A Newly Commissioned Dog Portrait

I am working on a commissioned dog portrait at the moment that I am thoroughly enjoying. The owner of “Luckie” found me on Etsy nearly a year ago and inquired about a portrait even though my listing was a bit outside of her budget. She was so kind and so clearly in love with her beautiful dog that we had an instant rapport. I truly wanted her to have a portrait of her beloved dog and we worked out a simple, classical approach that we were both happy with. It is going to have a rich, dark background in the style of renaissance portraits that will compliment her golden coloring. In the past I’ve had many clients who desire lots of background detail and even props in their portraits that frankly, I love doing, but of course all involve more work. The personality of the subject is often revealed through the use of props. For example a rugged outdoor dog would naturally have a familiar landscape in the background and conversely some lush drapery and a soft cushion would describe a dog that prefers the comfort of an indoor life. That being said there is nothing like a clean simple portrait which focuses purely on the subject and allows their personality to shine through. It is always this challenge  that appeals to me when beginning a new portrait and ultimately the appreciation of a happy dog owner that makes this such a worthwhile occupation.

Dog-Portrait-Sepia

This is the the portrait in progress. I always begin with an underpainting in sepia and white to block out the light and shadow before I begin to add color.

Dinah sml

This portrait which was done a few years ago is a good example of how a landscape helped to portray a true outdoor dog who loved exploring the woods near her Connecticut home.

Cassie

This portrait is a good example of a very pampered Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who loved the comfort of her home in Palm Beach!

Insect Camouflage

Insect prints

I have always liked the idea of camouflage; of being out in plain view yet hidden at the same time. I've done several playful camouflage prints in my day including elements such as dinosaurs and reptiles. There are endless possibilities of background pattern and color. This time I wanted to use some insects that I particularly like and thought I'd hide them inside a damask pattern using camouflage colors. I have always loved grasshoppers (probably from the "Cricket on the Hearth"), and of course dragonflies are just so stunningly beautiful. I also added in a cicada because I love their melodious arrival each August and also a beetle (thinking of scarabs).  I liked it so much not only did I paint one up as a stripe in non traditional camouflage colors but I also decided to make prints from the individual insects for my The Curious Kitchen Etsy shop. Insects may not be everyone's favorite creature but I am attempting to bring some  beauty to an often maligned subject matter!

 

Insect Damask

 

Damask-Stripe-Insects

Lovebirds Collection

Love Birds pair I have really been enjoying working on this series of decorative illustrations and textile designs, it has been a nice break from my usual dark, moody work! This group began as a simple bird illustration, I was going to use various song birds but as I worked it out I had the inspiration to put love birds on a swing together. I think it is so touching that love birds mate for life, they seemed like the perfect subject matter at this time of year with Valentine's Day approaching. Once I painted them I fell in love with the colors and decided to make the whole thing about love birds. I used a pink ground which is unusual for me but it seemed perfect for the aqua, mint, butter and melon in the birds. The two pieces above are available as prints and notecards in my The Curious Kitchen shop on Etsy.

Bird Toile Detail

Love Birds Stripe - Plates

 

The Curious Kitchen up-date

My new Etsy shop The Curious Kitchen has been slowly coming along. I admit that I neglected it  a bit during the holiday season but am happy to say I am now giving it my full attention! This shop features more decorative prints of paintings done in gouache on paper that reflect my love of vintage illustration and collectibles. Here are some new additions: parrot-portraits

 

These two parrot portraits were adapted from a textile design of mine. I never tire of painting parrots, I find them to have the most expressive faces and of course the most beautiful colors!

Parrot Damask

Rooster PortraitsThese four rooster prints were also adapted from one of my textile designs. I think roosters are so cheery.My Mother had decorative rooster trivets hanging in our kitchen back in South Philly and I think that must be what inspired me. Rooster-PrintMore of my textile designs can now be seen on my website lisazador.com.

 

Dogs love Christmas too

Bingo-Santa-2012Bingo came home the other day feeling sad because the other dogs in the neighborhood were telling him that Santa doesn't exist. I tried explaining to him with the old "Santa lives in your heart" or "He exists as long as you believe in him" stories but he still seemed uncertain. So today I dressed him up and took him down to Petco in Tribeca to have his photo taken with Santa! I think the visit did the trick because he seemed to walk home with an extra spring in his step!

The Singing Squirrels

Singing-Christma-Squirrels

This year for my official Christmas portrait (and Christmas card which hopefully all of you have received by now) I went back to one of my favorite subjects. These cheerful squirrels live in the courtyard of my apartment building and are a constant source of inspiration. This year I have at least 3 squirrels ( I suspect a mysterious fourth) who come regularly to my studio window for their daily meal of peanuts and/or acorns and who are not in the least bit shy in front of the camera. I sit out there on the fire escape and photograph them while they eat and they don't mind at all. Of course it was tricky getting them to put on the hats and sweaters but in the end they all cooperated...

A very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Happy New Year to everyone who reads this blog and a very sincere thank-you for your support this past year!

A Fun Commissioned Portrait

I just finished a custom portrait of 2 dogs that was such fun. My client wanted her dogs to look as though they had lived in Dickensian London or perhaps roamed with the Gangs of New York. I do enjoy a challenge. I decided to go with an all sepia portrait giving it the look of a vintage photo about which my client was very enthusiastic. It is so satisfying to work with other animal lovers in an effort to portray their special pets as they see them!

Angus & Pungus ptg 1

Angus & Pungus sk-2

The Polar Bear Portraits have arrived

This year for my new Christmas Portraits I chose the humble Polar Bear. Who could be better prepared for winter weather? This soft, fuzzy pair of bears, sensibly dressed in their fur hats, top coats and woolen scarves are ready to celebrate Christmas together in their color coordinated outfits. They are now available in the Etsy shop, Curious Portraits as prints and notecards. Buy them or any other Christmas prints and cards from Thursday (Thanksgiving) through Monday and receive a 15% discount by typing  in the coupon code JINGLE12 at checkout! It is all part of the Etsy Black Friday, Cyber Monday sale.

 

Belated Halloween Greetings

I am sorry to be so tardy in putting up my Halloween post but thanks to Hurricane Sandy I was among the powerless here in lower Manhattan and we just got the electricity and internet back today! I think it is safe to post Bingo's annual Halloween portrait without spoiling the surprise now that you all have gotten your cards in the mail! This year poor Bingo is yet again in traveling peril. He is in Edinburgh, one of my favorite cities which happens to have the most remarkably creepy and beautiful victorian graveyard called Greyfriars. Bingo is just beyond the gates consulting his map in search of the statue of the famous dog Greyfriars Bobby which can be seen behind him. I am happy to report that he survived this adventure and is safe and sound here at home!

Every year I also do a post of some of my favorite Halloween decorations around the neighborhood so here are a few:

I love this little skeleton in a window on Grove St. So simple yet so menacing.

I also thought this sweet little pumpkin on Grove St. made the perfect Halloween statement.

This tasteful pumpkin grouping in the window of the Goodwin Restaurant on Hudson St is just beautiful.

This display in Garber's Hardware is hilarious. They thankfully had a few fireplace logs left that helped keep me warm-ish during the blackout when we had no heat!

I just love this courtyard also on Grove St. They always do something special for the holidays and this year it was just fantastic!

New Halloween Portrait - The Raven

   

 

This year for my Halloween portrait I chose the subject of one of my favorite poems, Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. I find such delight each year at this time in reciting Poe's poems out loud. His words just tumble and roll off the tongue. I imagined Poe's raven would be well groomed and dapper as was the style of the day and portrayed him as such.

Williamsburg Rooftop

Last night I went to such a lovely rooftop cocktail party thrown by a very dear swedish friend and her husband. Even though it was quite chilly the view was so spectacular. It was so peaceful up there watching the sun go down over Manhattan with the gentle murmur of swedish all around me... Lower Manhattan as seen from Williamsburg.

Myself with the Williamsburg Bridge behind me.

I love this roof graffiti.

I thought the sunset was so beautiful reflected in these windows.

Even the Williamsburg Bridge looks lovely in this light.

As the sun got progressively lower the sky was on fire. It was so nice to see the new WTC from this perspective. I usually see it from downtown and it doesn't seem so tall with all the other buildings in front of it.

After all these years living here it still takes my breath away.

We stopped for a bite at the fabulous Marlowe and Sons after. I love their golden pigeon logo...

A Beautiful Memorial

I just came back from walking Bingo and was struck with how different the city is tonight from what it was 11 years ago on this day. Back then at this hour (9:30 PM) it was a ghost town with nothing but ambulances and police cars and when I walked the dogs there were still silent groups of people gathered on the street corners looking downtown in disbelief. Tonight things are pretty normal, the bars are full of people laughing, the streets are full of cars. I went down Hudson Street a block or two to photograph the memorial lights which bring me such a feeling of peace and comfort each year. I hope they never stop lighting them, they are such a beautiful tribute. When I got in I dropped Bingo off  and went up to my roof to take a photo from there and was surprised to see that they had lit the lights inside the new WTC in red white and blue, something I couldn't see from the street!

Food Illustrations for Shoprite

A few weeks ago I happened to be in Gristede's Supermarket and I spotted something familiar on the shelf; it was a jar of Shoprite marinated red peppers and it had one of my illustrations on the front! I was surprised because this was one of a group of spot illustrations I did ages ago for someone who was designing the labels. I had never seen the actual products and had totally forgotten about them. I looked around and found other similar condiments on the shelf and I was so pleased that I bought them all in order to photograph them. When I got home I had to rummage around quite a bit to locate the copies I had of the original artwork but I finally found them and put them together for my website. I'm going to keep looking for the rest of the products to add to the group!

 

 

Barbe-cuties

 

Here is the latest addition to my new Etsy shop The Curious Kitchen. One of my favorite things about summer is the backyard barbeque. My family has a long history of then complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, corn on the cob and even the matching mustard and ketchup bottles. We even had the iconic red and white plaid tablecloths with the little flowers. Working on this painting brought back all those warm memories of my childhood and the endless possibilities summer represented.

More Cat Art from a Dog Person

My friends are beginning to wonder about my self professed allegiance to the canine community because I seem to be painting so many cats these days. It all began about  a year ago when I painted my first victorian cat dandy. Cats are such an interesting subject. Unlike dogs, they resemble each other and it is pretty easy to imagine a generic cat image. Dog breeds on the other hand are so distinctive and you really have to decide upon a particular one when faced with a portrait. Even the typical mutt varies so much in color and size. There is also something so sublime about the expression on a cat's face. They can say so much with so little and there always seems to be a hint of irony in their eyes. This new portrait was motivated by a request from an Etsy customer who wanted to feature the cat portrait in her engagement photos for her up-coming wedding and asked if I had a female version of Cat Dandy. I had been wondering myself why I always seem to paint my animals as males and I think it is less a matter of reverse chauvinism than that of plain old wardrobe preferences. I am so drawn to the simplicity and symmetry of a suit and tie and adore the fancy bows and lapels of victorian times, not to mention the hats. However I thought this request was an opportunity for me to challenge myself and this Lady Cat is the result. I realized that her clothes need not be frilly and dainty, she could, for instance, be on her way to a hunt and so be wearing her best riding attire. I like to imagine her independent and free spirited, not a slave to the wardrobe conventions of her time. In any event my Etsy customer was very pleased and I will share her engagement photos as soon as I receive them.

This cat portrait was inspired by a tiny statue I spotted in Lambertville a few years back. If I remember correctly it was originally a cat inside of a bird house but I imagined it in a more Sylvester/Tweety type of situation. Naturally I had to put the cat in a suit and tie and I also had to be sure that the bird won out in the end. I couldn't bear to think otherwise being such a bird lover myself.