My World Outside My Studio - Exploring Twitter

My new early morning habit these days is checking out some of the great posts by fellow Twitterers.
I must admit I was VERY sceptical of that medium, however much to my delight, I have discovered a new world outside my small studio - an international world that continually inspires me !

Follow me on Twitter as I discover postings of new artists, designs, colors, drawings, paintings and illustrations.

Although I hooked on Twitter, I still make time for playing with Cisco and of course painting. In the meantime my website www.theCanvasDog.com is undergoing a major overhaul.

Dog Portrait Artist in today's news!

Featured in the Toronto Star Article, "Good Boy, Now Sit for a Portrait" - April 2, 2009

I met with a great reporter, Francine Kopun, a few weeks ago to be interviewed for a feature article that she was writing about dog portrait paintings.

Although I knew that it would be in print within a week, I opened my email today and received congratulations from friends who were kind enough to tell me that they had already bought me few copies, as the Toronto Star is one of the most read newspapers in Ontario.

Kopun writes not only about contemporary dog paintings and dog portraitists, but also includes a bit of history of dogs in art.

This portrait of Winston, an English Bulldog, was featured in the article. It is painted in acrylic on stretched canvas 12 x 16 and available as a limited edition print from www.thecanvasdog.com

Here is an excerpt:

An artist since she was old enough to hold a spoon and draw pictures in her oatmeal, Nina Otulakowski began her career after deciding to paint her own Australian shepherd. Since then, animal portraiture has become the focus of her artistic life.

Before she paints, Otulakowski likes to spend an hour or two in the company of the dog and its owner to find out whether her subject likes treading water or curling up on a cushion.

"What does the dog like to do? Does the dog have other dog friends? What does the dog mean to the owner?" These are some of the questions she likes to answer.