In keeping with caring for the Earth...Pandas!

Everyone knows I love Pandas and have had great joy from participating in Panda adoptions. I encourage you all to support Pandas International, they are doing amazing work. For Earth Day, all donations will be used to help replant bamboo in China. In addition to being a critical priority for the health and well being of the Pandas, the project is also a wonderful example of how a sustainable effort works. By incorporating the triple bottom line-people, planet and profits, the project pays farmers to plant, tend and harvest the bamboo. That diminishes their need to further enter and degrade the Pandas' habitat for their own income; and, of course, helps provide a reliable supply of the Pandas' main food source.

For a $25.00 donation a great Panda tote and water bottle! http://www.pandasinternational.org/

NEW AT THE ZAZZLE STORE!

Sweet Dreams French Bulldog by CCsWorld
Browse more Frenchie Ornaments

New at Zazzle! Now offering customizable ornaments! These make a wonderful inexpensive gift. You can personalize these by adding your own text message on the back, contact me if you need help. The print quality at Zazzle is outstanding! These are so awesome, they can be used in so many ways, not just for the Christmas tree. Hang them from your rearview mirror in your car, tie on a ribbon on a gift, or hang in a window. The oval shape and size is perfect for using as a jewelry pendant, contact me for custom beading!

Chow Chow Beauty by CCsWorld
Browse other Chow Ornaments

Published! Coming To A Book Fair Near You!

Last winter I was contacted by a publisher for Scholastic Books who was interested in using my photography in one of their books. It's always fun to see my work in print. This is a book about all kinds of trucks, with different ones for every letter of the alphabet. My photo of our former Peterbilt is listed as "C" for Cattle Carrier.

This book will be sold at Scholastic Book Fairs across the country. Look for one near you!

Save The Hooters!

I just found out last week that my "Save The Hooters" Owl design has been added to the Zazzle "Pink Ribbon Shop." It is a special shop at Zazzle made up of a collection of different designs from many Zazzle designers with the pink ribbon theme. So it's now an approved member of the Zazzle community giving program!

 Breast Cancer awareness month has just come to an end, but anytime is a good time to show your support for this cause. This cute lady owl is a fun way to do it. There are two color variations for light or dark backgrounds. I have this available in my store on shirts, mugs, tote bags, magnets, and even postage stamps!

Visit today and take a look
www.zazzle.com/ccsworld*

Hey, That's Me!!

Here is a photo of me hard at work, creating a digital painting. This photo was taken when I was learning this skill at the Clear Lake Arts Center, and is featured on their website. You can see the digital tablet and pen in my hand and my Chow image on the screen. It was just a 3 session course, but I learned all I needed to get me started. It is now my favorite way to paint. It allows so much more freedom. I can start a project and easily stop and come back where I left off without the hassle of dragging out the paints and equipment, and massive clean up each time. I can also hit the delete button if I don't like it without feeling guilty for wasting supplies, LOL!  

If you're in central Iowa you should check out the Clear Lake Arts Center. They have a Gallery and gift shop, media center, workshops, as well as offering classes and holding events and entertainment. Plus the building is really cute!  Visit their website www.clartscenter.com   

It's Lily Season!

It's Lily season in the garden! My lilies are my favorites in the yard and they are in full bloom. I only wish they lasted longer. We've had lots of strong storms and I was afraid the tall Orientals would get broken off in the strong winds before they got to bloom, but they stood strong. I've lost a couple of varieties over the years to our harsh winters but everything came back this year, and last winter was a whopper!

With over 100 species there is a Lily for every taste and every garden. They range from tiny to 5ft tall with petals in every color of the rainbow. Some have downward facing petals, some face up and some face out. The variety is really outstanding. You can learn about lilies and check out several varieties at this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium

Have A SUPER Day!

Just a quick post from a photo that made me laugh. I didn't have my camera along so it's an inferior cell phone shot. These people have a huge Superman statue in front of their house. No, not long leftover from Halloweeen, it is such a permanent fixture that they have spotlights installed to illuminate it at night! I wonder what the story is behind it?

!TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!

Hey Everyone!

Sorry or the technical difficulties if you've been trying to check in. It seems another website was redirecting my address to their site, it should be fixed now.

Please excuse my lack of posting the past couple of months, I've been busy busy busy. I hate it when real life gets in the way of my hobbies! LOL!

I have tons of photos to unload from the camera and a couple of new designs in the works for the Zazzle store. I don't currently have any jewelry in the Etsy store, I'm not thrilled with the traffic I was getting there so I may be moving to a different custom made jewelry site. If you are looking for jewelry send me an email and I can let you know what I currently have available. Just click the "contact me" area in my profile.

More soon! Enjoy spring!

Holiday Cards For Charity

I am very excited that the French Bulldog Rescue Network has chosen my artwork for their 2009 Holiday cards! This image is a painting I did titled "Holiday Ball Game," that was inspired by my first foster dog Farley. I really enjoyed working on this piece and am thrilled with the way it turned out.

All proceeds from these cards will go directly to the dogs in foster care to cover medical costs and other rescue related expenses. FBRN is a very hard working group dedicated to rescuing Frenchies, getting them medically and mentally healthy, and adopting them out to the very best forever homes out there. Unfortunately the Holiday season seems to be the busiest time for dogs coming into rescue, which means funds run low. Order your cards today at http://www.frenchbulldogrescue.org/ and help needy dogs.

Ah, Vincent

I absolutely love Vincent Van Gogh. He was the first famous artist that I became interested in around the age of 12. I painted a reproduction of the Sunflowers in 7th grade art class, which was pretty good for a 7th grader if I do say so myself ;) His works really sparked my interest in the Impressionist movement.



Today a very special exhibit opens at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. A series of 120 letters written by Vincent to his brother and others give a wonderful insight into his mind. These letters are being displayed along side the works they describe as though Van Gogh is giving commentary on his own work. They show he was not as mad as people believed he was, and was actually very methodical and far ahead of his time. These letters reveal the way he thought about and created his art with each stroke thought out and deliberately planned. He writes about both the philosophy of painting and the technical details. These letters include sketches and descriptions of colors he planned to use and the effect he was chasing by using these color combinations.

Some quotes from him: “Don’t you think, it’s as interesting and as difficult to say a thing well as to paint a thing,”

"At the point where I now am, though, I see a chance of giving a felt impression of what I see ... (but) never exactly _ for one sees nature through one's own temperament."

"Immense lemon yellow disc for the sun," he wrote. "Green-yellow sky with pink clouds. The field is violet, the sower and the tree Prussian blue. "
Van Gogh goes on to specify that he planned to put it on a size No. 30 canvas, 91 centimeters x 72 centimeters (about 36 x 28 inches.) The drawing is easily identifiable as one of several versions of "The Sower" on display at the museum.

I find this all so interesting and would love to run off to Amsterdam to view the exhibit!