Wednesday, September 29, 2010

What I Used To Do

Nine or ten years ago, I was painting up a storm. Quite by accident, I discovered I could paint pet portraits. I even amazed myself because if anybody had told me I had the ability to do this, I would have told them they were nuts.

I used to have a website, and a display at a groomer's shop. The orders were quite steady and I made some extra money, but the real pleasure was from the owners' reaction. I've painted several deceased pets as well, and always strived for perfection.

I'm not sure what happened, but my paintbrushes have been dry for a long time. Probably because I got involved in quilting, and there just aren't enough hours in the day for me to do everything I love. But I try...

I've got pictures of every portrait I did, but can't locate them (another project on my to-do list). Here are a few to show you. I'd really like to paint again; I've never even completed the portrait of my precious Princess I started a few years ago.

I started out painting on 8x8 tiles. Customers loved them because they were easy to display or hang on the wall.

This is Harlea.


This was the first full portrait on canvas I did for a co-worker of her little King Charles Spaniel, Bailey.

Then another co-worker commissioned me to paint his daughter's dogs as a Christmas gift, also on canvas. Here are Buddy and Daisy. I loved painting tongues and teeth for some reason (I know, I'm weird).

I'll get back into it one day....

5 comments:

Amy said...

Those are great paintings! You are so talented dahling!!!

Laura said...

"One day" needs to be tomorrow! Get yourself an Etsy shop and DO THIS! Oh my, you are so good! Have you ever done cats?

Anonymous said...

Phyllis, these are wonderful. Maybe sneak an hour in here and there? I'll bet you will get more commissions this time around. People so love their animals and you can do this. I know you can!
Hugs, Diane

Unknown said...

great artwork!

Unknown said...

What I used to do was a bit the same to yours. Just like you, I painted and got all the financial needs from my part-time work as an employee on a nearby color shop. It was actually a small business. Payroll service never fails to satisfy us workers because it was all handled and distributed smoothly. Outsourcing payroll maybe an easy job for them but it still require intricate analysis and computation. The absence of mathematics in me made me to salute them to the highest end.
Anyway, lovely artwork and story. Good luck to your finances!