Some Stuff Happened Since July . . .

Time sure flies, and that time has been full of assorted creative and wonderful things!

Here's a list of some of what's happened since I got back from the ISSA gathering in NC (I wrote about that in the last post):

1) I completed a drawing I had just started and taken with me to NC. It was accepted into the Art at the Classic art show as part of the 2014 Draft Horse Classic and received a first place in the "Anything Goes" division. Below are some photos of "Fuzzdorable" in progress along with the finished board, it's a 5" x 5" board, colored with inks.

2) Three pieces of my dog art were in the "Dog Days of Summer" art show at Alpha Fired Arts. Velvet, the chihuahua painting sold. A portion of the proceeds benefited Front Street Animal Shelter.

3) I completed a number of mini scratchboard drawings, including this one of Pepper, who belonged to Carla Bratt, a friend of mine and a talent gourd artist. These mini boards are 2" x 2", you can see many more in this Facebook album.

4)"Show Goat" was in the Rocklin Fine Arts "Animal Kingdom" art show held in conjunction with Woofstock.

5) Six people attended my scratchboard workshop at University Art and we had a terrific time.

6) I'm gearing up "Sibling Hearts", an collaborative show with my brother (P.Y. Simpson) that's part of the Auburn Art Walk, and the 3rd annual Newcastle Art Studios Tour. Both events are on the horizon in October.

That's it for now, I have a few more things to share, but I'll wait for the next time I have the urge to write a blog post. Thanks for reading!

Read more...

Woofstock!

Woofstock is an annual event in Rocklin, CA that's all about dogs. People bring their dogs and there are vendors with dog-related products. Plus music, food, costume contests & Dachshund races too!

It was a much hotter day than it usually is this time of year, but my friend Sandy & I decided to go anyway. We enjoy photographing the array of dogs that show up and I really wanted to take our new dog Arrow on an adventure. Our border collie, Magpie, has never been thrilled with outings - she's shy and gets stressed by crowds & commotion, so she got to stay home with John and enjoy some alone-time without her new "brother". I was pretty sure Arrow would be fine at Woofstock and I'm thrilled that he didn't prove me wrong. He was a trooper and made it through the day with flying colors. I really want him to be a happy traveling buddy, so this was a great first step.

I was a little distracted by Arrow, so I didn't get as many photos (and even fewer good ones) as I usually do at an event, but I have a few to share. I even forgot to get my bag of kettle corn today - I'm bummed about that.






Happy Apollo is looking for his forever home - find out more at Chako.org





See more in my Flickr album, along with some I took at last year's Woofstock.

Read more...

A Pig and Some Pooches

This bristly guy with lots of texture is Homer, a pot-bellied pig.


4" x 4" Ink on Scratchboard Drawing





Homer is a gregarious piggy who I met at a local ranch. I knew right away that he'd be a great subject for a scratchboard drawing, so I took quite a few reference photos of him. I started the drawing as a demo piece in one of my scratchboard workshops over a year ago and finished it a couple of days ago.

The original drawing is now at Auburn Old Town Gallery in Auburn CA. Note cards are available in my Bonanzle booth.

I made a print of the drawing to give to Homer's human friends. I knew they were going to have a booth at the local Woofstock event last Sunday, so I figured I could deliver the print, visit some other friends that were going to be at Woofstock and get a few dog photos while I was there.

I got there a bit late but managed to get a few fun photos:


Richard, a large-format French Bulldog who belongs to an ACB volunteer


Bear, a big, friendly and helpful Golden Retriever who belongs to one of the coordinators for NorCal Golden Retriever Rescue


Reina, a sweet Australian Cattle Dog who belongs to the owner of Aunt Cynthia's Bed & Biscuit Inn


A tired Pit Bull. This guy was resting at one of the vendors' booths


Sammy Davis, a champion racing dachshund, expert Frisbee catcher and all-around spunky guy

Read more...