Catching up - Customs!

Well, my friend Beth gently reminded me that I have been completely ignoring this blog for the past four months. The shells that were featured as new listings in the last entries have already reached their four month limit on Etsy and have had to been renewed. Seriously, shame on me.

In fact I've been incredibly slow on painting in these months. Schoolwork has kept me occupied and miserable :P

I've had a couple of commissioned portraits to keep me busy though! So I'm gonna show them off :)


This is River and Coyote, two bi-black shelties. They are very, very handsome gentlemen. And they're tough little dogs too - River herds cattle! The photo doesn't really do the shell justice, because here the picture looks a bit warped due to the curvature of the shell, and the flash made the shading look very harsh. But it really came out quite nice.


This is Francesca, a graceful little Italian Greyhound girl. Iggy ears often go in wonky directions throughout the day (my boys can attest to this). But the dogs never seem to notice and continue with their godly attitude. Much like here - Francesca's ear went all funny but she kept a serious look on her face! Silly iggies...


Karen and Yoshi are two brindle greyhounds who are no longer with us. Yoshi was a sweet sensitive boy, and Karen was a bit of a prankster. Unfortunately the shell took a fall and broke. I was able to repair it pretty well, though. Thank you, Gale, for being so patient and understanding!


Now this sweet girl is Cheska, a retriever mix rescue. She has the most beautiful eyes and a lovely sable coat.


Look familiar? Its Cheska again. Her mum decided to get two portraits, showing two different sides of this pretty girl, one serious and one smiley :)

I've also got a pretty exciting custom portrait coming up that I'm just starting to work on. What's exciting about it? Well, it isn't a dog ;) I'll show you guys when its complete. And next I'll feature some shells that I have painted for my shop.

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!

Gaggle of new

Heh I've been aching to sit down and paint for the past month. I haven't been allowing myself due to finals at college. Its really a shame but while everyone was out there promoting to death in December, I was forced to mostly ignore my shop all month. And my last (and most difficult) final was on the 22nd, right before Christmas. Yah.

Now I've got a month off so I'm stepping up to painting again. I've missed it! I bring a bit of a variety...


First up is a puppy German Shorthaired Pointer. I just love the green eyes they have when they're puppies. He is painted on one of the largest shells that I've got. Overall, i think the shell came out quite lovely.


The next is a Tricolor Rough Collie with a sorta smiley expression. I just love how contrasted tricolor collies and shelties look, those tan eyebrows are utterly handsome!


Another tricolor beauty, this is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. These guys typically have a large white blaze on their face, and the large white spot on the forehead it called the "kissing spot". I really love this breed - their tan eyebrows make them look stern but they are some of the happiest dogs I have ever met. Their tails just don't stop wiggling. He is painted on a delicate soft shell clam.


The last one is a shell i painted as a gift. I don't often do this but it was for a secret santa gift exchange at my favorite online forum. Harley is my giftee's heart dog who passed away from cancer last year, and i knew she would appreciate it.

The Harley shell is also my first official ornament. I got the idea from a sale that didn't quite happen. Someone had asked me to make a shell into an ornament and i had to practice by drilling holes in a blank shell. The sale fell through, but i had a shell with holes drilled into it and i had the idea to make what you see above :)

The shells are available for sale at my shop, ShellVergel! With the exception of that last custom girl that was a gift for someone.

I'm Hearted!

It's official! My shop Shell Vergel has reached 200 hearts! I'm glad you like it guys :)

Three English Gentlemen

I finally got a little painting achieved! I've got a bit of a theme to them! I bring you three gentlemen from England - the English Springer Spaniel, the English Setter and the English Pointer!

Dogs from the British Isles dominate the sporting group, with the pointer, all of the setters, several spaniels and most of the retrievers. They come with boundless energy, loving temperaments and the loveliest, softest eyes :)


English Springer Spaniel.


English Setter.


English Pointer.

As always, you can find these shells and others on ShellVergel.
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Another reminder - if you are interested in getting a custom shell portrait for the holidays, please try to get your order in by Saturday, November 1st.

I miiiight be taking custom orders later in November depending on my school schedule. I will not be painting in December at all, due to preparation for finals, sorry.

So get any custom orders in ASAP please! It can take me up to two weeks to paint a custom portrait, so time counts!

Treasured by Pod

We've been treasured! Hehe its been a while since I've been included in a treasury. In fact I don't remember the last time. But I feel loved - we got two spots in the treasury, no less!

You can visit the treasury right here! Its called "Puppies, Pebbles and Pumps".

A big thank you to PodBeads for including my shells. I highly recommend you check out her shop, her lampwork beads are absolutely marvelous!
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I also wanted to make a note of a new button i added to the side of the blog:

Every time you go to the Animal Rescue Site and click the big purple button, .6 of a bowl of food is donated to feed shelter pets. Clicks add up - visit and click every day. Even more is donated when you buy something from their site. 100% profits from their advertising goes to charity. Its easy and takes only a moment.

Deadline reminder and a very fast dog.

***I'd like to give another reminder that the deadline for custom portrait orders is November 1st, one month from now. This is if you want the portrait ready by Christmas/Holidays.

If you're thinking about having a custom portrait done, please have the order in as soon as possible! I'll be taking finals in December and the whole month will be pretty much off-limits to painting. So I will be getting custom orders out and done by then.
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I'd also like to give my whippet shell a formal introduction...

I can never go for long before delving into sighthounds again. I adore them to pieces, I do. This is a red masked Whippet. But he can pass for an Italian Greyhound too I suppose. I really love dogs that have a thick clear blaze on their faces. Its my sorta "ideal" facial marking. I love how this dude came out :P

As always, available in my shop, and you can click on it in the promotion box on the right.

Gold trim muzzles

I'm so thrilled at the great response to my Those vet bills... post. I oversimplified some very complicated stuff an awful lot to try and get my point across without being too too wordy. But several people commented that they learned something and I'm very glad to hear it :) Being able to afford vet care is really something you need to think about while everything is okay. Don't wait for a pet emergency that costs a thousand or more before you think of how you'll be dealing with the cost - chances are you'll be so shocked you'll barely know your name and that is no time to think about fiscal responsibility ;)
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Ahem. Anyway. I promised I'd quit stalling and get to work and i did just that. I bring to you two black and tan beauties. Except one is liver and tan :P


Here's a Rottweiler with a gigentic smile. They're really such goofy dogs, aren't they?


And a liver and tan Doberman Pinscher. Wonderfully sensitive and very intuitive dogs.

Both shells are available in my shop, you can click right on them in the "Shameless Self-Promotion" box on the right to see them :)

Since I was so wordy with the vet bills post I think I'll make up for it by shutting up now :P

Louis, Personalization, and the Holiday Season

I've been a little slow on shell-painting, i admit. College has started and there's barely enough time for anything. As usual.

But i did get one custom portrait in. Meet Louis...


Louis is a beautiful happy lab mix. I hear that he always wears a smile on his face.
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Hey have you ever seen something in a shop and thought to yourself "it would be totally perfect if only it had..." Lets say we're talking about the shells in my shop. And you see this shell... and you think to yourself 'that looks totally like my dog, if only his body was all white, or his face didn't have a blaze or whatever else...'

If it was a minor request like a bit of a color change, i would be willing to change the shell and edit it. Now I can't do large alterations like change position, or open a closed mouth, since there is no way i can erase paint off a shell surface. But don't be afraid to ask. I will also gladly write your dog's name on the shell. Well not that gladly - my handwriting isn't as neat as i'd like it to be. But I try my best to get it to look neat. Because lets face it, its one thing to have a portrait that looks like your dog but its totally another to officially dedicate it to them.

Perhaps this isn't for every sort of art, and some artists might not be willing to change a piece by request. But I don't mind at all and will work with you as long as the request is do-able.
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On a last note... it may only be September, but the holiday season will be here sooner than you imagine.

The reason I'm bringing it up is that if you have been thinking of giving someone a custom shell portrait as a gift but have been putting it off for later - get it done now. I'm a college student in my senior year of pre-med and I'll have some serious finals in December. So there will absolutely be no last minute portraits. In fact my last final will be on December 22nd, so you can see I'll really be pressed for time.

As much as I hate to say it, the deadline for custom portraits will be no later than November. As long as you want the portrait to come in time for Christmas or whatever holidays. When I'm in school it can take me two to three weeks to complete a commissioned work due to assignments and tests. And I'll really have to pause any artwork when my finals are coming up. Its unfortunate, I'm not happy about it, but its important that i set this deadline.

So to reiterate - if you would like a custom portrait done in time for the holiday season, the deadline to set up the project and send me photos is by November 1st. After that I may squeeze in projects if i have time, but there is no guarantee that i will have a chance to.

Of course shells that are already in my shop will be available for purchase right up to the last moment.

Dig out the warm clothes - soon you'll need them

I'm quite sad to see summer leaving in such a hurry. August didn't even end before the weather started getting cooler around here. While its been a change from searing hot to comfortable, and i am actually able to take the dogs for a nice long walk without worrying that they'll burn their feet on the incredibly hot sidewalk, its still disappointing to see summer go. I don't know, for as long as i can remember summer has been my favorite season and has never lasted long enough. Part of it is because i really hate cold weather. I have an incredibly low tolerance for being cold - something my dogs and i agree on. And before I know it, it will be rainy and damp. And maybe even sleet and snow following. Some people are excited by snow but I'll take 90 degree heat instead anyday. Half the time i even forget to turn on the a/c...

And for those of us who have dogs that are not blessed with thick insulating fur, its a good time to start thinking about how you will keep your dogs warm this fall season.

So lets see what interesting dog apparel i can find on Etsy.

Acme Couture features doggie coats that are very stylish. They are also practical - some are made just for the spring or fall and others are for colder days. Coats are custom made to fit your dog's measurements, so the fit is just right.

This fleece design is more familiar to IG/whippet people. It hugs the curves of the sighthound and is incredibly soft and warm. This particular design is brought to you by Warm Whippets, and as the cold weather is rolling in there will be new selection available. This shop particularly caters to Whippets and Italian Greyhounds because unfortunately they have such deep chests and dimensions very different from your typical dogs - and must have clothes custom made in order to fit properly.

warmwags has a slogan that goes "from mini to mighty... keeping dogs warm!" This particular coat is made custom for any large dog. They are fleece on the outside and fully lined with sherpa on the inside so they'll keep the large but shorthaired dog toasty. Warmwags also has a selection of very warm coats for the teeniest toys.

Furkid Fever features a full selection of clothes so that dogs can match, or even outdo their humans. When I say full selection, I mean everything from pajamas to shirts, skirts and full fancy dresses. These clothes are more for fashion and cuteness than for warmth, and they are absolutely adorable. Especially if your toy pup doesn't realize that they're not human. Most clothes are custom made.

D-Lishus--dog dudz features a selection of hand crocheted sweaters for your pup. They can be custom made to your dog's size and have fun yarn accents. Heh even whole sweaters made of fun yarn so that perhaps your dog can feel like they have a mane.

And of course don't forget that Halloween is coming up. SewSweetFinery features some adorable hat/masks so your dog can join in the party fun.

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?

For those that will meet their humans again someday

I started painting shells several years ago. I didn't do anything particular with them yet, just some patterns and designs. I had a bunch of tubes of acrylic paint and a few shells lying around. This was one of the "designs" i made. I even wrote the date in the back - I painted it in 2005. The best part is that in those three years the paint has stayed in perfect condition, so i can vouch for their longevity.

In fact I painted them, tossed them on the very top shelf of my desk and forgot about those shells. And I recently rediscovered them cause i was browsing up there for whatever reason. They were just lying around and i thought let me DO something with them. Naturally i thought of putting a dog in front of the background. And this reminded me of some paintings i have seen of dogs in a heaven scene (complete with wings and halo and clouds). The picture on the right isn't from the painting I'm thinking of, but its a similar idea (by Artwolf on Etsy). And I'm not particularly religious or anything but for some reason I am intrigued by the idea.

So I decided to try a hand at the idea.
I decided to paint a senior beagle, squinting inthe sun. I decided to leave out the wings and halo (of course I can always add them by request :). That way it can still apply to any senior beagle that loves wide open spaces, not necessarily as a memorial or angel-dog.

But I am still thinking of it as a "Rainbow Bridge" piece. A happy dog who's led a long life. Maybe he was happy for every moment of it. Maybe he's dealt with hardships and tough living conditions and people who didn't appreciate him enough. Either way now he's happy and all he is missing is his favorite human.

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.

getting to know Jack

Seems a lot of you enjoyed the feature on Felted pets. I love them too. If only I could afford one. Or four :P

So I'm back in the painting mood and got a bit done last night while watching Beauty and the Beast. Actually more like listening to Beauty and the Beast - I let random favorite movies play on my laptop in front of me while painting. I focus on the painting but look up on occasion. And sing/say along any lines that i happen to have memorized. Its more lively that way. (psst... what do you guys do to keep the surroundings less quiet while crafting?)


I've always felt so weird painting Jack Russells standing still. It seems to really defy the essence of a breed that never stops moving. So I painted one flying. Okay well not flying, but mid-gallop as they prefer to be.

Actually, thinking back to the first JRT I painted... he wasn't really standing still either.

This guy was rolling around and being a silly puppy. This was one of my earlier shells that sold several months ago. Its fun to note changes in my style. I must have painted him in January (when i officially started the painted shell 'business'). I was experimenting with poses and the colours that i outlined the dogs with. I am still learning shading with acrylic paint, but it was something i really didn't have a handle over then. I also used any random shells, whereas right now I try to use ones that have the most even surfaces. Yep, you live, you learn. To be fair, i used to price my shells a lot more generously in my more rudimentary days.


Here's a more recent Jack Russell I painted, another shell that sold. This is the only JRT I have painted that's actually standing still. And honestly i've never liked this shell, it feels very awkward and unnatural. But someone else liked it obviously, so at least it has some merit.

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And here is another shell I painted last night - only it is not going into my shop. It will be a gift for someone that i promised to give a shell to probably two months ago. Hopefully she won't think that i have forgotten about her!

I tried something different and painted the background a bit of blue. Actually a lot of blue. I normally prefer to rely on the background of the shell itself, but this one was stark bleach white and looked like something was missing. I'm not sure about how i feel about the blueness. Its an experiment.

Felted pets.

Hey its been a while since i did a feature of stuff I found on Etsy. I don't have any new art to show you, so lets talk about the art of others :)

Lets talk about needle felting. More specifically, needle felted sculptures. I've heard of felted hats and bags and stuff, that's easy. But until I came to Etsy, I have never heard of needle felted sculptures. It turns out that a handful of etsians specialize in needle felted sculptures of pets - many will even make custom sculptures of your pets.

Let me start by saying that this is an art that I really know absolutely nothing about (hell, i don't even know how to knit besides "knit" and "purl"). But from what i gather, this is a process of carefully matting yarn into specific shape and texture with the use of a needle. Needle Felted sculptures are not cheap and this is because they require a lot of time and skill to make. I admire needle felters a lot - I have seen a lot of magnificent pet sculptures on Etsy :)
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This lovely Pomeranian in full coat comes from Gfelted made by Gerry. The fur texture is amazingly realistic-looking (and I'm a groomer, I can tell ;). Gerry has a huge range of dog breeds in her shop, with all sorts of fur textures, from silky to double coated to wiry to corded. The little Chinese Crested on the right shows a combination of smoothness and silkyness. Wonderful skill! and of course... I just had to include this last one - and Italian Greyhound! I'm in love! Definitely click on these pictures and see a larger version to see the detail!


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Amelia of Amelia Makes Art makes felted sculptures in a very different style. Those big expressive eyes are felted along with the rest of the sculpture. I particularly love how she handles patterned coats, such as this brindle puppy below... Most of Amelia's work is custom and these are examples of dogs based on other people's pets! Pet sculptures are not the only thing in her shop - she's also got felted soap, paintings and prints of her artwork, as well as commissioned pet portraits.


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Kay of KaysK9s makes keychains with the felted portrait of your pet. The details in the face are amazing. She also has a vegan options, for those that are allergic or do not wish to use animal fibers but still want one of these amazing sculptures.

Kay also makes full body wool sculptures, brooches, pins, and adorable cards and magnets featuring lovely photographs of her sculptures.

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Like I said, I am totally in awe of their talent. There are many other needle felters on Etsy - and not all of them focus on pets - search for it. They are an amazing gift for a fellow pet lover, or for yourself. And a wonderful tribute to pets that are no longer with us.