look at the whole set, if you'd like. Why on earth did i paint twenty of these guys? They are for the Gulf Coast Jack Russell Terrier Network!

But enough about stuff for others, I've also been busy taking pictures of the skinny boys. Life as muses is demanding stuff!

Some day it will be warm again, I have faith!

So, how are we spending our winter?

oh y'know... desperately waiting for decent weather to return. Desperately. Look at this desperate face...


Soaking any bits of light that come through the window.


To the point where it gets a little pathetic. Irresistably cute. But pathetic.


Plotting to steal the cat food for sport. Props for devouring it all and not getting caught. Hmm...


These feet, they need to run... But they dont want to touch anything too cold.


sigh.

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By the way, if anyone is curious, Anton is feeling much better! His nail is even starting to grow back. All is on its way back to normal.

Patience and paint

So I hope 2009 has taken a good start for everyone. Its been a little difficult here.

One of the reasons is that Anton has a booboo. Yes, a booboo. He broke one of his nails all the way down to the quick. And he hasn't told anyone so by the time i saw it by randomly trying to cut his nails and seeing a big gaping hole where a nail should have been, it had enough time to get infected. So he's had a hefty dose of antibiotics and a bandaged foot.

He's being very dramatic about it. Like he'll be totally fine but the moment he sees someone looking at him he'll start limping. He's been on antibiotics for a couple of days now and I've been bandaging on and off. We'll be checking progress officially with the vet today.

I also have some new creations. The first I bring to you is a custom portrait of Mickey the mini schnauzer...

He is one of my favorite clients at the grooming shop. I've been grooming him for almost four years now, and he's been one of my favorites since the beginning. He is now a sweet, older gentleman. It was an honour to paint him :)


That's Mickey in real life.
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Last but not least I've got two new shells in my shop that I haven't yet mentioned here. My most recent addition is this Weimaraner:

I just love how silly he looks - sort of like a teenage pup going through an awkward growth stage. Where their ears are huge and their legs are long and they don't know what to do with themselves to coordinate. I'm sure this funny pup will grow into a very handsome adult some day.


The second shell I've got listed is an Australian Cattle Dog. They've got the coolest mottled coats, these dogs. Very smart, trainable and full of energy.

Both shells above are available in my shop, ShellVergel!

Cool green

I've got progress on my remodeled room! Again, its mostly why i haven't been posting lately. I've been without a room for over three weeks during the remodel. Hard to find a muse when I'm stuck in the kitchen with my parents walking back and forth. But now the remodel is pretty much complete, only left to obtain the rest of the furniture and to "move back in" :)

That's what I've got so far - polished wood floors, lovely green paint, a new bed, a chair, and a computer desk that isn't in the shot. BTW see if you can find Anton in the picture ;) The blanket is going to change, too, this is my old faithful grey-green comforter. The wall colour is not exactly what i was going for (I was thinking something of a richer shade of green) but I like it a lot and in the afternoon this room practically lights up from all the sun I get. The only drawback is that in incandescent light the paint looks more of a cucumber shade rather than citrusy. But anyway I'm thrilled.

Now i need to move the fishtank back in, get a book case, and I'm thinking of getting a flat TV sort of thing. I was gonna move my old clunky tv back rather than upgrade, since i rarely watch it. But honestly i looooooove how much free space i have right now, so i am thinking of spending a bit more and getting an LCD tv after all, and mounting it on the wall. Decisions!
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I turned 21 on July 22nd. You know you're getting old when you start getting sophisticated gifts! ;)

My boyfreind got me this lovely wishbone necklace from EmilyEJewelry, in white gold. He was a good boy and picked something out of my favorites like I told him to, lol. I LOVE it though :) Its really simple and fancy at the same time. I haven't taken it off since he gave it to me, except to take that picture.
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This wasn't a birthday gift, but it coincidentally arrived almost in time for my birthday :P Its a custom pin of Perry and Marco! My friend Emily from Dreameyce Studio made it herself. I absolutely love it! She captured a great quirky look. Its just not like anything else that I've seen, very different. Made with skill and great detail :) Thank you Emily - its marvelous!
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One last thing...

Is this not the most magnificent face?

A different kind of paint

My apologies once again for the MIA thing. We've been remodelling my room and I have been stressed out beyond belief. Its mostly because my stepdad is doing the remodel entirely on his own, basically on nights and weekends and meanwhile i'm forced to live between the kitchen and my parents room. Now I don't do well in such dormatory situations (I had to quit Stony Btrook and transfer to a local college because i couldn't handle dorm life). I haven't had any time to paint or think or anything in the past week and a half, it seems.

My room's been a few colours over the decades, apparently. White and green and red and blue and bright yellow. I'm thinking of doing a lime/olive green number on it.

So far we've got the floors done, and Anton gave them a test run.
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I did get a few shells painted before the remodel started and i never had a chance to put them up. I'm having a calm quiet day today so I figured that this was a great chance to do so.

Westie, or more formally a west highland white terrier.

And on the other hand i decided to try something new...And came up with a kitty on a soft shell clam. I'm a little weird on it. The angle came out funny and the proportions look funny to me. But its a first. I've painted a kitty before but i never really released it to the public, so to speak. And cats are so... different to paint. They're so curvy and fluid, while I'm used to drawing streamlined and angled animals (ie dogs). But its a start.

And I've got one more shell painted but its extra awesome so i'll be devoting a whole entry to it later.

Best cat ever turns 11!

April 20th is the 110th day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. It is Adolf Hitler's birthday (I just found out a few days ago). Apparently John Oliver's debut as a comedy central standup dude. The anniversary of some other jazz. And TimTim's birthday. I forgot to do a birthday tribute to him last year, and I feel obliged to ramble about him right now.

April 20th Tim turns eleven. Weeeeeell... we don't know his real birthday. My mother brought him home on August 20, 1997. I was a lonely ten year old demanding a pet. Something four-legged and furry that would play with me. It was significant to me that he had a birthday so we decided to make one up. We were told he was three months old. But he was an awfully big kitten so we assumed he was four months. We counted four months back and made it official, his birthday was to be april 20th.

As a baby he suffered from major scaredy-cat syndrome and was the most unsocial animal i had ever met. He was alright with me and my mum but that was about it. He knew his hiding spots well and he loved to take advantage of them. Of course being a child and not understanding morale of the shy animal, i'd dig him up from those hiding spots and show him to friends that came over. Or worse - i've actually put him on a leash and walked him a few times. He's probably still holding a grudge. I've bathed him many times. I filled the tub with water and forced him to swim once (i was there and watching of course - but still it was ridiculous). I've dressed him up. I even brought another cat and two dogs into our household. He's gone through a lot of torture with me.

Ehh, not like Tim hasn't had his vengeful moments. He's pooped on my pants before. He's pooped all over my bed. hairballs, hairballs, hairballs - also on my bed. Within the first few days that i got him he gave me a very deep scratch - I still have the scar. I actually hope it never fades. He always has to sit on any important paper i may be reading. He walks across my keyboard. He "accidentally" puts his head on the delete key and makes my browser very quickly go through all the pages I've been to, backwards all the way to the homepage. He sheds clouds of hair - i get the feeling that years after he's no longer with us I'll still be picking his hair out of my food and finding tumbleweeds of it skirting across the room.

I adore this cat immensely, can you tell? And every day he continues to amuse me. He's a thinker, a dignified cat who gets embarrased easily. The best, though, is when he actually will let his guard down and be silly for a few moments. When he will chase a laser or jump after a cat toy, or get high on catnip. Y'know, as long as the other animals aren't looking. Cause they can't know that he's just like them. lol i get the feeling that i have a lot in common with Tim. We're both morally mature way beyond our years. We're not outgoing. We take pleasure in smacking others, whether they deserve it or not. We don't believe in "only human" (...or "only cat") excuses. After all, we've got a reputation to upkeep. even if its only in our heads.

Happy eleventh birthday Tim. Grumpy old man, you're a huge part of my life and I can't imagine it without you. And when I say "old man" I'm only kidding.

The creative process. With extra cat content!

So I thought I'd introduce everyone to a brief guide to my creative process. Do you know how the dogs appear on the shells? Guess! That's right, i paint them!


i start out with the archetypal messy artists' desk. Its actually just my computer desk, but with the help of a messy newspaper and some supplies all over the place, it becomes an instand studio. Just add cat.


These wind up on the shell, in concerted amounts and trivial locations.


i cannot, for the life of me, remember what kind of tea I was having. By the appearace of it, I'd say really dilute Lady Grey. Yeah if I'm feeling too lazy to brew a new cup of tea, I'll add water to half of an existing cup and enjoy some water-flavored goodness.


There's that cat. Tim thinks I'm *fascinating*! Ehh not really, he gets annoyed that i constantly poke and pord him in his favorite sleeping spot. So he tosses hair at me so i have to pick it out of my paints and brushes..


So uhhh i get that shell ready. This one is gonna be a pit bull terrier.


self-explanatory?


The newspaper isn't there to protect from messy spills. Its there for me to test paints.


Eventually I get started! First I fill in the bulk of it and then i go into details. Y'know, the logical way to do this.


and thus, the product. Meh, I'd have taken more "in the process" photos but i got awfully frustrated trying to blend the red and black, and no photos happened.

But honestly, the preparation and side details is the bulk of the "creative process" over here. Not pictured is me procrastinating and checking my email ten times while painting.

...its only fair if i throw in a few dog pictures, right?

There's Marco trotting off on some dirt path. We went to a lure coursing event Sunday. And after we got bored we decided to walk around the area. Turned out that the park had some awesome hiking trails!


After the hike, they piled up to nap. Anton, who was not with us during the hike, had a very long day "in spirit" and had to sleep it off as well. The hard life of a housecat..

Tim not included in the cuddling because he thinks its for pansies.

I know November passed...

November is National Pet Adoption Month. That's... the only nice thing about November, the rest of it is grey and cold. February should be adoption month, come to think of it. Y'know, when the not-so-thoughtfully-given "christmas puppies" wear out their welcome and pop up in rescue. November is such a pessimistic time of year to hold a nice event like adoption promotion.

Yeah... adopt-a-thons should definitely be in the spring. So the weather is happyful and everyone can drag their feet outside with their newly adopted pet and bond and stuff.

speaking of spring - which this year starts on March 20th - I know of two magnificent animals that need homes right now!

Meet Turner!



He is the most charming Pit Bull puppy I have ever seen and I have only had the pleasure of meeting him for about 20 minutes. Danielle - behind him - is fostering him right now. She found him all bony and starving. He has since recieved lots of food, love, attention, and medical care and he's ready for a forever home. He's also de-coconutted and innauculated.

(for the unimaginitive, I was referring to his testicles as coconuts, and he no longer has those ;)



He's called Turner because her other dog is Hooch ;) He cuddles cats. Plays with dogs all day long. He's actually very submissive, he's an in-tune boy. He doesn't seem like he's gonna get any bigger. Danielle is five feet tall, if you want a visual reference. And he's probably about seven months old, so he is almost as big as he's gonna get.

For those that are into something exotic - judging from his triangular, slanty eyes and thick skin on the muzzle, I'm about a hundred percent sure that he's part Bull Terrier. Either way, he is too friggin cute.

Honestly, I love this boy. And I'm not a "pitbull person", they are usually are just not my cup of tea. There are many pits I admire but I wouldn't own one. Except him. Really. If I didn't have two iggies, two cats and two parents sharing an apartment with me, I'd snatch him up.

adoption number two? Meet Maya!


Poor Maya was abandoned at our grooming shop. Look how sad it made her. Made me sad too. People brought her in for a bath, gave us fake addresses and phone numbers and then never came back. The nerve of some people! We don't know her age, history, or anything. The vet said she's healthy though!

But she desperately needs a place to go. she's living in a small cage for weeks now. I know, i know - story of any shelter animal's life. But its just so sad.



Maya just wants to be loved. ...but on her own terms. She is a female, and we all know what attitude issues come with that (I'm a girl, I can say it). She doesn't like dogs. She doesn't like cats. She doesn't like you touching her back or by her butt. *sigh* women.

We're looking to find a... quiet plain home for her where she would not be bothered too much. Maybe with some senior citizens (she seems like she's 6-9 years old herself, so no spring chicken). Or just someone who wouldn't bug her too much. Let her trust them on her own terms. That means NO kids/cats/dogs/in-laws. But perfect homes are so easy to find, as we all know...

Honestly, I think she would calm down with her attitude if she was in a home. The grooming shop is no place for a cat that's not used to it. Too much noise, too much stress, too many dogs. she's very sweet when there are no dogs near her...

btw in case you're wondering, she DOES have eyes. They're green and beautiful. So beautiful that you should see them in person. Y'know, in your home. Consider it.

On a completely seperate note...



Marco tells the boy, "screw your lab report. You're taking up the sun spot."