Sam's Story...The Beginning



Golden Smile
c. 2012 Claudia Ballard
12 x 16 acrylic on masonite panel

Well, this is not really him, but sure does resemble him.  I will do another painting one day of the real thing.  He was an awkward and lanky golden retriever pup that arrived at our neighbors´ home and quickly tried to climb their picnic table, but his wobbly legs would not cooperate with the rest of his fast-growing body.  He discovered we were home a lot more than his owners and spent the day camped out on our porch or following us around the yard.  Sam was quickly adopted as our “granddog”.  He grew up to be a strapping 96-pound lapdog!   He was exceptionally smart and talented (as any grandmother would tell you) and was always into something that made us laugh. 

Watch for more stories about Sam and the other dogs we have known coming soon.

 

As you will see, I am retooling my blog to reflect my new focus on animal art…specifically pet portraits.  Please see my pet portrait page here, if you would like more information on a custom portrait as a gift for a loved one or yourself. 

Marjorie's Washer
@2012, Claudia Ballard
8 x 10 acrylic on panel

Please ignore the bars of light across the top of this painting...I shot this on the road and not in my usual studio setting.  This is one of the paintings I finished during my “retreat”.  It was based on a photo reference I took at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings home in Cross Creek, Florida.  Growing up I remember my grandmother washing clothes in these big galvanized tubs.  When we were really little, we would turn them into wading pools on hot summer days.  I might be able to get both feet in one these days.  :->  It is a beautiful historic state park and there are tours of the house, which is just as she left it.  Have more photos of this site which I hope to develop into paintings someday.  Click here for more information on the park.

For now it is good to be back home in the Florida sand.  South Carolina was beautiful...still some spring rhodedendrons and azaleas hanging on.  My sis-in-law has beds of irises just opening into huge blooms.  They have a bird feeder just off the dining area in front of a bank of windows.  Lots of cardinals, gold finches, wrens, house finches, and a stray woodpecker or two stopped by while we ate breakfast.  I went to sleep one night to sounds of an owl in the woods across from their property.  Stay tuned for more animal paintings coming soon!

Homespun Artist's Retreat

I am traveling this week to visit my 87-year-old mother in SC while my brother and his wife are away.  I decided to steal, ummm borrow,  ;-> an idea from one of my fellow artists in the mentor program, Terri West, of Orlando.  Being short on funds to attend a formal workshop, she decided to create her own art retreat at home for a week.  So, I have packed up my essential gear and canvases and paint, and have made the most of my week away from the distractions at home.  After recuperating from the 9-hour drive, I have managed to finish three paintings that needed fine tuning and prepared the background on several canvases and worked out my sketches for those.  I hope to at least get a number of starts done to take home to finish up.

Bright Eyes
@2012 Claudia Ballard
5 x 7 acrylic on canvas panel

I am working on a portfolio of animal portraits to hone my skills for doing pet portraits.  Will put together some flyers to leave at the veternarian offices and other pet friendly outlets to see if I can generate some commission work.  If you know any animal lovers, please help me grow my business.  Just ask me for referral postcards; they are stamped and ready for you to address and send to your friends and have a photo of one of my paintings.  (I even left room at the bottom for you to scribble a note if you like.)

Spring is for the Birds

Jay
@2012 Claudia Ballard
5 x 7 acrylic on canvas panel

Long after the bulbs have died back and the azalea blooms have dropped, there is the happy sound of chirping in the trees around our home. First the robins pop in on their migration, which of course makes the resident mockingbird crazy trying to protect his territory. Then the cardinals and jays and wrens add to the chorus. And the pine siskin which is so tiny it is hard to see.  But the final sure sign of spring for us is the evening we hear the first whippoorwill call.  We are always longing to hear that sound…kind of haunting but so beautiful.  In the next few weeks, as they seek mates, there will be long evenings of calls back and forth until the chorus becomes so loud, we have to close a few windows to be able to hear.  Now we have to scurry to get the feeders out for the hummingbirds who will land next.

Walk In the Woods

It was really foggy this morning when I took Bonnie out for her walk.  The mist had settled on all the cobwebs leaving little white tufts of webs decorating the shrubs and undergrowth in the woods behind our house.  It would be lovely to paint, but I don't think it is possible (for me) to capture the delicacy of those little webs on canvas. 

Bonnie is my two-year-old Cocker spaniel.  She is a rescue dog we adopted last fall from the Florida Little Dog Rescue out of St. Cloud, FL.  Bonnie gives us lots of reasons to laugh as she discovers her new world--squirrels, birds, even a baby gopher tortoise.  The gopher has long since vacated his chambers for safer housing and we had laid bricks over its entrance to discourage the dog from digging under the steps.  But this afternoon the scent must have wafted up from somewhere and 20-pound Bonnie would not rest until she had dug up the pile of bricks and had her front half under the steps and down the hole.  She eventually realized nobody was "home" and gave up, but not until she had dirt stuffed in her ears and nose and her pink tongue was hanging out sideways.

We named this pup for another Bonnie--an amazing maternal black lab--who helped me overcome my fears and feel truly at ease with animals.  More about that to come.

Vincent's Starry Night

Just stumbled across this on the internet and had to share.  One creative genius has designed an interactive application to combine music and motion using works from the Masters.  Hope you enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/36466564

Getting Back Up

@2012 Claudia Ballard, Ricky Up a Tree, 5 x7 acrylic

If you trip and fall down, you don’t just lie there on the ground….unless something is seriously broken.  You hop up, dust yourself off, and go again.  Hopefully a little wiser to watch where you put your big feet.  My blog and marketing plans suffered a tumble due to a mountain of tax returns, the “go-live” for two major new clients at the day job, capped off by our septic tank backing up into the house. 

So, I have filed returns, rearranged my work schedule, and cleaned up the mess.  I am learning to make better use of my time….writing this while waiting in line for customer service at the bank.  Have designed and ordered business cards and promotional materials.  Just need to find a balance in my schedule to make a place for my art, because I refuse to lie there and give up before I have even started walking.

Mentorship

We did have a wonderful session with our mentor group this weekend.  We have such different styles as artists, and we are all at different stages in the development of our art careers, but I am learning so much from all of them.  They have all helped me find a clearer focus for my work…so expect to see more wildlife and less trees.