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In This Issue
 ANNOUNCING … CHARLOTTE’s CHARITY
DRIVE: Those of you who know
me, know of my deep love and admiration for animals. In every issue, we feature several
prints. A donation of $2 from each
featured print will be made to our featured charity that month. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for
supporting the care and appreciation of animals everywhere.
Bogee & Bacall, rescued by our friends at NSAL
To see the full
story, visit their website: http://www.nsalamerica.org/
North Shore
Animal League America (NSAL) is the largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption
organization in the world. The main adoption facility is located in Port
Washington, New York but mobile units allow them to travel the country rescuing
animals from various different situations. Since 1944, The League's mission has
been saving the lives of pets through adoption, rescue, spay/neuter and
advocacy initiatives. Every year, NSAL reaches across the country to
rescue, nurture, and adopt nearly 20,000 pets into happy and loving homes. To
date, The League has placed close to one million puppies, kittens, cats and
dogs into carefully screened homes. One of the first animal rescue agencies on
the ground in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, The League
rescued more than 1400 pets from the region.
NSAL continues to work toward making
the world a safer, friendlier, healthier place for animals in need. Their programs
demonstrate the value of the human-animal bond and they are dedicated to making
an important difference in the lives of animals everywhere.
June is adopt a cat month. We
have four wonderful cats in our family, all rescue cats. They fit our lifestyle purrrrfectly. Each has a
delightfully different personality. Their antics are amusing and they are
very affectionate. Though I love dogs equally well and would love to have one,
my husband and I travel frequently and I feel it is not fair to board a
dog so often. Cats on the other hand can be left for two to three days as
long as there is ample access to water and food. Ours are indoor cats and our
grandson comes over every other day to refresh their food, water and
litter boxes when we are out of town.
Spring is baby animal season
for most species. This time of year, shelters are usually overcrowded with
kittens and puppies that people have discarded for one reason or another. They
deserve a chance at life. If you are thinking about a pet, cats
are less demanding than dogs (in terms of time and space
requirements). I believe animals know when they have been rescued and
given a second chance at life and reward us gratefully with loving
companionship. I encourage you to find a purrrrfect friend and enjoy the love they give.
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"Dogs come when they're called. cats take a message and get back to you." Mary Bly
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I love to see people smile. My hope is that my art catches people off guard, and makes them laugh in unexpected, silly ways. Much of my art includes animals, and I think by portraying their beauty and devotion in playful ways, it will bring awareness to the need for all of us to take loving care of all the animals in our beautiful world.
Each month, I will answer a question in the hope that it will encourage you, the reader, to expand your awareness of your own artistic nature. Just play and have fun, like you did when you were a child! I will also reveal the story behind my art. For each featured piece in my “Double Feature” you will learn how the idea came to me, and see the fun I had creating each piece.
I want to encourage you to have fun, and feel free to be playful in life. I truly believe, when we feel happy, we can reach out and share that happiness with each other and with animals. Good things will naturally happen when happy people open their hearts.
Make your life a work of art -
 One day, while
watching some golfers hitting practice balls, I heard one of them shout FORE as a ball soared just barely over the head of another golfer. My mind quickly added fore and four and I
instantly saw a foursome with golf balls going in every direction.
The play on
words caught me off guard at an art show once when a little girl and her Mother
were flipping through some of my prints. When they came to Foreplay, the child
looked up and asked, “What is Foreplay?" The Mom looked stricken so I
quickly explained that it usually takes four men to play a game of golf. The
little girl said to me, "Well you spell four … F-O-U-R." I told her
she was obviously a much better speller than me. Her Mom and I both stifled a
chuckle and the daughter looked very pleased with herself.
This is a great
print to give as a Father's Day gift for your favorite golf-loving Dad to hang
in his office. (I think he’ll like this
better than another tie to hang in his closet.) There are two other golf-themed prints that you can find on my website: Out on
the Lynx and Tiger Woods but Foreplay is my favorite.
Add Fore Play To Cart
When you purchase 'Fore Play' with 'Six Pack of Long Necks' you save $10.00! Enter coupon code "greatdad" at checkout without the quotation marks. Happy Father's Day!
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 One hot summer
day, my husband and his friend were talking about going out to get a six pack
of longnecks. When I asked what that was, they looked at me, like DUH,
it's beer. Well, in my world a six pack of longnecks is a group of
giraffes. To honor my husband who said the words that popped a new painting
into my head, I included a tribute to some of his favorite beers. On the lower
right side of the painting in the checkered savannah there is a small red
shamrock representing Killian's Red, a rose bud representing Bud Light and a
wheat stalk representing Miller Beer. Then sitting atop one of the giraffes,
totally unafraid and rather pleased with herself, is a little girl representing
St. Paulie's Girl Beer.
Now, please
don’t think that this painting is an advertisement for beer – not at all. This is just the crazy way my mind works when
I am amusing myself with a paintbrush. The beer icons are very subtle so that this print can work great in a
home bar and equally well in a young child’s bedroom.
Add Six Pack of Long Necks To Cart
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After the
grants ran out that funded ParkArt, another great opportunity fell in my
lap. I was hired by a company to design cross-stitch pieces for their
publications. I had never worked on a grid before, and cross-stitch and
needlepoint are all about tiny little squares. It was an exciting challenge for
me to work in an entirely new approach to how I’d approached my projects as an
artist. Not being a cross-stitcher myself, I had to learn basic stitches so
that I could chart them correctly. This was the first time I had worked with
colors of floss instead of paint colors. But more intriguingly, this was the
first time I had ever seen my work published. In addition to the several
magazines and hardback books we produced, there were also leaflets with single
patterns on them. I could go into shops that carried the leaflets and see
my name and my designs displayed on the racks. This was heady stuff for me back
then!
The publishing company received
the licensing rights to create cross-stitch designs for some of the Disney characters as well
as The Beginner's Bible and the Peanuts characters.
I talked on the phone several times to the late Charles Schultz as I worked on
Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang. He was such a nice man -- always
appreciative, lively and upbeat. I enjoyed my chats with him and would have loved
to have met him in person. Working with Disney was another story. There
were endless changes and multiple deadlines to be met. Learning about all
the specific personality traits of the different characters was an
education. (Goofy would do this, but he would never do that; Minnie would wear
this, but she would never wear that.) I was sent to California to a
four day Winnie-the-Pooh school. What a fun treat that was! Disney really knows
how to do it up right and they spare no expense. Each day they served
elaborate themed meals. Costumed waiters, table decorations and even
the food all carried out the themes. We went to morning and afternoon classes each
day. Who knew there was so much to learn about Pooh and his friends.
I spent six years as senior designer
for the publishing company. When the company was sold and subsequently moved to
another state, I decided to pursue painting on my own. I learned a lot at
the magazine about publishing, about stitchery, and about translating flowing
lines into pixels on a grid. It was a wonderful experience, but when that
chapter came to a close I decided it was a good time to pursue painting on
my own. As I did, I began to notice how squares of color began to appear in
most of my paintings, sometimes as a predominant theme and other times more
subtle. Perhaps this is a holdover from the years of working on the tiny grid,
but I find it is a metaphor for me because I often think of life
as a game board. It seems to me, all of
us are on different squares yet connected on the same playing field called Life.
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Swan Dads! Click the picture below to watch an inspiring story of a great DAD!
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It doesn't matter if Dad is working or playing, he gets thirsty. What a great way to show Dad you care about him with this fun water bottle that he's sure to enjoy!
Click here to order in time for Father's Day!
Artwork on water bottle shown above
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 June is also National Drive Safely Month. To encourage you to drive safely, we have a
Double- Double-Feature this month: Cattle
Drive & Car Jacking
One afternoon,
I had been talking to my neighbor's Jack Russell Terrier. (Yes, I talk to dogs -- especially ones that
I know.) That night, the news was
reporting yet another carjacking somewhere. Somehow my mind put a bunch of
Jacks in a convertible and away they went for a joy ride. One thing that I find
fun is to take a word or phrase that has a negative connotation and change it
into something fun and positive, like this one. Once I got on the car kick Pugs
in a Bug popped up and then I heard someone mention a cattle drive in Texas.
Next thing I knew cows were riding around in a Mustang. The bull is obviously
comfortable with his driving skills but the females look a little dubious about
the experience. We are on the cusp of summer now, good weather for
putting the top down and letting the wind blow through your hair.
Where ever you drive, go
safely.
Add Cattle Drive to Cart
Add Car Jacking to Cart
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