Goat | 44in x 46in | Feb 2012 | Acrylic on canvas

Q: When is a Goat more than a goat?
A: When it marks the beginning of a new artistic direction for zee dog arteest…

At the end of 2011, subsequent to some long discussions with myself (a life coach, my husband, my sisters, the UPS man), I made the decision to start painting for myself again. This may not sound like a big deal, but it’s been about six years since I created something that wasn’t immediately shipped off to a fabulous client in a distant city. It’s not unlike a spider: you have 100s of babies…and off they go! I also met a huge personal goal in mid-2011 (can’t divulge what but I planted my flag, so to speak, on top of pet portrait mountain) and the timing just seemed right to switch gears.

But switching gears requires some new inspiration. Gorgeous photos inspire me, so I started poking around on photo blogs, getty images, flickr, etc. Specifically, I was looking for a Takin but I ended up stumbling across this stunning photo of a goat, taken by award-wining Austrian photographer, Markus Renner:

Markus' fabulous goat photo

I immediately wanted to paint it. (Poof! Desire + impatience = Inspiration.) And after receiving an email from a complete stranger from an entirely different country, Markus generously granted me permission to paint from it. I love the internet.

I’m incredibly excited to continue experimenting with bolder work like Goat, and an idea for a larger series of paintings seems to be percolating. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, here’s how Goat developed (you can also see a larger version of Goat on the home page):

A Note on 1999-2011
It would be difficult to overstate how lucky I have been to have had such incredible pet portrait clients. Because of their trust in me, I was able to do what I loved for over a decade–and pay the bills at the same time. What a thought. They are the sole reason I’ve been able to hone my pup painting skills over the years, which in turn help me paint Goat. Some clients have even become friends. Friends who check in to see what’s new. Friends I grab coffee with when they’re in town. Friends who send me fantastically inappropriate photo emails (you know who you are). And I actually know people all over the world now–which is pretty cool for a gal that hangs out in her home studio solo for most of the day.

There are a few more cute dogs in my future as I wrap up some commissions from 2011. And I may take on a custom pet portrait here and there this year if the photo speaks to me like Markus’ did (Markus, do you have a dog?!). But for now, and moving forward, I think I hear a big fluffy Highland Cow calling my name…

Goat is lonely.

Thanks for reading!

Miki & Mugsy | 2011 | Acrylic on Canvas | 24in x 36in

Miki & Mugsy close-up

“Aimée, I’m sooooo loving my portrait. It’s hard to explain to folks why a painting is so much better than a photograph, but when they walk in the door and see it, they get it. The first comment is always “WOW” or “Oh WOW”! Photos can’t seem to get the feeling of depth and contour that you’ve captured here. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
- Tracy | Sierra Madre, CA

When I work with a double dog portrait, it’s usually best to work from a single photo of both dogs. But there are occasional exceptions to that rule and this portrait is an example. Here are the photos it took to create Miki & Mugsy’s composition…

I used one photo for Miki's face, one for his legs, and a third for Mugsy.

Their final composition

On a personal note, the second half of 2011 kept me busy with a few things besides compositions, including a full-scale identity theft (still in damage control), a kitchen reno (don’t ask), and the loss of our beloved Barley Bear. My wonderfully patient client was kind enough to put up with a VERY extended turnaround time while I sorted out that trifecta of awful. But I promised her a portrait in time for Christmas, and a Christmas portrait she received. Here are a few snapshots Tracy was nice enough to send after the unwrapping…

Mugsy with Tracy and the portrait. Who needs a dog bed when you have a lap?

I love this shot because it looks like their punishment is taking a photo with the portrait.

Aaaaand this is how your portrait would look on drugs.

I think 2012 is going to bring new and different things for this particular artist. I intend to blog a bit more and keep you posted on all of it.

In the meantime, happy new year to you and your furry friends and thanks, as always, for reading.

Hmm. Smells like California...

Dogs wishing they had opposable thumbs...

Do you approve, Olive?

Yes, I approve...but is there someone behind me?

“I still love, love, love it!! It’s definitely our girl…though the portrait is even more wonderful in person. My husband (who is Olive’s favorite person in the universe) agrees that you did a fantastic job of capturing her. We just absolutely love it!” – Meg (Frankfort, KY)

Finally up on Meg's (fabulous red) wall, where she belongs!

As thanks, as always, for reading…

And here’s the larger version…

Olive | 2011 | Acrylic on canvas | 16in x 16in

(Okay so I was .0007 over)

Thanks, as always, for reading my blog…

Thanks for watching!

Olive - Winning image Submitted by Meg

“This is Olive, a hound mix adopted from the city shelter. She ended up there after being shot by her previous owner during a domestic dispute. Olive apparently spent her first year and a half of life tied up outside. When we brought her home, she literally didn’t know what to do with a toy; instead she played with sticks, leaves, bugs, and even rocks. Now that she knows what toys are for, however, she is rarely without one—her special talent is making things squeak by pushing them with her nose! Olive is a great playmate for her sister, an Australian cattle dog mix, and she loves to snuggle with her three feline brothers. Although she was horribly abused in the past, Olive is sweet and outgoing and enjoys life to the fullest…”

Meg entered fantastic, sweet photo of Ms. Olive: it was clear, had good lighting and was taken at Olive’s eye level. It also had a very specific quality–one that is pretty much impossible for me describe–that allows me believe I could actually paint it in less than three hours. Which I will do very soon! But excuse me while I take….

A brief moment to address the non-winners…

For those of you who are thinking (and I know you are) “Well…Blazes [or other word]!! My dog’s photo had all those qualities too!”—you are probably right. That’s what made this decision so incredibly difficult. In fact, it was so difficult that even though I wrote this entire post last night, I did not actually chose a winner until 8:53 am–three minutes before I had make the announcement. I think if you take a look at all the fabulous entry pics, you’ll understand the challenge. Please know that if I had the time (and was independently wealthy) I’d paint ALL your pooches for free.

But we do have some honorable mentions to get to. The envelopes please!

“Best Droolsicle” Award:

Bella - Submitted by Cynthia

Sandra Dee - Submitted by Andi

Piedra -Submitted by Jon

Lois Lane - Submitted by Angela

Magoo - Submitted by Alison

Blue Velvet - Submitted by Gabi

Rowan -Submitted by Lisa

Bailey -Submitted by Kristin

Sookie - Submitted by Matthew

Wyatt - Submitted by Toni

Kodi -Submitted by Lisa

Gandolf - Submitted by Michelle

Abby - Submitted by Steve

Desi - Submitted by Lyn (Via Mitzi)

Mouse - Submitted by Leslie

Pups the Traveler - Submitted by Paula

I sincerely appreciate each and every one of you for taking time out of your day to enter your pooch and tell me a little bit about them. I hope you had as much fun looking at all the submissions as I did. And it was fantastic to know that many of you opened your hearts and homes to dogs in great need of love and shelter—kudos to you!

I’l be getting to Olive’s custom portrait in the next couple of weeks (Meg, I’ll be in touch but feel free to email me!) and post updates on my facebook page. But in the meantime I’d love to hear your feedback about the contest below by leaving a comment!

Until then, thanks again, thanks for entering, and thanks for reading…

Interested in a portait of your own? Check out the Commissions section.

The past winners!

Let the 10th Free 140 Minute Custom Dog Portrait Contest begin! I even made a little logo to mark the occasion…

If you were following me on twitter back in 2009, you might recall that I came up with the idea of attempting to paint a pooch in under 140 minutes, inspired by twitter’s 140 character limit. In my opinion, JoAnna Lou at Bark Magazine did a much better (and shorter) job at explaining my original twitter contests that I ever did, so feel free to check out that post by clicking on the screen shot below. You can also read my own wordy explanation.

www.thebark.com (July, 2009)

Award winning "Triple Head Tilt" pic of Maddie and owner Mitzi

Curious feline, Lulabelle and Sara

Lulabelle's "Sandwich Board of Thanks"

Sweet, old soul Bud and his portrait

The one and only Mr. Kingsley and Shanni

Ok then. Here are the rules…

Zee Contest Entry Rules:

1. This particular contest is for pooches only. Apologizes to furry felines, equines, other -ines and their owners everywhere.

2. The contest starts…Now!

3. To enter your pooch, post a single photo of a single dog on my Facebook Fan page wall, and include your dog’s name in the photo comment. For those of you with mulitple dogs, I do realize this will force you to choose ONE dog (let’s face it, your favorite one) quite publicly. I realize this will produce a unbearable guilt-producing sensation. I apologize for this. You have until midnight, Pacific Coast Time (PST) on March 14th, 2011 to post your winning pic.

4. Please make sure to post your entry on my fan page (Pet Portraits by Aimée) and not my personal page (Aimee Hoover). Doggie photo posts on my personal page won’t be officially entered.

5. If you are not on Facebook and don’t want to be, no problemo. Just have a friend (or your kid) who is on FB post your photo for you. But make sure that s/he includes you and your pooch’s name in the photo comment. Else it will be a mystery to me.

6. This is not necessarily a rule, per se, but it will greatly increase your chances of winning if you read my portrait photo tips.. Plus they’re just some good tips to have on hand since you photograph your dog anyway.

7. This one’s important. If you win, you agree to “pay the freebie forward” by doing something nice for someone else, within a month. Then you have to tell me about it. Like Mitzi did.

8. The portrait will be shipped to you for free, providing you live in the continental U.S. If you live elsewhere, you agree to pay for the shipping.

9. Unfortunately, bribes will not be accepted. Unless they consist of chocolate and/or wine and come with a happy birthday card in July.

10. I’m kidding about rule #9. (Or am I…)

That’s it!

And because I want you to win, here’s one last suggestion: I typically choose dogs with their mouths closed. For the record, I love smiling dogs and paint a lot of them. But it takes about 140 minutes alone to paint a couple of incisors, so I tend to shy away from toothy grins for these contests.

And if you want to see some of the past 2009 entries, you can check out my one of my Flickr.com groups from previous contests.

I honestly cannot wait to see all of your entries. Best of luck!

- Most portraits painted in a single year
- Consequentially, most Starbucks imbibed by a single hominoid

All 2010 portraits are below, but for those of you who have given up scrolling for the new year, here’s the recap in video…

Lily and Louis | 2010 | Acrylic on Canvas | 36in x 40in

Annie | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 16in x 16in

Cole | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 20 x 22in

Stinkleton McPuddinshire | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 12in x 12in

Maggie | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 12in x 12in

Gypsy | 2010 | Acrylic on Canvas | 24in x 32in

Prissie and Envie | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 32in x 44in

Sparkle | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 16in x 16in

Gracie | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 30in x 22in

Homer | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 36in x 36in

Rickee | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 42in x 34in

Sadie | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 36in x 32in (painted for the Bonnie Hunt Show)

Harvey | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 14in x 16in

Baby Giraffe | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 20in x 22in

Scout | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 30in x 30in

Tallulah | 2010 | Acrylic on canvas | 16in x 16in

Thank you to all my fabulous clients for trusting me with the task of painting your dog/hedgehog/giraffe’s portraits. And for giving me the excuse to develop the mother of all caffeine addictions. Ok, I drink decaf. But I would still call it an addiction judging by the empty cups in the trash can under this desk.

Best to each of you in the year 2011 and thanks for reading looking!

2010 | Rickee | Acrylic on canvas | 42in x 34in

“Rickee was on death row at a county animal shelter with a tag on his kennel labeling him as agressive when through the grace of a special dog rescuer he was bailed out. We were honored to become his forever home. That was 2 1/2 years ago and we have come a long, long way together. Aimée, thank you for painting this extremely beautiful portrait of our Aussie boy Rickee. You carefully and accurately captured all his unique features in perfect detail. It was so difficult to narrow the choice of photographs to one. As Rickee is an evolving and real time presence in our lives this portrait carries a much different set of emotions than the first two portraits of Nicholas and Simba that you did for us. With this special portrait we will add the memories in the time ahead we will spend together. We can look forward to working with you on Athena and Hank. Happy New Year to you and Scott.” — Michael W.

“Larger than life..that’s how I describe the portrait of our Australian Shepherd Rickee. To walk into the room and see the portrait of Rickee takes my breath away. You have captured Rickee’s spirit, grace and stunning beauty. We are so proud to once again have your amazing work hanging in our home. Thank you once again, Aimée.” — Kari W.

Rickee is actually the third portrait for my wonderful clients, the Wrucks. Their first portrait was of Nicholas and the second was of Simba. But Rick’s portrait started out a tiny bit different than my other portraits: I actually painted a quick, gestural outline of him before any other color went down. I really liked how this worked and think I’ll use this added step in future portraits…

Just starting...

Who wants to wear the hat!?

I do! (Aslan)

I'm tired...where's Santa? (Rickee)

I prefer antlers! (Athena)

I prefer antlers too. (Hank)

And with Rick’s portrait, I bid 2010 an official adieu!

Next up? The year in review–just portraits. No pesky text to bug your brain.

Sincere thanks to my great clients for trusting me with portrait numero three. And thank you, dear readers, for squandering your perfectly good time reading my blog and visiting my gallery over the last year. I really appreciate it.

Hope you are enjoying the incredibly clean slate of the new year. Wishing you and your family (furry and otherwise) a fantastic 2011!

Cheers,

2010 | Prissie and Envie | Acrylic on canvas | 32in x 44in

And a few of my fav photos of the painting process and the big delivery day…

Good doggie

Even big portraits need small brushes for puppy eyebrows

Portrait detail

Love being there when the painting's actually hung

Priss approves

Envie thinks it should move up a little...

Happy client = happy Arteest

“Words can not express how awesome the portrait that you did of Prissie and Envie. You totally captured the moment and them. It was a wonderful experience working with you.” – Barbara (Santa Ana, CA)

A special thanks to Barbara for giving me the opportunity to paint such gorgeous creatures, and especially for letting me relive a few childhood memories…

Rowdie demonstrating to the arteest the classic Dane lean