In Memory of Shawna

"Blue Day"

I did this painting of Shawna a year ago, last spring. Sadly our sweet dog passed away yesterday at age 12. I've painted Shawna several times and no doubt will be painting her again. Sweet dreams Shawna, you will be sadly missed.

Shawna with a Smile

"Shawna with a Smile"

6x8 Oil on Linen Panel

Carol Horzempa

NFS

These last three paintings seems to have turned into a series of my dog. My husband suggested I paint Shawna with a smile this time. For reference I used a photo taken of her three years ago while hiking up a steep hill. She beat me to the top and proudly stood there enjoying the view while waiting for me. I was able to capture that moment with my camera. Unfortunately Shawna is in the midst of her senior years and can only take short walks on level ground now.

I discovered a linen canvas in a Sampler Pad from Jerry's Artarama that I love painting on. I used it for this painting. It is called Senso Heavyweight Premium Linen Canvas which comes in rolls and  pads.

By the way, I used my right hand for Shawna's face and the rest with my lefty. I really enjoy painting this way.

Zoning Out

"Zoning Out"

6x8 oil on gessoed panel 

NFS

Another painting of Shawna, this time using my right hand most of the time. In this portrait I focused on the values and tried to capture the way my sweet old dog looks just before falling asleep. I decided to submit this to last weeks "Lying Down Challenge" posted on The Daily Paintworks by Carol Carmichael. Carol challenged fellow artists to paint someone or something in the state of repose. 

Loyal

"Loyal"

6x8 oil on gessoed paper
NFS

I've always wanted to try painting with my left hand, since I have reason to believe I was born a lefty. At a tender age I was forced to switch to my right hand which eventually became my dominate hand. I wonder how many artists also had this experience when growing up? Well, today I found it quite liberating to paint with my left hand. This is my first try and I found it easier than expected. I didn't use my right hand for anything and didn't feel I needed too. I painted Shawna from this same photo in the past as seen here but I think I got the feeling down better in this one. I may try using my left hand more often in the future.

Waiting

"Waiting"

oil on canvas 8x8
 Carol Horzempa

My Gordon Setter Shawna, waits every day for her favorite people to put on their boots and take her for a walk. She is 12 years old, gray in the muzzle and a little arthritic but still acts like a bird dog out in the woods. This is the third time I have done a painting of Shawna laying next to boots. This time I spent more time trying to capture her special look while waiting to go for a walk.

Polly Madel of Daily Paintworks challenged artists to paint "mans best friend" and their favorite thing. Shawna knows when my husband and I put on our hiking boots that means she gets to do her favorite thing! 

Okruszek

"Okruszek"

oil on canvas 6x6
Carol Horzempa
NFS

This is a little homeless dog that was found tied to the inside of a trash can in Poland. A wonderful woman named Ori has a rescue home for homeless cats and dogs that have been abandoned, abused or found in the forests of Poland. Not only does she find homes for them but she takes beautiful pictures of them and has given me permission to paint from her photos.

Okruszek, which means crumb in Polish, is a fitting name for him since he was thrown in the trash like nothing other than a piece of crumb. He is an old dog with health problems but will be taken care of by kind caregivers to enjoy his last days with good food, medicine and a warm bed.

My granddaughter fell in love with this painting so I plan to surprise her with it for her birthday next week.

This painting has been submitted to the DPW Challenge on Color sponsored by Carol Marine.

Update: On April 28th Ori (the woman in Poland that rescued Okruszek) wrote this on her blog about Okruszek (Crumb):

Crumb died yesterday evening.

We had him for three weeks and three days.
I guess I have never met anyone who would be at the bottom of this misery, so incredibly battered by fate, so lonely and helpless.
We tried for three weeks to give him as much love as he should get through his long life. We believed, or rather, I naively believed that in this way manage to outwit the disease, banish it from the Heavens and bargain a few months.
Crumb rewarded us well-being and attempt to return to health, but the forces he was able to very briefly.
He died as someone very dear, important, deplorable as Someone's dog, nestling, farewell, and was buried with great respect.

(This has been translated from Polish to English by Google Translate)

Blue Day II

Blue Day
oil on canvas 6x6
Carol Horzempa
Sold

I decided to paint from the same photo that I used for a painting I did two years ago called "Blue Day." I wanted to experiment with the "one color per stroke" method in this painting. I have found myself painting this way ever since I entered Carol Marine's "One Color per Stroke Challenge" on the Daily Paintworks website.

I am really hooked on this method of painting! You have to think about values and color before each stroke but it's fun and I find my paintings look fresher. Of course I did break a couple of rules by using a smaller brush in places and forgetting to squint.

When I took the photo of Shawna, she was laid up with a torn dewclaw and had to spend the day indoors with a bandage on her leg. She looked so sad and worried in the photo that I just couldn't resist painting her the first time and a second time with a little thicker paint.

This is the second painting I've entered in Carol Marine's challenge. Be sure to check the over 200 entries here.

The Help Japan Challenge

"Waiting"

on canvas 6x6
Carol Horzempa
Sold

I decided to do another painting of Shawna, this time with her head resting on my husband's boots. I took the picture yesterday and she was a great model, waiting patiently for me to snap the picture while giving me the eye.

We adopted this sweet dog 10 years ago when she was a year old. While my husband was writing out a check to the rescue people Shawna laid down next to his feet and put her head on his boot. I knew then this homeless dog was adopting my husband and they have been inseparable ever since.

I will be donating this painting to the Daily Paintworks website: "The Japan Challenge." I thought this painting would be fitting for this challenge since "home" is the theme. This painting comes with a solid cherry wood frame.

All proceeds will go directly to the Humane Society International. The HSI team will be taking in animals that have lost their owners and helping the Japanese people who have managed to survive with their pets.

Please click here to the auction page to place your bid.

Update: Here is a photo of the solid wood cherry frame that comes with this paintings.

Tishie Trouble

"Tishie Trouble"
6x6 oil on Masonite panel
Carol Horzempa
NFS

This little dog is an American Eskimo who belongs to my 96-year-old mother-in-law, Estelle. I have been taking care of her "baby" for a couple of months while she is recuperating from a fall in her home.

In this painting I tried to focus on capturing Tishie's spirit and that mischievous look he gives me every time he's about ready to get into trouble. He will hopefully be returning home to his "mommy" the beginning of June.

In Memory of Holly

"In Memory of Holly"
6x7 oil on canvas

Carol Horzempa
NFS

This little Border Terrier will be truly missed by my sister. Below is a poem she has written that best described her little companion that kept her company for the past 10 years.

"Holly"

So cute you are little Border Terrier

Whether closely shorn or hairier

Rain, snow, sleet; no matter what pours

Kin from Northumberland's harsh shores

My life you fill with joy and hearty laughs

In the house; teasing, kissing, snuggling naps

Out the door; a wild predator, oh so fun

Chasing squirrels, rabbits, bugs in the sun

Roll over tricks for a doggie bone

You keep me young and not alone

You take me places I would never go

Dog companion, sniffing weeds, exploring a hole

For this little pet thank you God; I do

She depends on me for everything, and I on You

By Elaine Schneider

That Darn Cat!

"That Darn Cat"

oil on canvas

This is my contribution to Karin Jurick’s DSFDF Challenge. Sometimes I like to tell a story with my paintings. Karin strongly suggested that we follow our intuitions on this challenge so I allowed my illustration background to come though on this project.

This is what I imagine would happen if I put a dish of sushi with crabmeat and soy sauce on my kitchen counter. My "counter kitty" Dorie loves anything with fish and I recently found out she likes soy sauce too.

The hardest thing to paint was her tongue licking up soy sauce and getting the right color. I found an old tube of Rose Madder made just the right pink I was looking for. Now I think it would be fun to paint Dorie licking up milk.

Blue Day

"Blue Day" 
oil on canvas 6x9
© 2009 Carol Horzempa
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Shawna broke her dewclaw after running through some brush last week. After a trip to the vet she had to spend the rest of the day laid up with a bandage on her leg. She looked so cute with her blue bandage and so sad I had to take a photo of her and tried to capture the moment in my painting.

Winter Run

"Winter Run"
oil on canvas 
6x8

I never painted a dog so small before. I had to paint Shawna’s face with a small palette knife to keep from doing too much detail. I always wanted to paint her running through the woods in the snow, something she does everyday. That is her favorite thing to do especially in the winter. I’m looking forward to painting a larger image of Shawna in the future.

Shawna

"Shawna"

oil on canvas

This painting was my first submission for Karin Jurick's biweekly challenge on Different Strokes from Different Folks Dec. 3, 2008. In this challenge we were asked to paint our interpretation of a photo of Karin's work boots. I wasn't planning to enter the challenge but I kept seeing a painting of my Gordon Setter Shawna curled up next to Karin's boots. I barely finished my painting before the deadline. Since then I decided it needed to be developed further so I included more of Shawna in the painting as you can see.

This sweetheart of a dog was rescued from a shelter and was only hours from being put down. Shawna was a year old when we adopted her and has been part of our family for 8 years. She still looks and acts like a pup except for her graying muzzle, which I love to paint. You will be seeing more of her I’m sure, since she is a great model in front of my camera.