Otis Chronicles

My new friend, jamie, has tagged me for a dog meme of my dog Otis.
So here we go .

AN INTERVIEW WITH OTIS

5 FAVORITE SONGS

1. ' You Can't Always Get What You Want' by the Rolling Stones
2. ' Who Let the Dogs Out'
3. ' Hound Dog' by Elvis
4. ' Bitch' by Meredith Brooks
5. ' Bad' by U2

5 FAVORITE TOYS

1. Air Dog double tennis ball
2. My stuffed toys, (they don't last long because I rip them apart).
3. Squeaky balls
4. My Kong
5. My rope for tugging

5 FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT

1. My doggie food
2. My Kong filled with peanut butter
3. Almonds
4. Mulch (yum, yum)
5. Anything that my mom happens to drop while she is cooking

5 FAVORITE ACTIVITIES

1. Having someone throw me the ball but not returning it.....Hey....I'm not a retriever
2. Hanging with my friends at doggie daycare
3. Running like a crazy man from room to room
4. Walks
5. Playing water tag in the summer.....My mom takes the hose and lets me run through the water.... What a blast!!

5 BAD HABITS

I have so many but I'll only list five.

1. Barking at my reflection in the window....ruff
2. Snorting and sneezing on everyone
3. Eating toilet paper whenever I can ...... double yum
4. Nipping at my mom's jeans when I want her attention
5. In and out of under the covers all night long

As you can see, Otis keeps everyone on their toes.

I will be tagging Erin.

fill your heart with art

-manon

ice skating up north

Sometimes I think I spend way too much time alone in my studio. It's freezing out and all I could think about was skating when I was younger. We used to go to the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, (for those of you who don't know....I'm from Canada). Anyway, the Canal is the world's longest outdoor skating rink. It measures approximately 4.5 miles long. Every winter we would go and skate with the throngs of people all freezing and having fun. Friends of mine managed the Beaver Tail huts that sold hot chocolate and this deep fried sweet bread with a variety of toppings, (I think they call that dolphin ears over here). They hold Winterlude every Feb. It's two weeks of jammed packed events, ice carving and much more that revolves around the Canal area. It's a lot of fun but to be honest I hate the cold so it's interesting that I was even thinking about all this. I hope I think of swimming in the ocean tomorrow......it sounds a little warmer.

fill your heart with art

-manon

mirror, mirror.....on my table

Another day........ a little progress. I spent most of the afternoon on the mirror. The pics don't show the colors correctly but close enough. The leaves are a beautiful turquoise blue with a touch of green and the flowers are an orange-red. I hope to finish this in six months. Ha,ha.......just kidding.

Our temperature was 50 degrees today and is falling to 24 tomorrow! Ugh!! I can't wait for spring. My bones need a little warm weather.

fill your heart with art

-manon

slow as a turtle

My new mosaic is progressing at a snails pace. That's what happens when the pattern is a little more intricate than the last one. Cutting the glass took forever so it's no surprise that this mirror will take what seems like forever. Ugh! My back needs a massage therapist after hunching over all day. I must like doing these because I keep coming back for more.

fill your heart with art

-manon

my pillow

I found this little pillow in December. It reminded me so much of Otis that I had to have it. The Otis pillow sits in my studio on one of my benches. Every now and then I glance over at it and it brings a smile to my face. Odie could never come to my studio because he would spend most of his time barking at the clients coming in to have their hair cut at the salon next door. So.....a quite pillow is perfect to remind me of him.

The new mirror was started on Friday. I can tell that this one will take quite a bit of time because it has way more detail. I'll post pics as it progresses.

fill your heart with art

-manon

another big mirror

I spent most of the day cutting glass for a new 36 inch diameter mirror. Yes...... I'm doing another one. This one will have red flowers, turquoise blue leaves and a black background. I'd like it to pop out at you. My hands are killing me and I cut myself a little more than usual. Ugh!

I also worked on the prep work for Domingo. I need more pictures of the other two pets that will be in this portrait. The poem is done so I'll be starting the wood burning once the pics arrive.

fill your heart with art

-manon

my watch dog

Otis is quite the watch dog. Here he is perched on the couch looking outside for anything that he thinks might attack the homestead. Often he sees deer roaming in the yard. He goes ballistic and acts real tough. There are plenty of windows separating Otis from his adversaries. His only problem is if he'd come face to face with them he'd probably hide behind my skirt. He's a tough little ombre behind closed doors. I love him.... as ya'll know.

fill you heart with art

-manon

karsh

Years ago my dad gave me a book of photographs by renowned portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh. It is a fifty year retrospective. He photographed people like Ernest Hemingway, Helen Keller, Andy Warhol, Audrey Heburn,and Winston Churchill, just to name a few. Later in his life, he lived at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa, Canada. My dad worked there and that is how he met and got to know Karsh. He autographed this book as I was about to start college.

The picture above is of Georgia O"keeffe taken in 1956. As you may know, she is my favorite artist!! Karsh wrote,"I expected to find in her personality some of the poetic intensity of her paintings. I found intensity, but the austere intensity of dedication to her work." Karsh had great rapport with his subjects and it shows through his amazing photographs.

fill your heart with art

-manon

A Penny for your thoughts

I think I may be done Penny's portrait. Tomorrow, I need to give her a protective coat so.....I hope I don't start messing with her.
Here's the poem....

Penny is the name of our baby princess
She is a diva but is really quite precious
She sleeps in our bed and she loves to beg
She is prissy and cute, cuddly and playful
At times she can be a little bit bashful
We love Penny with all of our hearts
Her sweet personality sets her apart

fill your heart with art

-manon

a place to bark

Bernie Berlin runs a dog rescue called A Place to Bark in Tennessee. All the animals come from high kill shelters in the South. Last year Bernie saved 500 animals by herself. She is trying to raise enough money by January 31st to get a matching $50,000 donation for her rescue. You can help by clicking on the badge below. Even a $10 donation can make a difference.

Check out Bernie's website at a place to bark
fill your heart with art

-manon

fussy fussy

I think I'll be done with Penny's painting tomorrow. I need to paint the eyes, nose and start the finishing touches. The background needs to be changed a little bit because I'm not quite happy with it yet. I feel she's starting to come together......but I heading into my "fussing" mode. It seems that on every project I fuss until I think I have right. Sometimes I need to just back off.
It's hard though. It's typical me!!

fill you heart with art

-manon

slow but steady

A little more work was accomplished on Penny today. I had a couple of appointments so I didn't work on her as much as I would of liked to. Tomorrow is another day! As soon as Penny is complete I will be starting Domingo. More to come on him later.

fill your heart with art

-manon

Penny takes flight

The underpainting always cracks me up. It looks so weird to see a red dog. Well......I got a lot done today and I'm ready to start the fun stuff. I haven't decided on the background color yet but I know it's going to be girly.

I think I may email Bounty paper towels and tell them I've found a new use for their product. I had so much draft coming from the surrounding of my front studio door that I know I was loosing a ton of heat. Since the landlord's handyman has not been able to fix it yet.....I took matters into my own hands. I used a ton of silicone and then there were crevices so big that I stuffed Bounty in them. Yup....that seemed to work. Just another way one can use Bounty. Not pretty, but effective!!

fill your heart with art

-manon

another mirror under my belt

This mosaic was finally grouted today in my heated studio! Yea! The heat is back on and I got to finish this mirror. I still need to put a sealer on it and it will be good to go. I love these mirrors.....they're a lot of fun to do. I'm switching my focus to Penny tomorrow. Hopefully I can get the underpainting going and start the rest of the painting.

fill your heart with art

-manon

Oh! By the way.........the wood stuff you see in the picture of the mirror is just the ceiling in my studio. Not too attractive!!

wood burning of Penny

I've changed my mind on which picture I'm using for Penny. This picture of her is so sweet that I went ahead and did the wood burning. I think it shows how pretty she is. Her owner tells me she is a little princess and I think this photo captures that .

The heat in the studio was not hooked up as of Friday. I was told that it would be done on Sat. I'm crossing my fingers. I haven't been able to work in their for days. Ugh!!! I still haven't grouted the last mosaic.

fill your heart with art

-manon

penny

This is Penny. I'll be starting her portrait this weekend. She is a sweet little girl that her family adores. She has lots of gorgeous hair to work with.

I'm working from home today because the heat in the studio is being worked on........I hope.

fill your heart with art

-manon

mosaic mirror

I'll be grouting this mosaic tomorrow. It's a miniature version of the 36 inch diameter one I did a few months back. I think this one has a little more red. It's red hot! I hope Sue and Denis like it.

I've had a little heating problem in my studio that is hopefully being fixed tomorrow. We had a couple of mild days so it wasn't an issue, but now that it's getting cold again I need heat!!

fill your heart with art

-manon

three angels

I made a bunch of these girls a few years ago. Three of these lovelies are my studio angels. I believe, in my own little mind, that the girls watch over me in my little studio. They might even give me inspiration when I need it and sometimes I sure could use some divine intervention.

I will post a picture of the dog I'm starting later this week. The mosaic is also done and will be grouted on Thursday.

fill your heart with art

-manon

back to work

After a long holiday, it's back to work. I'll finish this mosaic this week and I'll be starting another dog named Penney. The layoff was nice and I did some things I needed to do like clean my closet! My creative juices are flowing so it's time to get back at it.

fill your heart with art

-manon

the cow jumped over the moon

A couple of weeks ago I ran into an old friend. I did my one and only mural for her baby's bedroom. When I saw her she told me that her baby was now seven and wanted to have her room painted. It made her a little sad to have to paint over the mural but I didn't feel that way. Quite frankly, I was surprised that she still had it. Her little girl had outgrown The Cow Jumped Over the Moon. We both have a lot of pictures and it was fun to do at the time. Nothing lasts forever. I hope you enjoy the pics.

fill your heart with art

-manon