Affordable and enjoyable printables!

 

The scandi Norwegian version soon to be available for purchase in A4 size-plenty of  pet  options for this!

Pet printables series one size 11x14” available soon-series two will have size 16x20” as the largest printable size!

Making the step towards monetizing my art. I’ve been a pet photographer for years and transitioned to becoming a pet painter only 4 years into this and all the time I’ve been learning and taking my art to different levels such as traditional painting, YouTube channel, and Instagram Doggust challenges twice! It has occurred to me to maybe start monetizing my art but I was stuck for so long and never quite ready. I’ve spent a great deal of hours upon hours of learning my craft and style that I chose not to let the cute and fun art to go to waste. Painting each and every pet is a lengthy process. It’s a labor of love indeed. There is always the plan,subject,goal and then completing the final piece feeling pressure and doubt and so on for hours. Posting a piece on Instagram is good for the gallery. But it sinks to the bottom of the Instagram scroll pool. Stuck there in the digital world. Where it could possibly disappear forever. Idk how to explain properly but Instagram is a great instant gratification/dopamine hit for a moment. The gallery is neat and useful. But all the hours spent creating something from nothing needs to mean something more than a 2 second peek at a cute and unique piece of art. And that’s where Etsy wins. 

Printables. Digital downloads. Instant. Affordable. Art for the everyday person. I like to say pet prints are budget focused with an eye for maximum enjoyment. It’s a place to make a difference in your art. Selling you art online. Like not selling on eBay which is expensive(fees!)but super duper easy-I’ve been selling there for over ten years-or even the POD-print on demand-zazzle and red bubble which eats MOST of your royalty profits- And not yet selling from your actual website (I plan to sooooon!)which can be difficult and lengthy at first. It’s in between. Sure there are fees. But not for digital downloads. So that’s a win.  I do realize that. I’m ok with that. I’ll manage.

Pet photography brought plenty of joy but pet painting brings a whole different layer of art satisfaction!

I’m going to start with my original and unique pop up pet planners first. Then pet printables. And eventually offer custom pet portraits. So it’s a good mix of graphic design. Art prints. And original art. 

I’m following these steps I learned from a YouTuber and that is: improve on an existing product. Create something new. And then finally brand yourself. 

Pet art is timeless. It’s forever cute and classic. It will never go out of style. 

We loooove our pets and will do whatever it takes to make them oh so happy because they don’t judge. 

13 years blogging and growing strong!

Kenobi 2009

 Today is year 13 of blogging. My very first post was June 5 2009. As you can see through the years the art came in waves. From starting small with happy snaps and going to college for painting digitally with Painter X and photoshop to running and operating a part time pet photography biz-to currently obsessing about Procreate and it's level of painting sophistication. Besides showing off this photo of my dog from back then-I don't have much to add other than I'm busy with daily painting mostly digital using procreate but also teaching myself to be more disciplined with traditional art. Finishing off this post with a favorite quote by Vincent Van Gogh: 

If you hear a voice within you say: Do not paint. Then by all means, PAINT! And that voice will be silenced. 

Mountain Lion Cub 2022

Wildlife series in progress!

Tasmanian Devil Soft Pastels & Charcoal Block

 Starting off the wildlife series with a slightly melancholy Tazzie. They tend to fight a lot but this shy guy is a newbie and seems just unsure yet. Obsessed with soft/oil pastel and and charcoal block for depth and texture-also the big eyes are here to stay as I am super absolutely inspired by Margaret Keane's art. The animals need some depth and mood and intensity because all wild animals have to fight for their life every single day. Plan is to draw every day while working my way up to the top wildlife animals to draw/paint-such as the one and only most spectacular -- elephants. Joy! Committed to this journey toward becoming a full time animal artist very soon. 

Improving an old piece

Number 2 - FINAL - It is deeply satisfying to improve and shift your mind set the second time around 

                     

Number 1- Pekka has sort of a monkey vibe about him

The real Pekka the pug

I overworked Pekka portrait painting number 1 and was NOT satisfied with the end results. So I changed things up a wee bit and started my painting with a vibrant color palette and took off from there which created Pekka portrait painting number 2 which is now moving forward my go to color palette. Abstract and quirky style. Modern with a pleasing palette that strikes a conversation immediately. This one spoke to me. I did not over work it. Each stroke and color choice was intentional. Cute pets with colorful style. 

Baby Bighorn-first procreate painting of wild animal-April 2019-taking a look back

3 years ago I began the digital painting journey using my apple pencil on my iPad Pro. Procreate is the most intuitive and sophisticated drawing program on the planet and I never imagined I would be able to create drawings of critters and cuteness digitally. This baby bighorn was an attempt in April 2019 and I’ve been hooked since then. My plan is to keep honing my dog and cat drawing skills everyday with a bit of wild forest critters then graduating to even wilder animals. I have a fox painting that’s in the works-traditional acrylic on canvas-poor guy has been pushed to the wayside but I will pick up my brushes very soon to complete. In the meantime I look at this sheep and am pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish with the minimal training drawing on a tablet. I love it so much. One day I’ll trade in for a 13” which would be mind blowing when I get there. Bigger is better when drawing and painting. (Soon I’ll paint on 20x20 or 30x30 canvases) big art is my dream project…..