I am reading The Artist's Way and gave myself permission to do something that wasn't perfect or created under pressure. I have an easy reader I'm working on about a haunted dog house and I wondered if I could illustrate it. So I did some sketches of the characters - Puffy the poodle, Buddy the black lab (see photo), Tank the bullmastiff, and Claude the basset hound. Bingo! I realized that I love to draw dogs! I painted a few which then led to painting more detailed portraits which led to selling three of them! Now I'm hooked and have started a Facebook page called Pup Up Paintings (I tried to be more clever but other people beat me to the names, but this is fun to say!). If you'd like to follow my new-found art direction, please like my page. 

A friend of mine is a partner in Happy Tails Dog Ranch and also works with All Aboard Animal Rescue. I've decided that one way to help dogs get placed in happy homes is to donate $10 from each purchased painting to the rescue. 

If you're interested in having a watercolor painting done of your pup, please inquire.