It's beginning to look a lot like spring

Dancing Coneflowers, lynncyrart


Starburst Bouquet, KarinHopeDesigns


Oranic Cyrpress Vine, Hummingbird Vine Seeds, greenthing

It's All In The Eyes

The eyes do say so much in art and these beautiful pieces are wonderful examples of just how much they do express a feeling! The eyes in each of these artworks set off their own unique emotion. Do you enjoy the eyes in artwork; do they speak to you?

Boston Terrier Dog Art - dogartstudio


Golden Butterflies Blonde Buttferly Fairy - strangeling


Cat Show Painting - paintingsbyjude


Nightmare Faces - elizavella

soopajdelux

Naughty or Nice (print on canvas cloth)
I love soopajdelux and all the prints in the shop! These little girls have a cuteness with a sad sweetness to them. I can't quite put my finger on how to explain them, but I know I like them. How would you describe these girls? As you browse through this shop you will get more of a feel for her artwork, one thing I know for sure is I've never seen anything like it, there is a uniqueness to her pieces and these little girls seem to draw you into their world and give you pause as to the situations they find themselves in.

One Dollar Sketch

Puppy
One Dollar Sketch is full of ACEO's (size is 2.5 x 3.5 inches). They are original, hand drawn and digitally colored pieces of artwork. Each comes to you signed and dated by the artist and all for just $1.00, now you can't beat that. And of course, I was drawn to the puppy ACEO, this is one of my favorites from her shop, I love the big, happy smile.

Joanna Goldman Designs

Cartoon Sammy The Alien Poster
The etsy shop joannagoldman is sure to delight you with her whimsical illustrations. You can purchase these wonderful illustrations as prints, postcards, buttons, magnets and more. I especially love these two google-eyed creatures, ladybugs -- I just love ladybugs when they fly down and land on me to give me a quick hello before they're off again, I think they are the cutest little critters around, but these ladybugs are the best with their wide bright eyes -- and the alien, well who doesn't love an alien?

Linda the Lady Bug and her Daughters

A Favorite Color

What is a favorite color I like to use? The answer to this is not a simple one because I love color, all colors. I would have to say the color combination I seem to use the most are black, white and red, but I love black. Black is the base, it's the starting point for me, I always have enjoyed working in pen and ink and then adding a touch of color. The above portrait is a pen and ink I did when the war first began and I couldn't help feel for the women of the soldiers who were left behind, what they must be going through, so I depicted a woman holding her man's dog tags close to her heart.

Folk Art by Campbell Jane

Beautiful Mermaid Beach Angel Print
I love folk art, I think it's one of my favorite types of artwork. The whimsy and colorful nature of folk art expresses itself well in these mermaids, which is the artwork of Janet who runs an Etsy store by the name of Campbell Jane. Her mermaids are so sweet and colorful with a touch of whimsy. There are original paintings and many prints of these wonderful mermaids as you browse through her shop -- if you'd like to see more of Janet's artwork stop by Campbell Jane and take a look around her gallery of artwork.

Angel of Lost Homes Print

InkDropDesign

Big Owl
Today our feature is the Etsy shop InkDropDesign, run by Shondra, who has cards taken from from her original hand drawings, photography and digital illustrations. These are a couple of my favorites, I love the colors and whimsy of these two cards featuring her artwork taken from original illustrations.

Goldfish

rkdsign88

Happy Butterflies with Dramatic Garden
If you're an ACEO collector, you'll want to stop by rkdsign88. I love the sweet and simplistic style of this artist. When I look at her artwork it brings to my mind when I was a child and life was easygoing, simple without a care in the world, it both touches your soul and warms your heart.
Happy Kids with Love

time2cre8

Cally and Co
time2cre8 is a wonderful Etsy shop run by Mary Lou and filled with lots of handmade goodies. The first time I came across MaryLou was through her blog and started looking at her beadwoven jewelry, but then I started to browse around her shop and realized there was way more to Mary Lou than I imagined. She also creates many other items such as greeting cards, gift tags, rings, but her ACEO cards are one of my favorites. They showcase Mary Lou's artwork which is bright, colorful and oh so whimsical -- and a lot of them depict animals, a subject that's near and dear to my heart.

Fruit Cocktail

Interview with feltangel

I would like to introduce everyone to Gunilla of feltangel,
a fellow Etsy member and member of our Dogs and Art Flickr Group.
Gunilla makes some of the most adorable needlefelt doggies!
Please stay for a moment and get to know a bit about Gunilla,
feltangel and her craft. 

1) Tell us your name.
My name is Gunilla Rehn and I live in Stockholm, Sweden.

2) What breed of dog do you have?
Unfortunately I have never had a dog. Members
of my family were allergic to animals and now I live in the center
of Stockholm which isn't a very suitable environment to dogs. But I have
always loved dogs and I´m a volunteer doggy walker at a dog shelter in
Stockholm, which actually celebrates 100 years on May 17.

3) Any favorite dog stories you'd like to share with us?
As a doggy walker at the dog shelter you take a dog out
for a walk in the forest and give it some special time. 1 1/2 year
ago one of the dogs (a dachhound) suddenly stopped in
front of me and made me fall so bad that I broke my ankle
at 3 spots. I had to go by ambulance to the ER and had
to be operated on, It took me about 5 months to get rid of
the crutches!

4) What kind of art do you create, i.e., paintings, plushies,
photography, sculpture?
I needlefelt dogs of different breeds. It gives me so much joy and
pleasure and they almost become alive to me, since they all have their
own personality.

5) Is your main focus on dog art and if so, what made you choose
the dog as your main subject for creating this type of art?
I also do wetfelting and needelefelt other things like angels,
but the dogs are so dear to me and I tend to come back to
them all the time.

6) Do you create or make anything other type of art/craft that's
not dog related?
As I said I also wetfelt and needlefelt other thing, and I also knit
and do embroidery.

7) If you sell your artwork, where can we find your pieces for sale?
I have an Etsy shop, feltangel, but no items for sale right now, since
I´m producing for a big show in August.

I also sell some items on my website UllochKrull.  

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mom's Day to all the moms of human children and the four-legged furry kind too! Have a great day, give your kids a hug and a kiss, take your furry friend for a walk, treat your pup with a nice tasty treat when you get home, a little kiss and enjoy the moment.

Basset Hound Art Tile and Angel's Gate

The Basset Hound Art Tile is handcrafted from polymer clay. It is first sculpted from a golden brown polymer clay. In the upper left corner sits a photo from my original Basset Hound drawing. There are flowers etched into the tile, surrounded by two butterfly stamps. The piece is then painted in colors of yellow, purple, pink and green to match the florals in the artwork. The entire piece is then varnish sealed for protection.

The tile hangs from reclaimed jewelry including gold tone chain. There is a gold tone link chain hanging down one side of the tile adorned with clay floral beads and at the very bottom a large teardrop bead hand painted in matching colors.

Size is approximate:
3-1/4" long top to bottom
2-4/8" wide at widest point
Including the chain and beads the tile hangs approximately: 8" in total length.

50% of the sale of this art tile will to to Angel's Gate Charity. It's a wonderful charity my sister mentioned to me. She had seen a segment about it on Oprah. Angel's Gate is a center where they take care of handicap animals, older animals, etc., it's hospice for the animals.

Angel's Gate
Hospice for Animals
http://www.angelsgate.org/

Meet ShellVergel

Pembroke Welsh Corgi

I would like to introduce everyone to Tatyana of ShellVergel, a fellow Etsy member, and a member of my Dogs and Art Group on Flickr. Tatyana not only is the proud owner of two Italian Greyhounds, Perry and Marco she also creates unique and beautiful dog artwork on clam shells. If you would like to see some of her wonderful creations stop by her Etsy shop at ShellVergel. I do hope you'll stay for a bit to read the interview and get to know Tatyana, meet her dogs, and view her wonderful shell creations.

1) Tell us your name. How many dogs do you have, their names and ages? I'm Tatyana Vergel, and I share my life with two dogs, Perry and Marco. They are litter mates, they'll be 18 months old soon.
Perry and Marco

2) What breed of dog do you have? Italian Greyhounds - the smallest of the sighthound group (running dogs such as Greyhounds and Salukis). Major cuteness and cuddling comes standard with them.

3) How long have you had your dog/s and how did they come to be your dog? These are my first dogs. I have grown up a major "dog person" and have spent my entire childhood begging my parents for a puppy. The answer was always 'no' so I tried to be involved with dogs in any way I could. I volunteered in a vet's office and am now a professional groomer. I finally felt "grown up" enough to get my own dogs recently. Then my mum and I convinced my stepdad that it wouldn't be so bad having a pupper around. I went to a great responsible breeder, and before I knew it I wound up with the pick of the litter show prospect puppy (Perry) and after a few months we took home his brother (Marco).

4) Do you find that you've come to favor a certain breed of dog and if so, what are their unique characteristics that you've found to be so wonderful? Honestly, there are so many amazing breeds out there that I would want to own some day. I really am fascinated by the variety of breeds out there and can make a list of dogs that I am drawn to. But I have a special place in my heart for sighthounds, including my very own Italian Greyhounds. I find them incredibly beautiful, silly, independent characters. They make the best snugglers!

5) Any favorite stories you'd like to share with us about your dog? Probably one of the most amazing moments I've had with Perry was at our second dog show. I entered the boys on a whim and was there only with my mother - no other "experienced" support. I had barely any idea of what I was doing in the show ring (the judge actually told me where to go a few times) - but we took Winners Dog and a three point major. It was a major high because no one expected it to go to the newbies (especially when a local longtime respected breeder had entered half of the dogs shown that day). And *then* people got interested in who we were all of a sudden ;)

6) Are there any other pets in the home other than dogs? We also have two cats - eleven year old Tim, my kindred spirit, my best friend. And three year old Anton, the weirdo.

7) What kind of art do you create? Right now my main focus is painting portraits of dogs on clam shells. I collect the shells at a local beach myself. It gives me a chance to explore many breeds and practice my painting skills. I also do a little graphite work, occasionally I draw portraits.

8) Is your main focus on dog art and if so, what made you choose the dog as your main subject for creating this type of art? Matter of fact, I rarely depict anything but dogs in my art. They are my muse. I think the huge variety of shapes, sizes and personalities is the primary drive. I feel that I really get to know a breed just by drawing or painting it. And I want to get to know them all!

9) Do you create or make anything other type of art/craft that's not dog related? I painted an orchid once. And I sketched some Disney characters a few years ago... Yep, dogs are my muse.

10) If you sell your artwork, where can we find your pieces for sale? You can find my painted shells in my Etsy shop at shellvergel.etsy.com.


Siberian Husky

Shar Pei Handsculpted Jeweled Art Tile

The handmade Shar Pei Tile depicts a photo from my original artwork laying on a sculpted tile. The tile is made from polymer clay, with various stamps, florals and etchings drawn into the surface. The tile is then painted with colors to match the artwork and sealed for protection.

The tile hangs from reclaimed jewelry chain and handmade clay flower beads to match the tile. There are acrylic beads attaching the flower clay beads to the chain and running along the side of the tile are acrylic and glass beads in colors to match the artwork and the florals in the tile. There is a handmade heart clay charm on the opposite side of the tile.