"Paws for a Cause" Fair 2011

To all you animal lovers out there, come join me at the Great Lakes Lab Fundraiser tomorrow, 11/18/11 for some holiday fun with your furry kids!  15% of the proceeds will go towards a great cause!

Also, make sure to stop by my CAP Aristry table to discuss ordering a pet portrait of your furry loved one : ) 

You can look at my past blog posts to see Roxie and Tasha, two previous commissioned portraits that I did.

Hope to see you there!

Christine



More portraits......

Another portrait exercise....still working on her but I think I'm likin' this ; )

Paradise....

Been working on this painting for a while (probably on and off for a year!) and I just couldn't get it "right". Was ready to frame it and I thought, if I wouldn't buy this or hang it in my house, why would someone else?!? Soooo, I switched things up a bit and now it feels "right" to me : )

The Beginning of the Portraits for me?

Started taking a portrait workshop last Monday...think I may start doing people portraits as well as pet portraits : )

Newest dog portrait commission that I completed..... Tashia! : )

Figuring things out.....

Don't worry... I have NOT forgotten about you guys!  Just trying to figure out if I want to combine a few of these "avenues" of communication for us all to enjoy......website, blog, store, etc.

Debating between staying on Blogger vs going to Wordpress vs going to a website that has many of these elements already set up within it....so confusing at times!!

But, I will be back posting soon...just don't want to get ahead of myself if I'm going to move things around a bit ; )

Talk to you soon,
Christine

Cock-A-Doodle-Do!!!! Bruce's Rooster is here.... ; )

Well, I have to say I'm pretty pleased with Bruce's Rooster.  The technique I used for the background is actually a newer style for me but I'm likin' it!!

Let me know what you think....

Talk to you soon!
Christine

Get Ready for Rooster!

Hi Everyone....so I told you a few weeks ago that I'm doing a commissioned painting for a co-worker of a rooster he saw in Hawaii for his wife.  Well, tomorrow is D-day!  Finishing it up tomorrow night and giving it to him on Friday!

So, keep an eye out for a post in the next day or two, so you can see the final result ; )

Talk to you soon,
Christine

Excited about my new blog "Creative Inspirations with Christine"!

There are so many people who want to be creative but think they have no creative abilities or "talent"....

I disagree!  I think creativity comes in all different shapes and sizes....

From oil painting to knitting to interior decorating to gardening to cabinet making to writing and even the way someone puts an outfit together are just a few examples of how someone expresses their "inner creative self" ; )

Since I always want to learn and try different things and have a great enthusiasm for "spicing things up" in my life, I thought I could share some of my interests/activities to help inspire those who have the creative desire but may not know where to begin .....

So...stay tuned and make sure to take a look and see what I come up with ; )
Make sure to subscribe/favorite: "Creative Inspirations with Christine"

Talk to you soon,
Christine

Honored to be part of a memorial to one of our fallen soldiers...

I just had to share an experience that I had this past weekend while painting at the gallery..

There was a fest going on a little further down the block so people were walking by the gallery to go to the fest.  I was outside painting at my easel when a young man came over to me after standing there for a few minutes not really looking at the paintings or other people out there with me.  He said that based on what he saw me doing,  he wondered if I could do a painting for him...though it would be sad.  I was a bit surprised by the comment but said of course and asked what he was looking for....at this point, he had not even walked around my easel to see what I was painting.....and he said that a friend of his had been killed in Afghanistan and he said that he wanted a painting that would symbolize and honor what he had been doing over there.


I was, of course, taken aback and tried to think of details to ask regarding the painting....did he want a portrait?  He said no, he had been talking with his buddies and they thought symbols like a boot, rifle, torn flag would be better suited to represent what he wanted the message to embody.  We discussed colors for the painting and he indicated that he wanted very melancholy colors to indicate the sadness of the situation.  Then I asked about size...how big did he want this and he then proceeded to tell me that this was for the headstone that they are putting at his grave site!  And that it takes time for the person to get shipped back from overseas, so the funeral would be in 4 - 5 weeks and could I complete it by then so it will be embedded in the headstone.  I said of course!! and we exchanged information so that I could get more details from him and show him sketches of my ideas before doing the final painting.
 
I am so honored to be part of such a tremendously important event honoring one of our fallen soldiers and that my painting will be there for as long as he is buried there....representing the love, honor and respect his loved ones feel for him now and forever.

See you soon,
Christine