Dog Scratchin' Book Update

Above are just a few of the dogs I've drawn already for the Dog Scratchin' book project. (If you want to know more about this look here for the kickstarter project) If you have pledged to be a part of this book and have not gotten your dog photos, stories etc...to me, this is a gentle reminder to put it together and get it emailed to me. Here is an incentive for you to get it in soon.  One week from today, that's Saturday May 5th, I will put all of the dogs names in a bowl and pick one dog image to be the subject for the postcard (hand colored) and one to be the greeting card, and one for the magnet.  If I haven't received your dog info they won't be in the bowl...
#1 is Kraimer, a singing Italian Greyhound, #2 is Maggie, supposed to be a daschund mix, turned out to be a Rhodesian Ridgeback/Shepherd/Good Dog mix. #3 is Tomichi is half miniature Schnauzer and half Cocker Spaniel, a 'Schnocker'.  These may or may not be the finished art that goes into the book. I like to do a few different versions to make sure I capture the spirit of the dog.  These are of course 5"x7" Ampersand Art scratchboards, with various inks to color. I've had several questions regarding buying the finished artwork if you didn't pledge for that reward. Yes you can! Just email me and I'll let you know what to do. If you didn't jump on the Dog Scratchin' band wag-gon during the Kickstarter campaign, yes, you can still get your dog in the book, but you must get in touch with me soon!  I'm hoping to have all the dogs drawn and scanned and put together to go to the designer by July, if not sooner. Thanks, and enjoy!

Adventures In Scratchboard Drawing

I finished this 5"x7" Ampersand Art scratchboard drawing last night. Sprayed it with Krylon Workable fixatif this morning. Suddenly, my worst nightmare, a speck of dust on the surface of the black. You can see it in photo #2 above. I imagine there may be specks on the white or even the brown, but they don't show up like they do on the black. Duh! When this happens, there is nothing you can do. Nothing!  I grabbed a tweezer to see if I could pull it off, and of course I made it worse. Now, when faced with this situation in the past, I would add some paper collage on the surface to cover it...and I intended to do that. Then I noticed the speck of junk under the eye (photo #3) and I almost cried. Dang, I hate when this happens. Although, when this has happened before, I've found solutions to fix them that have changed my style or created a different path to go down. I hope that's the case here. I'm thinking I may just have to start over on a new board and make a new 'Eddy'. This is a behind the scene view folks. I don't often share my 'mistakes'.  It may look easy, but there are so many steps to go through to bring a piece to completion, and at any step, things can go off the rails. In spite of this, I am so happy to be doing this dog scratchin' book project. I've gotten over 25 dogs to draw and stories to tell so far. Those of you who have not gotten your info to me, don't worry, I will give you a little poke next week to remind you. If you have questions or comments, have at it. I'll get back to all of you. Happy, happy dog day to you all.

Kickstarter Dog Scratchin' Book Update

The kickstarter project Dog Scratchin' book is in full swing now. I've had several questions regarding pledging and/or having your dog in the book, but you just found out about it. The kickstarter project site will stay up forever (I think) but the fundraising there is finished. That being said, there is always room for more dogs and a few more $$ toward this project. When I estimated costs, I did not put any money in there for me. This is a pure labor of love. In talking with a successful artist the other night, he explained that if he has no money to live on, he can not help the charities that he supports with his artwork. Makes sense. Gee, wonder how that thought escaped me? Anyhow, the way to join up now is to contact me directly through my website, or here via my profile.  The above dog is 'Scully' and I have a ways to go to finish, but I'm tellin' you, this is bringing me so much joy into my life to draw these dogs and hear the stories. Those of you who are participating in this...I thank you all for the privilege of sharing these dogs and their stories. Stay tuned...I'll be posting more WIP (works in progress)