"The Art of Being a Pet" by Rachel DiAndrea: Bling's Buried Treasure

"The Art of Being a Pet" by Rachel DiAndrea: Bling's Buried Treasure: This is the time of year that we all get excited , invigorated, jolly and even a bit anxious over what to buy that special person for the H...

Bling's Buried Treasure

This is the time of  year that we all get excited , invigorated, jolly and even a bit anxious over what to buy that special person for the Holiday. I like to shop year round,  at art shows and creative venues experienced throughout the season,  stockpiling my treasure gifts in my secret hiding place where no child dare look!  Even Santa myself forgets from time to time the very cool widgets and trinkets just waiting to be given as the gift o' rama of Xmas draws closer. My ultimate hiding place,  my secret cover had held the guiness record for the longest secret hiding place....that is until my best friend BlingBling decided to go shopping for himself.
I had noticed recently Bling would disappear every morning just after the 6:00 morning walk....I would hear him scamper up the stairs down the darkest of hallways, while the rest of the family slept...could he be resting with my son, or just positoning himself to look out the top window, ready to pounce on the window sill after the paper boy? NOPE, little Bling, had been doing some shopping of his own for the holidays.  I followed him that morning, peering around the doorway corner only to see him rummaging through bags, and packages,digging and digging as if he was on a canine top secret mission.  Bling had been shopping for his gift,  the doggie present he loves to open every christmas morning.  Not only that, but in the pile of wrapped packages, bows and wrapping paper,  was a 1/2 eaten milkbone biscuit, a slice of bagel,  and a tennis ball, all ready from Bling to be inventoried and wrapped.  Perhaps even dogs share the secret of Giving!  Merry Xmas. 

"The Art of Being a Pet" by Rachel DiAndrea: The three pigs...

"The Art of Being a Pet" by Rachel DiAndrea: The three pigs...: This little piggy went to market, this little piggy had none, this little piggy shed all of its hair and sent it to Rachel for a color coor...

The three pigs...

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy had none,  this little piggy shed all of its hair and sent it to Rachel for a color coordinated opportunity to make new paint brushes!  Yes, more piggy stories!

Well, I received more pot belly pig hair stocked and ready for paint brush making, thanks to my friend Kim , the pig passionate human who rescues Pot bellies.  As a special thank you, here is a sketch of my version of the three pot belly pig -hair-brush-makers.

"The Art of Being a Pet" by Rachel DiAndrea: Sam I Am!

"The Art of Being a Pet" by Rachel DiAndrea: Sam I Am!: My canine friend Sam had quite a story to tell one Friday evening in August. He's a real Momma's boy, a designer dog, cute as the dickens, ...

Sam I Am!

My canine friend Sam had quite a story to tell one Friday evening in August. He's a real Momma's boy, a designer dog, cute as the dickens,  who hovers around his human's feet, staying close to treat jar, and never leaving the confines of his fenced in yard...that is until he decided to doggie dash away from the groomers studio.....Yikes.  Up and down the streets we walked, searched, called, and asked good citizens who were near.....flyers flew around the city, walkers walked looking in search of little charcoal colored Sammy.  It was a horrifying night, that worsened, when a call came from a neighbor saying a car accidentally hit a small pooch.  Our hearts sank...but our HOPE didn't.  Up at the crack of dawn, a cry from a worried pet parent near the wooded area, flushed out little Sam!  He was bloody and beaten, tired and hungry, but he was back in his Momma's lap heading to the vet!  Little Sam was going to be OK, and he was certainly overheard to say, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home!" Wonder if ruby slippers come in canine size small?

Scottie Confetti

Have you ever wondered how artists name final compositions?  Is it the subject matter? or perhaps the experience with due process? Maybe its just a rush of emotion that iniciates thought? Perhaps all of the above?
My latest french pastel, ignited a humorous title into my mind as I was drafting my final Hancock in the lower left corner.  "Scottie Confetti"...as the title came to me, exhibited the explosion of color, a jovial happy vision of two Scottish Terriers side by side. Having experienced  a celebration where cannons of excitement burst from the corners of a stage, fountains of colored paper erupt overhead and twinkling down ever so delicately, a rush of happienss embraces the moment, just as in my studio recently.
Originally created for a gallery exhibit themed YIN and YANG, this jovial pastel featured a whimsical Scottie dog pair, one black and the other white.  My intensions to illustrate peacefull balance shifted in a direction  of unexpected energy lighting up the Strathmore with  Lime green, canary yellow, plum, and fushia.
Having shared a country home with a Scottie dog for two weeks, the innate memories of this comical little dog paralelled a finalli of energetic, unexpected humor, with personality plus, and an attitude bigger than life.  It felt only appropriate to recall this moment with the color and excitment of a stage production, calling the pastel "Scottie Confetti."